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Posted on 05/27/2003 5:33:55 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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an overview The Battle for Crete in May 1941 is the most dramatic battle in which New Zealand forces have participated. For twelve days, with British, Australian and Greek troops, assisted by Cretan civilians, they battled to repel airborne assault on a scale never before attempted. They almost succeeded. There was a very narrow margin between success and failure for both sides, especially in the first two days. Ultimately the battle ended in defeat for the Allies, but its impact was lessened by the successful evacuation of many of the non-Greek defenders.  New Zealand troops were present in Crete because of their involvement in the preceding campaign on the Greek mainland, to which the Second New Zealand Division had been committed along with an Australian division and British units. When the Germans attacked on 6 April, they had quickly outflanked the Commonwealth defences. The Allies conducted a skilful withdrawal down the peninsula and most were taken off by the Royal Navy in the last week in April. Two brigades of the New Zealand division were among the evacuated troops who were landed in Crete. It was expected initially that this would be merely a temporary sojourn, and that they would very shortly follow the other New Zealand brigade to Egypt. But this not to be.  There were two main reasons. First, the German intention to invade the island quickly became apparent, and it was feared that the assault would come before the troops could be taken off. The sensible course appeared to be to use the troops already on the island to defend it. Second, the authorities in London at least were tempted by the possibility of inflicting a humiliating defeat on the invaders, who were known to be planning an airborne assault on the island. Their confidence rested on the very full information about German intentions they were obtaining from deciphered German signals — the so-called Ultra intelligence. Perhaps in no other battle have the defenders been so well informed about their adversary's intentions. Because paratroopers would be vulnerable in the early stages of an attack, the removal of the element of surprise made a crucial difference. On 30 April 1941 Major-General Bernard Freyberg, the commander of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force and a legendary hero of the Great War (he had won a VC on the Somme in 1916), was given command of the British forces on Crete (Creforce, as it was styled). He was given a monumental task, for little had been done previously to put the island in a state of defence, largely because of the demands on scarce British resources elsewhere in the Mediterranean theatre. Freyberg set about trying to overcome some of the many deficiencies. Although there were substantial numbers of troops on the island — far more than the Germans anticipated — most of the evacuated units had reached Crete with little more than their personal weapons. Some tanks and guns arrived, but the garrison lacked adequate air support.  Major-General Bernard Freyberg, Commander of CREFORCE Airfields had been constructed at Maleme and Retimo to support the aerodrome at Heraklion, but only limited forces were available to operate from them, and they were soon fighting heroically against overwhelming odds when the Luftwaffe began to operate in strength over the island. The remnants of the airborne forces would be withdrawn just before the invasion but, because of hopes in Cairo that air forces would be available later, Freyberg was forbidden to render the airfields inoperable — a crucially important omission. For the Germans, the capture of Crete would complete the Greek campaign. Its seizure might have opened the way for German assaults on other key British possessions in the Middle East (though the conquest of Malta would have been more important in this regard). But in fact German intentions were essentially defensive rather than offensive. Crete was to be secured in order to buttress the flank of the massive offensive Germany was preparing to launch against Russia in June 1941. In particular, German possession of Crete would prevent the British using it to mount long-range bombing raids on the Romanian oilfields, so vital to the German war effort. It would also make it more difficult for the British to penetrate the Balkans.  When the assault began on 20 May, the initial German focus was on the airfield at Maleme and the Canea area. The glider-borne troops and paratroopers were badly mauled where they landed in or near the defenders, and were rapidly eliminated. But in two areas the Germans got a foothold — west of the airfield at Maleme, where substantial forces had come down in undefended territory west of the Tavronitis river, and in what became known as Prison Valley in the Canea sector. The concentration of Germans in the latter presented a latent threat from the outset, but it was the Maleme area that would prove the key point in the battle, though the invaders were at first prevented from seizing the airfield. On the afternoon of the first day the second wave of the German assault went in with landings at Retimo and Heraklion. The aggressive reaction of the defenders ensured that the Germans could make no progress towards seizing the airfields. By nightfall, therefore, none of the German objectives had been secured. The risky plan — attacking at four separate points rather than concentrating on one — seemed to have failed and there was despondency at the German headquarters in Athens. In a mood of mounting desperation, it was decided to throw everything into the Maleme sector the next day. Without the airfield reinforcement would be impossible, unless a seaborne operation also being mounted succeeded.  