World War II: The Battle of Crete - Full Documentary

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On May 20th, 1941, Hitler launched history’s first ever airborne invasion, when German paratroopers landed on the island of Crete.
During the next ten days, the 22,000 ‘Fallschirmjäger’ systematically and at a great loss of life, drove over twice that number in allied troops from the island. This film chronicles in a fascinating day-by-day account, that momentous campaign.
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[@dimitriskatsoulis4986]

A few kilometers outside of Rethymno there is a small village where german paratroopers landed on the first day of the invasion. Local greeks defended their land bravely, having no military weapons at all, only one shot hunting rifles, axes and rakes as most of them were farmers. Not one of the germans landed on the ground alive! In 2008 I had the honor of participating in a military task force that paid tribute to the fallen greeks on that very same field. A local man who had fought on that day, left a basket of white flowers on the base of the statue for the fallen soldiers and sang a poem wishing rest and peace to eberybody who lost their lives that day, both greeks and germans...I remember looking at him...dressed in black, long bushy white beard, he was wearing his battle knife, shirt full of medals and was nearly 100 years old, a tiny, fragile old man still his voice was heard all over the hill when he sang the poem...I still got the chills whenever I remember that moment...

[@jansandman6983]

the germans might have been surprised if they had to fight a bunch of hoplites.

[@TonyMichaels166]

My grandfather served in Alaska during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. We get closer every day to losing our last living connections to this conflict.

[@NOnecesitosuscriptores]

tomar nota, CA-TE-TOS del partido ALTA-vox y secta del YUNKE cuando NO tengáis para COMER os vais a REÍR el doble bailando en TrIK TrOK saludos y SUuuuuERTE

[@scotttyson7970]

Thank you Sir for sharing that story with us .Cool

[@jasonjc9415]

My great grandfather Alfred James Ball died on HMS FIJI at the battle of Crete. Respect grandad.. I never knew you but am proud of you and the sacrifice you made.. rest in peace x

[@geenagr]

We are so thankful. God rest his soul.

[@somepersonmcsomebody7501]

Your grandfather was a brave man. He willingly went to battle knowing their was a risk, and he died a hero. May his soul rest in peace.

[@tomcheshire9599]

@@fritzlang4941 what?

[@fritzlang4941]

@@tomcheshire9599 ENG, FRA declared war on Germany first. Got it?

[@as3284]

A great thanks from greece for all those soldiers from uk and anzac that fought alongside with the greek army during the german invasion of 41 we are gratefull

[@ulinagele9811]

Thank you. At min 38.20 I saw my teacher, who served as a paratrooper during ww2 and was badly injured in Monte Cassino

[@mikebailey9566]

I tuned into this documentary because recently I was a civilian contractor at NSA Souda bay. I lived in Chania and came to be friends with several WW2 Greek partisans. Their stories of fighting German forces are certainly inspirational. But mostly I found as a whole the people to be delightful

[@gordonfrickers5592]

mine was a similar experience on Crete !

[@brankolisic1184]

Jes MSN grdan coment

[@tekis0]

Finally, the documentary on the Battle of Crete I've been looking for.

[@louistracy6964]

look for The 11th Day.

[@ZGKatman]

This very fine documentary omits the fact that fierce resistance from Cretan civilians and militias contributed to the heavy German casualties of the first two days.

[@benfried3745]

For those that complain about the long intro, when you see that it's Janson Media just go to 3:00. The German paratroops hit the ground very hard. Their canopies were only around 50 M2 compared to the 76 M2 ones we used. They also jumped from 100 meters, which is low. Thanks for the upload. These Janson Media docs are good

[@jebbroham1776]

It felt so damn good to set foot on this island when I was on deployment with the Navy in 2018. Everywhere I went in the town of Chania I could actually still see bullet holes in the walls of some street cafes and motels from the viscous street battles that were fought there. Later on that same day I got to snorkel off the coast on a lost JU-88 bomber that went down in the bay and it was an incredible experience! I could still read the adjustment and alignment markings on the landing gear axles even after 77 years of salt water submersion.

