Battle of Crete | 1941 | German Invasion of Crete | German Paratroopers in Action | WW2 Documentary

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• published: 15 Dec 2014
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►My channel: http://youtube.com/TheBestFilmArchives ►SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/TheBestFilmArchives?sub_confirmation=1 ►Google+: http://plus.google.com/+TheBestFilmArchives ►Facebook: http://facebook.com/TheBestFilmArchives ►Twitter: http://twitter.com/BestFilmArch This film is a documentary on the German invasion of Crete during World War 2 and its eventual fall in ten days. It emphasizes the German victory over British, New Zealander and Australian forces rested in superior air power. Animated maps show direction of invasion, course of battles and Allied retreat. The film presents complete tactical picture, describes defenses of major Cretan cities and includes scenes of German troops, dive bombing, parachute jumping, ground fighting, air attack on retreating troops and the British evacuation. The Battle of Crete: The Battle of Crete (German: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta; Greek: Μάχη της Κρήτης) was a battle fought during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code name Unternehmen Merkur (Operation Mercury). Greek and Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island. After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered very heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would prevail against the German invasion. The next day, through miscommunication and the failure of Allied commanders to grasp the situation, Maleme airfield in western Crete fell to the Germans, enabling them to fly in reinforcements and overwhelm the defenders. The battle lasted about 10 days. The Battle of Crete was unprecedented in three respects: it was not only the first battle where German paratroops (Fallschirmjäger) were used on a massive scale, but also the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from the deciphered German Enigma code, and the first time invading German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Because of the heavy casualties suffered by the paratroopers, Adolf Hitler forbade further large-scale airborne operations. However, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to build their own airborne formations. Prelude to the battle of Crete: Allied forces had occupied Crete when the Italians attacked Greece on 28 October 1940. Although the Italians were initially repulsed, subsequent German intervention drove 57,000 Allied troops from the mainland. The Royal Navy evacuated many of them. Possession of Crete provided the Royal Navy with excellent harbours in the eastern Mediterranean, from which it could threaten the Axis southeastern flank. From the island, the Ploieşti oil fields in Romania, which were critical to the Axis war effort, were within range of British bombers. The German army high command was preoccupied with the planned invasion of the Soviet Union, and was against involvement. However, senior Luftwaffe commanders were enthusiastic about the idea of seizing Crete by a daring airborne attack. The desire to regain prestige after their defeat by the Royal Air Force over Britain in 1940 may have played a role in their thinking, especially before the advent of the much more important (and army-controlled) invasion of Russia. Hitler was won over by the audacious proposal. The secondary priority of the attack was underlined: Crete was under no circumstances to be allowed to interfere with the upcoming campaign against the Soviet Union. In advance of the land battle, the Germans launched frequent bombing raids against the island in order to establish air superiority. This air campaign eventually succeeded in its objective, forcing the Royal Air Force to move its planes to Alexandria. At the outset of the land battle, the Allies had the advantage of naval supremacy and defending with relative numerical superiority, while the Germans had air superiority, more highly trained troops, and the momentum of an unbroken run of victories. Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta: Das Unternehmen Merkur war eine Schlacht im Zweiten Weltkrieg, die deutsche Fallschirmjäger zur Einnahme der Insel Kreta durchführten, und zugleich die erste große Luftlandeoperation der Geschichte. Nach der Einnahme Griechenlands im Verlauf des Balkanfeldzuges 1941 wurde das von alliierten Truppen verteidigte Kreta durch die deutsche Wehrmacht erobert und blieb bis 1945 besetzt. Battle of Crete | 1941 | German Invasion of Crete | German Paratroopers in Action | WW2 Documentary