This decision was vindicated when, next morning, it was found that the New Zealand infantry battalion defending the airfield, and the key high ground overlooking it (Point 107), had withdrawn. Effectively the airfield was in German hands, even if it was still under artillery fire. In the evening transport planes began trundling in, bringing elements of a mountain division. The airfield was soon littered with wrecked aircraft, but the mountain troops, who went straight into battle after landing, soon began to tip the balance the German way. German dominance in the air left the defenders struggling against impossible odds. On the night of 21-22 May Creforce, aware that failure to regain the airfield would probably spell defeat, mounted a counter-attack by two battalions. Because of continuing concern about the possibility of a seaborne landing — removed, ironically, by the Royal Navy that night as the troops waited to go forward — this attack was mounted in insufficient strength and too late to have any real chance of success. Its failure effectively dispelled any hopes the Allies might have had of defending the island. In the next few days the defenders pulled back to the east to avoid being outflanked, and the weight of German attacks steadily increased.  Reluctantly the authorities in London agreed to evacuate, and the western elements of Creforce pulled back to Sfakia, from where about 16,000 troops were taken off over four nights. A separate evacuation took off the non-Greek defenders from Heraklion (though many were killed in bombing attacks en route to Egypt). About 5000 men capitulated to the Germans at Sfakia on 1 June — joining another 10,000 taken elsewhere. Of the 7700 New Zealanders among the island's defenders, 671 were killed, 967 wounded, and 2180 captured in the brief campaign. The Royal Navy suffered even higher casualties than the troops on land — more than 2000 men were lost during the operations to supply the defenders, to prevent the seaborne reinforcement and to effect the evacuation. But so heavy were the casualties inflicted on the German paratroopers that they were never again used in an airborne assault on the same scale. Many of the Allied prisoners left behind on the island when the evacuation ended took to the hills or later escaped from captivity. They roamed the island, sometimes for years, seeking a way off. Many escaped to Egypt on small boats or were picked up by submarines. Some were later sent back to Crete to foster resistance among the Cretans, who took great risks to succour and hide Allied personnel throughout the occupation. Many paid with their lives for such actions.  With the benefit of hindsight, the loss of Crete can be seen as a blessing in disguise for the Allies. The German attack on Russia soon afterwards dispelled fears that the Germans would use the island as a staging point to attack other Allied possessions in the eastern Mediterranean. Even so, the German-Italian forces in North Africa came close to success in 1942. Had the Allies had the distraction of supplying and defending Crete the balance might well have tipped the other way. When the German offensive was halted before Moscow in late 1941 there was some exaggeration of the importance of the delay on the German timetable caused by the Balkan campaign. To be sure the date of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia, had been put back following the coup d'état in Belgrade which precipitated the German onslaught in the Balkans, but a late thaw in eastern Europe would have delayed the Russian invasion in any case. Moreover, the German preparations for the invasion were not seriously hindered by the operations in Greece and Crete. The Battle for Crete is to the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force what Gallipoli was to its Great War predecessor. In both campaigns New Zealand troops faced their first major test of battle, and came through with flying colours. In both, defeat and evacuation was the ultimate outcome. The much shorter battle in Crete remains of enduring significance in New Zealand because of the key role of New Zealand troops in the island's defence scheme, and because it was such a narrow defeat. Click the link The Battle for Crete Today's thread is dedicated to Freeper U S Army EOD's relatives who served with the New Zealanders in this battle
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SAM I found this story fascinating!
Thank you US Army EOD for bringing it to our attention.
I briefly checked out the links and I see there are accounts of biographies available. I bookmarked them for later research. I'd love to read some stories about those that I quoted from above, wandering the island and/or escaping.
Thanks for working it in SAM!