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

And to think it all happened 2 years before the US pulled it's finger out and stopped supplying industrial lubricants to Nazi Germany.

[@zionoca7602]

1(5

[@johnwilliams5466]

Where about was this I’d love to do the same when I’m over there

[@jebbroham1776]

@@johnwilliams5466 It was in Souda Bay not far off the coast from Chania on the island of Crete.

[@scotttyson7970]

Vicious Fighting evidence.

[@kenbrown1874]

Those who lost their lives fighting for crete,kristos anestis,brave people,proud people,your spirits are above the mountains,long live crete

[@alexmwangi2652]

Soul lives in either hell or heaven not mountain

[@ceohadenough894]

I'm proud of my grandgrand father

[@georgekoroneos3892]

Well I will grant you that but the point here is that metaxas the prime minister of Greece at that time had collected all kind of arms including of the population with the excused he claimed to be used against the Italians in the northern front therefore in my opinion if the population had the precious rifles & plenty of ammunition the Germans won't get things done so lightly any way as things stand the Germans got the kick in the pans was so hard that they never fully recovered from it & as you know afterwards grab men women & olds & saw no mercy as far as punishment can go yes we are brave. & notable people & for that reason they lost over 5000 men the best of the best .

[@mikehartsook5281]

THE PEOPLE OF CRETE FOUGHT GUERILLA WARFARE AGAINST THE NAZI'S, I THOUGHT I HEARD IT SAY THAT SOME OF THE DEAD GERMAN SOLDIERS BODIES HAD BEEN MUTILATED, DID ANYONE ELSE CATCH IT.

[@mikehartsook5281]

@@georgekoroneos3892 Yes they got the crap kicked out of them, some of the people of Crete formed a partisan army and let the nazis have it.

[@davedrewett2196]

My grandfather Pte Walter Drewett at 12:50 minutes smiling into the camera. This footage was actually taken after the fall of Bardia in Libya. He is standing next to Italian POW’s that he was guarding. He was in the 6 th division Australian imperial force. He did actually fight on Crete though.

[@shenghan9385]

God bless the Anzacs.

[@Chris_Intel]

I am from Crete too ,we know how brave anzacs soldiers fought and some of them died here .RIP to all of them!

[@cagogoca3878]

my grandfather was a Greek police officer and fought in battle of Crete too

[@Chris_Intel]

@@cagogoca3878 it was natural for a police officer to fight ,because all island's youth were in North Greece (North Ipeiros front) ,from the november of 1940. So all the remaining men of the island were mostly men over 35yo .My grandfather were in North Ipeiros ,he was 28yo at that time and he fought to Pindos sector ! RIP all our ancestors ,they did their duty ,no doubt about that ,as we shall do it if we must! LONG LIVE HELLAS !!! PS- Glad to meet you my friend !

[@cagogoca3878]

@@Chris_Intel Τα λες σωστά τιμημένοι είναι οι πρόγονοί μας και εμείς πρέπει να φροντίσουμε να τιμάμε αυτούς και την Ελλάδα μας. Χαιρομαι που βλέπω πατριώτες σαν εσένα

[@jholmzjholmz6592]

A very good perspective of what the battle for survival was like on Greece and Crete from a New Zealand perspective is 'Not Just Ordinary Blokes' and 'Stand Up for New Zealand.'

[@edpsdad8663]

My grandfather was among the Cretan civilians who fought back. His family had to leave their homes and into caves. Him and his brothers would leave the caves at night to sneak into the villages that they once lived in and killed and stole weapons of nazis in their sleep. Shortly after he fled to America on his own without knowing any English. Received zero recognition and rarely spoke of what happened. I’m sure there’s crazier details that he never spoke of. He passed when I was just 10 years old, i wish I would’ve gotten to know him. Sad that people like him don’t get honored, no one will ever know what he went through and overcame.

