Today’s topic,
German Conquered Crete,
Very interesting, the first major scale airborne offensive with succes, however lost was to0 great to be said that it was a major victory.
Somehow, should Germans able to captured Crete with much much less atrocities, they’d carry on with similar operation to Malta, in my opinion, would definetely have some effects on German performances over north Africa
Cheers
G
Not half! There is a very strong correlation between the offensive capabilities of the British forces on Malta and the Axis offensives in the Western Desert. When Malta was well supplied, the Axis were in deep trouble, and when it was effectively neutralised it was the Allies in trouble.
A good example if this is the extermination of an entire convoy by British forces based in Malta in November 1941.
Another is HMS [i]Upholder[/i], which sank 128,000 tonnes of Axis shipping over the course of roughly 18 months based in Malta. Over the course of the entire war, only 17 U-boat commanders exceeded this tonnage figure. While Upholder was a more successful boat than average, it wasn’t all that exceptional. In terms of impact on the war, the most successful submarine campaigns were that by the US against Japan and that by the UK against Germany/Italy in the Mediterranean.
Oh, and Malta was a far tougher nut to crack for an airbourne assault than Crete. It’s a much smaller island and was far better defended.
Smaller island, more men, greater concentration of soldiers and fire power, you have yourself a fortress…
Malta would have been a hard fight for the “Sky Jumpers” on the ground when fighting a more determined defencive force.
The biggest problem with Crete was not really the losses, but how the island had little to no strategic advantages should it be under German occupation. This is especially true since at the time, the Soviets still posed a greater threat to Germany than did Great Britain or Greece.
The cost to Germany was so great that Hitler decided that there would not be another major airborne operation. Can’t find the source but Hitler said to Student later something to the effect that there would be no more large scale airborne operations, I think partly because they required surprise and surprise was lacking in such an operation.
Conversely, the Allies saw Crete as a demonstration of the potential of airborne operations and, not having suffered the losses of the Germans from such an operation except as defeated defenders, were highly impressed and pressed on to launch even bigger airborne operations later in the war.
The success of (some of) the Alllied airborne operations was attributable to proper preparation (the 6 P’s - Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance) which was lacking Crete.
IV. Casualties and Losses
The figures for German casualties suffered in the Crete operations remain a matter of conjecture. Whereas German after action reports give total losses varying between 3,986 and 6,453 men, Winston S. Churchill states that more than 4,000 graves have been counted in the area of Maleme and Suda Bay and another thousand at Retimo and Heraklion.* In Churchill’s opinion the Germans must have suffered well over 15,000 casualties in killed and wounded. Part of the difference may be explained by the fact that the British estimated the number of men drowned in the sinking of the first convoy at 2,500 men. Actually, only two battalions had been embarked on vessels in that convoy and the air-sea rescue squadron apparently rescued most of the shipwrecked. In a recent study on German losses in Crete,
*Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1950), p. 301.
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[Figure 39. the first mules have arrived in Crete]
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British military historians seem inclined to accept the highest German figures as correct.*
Some 350 German planes, more than half of them troop carriers, were lost or damaged.
The British were able to evacuate 14,800 out of a garrison of 27,500 men. Left behind were also the 14,000 Greek troops, either dead or captured. The Royal Navy suffered nearly 2,000 casualties and crippling losses which resulted in its withdrawal from the Aegean.
Chapter 22: Lessons
In view of the particular circumstances that surrounded the German seizure of Crete, its success should not be taken as proof for the contention that the airborne invasion of an island is the ideal solution in any similar situation. Comparisons with other theaters of war, for instance the British Isles, are misleading. The invasion of Crete was in a category by itself, but a number of lessons with general validity for similar operations can be learned from the German experience. In general, the success of an airborne operation against an island will depend on the following factors:
a. Control of the air above the island is essential for the successful execution of airborne landings. During the Crete operation the British had practically no aircraft based on the island and were unable to improvise effective air cover from North Africa because of the long distance between the air bases in Egypt and the fields on Crete.
b. Control of the sea around an island is next in importance. The invader’s navy must be able to provide full protection for the convoys that have to bring up tanks, heavy weapons, and supplies of all types. During the attack on Crete, British naval units cut off German seaborne transportation and thereby delayed the progress of the ground offensive, which in turn enabled the British to evacuate considerable forces to Egypt. German reinforcements, supplies, and-above all–tanks, artillery, and antitank guns could not be brought to the island by sea when they were most needed. The warning given by the German Navy before the start of Operation MERKUR-not to send naval convoys to Crete before the waters around the island had been cleared of the enemy–had been justified.
