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Crete: The Battle and the Resistance: The Review. Many
of the dust-dry books I have read about At
last! History in a vivid form! The
‘battle’ section of this book is meticulously researched and full of
interesting detail and I found I was eagerly turning the pages instead
of propping open my eyelids. There is an excellent account of the
defense against the WWII invasion by German paratroops, and the section as
seen from inside a German 'plane as the troops wait for ‘the green
light’ had me holding my breath as I waited for my turn to drop. Many units of troops from
different nations were involved in the defence of Crete, but Beevor never allows the reader to become confused about what is
happening and in which part of the island. There are even extracts from
a number of Ultra signals (from It is shocking, also,
to learn that the most of the fighting men of Crete, the Cretan 5th
Division, had been sent to mainland So, here we have it
– 13 parachute battalions arriving out of the sky on a morning in late
May 1941, on an island that is expecting a sea-borne invasion. When you
factor in incredibly poor or non-existent communications between Allied
units led by an extremely obstinate General, you can easily turn victory
into defeat. Figures in the
book show that there were over 42,400 Allied troops on the island at the
time of the invasion and only 22,000 Germans, so there is absolutely no
excuse for what Beevor elegantly calls a CMFU. (Complete Military ….
Up). We are shown how the
German forces obtained a vital foothold at Maleme airfield, and instead of
gathering all the Allied troops here to fight off the invaders, Creforce
ordered a temporary retreat. This fatal error allowed the German forces
to dig in and strengthen their hold for the wave of reinforcements which
followed the next day. Instead of bringing the five battalions at his
disposal into attack, General Freyberg still clung to his idea that the
bigger attack would be from the sea and held his men in reserve. As an aside here, I
was fascinated to read confirmation of a story I had been told in our
village. Apparently 72 German parachutists dropped near Kastelli Kissamos (our
local town). 54 of these were killed by local people, and 18 were taken
prisoner. I had been told by an elderly lady in our village that she had
been working in the vineyard with others, when they saw the parachutes
in the sky. They picked up their shovels and pruning knives, ran down
the hill, and chopped the parachutists to death as they landed. Similar attacks on
German troops by Cretans sparked a wave of retaliation from the Germans
– who had been expecting to be welcomed by the locals. Reprisals were
draconian and swift. Villages were burned to the ground and hundreds of
Cretans were executed. Despite victory
against the German forces in a few local skirmishes, most of the Allied troop
movement was back from the northern coastline and up into the mountains.
A decision was taken to evacuate troops from Sfakia, so many of the
dejected men had to make their way over the mountains, suffering
exhaustion, thirst, sunburn, injuries and general demoralization. Not
enough submarines and boats had been provided by the Navy for proper
evacuation, so more than 5,000 were left behind. Interestingly enough,
no officers with a rank higher than Lt. Colonel managed to be left
behind when Many of the men left
on the beaches were captured by the German forces and taken to a prison camp
near Chania, but others escaped into the mountains and were given refuge
by locals, or joined the resistance. The people of Crete
were bewildered at the incompetence of the British and Commonwealth
troops and could not believe that they had been deserted, as Britain had
promised that Crete would be defended to the last man. However, despite
their disenchantment, on the principle that ‘my enemy’s enemy is my
friend’, the Cretans gave whatever help they could to the stragglers
left on their island. Having related the
story of the Battle of Crete so excellently and with so much detail,
Beevor’s book now loses some of its thrust as he turns his attention
to the story of the resistance. Perhaps this is because few records were
kept at the time, except by members of the Special Operations Executive,
who were secretly infiltrated onto the island from Much of the remainder
of the book deals with the Resistance as organized by the SOE –
information which can also be obtained in “Ill
met by moonlight” by William Stanley Moss, and “The
Cretan Runner” by George Psychoundakis. Tantalizing references are
made to incidents which must hide fascinating stories. Why were 60
civilians shot at Xondamari? Why
were the villages of Alikianou, Fournes and Skenes destroyed? And why do
we hear no more of the priest-turned-sabateur, Father Ioannis Skoulas?
We get passing references, but not much in the way of detail. How
frustrating! Despite all they
endured under the German occupation forces, conditions for the Cretans did not
immediately improve after the War – and for many it got harder. Most
of the resistance guerillas were drafted into the Greek Army to fight
the Civil War on the mainland, and were away from home for a further
four years. One can only wonder
at the stoicism of the Cretan people and admire their fierce loyalty,
bravery and refusal to be cowed. Now, having read the historical details
of how badly they were let down by the British in the War, I am amazed
and humbled by the affection the Cretans still have for us. Although the second part of Antony Beevor’s book did not live up to my expectations, the first section must surely be an important and valuable record of the Battle of Crete. Anyone who is at all interested in the German invasion and fall of the island will find it fascinating.
Reviewer.
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