[@louistracy6964]

Me to kalo. I knew greeks who told me a little. It was a horror.

[@peteyk9391]

Thank you for this video. My father’s mother was one of TOO MANY innocent civilians murdered on Crete. But even today my extended family holds dear the bravery, strength, and wits our ancestors had to fight so hard for so long.

[@noobster4779]

well...many greek civilians made the mistake of killing german paratroopers in the initial landing. This was not only seen as partisan actions by the greeks, but also as exceptionell dishonorable and disgusting. When a bunch of esentially peasants killed your comrades with pitch forks while they were defensless most soldiers, arguable even today, would show little mercy. Oh yeah also partisans, by the international law at that time, where considered irregualr combatants, not soldiers, so the treatment of prisoners didnt count for them (not like the partisans treated their captives any better). The problem with civilians and partisans is that there is no actual way to stop them. The germans msot often tried, sometimes out of revenge or hate, sometimes out of simple lack of alternatives, to stop partisan activities by fear: If you kill one german soldier amount x civilians will get executed or if the partisan base is located (or assumed to be) the village close to it gets the punishment. After all it is hard to actually punish the partisans, because most often they id between civilians themself. When it comes to partisans and civiloans in WW2 it is basically war crime party by all sides. Even today fighting partisans/guerillias is very problematic, just look at afghanistan or the US drone programm. Drones take civilian death into account as "collateral damage" if they can chieve their goal of killing partisans/terrorists. Not so much different from WW2, just modern technology and a human distance form the act of killing. Good thing Europe is at peace. Nobody should want that catastrophe again

[@ABCBUGGYNZ]

@@noobster4779 It's simple ~ the Germans invaded Crete. The civilians did their best to stop them. End of.

[@josef1836]

@@noobster4779 what horse shit

[@roscoefoofoo]

@@noobster4779 So, if a brutal force bent on enslaving your country invades it, you should, what, make 'em tea? Enough disgusting justifications. The Nazi-licking on the internet really shows how sick so many twisted people are.....

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@noobster4779 wrong firstly according to international law at the either if you was wearing a handban or being lead by a person of uniform - any uniform it's should have been considered as clearly stating your alignment their for you should be treated like wearing uniform Secondly German troops was known to execute the officers During the battle of metaxas line German officers was often shooting pow NCOs - especially the ones that fought the hardest Thirdly where the flying fuck the internal laws state that you can burn to the ground villages force 13 years olds to pull the trigger against their neighbours and rape women with pieces of broken glass?

[@treebuzzard5796]

Some Aussie soldiers in Greece came across a German resupply box with the light codes for JU-52 to drop new supplies to their position & what supplies were needed, it was done by a torch with colour covers over the beam to indicate to the JU-52 what was required, this worked for a while where the Aussies were delivered German supplies to fight the Germans...another versatile way to fight a war.

[@coldwarsarge7592]

Great film! Thank you for sharing this and so many more!

[@MrWhiskers65]

It’s amazing that they were able to beat odds of 5 to 1 and battling troops in a defensive position as well?... Crazy!

[@BeyondWrittenWords]

Usually it takes a great numerical superiority of the attackers to beat the defenders, this is pure madness.

[@ethimself5064]

@@BeyondWrittenWords Yep, usually at least 3 to 1

[@manos527]

According to Wikipedia it was 2 to 1 with air superiority

[@TheYeti308]

The german's were real soldiers.

[@roscoefoofoo]

@@TheYeti308 No, they were butchers eager to brutalize fellow human beings into slaves and dust. As they did. Only a sick person admires or tries to justify that.

[@Wrlzbrmpft]

Nice documentation. There is, at least, one inaccuracy. The first group of 90 men, led by Lt. Genz (which is mentioned at 20:09 and later shown at 51:58 with Gen. Goering), did not drop by parachute. This group was transported in three cargo gliders, two of which had drifted off, so only one third of this group including Lt. Genz landed amidst an AA gun emplacement. Lt. Genz was awarded the knights cross later on for this operation. Why am I so sure about this? Well, he was my father, and on the occasion of the dedication of the German military cemetery in 1974 (where both his two brothers are buried (who both died on March, 20. 1941 near Chania)), we visited the site of his landing, and he told me first hand.