- German Casualties, Crete 1941, Enemy Documents Section, Historical Branch, Cabinet Office, April 1952.
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c. The command channels regulating interservice cooperation must be clearly defined and unity of command over both airborne and seaborne forces must be firmly established. During the invasion of Crete, the German command organization was unified, and for the first time an air force general was in overall command of air, ground, and naval forces. General Loehr, the commander of Fourth Air Force, set up his headquarters at Athens in close proximity to Twelfth Army and Navy Group South headquarters, which were instructed to give him all the support he needed. The command structure for Operation MERKUR was as follows: (chart)
In contrast to the simplicity of this command organization, the British ground and air force units were under independent local commanders who in turn were subordinate to the respective service commanders, Middle East, stationed in Egypt. The naval commander sailed with the fleet. All three service commanders, Middle East, reported through their ministries to the War Cabinet in London and received their orders from that source. To add to the confusion, General Freyberg, the New Zealand commander of the ground forces, also reported to his govern-
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ment half way around the world whenever he felt that this was necessary or in the interest of his country.*
Prime Minister Churchill sent messages directly to General Freyberg and intervened when he believed that his influence and encouragement would be of benefit. Thus, on 27 May, at a time when the fate of Crete was no longer in doubt and the local commander was preparing orders for withdrawal, Churchill telegraphed to the commanders-in-chief, Middle East: “Victory in Crete essential at this turning-point in the war. Keep hurling in all you can.”**
d. The element of surprise is essential to the success of an airborne operation which involves great risks under any circumstances. To achieve surprise, it is particularly important to maintain the secrecy of the offensive plans until the last minute. This will never be fully accomplished but several measures may be taken to deceive the enemy at least with regard to the exact time for the start of the attack. For example, whereas the logistical preparations at the jumpoff airfields for troop carriers and gliders may be accomplished well ahead of time, the airborne formations proper should be moved in as late as possible. The presence of parachute troops should be kept secret by restricting movements to and from the airfields of departure. Also, the enemy must be prevented from flying reconnaissance missions over the staging areas.
e. Other important factors are the intensive collection of intelligence and proper dissemination of information obtained. The terrain of the potential landing areas must be thoroughly reconnoitered by low-flying planes, aerial photography, and agents. By the time the parachute troops descend, the main enemy nests of resistance and defensive weapons must have been neutralized or the rate of jump casualties will be abnormally high.
German air reconnaissance during the period preceding the invasion was inadequate and the intelligence picture presented by the Luftwaffe did not correspond to the actual situation on the island. The British had succeeded in concealing fortifications and camouflaging their gun positions. Dummy flak positions were extensively bombed, while the real ones were not discovered. Some British positions were erroneously marked as artesian wells and the prison on the road to Canea was thought to be a British ration dump. Apparently, Twelfth Army had
*Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance, pp. 274-75.
*Ibid., p. 295.
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[Figure 40. Airborne landings over the north coast of Crete.]
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more accurate information local agents. But, in the firm belief that the British intended to evacuate the island immediately after the first airborne landings and that the garrisons consisted of only 5,000 combat troops, the Luftwaffe refused to consider mole realistic estimates of the enemy preparations.
f. Airborne tactics must be flexible. After the seizure of Crete the Germans learned from captured documents that the British had studied the German operation orders pertaining to the airborne invasion of Holland in 1940 and held used the information for troop training purposes and for the construction of fortifications. Since the Germans had not changed their tactics the enemy defense system proved entirely adequate during the first stage of the invasion. Had the Luftwaffe adopted different tactics, such as limiting the number of initial objectives to one or two, it could have achieved a greater concentration `'f forces. Moreover, the first waves of parachute troops jumped over the three airfields and landed amidst the concentrated fire of all defensive weapons the enemy had emplaced neat each one of them. The purpose of landing on top of the objective, instead of near it, was to immediately paralyze the principal defense centers. This plan failed in each instance and its execution involved heavy casualties.