Another page for you:
"Die Schlacht um Kreta: Traditionspflege bei der Bundeswehr"
Papa Ramcke:
Bernhard Hermann Ramcke was born on January 24th 1889 into a family of farmers. He decided not to follow in the family trade but instead joined the Navy. Ramcke fought on the Western Front in WW1 as a Marine Infantryman. He took part in the fighting at Flanders and was awarded both Iron Crosses. In 1918 he was awarded the Imperial Prussian Service Cross and promoted to Leutnant. He ended WW1 as an Oberleutnant and remained in the post war 100 000 man army of the Reichswehr.
He was promoted to Hauptmann on February 1st 1927, Major on September 1st 1934 and Oberstleutnant on March 16th 1937. On July 19th 1940, Ramcke was transferred to the 7th Flieger Division and on July 31st joined the Fallschirmtruppe and was awarded the parachute qualification badge at the age of 51.
He first served in a parachute replacement Battalion and tried everything in his power to procure heavy weapons for the 7th Flieger Division. It was only after promotion to Oberst and command of the battalion did he manage to obtain his request.
Ramcke took part in the planning of troop employment in the forthcoming operation to invade Crete. He did not fly into Crete on May 20th but was chosen by General Student to drop into Maleme on the 21st. The commander of the Sturm Regiment, Oberst Meindl had been seriously wounded on the first day of the invasion and Group West lacked a capable commander to carry on with the momentum of the attacks at Maleme. Maleme had now become the primary objective of the invasion.
At 1800 on May 21st, Ramcke and 500 Fallschirmjäger reinforcements dropped into Crete west of the Tavronitis and east of the airfield at Maleme. Upon landing, Ramcke was briefed on the current situation by Oberleutnant Göttsche, the Nachrichtenoffizier of Luftlande Sturmregiment Stab.
Oberst Meindl had been evacuated, many of the Sturm Regiment officers had been killed or wounded in the fighting. However, there was some good news. Maleme airfield had been captured but enemy artillery spotters were dug in on the slopes of Hill 107, which overlooked the airfield and were directing fire on to the airstrip. One assault group was about to launch an attack on Hill 107 and the first of the JU52's carrying the badly needed Mountain Troops had just landed, although under heavy artillery fire. Once grouped, the Gebirgsjäger were ordered to head south and outflank the enemy positions. Two battle groups of Fallschirmjäger were ordered eastwards to try and break through to Group Centre at Chania.
In the evening of the 21st, Ramcke was informed that the assault on Hill 107 had failed. Hours later he was informed that the seaborne armada had been destroyed whilst en-route to Crete.
Overnight on 21st/22nd, the NZ defenders on Hill 107 withdrew from their positions fearing they would be outflanked. The empty positions were found early morning on May 22nd. More and more JU52's began to land on the airfield at Maleme, no longer under artillery fire. The Gebirgsjäger commander, General Ringel, landed on the 22nd and Ramcke handed over command of German forces in the west of the island. He then joined his battlegroups who had broken out to the east and took part in the fierce fighting for the Platanias Ridge, which overlooked the northern coast toward Chania.
During the night of 24th/25th. Ramcke's forces broke through to Oberst Heidrich at Galatos. The New Zealand defence line was smashed by Stuka dive bombers and the way to Chania was open. The town fell on May 27th. Ramcke was appalled at the atrocities carried out by the Cretan population and ordered many reprisals. Villages where mutilated bodies of Fallschirmjäger were discovered were raised to the ground.
Operation Mercury ended on June 2nd and on the 18th Ramcke returned to his replacement battalion to teach the men valuable lessons learnt on Crete.
On August 1st 1941, Ramcke was promoted to Generalmajor. On August 21st, Ramcke was ordered to Görings HQ at Goldap in East Prussia and presented with the Knights Cross. In early 1942, Ramcke served briefly with the Italian Army before being recalled to Berlin with new orders.
Rommel had asked Berlin for reinforcements to be sent to North Afrika. Early in the summer of 1942, General Student received orders to form a Fallschirm-Brigade to be sent to Afrika. Ramcke was given command of 4 Jäger Battalions, an Artillery Battalion and a Signals & Pioneer Platoon and an Anti-Tank Kompanie, to be known as Fallschirm-Brigade Ramcke.