[@ZeigMal]

My grandfather piloted one of the DFS 230 gliders. He was one of the few to safely land his plane and eventually later leave Crete miraculously without a scratch. He was awarded a close combat medal ("Nahkamfspange der Luftwaffe") for his time on the island. Later, he was shot down in Ukraine and again survived, this time with a severe head injury. My father told me that years after the war, my grandfather still went into "spasms" (as diagnosed in the late 40's - today one would know it was PTSD) and smashed furniture around him in panic trying to defend himself. Knowing that at some point he said that in the end the weapon of choice was his folding shovel makes me dread what the poor bastards on both sides must have done to one another. My grandfather was 18 at the time of invasion... scarred and broken for the rest of his life.

[@nebojsanesic5326]

Japanese dive bombers (or maybe even torpedo bombers) attacking Crete alongside Ju52s (28.05) is yet another.

[@mikeexton5761]

Did your father ever tell you how he was able to speak English and where he learnt? From what I understand from his RK citation, he and his men were able to bluff their way through the allied lines by removing their helmets, and Lt. Genz claiming to be a “Captain Miller” when challenged by any sentries. Could your father speak English fluently and without an accent or has this story been exaggerated by certain historians?

[@TqFinax]

What is the name of the song at 50:50 ? Do you know by chance. If not can you write me some of the words and I will search for it using that.

[@Wrlzbrmpft]

@@TqFinaxHi, the name of this Fallschirmjäger song is „Rot scheint die Sonne“ (Red shines the sun).

[@wcstevens7]

Thank you for a most interesting series...Well done !!!!

[@andrewpendlebury1103]

Thankyou for posting JM,from a lover of Greece and its people.

[@jigheadtv9786]

andrew pendlebury Σ’αγαπω 😊

[@Sean-lv6fx]

Fantastic documentary with some great footage.

[@mcluvin28x]

Hermann Göring saluting his luftwafe pilots is pretty awesome footage, I kept replaying it for some reason lol

[@Pantelis_Psaroudakis]

my great grandfather was a priest living in a village in Chania the day the first invasion of paratroopers arrived. he told my grandfather later ( 3-4 years old at the time ) that he heard over the distance the sound of the engines, then the sky was slowly covered in airplanes and parachutes but a lot of germans were killed in the beginning. The civilians used even axes, rocks and whatever objects they could find to throw to paratroopers or to use them in close combat. my grandfather ( now 81 years old ) still remembers that day. He was out in an olive tree field and was collecting olives with a friend using nets on the ground. When they heard the airplanes and then saw the "falling men" as he called them, he hid with his friend under the net for countless hours. He doesn't remember how many. Dark times. Let's not relive them, my fellow humans, shall we?

[@Irene-iu9sj]

They called the paratroopers,men with umbrellas. Ομπρελατους ανθρώπους.

[@louistracy6964]

We don;t bring in olives in summer, file mou.

[@NathanChisholm041]

As a current serving Australian soldier id like to pay my respects to the ANZAC'S and all other serving forces including the civilian population that fought hard against the Germans with very limited equipment! Well done boys!!

[@ThanosNtounis]

Thank you ANZACS

[@fritzlang4941]

Must have been really bothering you, these Germans, that your fellas came all the way to Europe to fight them eh?

[@Chris_Intel]

WELL DONE ANZACS ,YOU HELPED US THE MOST AGAINST THIS HORRIBLE ENEMY ,WE MAY SUFFERED A LOT MASSACRES AND ESPECIALLY OUR CIVILIAN POPULATION ,BUT EVERYBODY WHO LOST HIS LIFE FOR SUCH AN HONORABLE CAUSE ,TO DEFEAT THE NAZI BEASTS AND CRIMINALS ,WILL HAVE OUR ETERNAL GRATITUDE !!!

