Battle of Rethymno

On 30 April 1941 Major-general Bernard Freyberg, who had been evacuated from Greece with the 2nd New Zealand Division, was appointed commander-in-chief on Crete. He noted the acute lack of heavy weapons, equipment, supplies and communication facilities.[10][11] Equipment was scarce in the Mediterranean, especially in the backwater of Crete. The British forces had seven commanders in seven months. No Royal Air Foce (RAF) units were based permanently at Crete until April 1941, but airfield construction took place, radar sites were built and stores delivered.[12] By early April, airfields at Maleme and Heraklion and the landing strip at Rethymno, all on the north coast, were ready and another strip at Pediada-Kastelli was nearly finished.[12] The Allies had available a total of 42,000 men on Crete. Of these, 10,000 were Greek and 32,000 Commonwealth.[13] In the space of a week, 27,000 Commonwealth troops had arrived from Greece,[14] many lacking any equipment other than their personal weapons, or not even those; 18,000 of these remained when the battle commenced.[15]

Allied dispositions and German drop zones on 20 May

The Rethmyno area was garrisoned by two Australian and two Greek battalions, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ian Campbell. Both Australian battalions had fought in Greece, suffering 180 casualties between them, and the first had only arrived at Rethymno on 30 April.[16] The Australians totalled 1,270 experienced veterans, and there were several smaller attached Commonwealth units.[17][18][note 2] The Greeks were 2,300 strong and ill-disciplined, ill-equipped and extremely short of ammunition.[20][21] The Rethmynon landing strip was about 8 mi (13 km) east of the town, near the village of Pigi. A ridge dominated the coast road and the landing strip in this area, running from "Hill A" in the east overlooking the landing strip and the village of Stavromenos to "Hill B" 2 mi (3 km) to the west near the village of Platanes. To the south "Hill D" gave a clear view of the terrain inland. The Australian 2/1st Battalion (2/1st) was dug in on Hill A and the ridge to its west,[22] supported by six field guns,[23] while the Australian 2/11th Battalion (2/11th), supported by two field guns and several machineguns, was positioned on and around Hill B.[21] The Greek 4th Regiment was situated on the ridge between the two Australian units and the 5th Regiment was positioned in the dead ground south of the ridge as a reserve. Two Matilda II heavy tanks were in a gully immediately west of the landing strip, and Campbell's headquarters was established on Hill D.[24] All of the Allied units were well dug in and well camouflaged.[22][23] Food stocks were limited and were supplemented by local foraging.[25] Rethmynon itself was defended by a battalion of 800 well-armed Greek civil police.[26]

Map of the German assault on Crete; Rethymno is in the centre

The entire assault on Crete was code named "Operation Mercury" (Unternehmen Merkur) and was controlled by the 12th Army commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm List. The German 8th Air Corps (VIII Fliegerkorps) provided close air support; it was equipped with 570 combat aircraft. The infantry available for the assault were the German 7th Air Division, with the Air-landing Assault Regiment (Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment) attached, and the 5th Mountain Division. They totalled 22,000 men grouped under the 11th Air Corps (XI Fliegerkorps) which was commanded by Lieutenant General Kurt Student who was in operational control of the operation. Over 500 Ju 52s were assembled to transport them. Student planned a series of four parachute assaults against Allied facilities on the north coast of Crete by the 7th Air Division, which would then be reinforced by the 5th Mountain Division, part transported by air, and part by sea; the latter component would also ferry much of the heavy equipment.[27]

Before the invasion, the Germans conducted a bombing campaign to establish air superiority; after 29 of their 35 fighters based on Crete were destroyed the RAF rebased its aircraft there to Alexandria.[28][29] A few days before the attack, German intelligence summaries stated that the total Allied force on Crete consisted of 5,000 men and that the garrison of Heraklion was 400 strong.[30] and that Rethmynon was not formally garrisoned.[22] For the assault on Rethmynon the Germans assigned the 2nd Parachute Regiment of the 7th Air Division, minus one battalion.[note 3] This force was approximately 1,700 strong[32] and was commanded by Colonel Alfred Sturm. Sturm's plan was for the regiment's 3rd Battalion (2/III), reinforced by two artillery units, would drop approximately 2 mi (3 km) of Rethymno and capture the town. At the same time its 1st Battalion (2/I), reinforced by a machinegun company, would drop immediately to the east of the landing strip and capture it. Sturm himself would land mid-way between the two battalions with the regimental headquarters section and a reinforced company in order to act as a reserve.[22]