They arrived in Afrika in July 1942 and were to be used to exploit any gap in the El Alamein line and break through to the Suez Canal, the British lifeline to the far-east. Montgomery launched a counteroffensive in October 1942, which successfully broke the Axis line. The Ramcke Brigade were threatened with being cut off and surrounded. Due to the lack of transport, Ramcke's men had to march back toward the German lines but the line had moved due to increasing British pressure. As far as the German command was aware, the Ramcke Brigade was missing in action. Whilst marching across the desert Ramcke's men intercepted and captured a British 8th Army supply column and the trucks were used to drive through the British lines and back to the safety of German held territory.
Ramkce was then posted back to Germany and was given command of FJD2. On November 13th 1942, he was informed that he was the 145th recipient of the Oakleaves to the Knights Cross.
FJD2 was being raised in Brittany, France from remnants of his Afrikan Brigade and veterans of the eastern front. It was subordinated to the German 7th Army until May 1943 when it went to Southern France, subordinated to General Student's XI Flieger Korps.
When the Allies invaded Sicily in July 1943, FJD2 was put on standby south of Rome. When the Italian Army capitulated in September 1943 it was FJD2 who restored order in Rome. Units from the Division carried out 4 air assaults whilst in Italy.
On September 9th, II/FJR6, parachuted onto Monte Rotondo north east of Rome to capture the Italian general staff. On September 12th, I/FJR7 landed in gliders on the Gran Sasso to rescue Mussolini. On September 17th, III/FJR7, parachuted onto the island of Elba to capture the Italian garrison stationed there.
After order had been restored, FJD2 assumed coastal defence duties until early November 1943 when it was mobilized for Russia. The division arrived in Russia between November 17th-27th minus 3 battalions, (On November 12th, I/FJR2 parachuted onto Leros. 2 other battalions were still committed in Italy).
The division took up position near the Russian held town of Zhitomir and whilst in Russia the division suffered heavy casualties. Ramcke left the division on two occasions and rejoined them again in March 1944. He returned to Berlin before the division was withdrawn from Russia to Cologne in May of that year when he resumed command.
The losses to FJD had been appalling, it would be the last time that Ramckes division would fight in Russia. On June 13th, FJD2 was ordered to move to Brittany to defend against further allied airborne assaults. The divisions FJR6 had been operation in Normandy since May 1944 and had taken heavy casualties in the Cotentin Peninsula.
The division suffered heavily in its transit to Brittany. Allied aircraft ruled the skies above Normandy and Brittany and the French Resistance movement was attacking any German units they could find.
On August 3rd, elements of FJD2 were attacked at Avranches. On August 5th, the divisional recon battalion was almost destroyed near Gouarec. FJR7 saw fierce fighting at Hulegoat and suffered heavy casualties.
On August 8th, US forces approached the town of Brest and demanded their surrender. When FJD2 arrived, Ramcke took command of Brest as senior officer and when the fighting continued Ramcke found his forces were facing 3 US armoured divisions and constant attacks by resistance units. Ramcke successfully managed to evacuate 40 000 civilians from the Brest area before new American assaults began on August 20th.
On September 1st, Festung Brest was completely surrounded. The gauge of the fighting at Brest can be measured by the amount of Knights Crosses that were awarded. 7 Knights Crosses were awarded with many recommendations. 6 of these were to men of FJR7.
On September 13th, Ramcke was again asked to surrender by US General Middleton. Ramcke refused and the fighting continued unitl September 19th, when American forces reached Ramcke's command bunker. General der Fallschirmtruppe Bernhard Hermann Ramcke surrendered Fortress Brest and resistance ceased in the evening of the 19th, the same day he was awarded the Swords (99th Recipient) & Diamonds (20th recipient) to the Knights Cross.
Ramcke was shipped to the USA as a POW and later to England and France. In France he managed to escape from captivity but soon gave himself up. He was given an additional 5 years sentence , which was subsequently dropped. Ramcke's only wish whilst in captivity was that his men were fairly treated. He had always been affectionately called "Papa" by his men.