[@wolfmuller6737]

Chris Ones more. The Young Fallschirmjäger and mountin rifles were NO "criminals" and no "nazi beasts".They were Young men, following orders. Before each Response of the Germans, soldiers were murdert in a absolute gruel and beasty way. Mostly after landing. The Fallschirmjäger after the jump were mostly unarmed. To murder mostly unarmed soldiers is no reason to be proud. Also the killing of civilists. Thats it. One question spec. for you: Why those german reaktions take no place in the greek mainland? Do you have a answer.?

[@fritzlang4941]

@@Chris_Intel Keep believing your anti-german propaganda, you utter mug.

[@lilliankeane5731]

That was great thank you, very interesting from different countries perspectives... Ive watched in twice in row! I will subscribe✌️

[@enyaw1948]

I think the intro was great! The videos used puts the 2nd World War gives a true perspective of how wicked this time was.

[@bobboothby9175]

By the time the intro is finished, the battle will be over.

[@behindthespotlight7983]

Outstanding archival footage. Fantastic documentary 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@Grivian]

The level of skill and tenacity of those German paratroopers was unreal

[@shanemcdowall]

Yes, those nazi arseholes were real good guys.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Most of them at the time was so green that when they first show a dead rotting body they started believe that the locals and the Maori troops was doing black magic or voodoo or something on them

[@Grivian]

@@Pavlos_Charalambous What does that even mean?

[@peterobbo7512]

On holiday in Crete 1985. Into a shop to buy sun lotion and the saleswoman was very frosty and hostile. Then she realised I was British and not German ( blond and blue eyes ). Her attitude changed instantly.. so friendly and trying to apologise for her previous attitude. I guess people don't forget in a hurry.

[@skillywillywonka4638]

Lmao lowkey kinda racist

[@dinerouk]

@@skillywillywonka4638 Yes, but in some cases understandable!

[@anthonymares5079]

@@dinerouk Still racist.

[@jordankashuba3467]

Racist? I don't understand? Lets say hypothetically I hate Canadians but I like Americans. To which visually reconginzed minority am I being racist toward? Because I hate people who look like The Weekend but like Jimi Hendrix But I like Justin Bieber but not Brad Pitt. Are you confused or am I?

[@duncanidaho2097]

@@skillywillywonka4638 -No you are using modern sensitivities to judge a people who had lived(and died) under Nazzi tyranny. I don’t blame her.

[@B-Durry]

my great grand uncle was in crete after going through northern africa fighting the germans there with the 28th Maori Battalion NZEF, he was from a very small country town in the far north of New Zealand my hometown, my uncles say he was the coolest uncle ever, he left for egypt in 40'. And unfortunately he was killed in action fighting in Northern Africa in 42' RIP Uncle

[@steveotene8137]

20 May 1941 was the Crete invasion my bro the battle went for about 10 or so days then the allies withdrew and left behind about 6-7000 men if which 2500 were New Zealanders. They spent the duration of the war in German prison camps.

[@B-Durry]

@@steveotene8137 yea sorry bro I've actually figured out he died in Northern Africa, as that's where he is buried now. I've edited now correctly. cheers

[@steveotene8137]

@@B-Durry correction our (NZ) boys never saw action in North Africa before the disasters in Greece and Crete... It was where our forces were based out of Maadi. Greece was our Division's baptism of fire, and they performed remarkably in some actions the kiwis one on one gave the German soldier a run for his money...🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿 Lest we forget...

[@zeelowsguys]

My Grandad was from Kaitaia he was captured on Crete...hard out respect to all who fought hard..chur bro

[@adrianjackson2696]

The Australians only mentioned twice here narrator, In one of the defensive position towns in the east the Australian were not defeated and they only surrendered when ordered to do so by the allied high command at the end. The Australians then moved down to the road and marched into captivity.