To make matters worse the troops jumped at the wrong points in most instances. Some Units were dropped ten miles too far east. This was all the less comprehensible because the drop points had been clearly identified and the flying crews thoroughly briefed. Some of the pilots dropped the paratroopers in the wrong place and from too high an altitude so as to escape the enemy’s ground fire. Their conduct jeopardized the success of the operation.
In any event a strong and w-ell-integrated defense system almost be overcome by landing on top of it, unless it has previously been smashed by continuous bombing attacks. Far better results can be obtained by jumping at a distance from the objective, which must subsequently be reduced by customary infantry tactics. For this purpose the paratrooper must receive infantry training.
g. Strong reserves, including flying formations, must be readily available so that any initial success, achieved wherever airborne landings have taken place, can be immediately exploited. Or, if unexpected difficulties arise, as in the Crete operation where the British fleet suddenly intervened, these reserves must be capable of immediate effective counteraction.
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[Figure 41. Antitank gun, attached to five parachutes, is dropped over Crete]
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h. Individual soldiers must carry light machine gulls (sic , presumably in case a reserve chute fails :D) , recoilless rifles, rocket launchers, etc., during the descent in case they are forced to fight before recovering their paracrates. The containers dropped by the (Germans often fell into the enemy positions and were picked up by British troops who used the weapons and ammunition against the Germans, inflicting heavy casualties on them with their own weapons. Moreover, some of the containers fell into gullies and deep stream beds and could therefore not be recovered.
i The troops must be issued appropriate uniforms. The German paratroop uniform proved unsuitable for the hot climate of Crete. During combat many men suffered from heat prostration. Every movement on the battlefield involved terrific physical efforts, and the efficiency of the troops was thus considerably impaired.
In evaluating the defender’s performance General Ringel, who was in command of German ground operations during the crucial battle for Canea, made the following statement: “The enemy’s stubborn defense could have led to our defeat, if he had grasped the situation from the very outset and had made use of all his available forces and resources.”
Chapter 23 Conclusions
Because of its daring execution and the novel techniques employed, the airborne invasion of Crete may be considered an historic military achievement. However, its many deficiencies, most of which are to be attributed to insufficient preparations, gave the operation all the characteristics of an improvisation. Despite the success achieved, the high cost of the seizure of the island led Hitler to lose confidence in airborne operations.
The possession of Crete proved of little offensive value to the Axis Powers because subsequent developments in the overall situation prevented them from exploiting their success. To the Germans Crete was not a stepping-stone to Suez and the Middle East, but rather the concluding part of the campaign in the Balkans.
One of the first effects of the Russian campaign, which started only twenty-one days after the cessation of hostilities in Crete, was the withdrawal of German air power from the eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, after October 1941 the shortage of trained ground forces compelled the (German command to commit trained airborne and parachute units as infantry in Russia. General Student therefore seems to have been justified in stating in a post-war interrogation that “Crete was the grave of the German parachutists.”
http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/balkan/20_260_4.htm
Germany wasted the Fallschirmjager at Crete. Perhaps the elite fighting arm of the Wehrmacht was crippled for a largely unimportant target. Malta would have been much more suitable for an attack (in terms of the effect of its capture) although it would have been a very tough nut to crack. The Italian Navy would have had to show some guts to convoy the tanks, artillery and supplies, as well as extra troops in order to conquer Malta.
The Luftwaffe could have provided the air cover and support needed but the Regia Marina would have been crucial. Mussolini would have taken losses at sea and he would need to accept those because the prize was worth it.