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Volume One Chapter 1,027 Fierce Battle on Crete

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    After Germany and Italy conquered Yugoslavia and invaded the Greek mainland, the intrigues, mutual strife and plundering of spoils of war within the German and Italian groups also intensified.  As Mussolini said:

    ¡°Hitler, the villain, robbed all the fat and left us only a small pile of bones¡­¡±

    Hitler and Mussolini occupied the Greek mainland by force, but the war was still raging in the Aegean Sea and Crete.

    Both sides not only mobilized a large number of armies, but also dispatched modern air forces and navies.  On the island of Crete, a three-dimensional battle of sea, land and air was carried out, and the most heroic and tense scene in the history of Greek battles was staged.

    As early as the end of March 1941, it was obvious to the Allies that Mussolini¡¯s fleet was about to launch a large-scale dispatch to the Aegean Sea.  The British Admiral Cunningham decided to temporarily avoid his transport fleet, and he himself boarded the "Worspetra" in the evening of March 27, and led the "Valiant" and "Barham"  , the aircraft carrier Formidable and nine destroyers departed Alexandria.  At dawn on the 28th, a plane taking off from the "Formidable" aircraft carrier reported that four Italian cruisers and six destroyers were heading southeast.

    In Mussolini¡¯s fleet, there were three cruisers equipped with eight-inch guns, while all British cruisers were equipped with six-inch guns.  However, after half an hour of indiscriminate fighting, the Italian ship retreated, and the British cruiser pursued it.

    Two hours later, an Italian battleship "Vittorio Veneto" was discovered; a group of fighter jets taking off from the "Formidable" aircraft carrier attacked the Italian battleship; after being damaged, the ship did not dare to fight.  Retreat immediately to the northwest.

    In the evening, the British ship launched a third attack, hitting the Italian heavy cruiser "Pola". The ship was seen withdrawing from the battle sequence and parked.  At night, Admiral Cunningham decided to send the destroyers into action and risk a night battle with the main fleet in order to destroy the wounded Italian battleships and cruisers before they came within the cover of aircraft taking off from their home coast bases.  While sailing in the darkness, he unexpectedly launched an attack on two Italian cruisers, Fiume and Zara, both armed with eight-inch guns, rushing to Pola's aid.

    At close range, the "Fiume" was immediately overwhelmed by broadside salvo fire from the 15-inch cannons of the "Wortspread" and "Valiant" ships, and was sunk.  The "Zara" was besieged by three British battleships and was immediately burned in a raging fire.

    After this battle, Mussolini no longer dared to easily challenge Britain¡¯s sea control in the Eastern Mediterranean.

    Before this naval battle, allied armies had successively arrived in Greece for support.  In order of boarding, the dispatched troops to Greece included the British 1st Armored Division, the New Zealand Brigade and the 6th Australian Division.  These forces are fully equipped with weapons from other Middle Eastern forces.  Next heading for Greece were the Polish Brigade and the 7th Australian Division.  Troops began operations on March 5.  The plan was to hold the Aliakmon Line from the mouth of the Aliakmon River through Foria and Edessa to the Yugoslav border.

    The Allied forces will cooperate with the Greek troops deployed on this front.  At that time, most of the Greek army, about 15 divisions, was in Albania, facing off against Berat and Vlore, which they had not been able to conquer.  They repelled an offensive launched by Mussolini on March 9.  The rest of the Greek army, consisting of three divisions and the frontier corps, was in Macedonia, and General Papgos refused to withdraw them.  Therefore, as soon as the German army attacked, they fought for four days and were defeated.

    The 19th Greek Motorized Division that followed was also annihilated or dispersed.

    The British Air Force in Greece had only seven squadrons of 80 combat aircraft in March, and operations were greatly affected due to a lack of landing sites and poor signal communication.  Although a few reinforcements were sent in April, the RAF was still vastly outnumbered by the enemy.  Two of the squadrons operated on the Alba front; the remaining five squadrons, supported by two squadrons of Wellington bombers brought in from Egypt for night operations, had to meet all other operational requirements.  Facing them was a German and Italian air force with more than 800 combat aircraft.