[@HighMaintenancePS]

The whole script here is English centric and frankly, misleading. Our force had almost no machine guns, our men arrived in a scramble from Greece. The British did not hold any belief in holding crete. This view was not shared by the ANZACS.

[@marypetrie930]

@@msteve2233 United Kingdom: 18,047 Greece: 10,258- 11,451 New Zealand: 7,702 Australia: 6,540 Total: 42,547

[@Gazeasss]

1st There was no normal Greek army in Greece 2nd the locals were the only people who fought brave And last the English left the island without a fight

[@TinusleRouxRSA]

Great footage, well made!

[@tillyjow8484]

The idea that the lose of Crete didn't effect allied ability to bomb Ploiesti is a joke. It was over two years before the oil fields could be attacked and only once the US joined the war. Even then the 2 attacks were considered pyric victories. It was the second-worst loss ever suffered by the USAAF on a single mission and its date was later referred to as "Black Sunday". If Crete hadn't fallen, the oil fields would have been, undoubtable, bombed much more often.

[@1copperfly]

Enjoy Nazism much ???

[@tillyjow8484]

@@1copperfly Ever try rational thinking much?

[@dinlobiscuit4611]

great compilation , I`m going to watch the Kursk one next and sub to your channel , cheers.

[@gordonfrickers5592]

40 years later I founds the Germans were still widely hated on Crete. We should remember as do the Cretans , not everyone is 'a nice guy' or like us. I also found the Cretans remembered and honoured the Allies who fought for them.

[@pithikoulis]

Germans did a lot of atrocities during the occupation including beheadings of civilians and genocides. So ofcourse it's hard to erase all that.

[@Irene-iu9sj]

My father,was out of his mind,when he first saw the statu of a German eagle,outside of the German cemeterie.if he could he would tear it down with his hands.Happily it went down from rust and time,about 30 years ago.I hope no one is going to fix it EVER!!!!!!

[@nomenestomen3452]

"..or like us (Britsh)". You have to laugh. Better read your own history.

[@MrBagpipes]

Greeks do remember German war crimes but they also remember how their supposed British allies turned on them long before the end of WW2. They also remember the behaviour of the UK in places like Kefalonia and Cyprus. And don't get them even started on the Greek Marbles. Let's not pretend Greeks revile Britons any less (or more) than Germans.

[@skillywillywonka4638]

@@Irene-iu9sj you and your dad a lowkey racist

[@tonystewart7146]

3 Main reasons the British and Commonwealth forces lost Crete. 1 Incompetent Commander in Chief. 2 Lack of Air support. 3 The defenders were ill armed and supplied. This is contrary to the opinion offered here. This was told to me by my Grandfather who was a Captain with the Australian 6th Division.

[@Idcanymore510]

@Superdude70 He was incompetent in this campaign. There is no excuse whatsoever for not counter-attacking the scattered German paratroopers at the start of the campaign. It was a textbook tactical situation and his forces outnumbered the Germans by a margin of nearly 10 to one (remember just the first and second waves had landed. It was a military blunder of the highest order and essentially lost the battle. That is by any definition incompetent leadership.

[@rangi4u]

Kiaora Mr Stewart,many have blamed Fryberg for the Fall of Crete,but if you read up on the battlle,youll find a couple of names Of Hargest,and Andrews,Puttick,(Hargest I find was incompetent,and should never ever been in charge of anything,so find and read ,you may find im not crapping on,Kiaora...

[@raginasiangaming910]

From an American paratrooper, respect to the Fallschirmjaeger of WW2. There's respect for those that pioneered airborne warfare, regardless of the uniform they wore. These men were tough, dedicated and brave and no ideology or national affiliation takes away from that.

[@oogdiver]

Bullshit. Would you defend a soldier who was a pedophile just because they were a paratrooper? Of course not. So don't defend Nazis because they were paratroops, that's just cretinous.

[@roscoefoofoo]

Wow, Ragin. You're okay with praising Nazi invaders and murderers? Didn't your American military training sink in a bit? Ingenuity and bravery put to evil uses is just..evil. Would you praise a sharp knife stuck into a child's guts for being sharp?