The design of the German parachutes and the mechanism for opening them imposed operational constraints on the paratroopers. The static lines, which automatically opened the parachutes as the men jumped from the aircraft, were easily fouled, and so each man wore a coverall over their webbing and equipment. This precluded their jumping with any weapon larger than a pistol or a grenade. Rifles, automatic weapons, mortars, ammunition, food and water were dropped in separate containers and until and unless the paratroopers reached them they were helpless.[33]

German paratroopers were also required to leap headfirst from their aircraft, and so were trained to land on all fours – rather than the usually recommended feet together, knees-bent posture – which resulted in a high incidence of wrist injuries.[34] Once out of the plane German paratroopers were unable to control their fall or to influence where they landed. Given the importance of landing close to one of the weapons containers, doctrine required jumps to take place from no higher than 400 feet (120 m) and in winds no stronger than 14 mph (23 km/h). The transport aircraft had to fly straight, low and slowly, making them an easy target for any ground fire.[35] Paratroopers were carried by the reliable tri-motored Junkers Ju 52. Each transport could lift thirteen paratroopers, with their weapons containers carried on the planes' external bomb racks.[36]

A dead paratrooper lying under his parachute

On the morning of 20 May two reinforced German regiments landed by parachute and assault glider at Maleme airfield and near the main port of Chania in the west of Crete. The aircraft which dropped them were scheduled to make further drops at Rethymno and Heraklion in the afternoon.[37] In Greece the Germans were having problems with their hastily constructed airfield facilities which were to have consequences for their attack on Heraklion.[38] They were blanketed with dust clouds, reducing safe taxiing speeds and making taking off and landing hazardous. Several Ju 52s which had been damaged by Allied ground fire in the morning crashed on landing and had to be towed clear of the runways. Refuelling was carried out by hand and took longer than anticipated.[39][20] Aware this would mean a significant delay to when the drop around Rethymno would commence, the commander of the Ju 52 wing, Rüdiger von Heyking, attempted to have the air support attack similarly delayed. Inadequate communication systems prevented this message from getting through in time.[22]

The parachute drop was scheduled to take place at 14:00, but it was 16:00 before the pre-assault softening up from the German air support began. This was limited to fewer than 20 aircraft and was ineffective.[40][41] Having been informed at 14:30 of the attacks to the west, the Allies realised this may be the prelude to a paratrooper assault.[32] At 16:15 the first 24 of an eventual total of 160 Ju 52s appeared.[41] They flew parallel to the coast on their drop runs, in easy sight and range of the Allied troops on the ridge.[42] During the afternoon at least seven of the transport aircraft were shot down, and several others disappeared from sight trailing thick smoke.[43] Evasive action by the German pilots resulted in some paratroopers landing in the sea. One group landed in a cane break resulting in all of its members being impaled[40] and the parachutes of three Germans failed to open. Many Germans were shot and killed before they landed.[24] Because of the disorder at the Greek airfields, the German air operations over Rethymno were ill coordinated. The paratrooper drops did not occur simultaneously, instead a succession of easy targets for allied ground fire flew low, straight and level past the Allied-held coastal ridge.[44] During this period no German fighters nor bombers returned to suppress the ground fire.[38] The historian Antony Beevor describes the Germans' situation at this point as "chaotic".[23]

The surviving Germans of the 2/I Battalion, who had landed close to Hill A, succeeded in reaching their weapons containers and attacked the hill. They were steadily reinforced by fellow paratroopers who had been dropped as far as 2 mi (3 km) from their targets and after fierce fighting the hill was captured. Campbell ordered his two heavy tanks to counter-attack, but both became immobilised in the rough terrain. Campbell set up a blocking position on the ridge and planned a fresh counter-attack. The German 2/I Battalion dug in on the hilltop having suffered 400 dead or wounded.[45] Meanwhile, many members of the 2/II Battalion had been dropped in the wrong location, landing among the Australian 2/11th Battalion, where most of them were killed or pinned down and later captured.[24][44] The remainder landed as planned near Platanes, reached their weapons containers, regrouped, and marched on Rethmynon. Around 18:00 they attempted to enter the town, but were beaten off by the Cretan police, supported by armed civilians,[24] who included several priests and a monk.[46] The 2nd Parachute Regiment's headquarters section and attached company, almost 200 men, dropped into the middle of the Allied position and took heavy losses. During the night 2/11th Battalion combed the area, capturing 88 prisoners and collecting a large quantity of weapons and ammunition. Sturm was taken prisoner himself on the 21st.[32][44] The loss of all radio equipment during or immediately after the drop meant Student in Athens received no reports. At 19:00 he sent a plane to establish contact with the 2nd Parachute Regiment but contact with it was lost and it failed to return.[47]