On his release, Ramcke returned to Germany and died on July 4th 1968 at Kappeln in Northern Germany.
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 Lt. Cmdr. Ron Stinson, hugs his 20 month old daughter, Tawny, Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va. Stinson's fighter squadron, VF-32, returned with two other squadrons off of the U.S.S. Truman which took with the war in Iraq.(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)  Lt. Cmdr. Matt Gregor, from fighter squadron VFA-105, greets his wife, Andrea, after a six month deployment, Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va. Gregor's squadron which was based on the U.S.S. Truman, took part in the Iraq war. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)  Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Mamac shares a moment with his wife, Claudia, his daughter, Avigail, 2, and son, Joseph, 8, shortly after disembarking from the USS Constellation on Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Constellation, which is returning from a seven-month deployment that included missions in support of the war on Iraq, is scheduled to leave for its home port on Tuesday. (AP Photo Ronen Zilberman)  Naval officer Mark Revels shares a moment with his wife Stacy shortly after disembarking from the USS Constellation, Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Constellation, which is returning from a deployment that included missions in support of the war on Iraq, is scheduled to leave for its home port of San Diego, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman)  Officer James Crawford shares a moment with his sons Carlos,4, right, and Joseph, 2 ,shortly after disembarking from the USS Constellation on Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Constellation, which is returning from a seven-month deployment that included missions in support of the war on Iraq, is scheduled to leave for its home port on Tuesday. (AP Photo Ronen Zilberman  Gerald McMurray and wife Susan share their first kiss after Gerald disembarked from the USS Constellation on Thursday, May 22, 2003, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Constellation, which is returning from a seven-month deployment that included missions in support of the war on Iraq, is scheduled to leave for its home port on Tuesday. (AP Photo Ronen Zilberman)  Anita Rouse spots her son Robert, a U.S. Marine, on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman as he returns home on the nuclear-powered ship to the Norfolk Navy Base in Virginia May 23, 2003 after almost six months deployment in the war against Iraq. More than 8,000 sailors from the ships and squadrons that comprise the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group returned home today from action in the Mediterranean Sea. REUTERS/Jason Reed  Four-year-old Alexis Kipta, from Beaufort, South Carolina shivers in the wet and chilly conditions on Pier 14 of the Norfolk Navy Base in Viringia, May 23, 2003, as she waits for her father John to return home aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Her father spent almost six months on deployment in the war against Iraq. More than 8,000 sailors from the ships and squadrons that comprise the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group returned home from the Mediterranean Sea. REUTERS/Jason Reed  U.S. sailor Michael Numez kisses his girlfriend Telly upon his return home aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman at Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia, May 23, 2003, after almost six months deployment in the war against Iraq  Audys Perez (C) from Orlando, Florida, kisses his four-and-a-half month old daughter Isabella for the first time alongwide his wife Diana (R) upon his return from almost six months duty aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman which returned to Norfolk Navy Base, Virginia May 23, 2003.
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Homecoming
 Executive officer on USS Donald Cook, Keith Wheeler holds his daughter, Peri as the USS Donald Cook returns to its homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, May 23. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 2nd class Susan C. Milton  A Navy wife and mother holds her nine-month-old child, while waiting in the pouring rain for her husband to arrive home from a six-month deployment aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Harry S. Truman, Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3), and ships assigned to her Carrier Strike Force, played a key role in successful combat missions supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They are the first Atlantic Fleet aircraft carrier to return from the campaign that liberated the people of Iraq from the regime of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Shawn Eklund  Shortly after his return from a six-month deployment with the USS HAWES, Gas Turbine System Technician (Electrical) Second Class Richard Brittanham stands with his mother, Shirley Hooper, before local television news camera crews covering the massive homecoming event, May 23, 2003. The USS HAWES was on a six-month deployment with the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN battlegroup to the Mediterranean Sea in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Mark A. Martinez  Lieutenant Commander Jim Conway, assigned to the ÒSwordsmenÓ of Fighter Squadron Thirty Two (VF-32) greets his 3 month-old daughter for the first time during the squadronÕs homecoming. VF-32 is returning home from deployment aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate Airman Charles A. Ledbetter.
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