> The Battle of Crete was one of the biggest British foulups of the war. <
Perhaps true on the German side as well. The Crete invasion cost the German paratroopers so many casualties that Hitler (unwisely) prohibited any further airborne actions.
And as a side point, I’m okay with this German apology. There well could be people still alive who knew some of the victims.
What doesn’t make sense is issuing an apology for something that happened a century or more ago. So Crete, yes. Slavery, no.
Invasion of Crete: a Bloody Mess - WW2 - May 23 1941
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqv3IILkIqQ
I’ve been binge watching these over the past few weeks, and this one was fresh in my mind.
Most notable thing from the video is that Max Schmelling was a paratrooper who participated in the invasion of Crete.
Perhaps true on the German side as well. The Crete invasion cost the German paratroopers so many casualties that Hitler (unwisely) prohibited any further airborne actions.
Also, it is true that the Cretan civilians were pretty brutal on the Germans when they first landed on the island, so you’d have to think the reprisals would be a foregone conclusion.