    In the early morning of April 6, Hitler and Mussolini jointly attacked Greece and Yugoslavia, and at the same time launched a fierce air attack on the port of Piraeus.  The transport fleet of the British Expeditionary Force is unloading cargo at the port.  The British ship "Fraser Clan" anchored at the port dock was carrying 200 tons of explosives. The ship exploded and almost completely destroyed the port.  This air attack alone caused the loss of 11 British and Greek ships, totaling 43,000 tons!

    Since then, the Allies have continued to maintain military supplies from the sea under increasingly large-scale air raids, but no effective measures have been taken to deal with the enemy's air raids.The arrow is on the string.  In the Balkan countries, the fascists can gather 315 long-range bombers, 60 twin-engine fighters, 240 dive bombers and 270 single-engine fighters for various purposes; the enemy may drop paratroopers or airborne troops in the first attack  Three to four thousand, and there might be two or three raids a day from Greece, and three or four raids from Rhodes, all covered by fighter planes.  There would be heavy bombing before the air and sea forces could arrive, and a sea attack would be carried out.

    Churchill immediately telegraphed the above situation to General Wavell, the British Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East, asking him to strengthen combat readiness, hold on to the island, and prepare to eliminate a large number of enemy paratroopers; and recommended that the British General Staff Headquarters appoint General Freiberg as the commander of the Crete garrison.  .

    Bernard Freiberg has known Churchill for many years.  During World War I, he went through hardships as a young volunteer in New Zealand and came to England.  Churchill, then Secretary of the Navy, appointed him a naval lieutenant in Camp "Hood".

    During the war, he repeatedly made outstanding military exploits. Therefore, during the four years of fighting on the front line, he was promoted to brigade commander. At the critical moment when the German army launched the summer offensive in 1918, he was appointed as the commander of all troops holding the frontal gap in Bayel.  Commander, the number of troops is almost an army.  The Victoria Cross and the Order of Merit with two gold threads, as well as 30 scars on his body, mark his outstanding achievements.

    The geographical situation of Crete does make defense very difficult.  Its only road is on the north coast.  Once this road is cut off by the enemy, the Allies cannot mobilize their reserve forces to the threatened strongholds at any time.  From the south coast to the north coast, there are only some small roads from the south coast to the north in Sfakia and Timbaki, which are not suitable for motorized transport vehicles.  When the relevant military leaders began to feel that the crisis was coming, they tried every possible means to deliver reinforcements, supplies and weapons, especially artillery, to the island, but it was too late.

    During the second week of May, German and Italian air forces, flying from bases in Greece and the Aegean Sea, effectively imposed a daytime blockade of Crete.  They attack all ships coming to and from the island, and blockade the north coast, the only port with a particularly tight seal.  In the first three weeks of May, 27,000 tons of important weapons were shipped to Crete, but less than 3,000 tons reached the island. The rest of the supplies were either forced to be turned back or were lost on the way.

    The forces participating in the defense of Crete are very weak, with a total of only 28,600 troops from all sides.

    ??The German Eleventh Air Force Corps will participate in the attack on Crete. About 16,000 people will be airdropped and landed, and another 7,000 people will land from the sea.  In addition, the Eighth Air Force Corps provides air support.  The number of aircraft that can participate in combat is: 280 bombers, 150 dive bombers, 180 fighters, 40 reconnaissance aircraft, 100 gliders, and 530 "Junkers-52" transport aircraft, a total of 1,280 aircraft.

    The fierce battle in Crete breaks out!

    <a href="www.piaotia.com</a>" target="_blank">www.piaotia.com</a>" target="_blank">http://www.piaotia.com">www.piaotia.com</a>
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