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Massacre of Cretan civilians at Kondomari, Crete, 1941. The Battle of Crete was not the first occasion during the Second World War where the German troops encountered widespread resistance from a civilian population, as similar events took place during the invasion of Poland ; nevertheless it initially surprised and later outraged them. As most ...
HMS Gloucester - Capt. Henry A Rowley, sunk 22 May 1941 with the loss of 722 crew; HMS Fiji - Capt. PBRW William-Powlett, sunk 22 May 1941; HMS Orion - Capt. GRB Back - damaged [9] HMS Dido - Capt. HWV McCall - damaged [9] Destroyers HMS Decoy - Cmdr. EG McGregor; HMS Hereward - Lt. WJ Munn, sunk by enemy aircraft 29 May 1941
Carried out 6 April 1941) Operation Merkur (invasion of Crete. Carried out 20 May 1941.) Operation Sonnenblume (Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps reinforcing the Axis defenses of Cyrenaica in 1941) Erwin Rommel mandate of 10 April 1941 (German attempted invasion of Egypt to conquer Egypt and occupy the Suez Canal) [21]
Massacre of civilians in Kondomari by German paratroopers in 1941. The Cretan resistance ( Greek : Κρητική Αντίσταση , Kritiki Antistasi ) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II . [ 1 ]
The Battle of Heraklion was part of the Battle of Crete, fought during World War II on the Greek island of Crete between 20 and 30 May 1941. British, Australian and Greek forces of 14th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Brian Chappel, defended Heraklion port and airfield against a German paratrooper attack by the 1st Parachute Regiment of the 7th Air Division, commanded by Colonel Bruno ...
The first German garrison unit was the 5th Mountain Division, which had seen combat during the capture of Crete.In late autumn 1941, the 5th Mountain Division was replaced by the 713th and 164th Infantry Divisions, which in early 1942 were reorganised as Fortress Division Crete (German: Festungs-Division Kreta - FDK).
The Italians were repulsed without the aid of the expeditionary force. A German invasion in April 1941 overran mainland Greece and the expeditionary force was withdrawn. By the end of the month, 57,000 Allied troops were evacuated by the Royal Navy. Some were sent to Crete to bolster its garrison, although most had lost their heavy equipment. [5]
The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers (Greek: Η Κατοχή, romanized: I Katochi, lit. 'the occupation') began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Italy, in their ongoing war that was initiated in October 1940, having encountered major strategical difficulties.