Captured German paratroopers

At first light on 21 May the Allies attempted to recapture Hill A, but were repulsed. Campbell ordered a fresh attack for 08:00. Meanwhile, the Germans were preparing their own attack; this was disrupted when they were mistakenly bombed by their own aircraft. The subsequent Allied attack was successful after fierce close quarters fighting, and the surviving Germans withdrew to a solidly-constructed olive oil factory near the village of Stavromenos. The Allies recaptured their artillery pieces and recovered their two abandoned tanks.[48]

The German 2/III Battalion was unable to renew its attack on Rethmynon on the 21st as it was pinned down around Perivolia by the Cretan police from the town and armed civilians. This force was also bombed by its own aircraft, as well as being shelled by the Australians overlooking them from Hill B. When Ju 52s flew over, the Allies ceased fire and displayed captured panels requesting resupply; they received weapons, ammunition and equipment. That evening Student, still having received no news from the Rethmynon landing, despatched another liaison aircraft. A German seaplane landed close offshore, a radio was transferred to rubber dingy and this paddled towards the beach. The radio, dingy and seaplane were destroyed by Australian fire.[49]

Over the next few days the Allies repeatedly attacked the German positions at both Perivolia and the factory. The two recovered tanks proved useful but unreliable, repeatedly breaking down or bogging down on rough ground. The remnants of the 2/III Battalion hung on in an increasingly battered Perivolia,[50] where the Australians used captured signal panels to direct German bombing onto the paratroopers.[51] Several attempted Allied attacks on the village came to nothing. Late on the 23rd the Germans launched an attack on the Australians with strong air support, but gained no ground.[52] An attack on the olive oil factory on 22 May was unsuccessful when the 2/lst Battalion and the 4th Greek Regiment failed to coordinate.[53] On 26 May the Australians stormed the factory to find it abandoned. The 30 surviving able-bodied men of the 2/I Battalion had escaped to the east, abandoning their wounded.[50]

The historian Callum MacDonald states that on the 20th "little quarter had been given by either side" but that subsequently "the fighting became less savage". By the end of the battle the Allies had taken prisoner more than 500 Germans. A joint hospital was set up near Adhele with German and Australian doctors working alongside each other. Conditions for all of the wounded were grim, with parachutes cut up for bandages and no anesthetics.[50] Most of the German dead lay where they had fallen; there were more than 400 bodies in front of the Allied positions. They bloated in the sun and were attacked by ravens, intelligence officers searched them for documents, they were looted for souvenirs, and the locals stole their boots. The historian Antony Beevor states some bodies were "hacked about by civilians".[54] The state of the bodies resulted in claims of the mutilation and torture of wounded paratroopers, which were picked up and broadcast by Nazi radio.[55][56]

Allied soldiers surrendering on Crete

Meanwhile, the Germans had won the battle for Maleme airfield,[57] captured the port town of Chania[58] and pushed the Allies there east and south.[59] On 26 May Freyberg informed General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief Middle East, that the Battle of Crete was lost. The next day Wavell ordered the evacuation of the island.[60] Freyberg wanted the force at Rethymno to head south for Plakias, from where they might be evacuated. But Campbell did not possess a code, and Freyberg did not want to risk alerting the Germans to the evacuation plans by sending the orders in clear. Freyberg attempted to send orders by sea and by air on 27 and 28 May, but failed, and Campbell remained ignorant of the overall situation.[61]

On the morning of 29 May a German force commanded by Lieutenant Colonel August Wittmann approached from the east. It was composed of units of the 85th and 141st Mountain Regiments and 31st Tank Regiment and included tanks and heavy artillery.[62] The Germans attacked and isolated the Allied positions east of Rethmynon. The Allies had all but consumed their food supplies and exhausted their ammunition and so Campbell surrendered.[63] All of the German prisoners were released.[64] Of the Australians, 934 survived to be taken prisoner, 190 of them wounded and 96 were killed in the fighting.[65] Many men from the 2/11th Battalion struck off on their own and, assisted by the local population, 13 officers and 39 other ranks escaped to Egypt.[66] Greek casualties are unknown.[67]