[@roscoefoofoo]

@@oogdiver THANK YOU for being a rare voice of sanity amid so many Nazi-lickers and Germany-admirers.

[@davecopp9356]

To all german soldiers of WW2: RIP and thank you for your service. You gave it all with honor and loyalty till the bitter end. Respect.

[@roscoefoofoo]

@@davecopp9356 The Nazi-licking around here never stops. Sickening. I just hope that such "people" give away their dogs and stay away from children....

[@motelluver945]

Excellent video . I very much enjoyed it.

[@moemonte88]

The introduction is so beautiful. The music is telling a story and so well put together.

[@maxmaddest9010]

Having read a bit about the invasion of Crete, the script for this documentary goes far too lightly on the totally inept leadership of the allied force,. They had tanks and heavy artillery at their disposal, the German paratroops could and should have been defeated if not on the first day, definitely by the second. They didn't even organize heavy shelling of the runways to prevent reinforcement, it was an utter shambles, none of the senior officers were fit to lead.

[@ws2228]

It really is mind blowing how inept they were. Good soliders, crappy leader.

[@Dodiwho1]

Lions lead by donkeys one brain cell straining to keep the stiff upper lip while watching misdirected Canon fodder over the usual cup of tea.

[@Athrun82]

There is a great quote from ancient times (I think it was Alexander the Great): 'I don't fear the lions led by a sheep I fear the sheep lead by a lion'.

[@ws2228]

@@Athrun82 I've never heard that one, thx.

[@SuperLdennis]

True but I didn't know that the Luftwaffe basically bombed them to bits. probably another one of those cases where the generals thought they were fighting a WW1 battle

[@jerrybuirski2344]

Hitler's insistence on invading Crete cost him most of his transport planes, and the paratroops were as far as I know never used in that role for the rest of the war.

[@Irene-iu9sj]

That's exactly the reason,for the delay,of the attack to the Russian front.then,the "old General Winter"helped the Russian army.If not for those hardly gained days,the war might end differently....

[@jacklang3314]

Believe they were used in Leningrad and Sicily.

[@noobster4779]

@@Irene-iu9sj Ehm no. General Winter defeating the Germans is a myth. In reality the germans "died to victory" in 41 during operation Barbarossa. Despite the huge victories the german loses were horrendous in 41 do to heavy soviet resistance. Just look up combat ready german divisions in 41 and 42. The german army went from 3/4 fully combat ready devisions to 3/4 divisions to be used in defencive actions.

[@skillywillywonka4638]

@@noobster4779 so it is a mith that all the tank tracks froze it rained badly there was mud everywhere and more soldieres froze then shot dead. Is that all a mith i dont think so. German troops didnt even have winter uniform and it was the coldest winter in 150 years

[@ConradJupiter77]

My heart goes out to all the men, women and children who lost there lives in WW2. May we hold accountable the leaders of nations as to never allow this type of thing to happen again.

[@janblackhurst1652]

Father-in-law and his brother were captured at Crete. Both survived the war.

[@jyesangster7172]

Wgfwitwstfuusb

[@johnconley3218]

My old man fought this battle. 2nd NZEF. 23rd battalion. P.O.W after it....Respect and love to the people of Crete. They fought like lions and our men were proud to fight alongside you.

[@RKalos]

Thank you for your support brother!

[@ChillakoC92]

New Zealanders and Australians fought like lions as well as if they were fighting for their own country and are not forgotten in Greece. There are memorials held annually for them alongside the fallen Greeks and not only in Crete. We owe you an everlasting debt.

[@dgmcc266]

Just watched a 3 part documentary show on Binge of the Battle of Crete. Bravery on both sides especially the ANZACS. They called it a smaller Gallipoli and Dunkirk. An amazing story and a shame its not more widely known. I have been lucky enough to travel to Crete .

[@kieronbevan7489]

My great uncle was taken prisoner there by a pair of shiny boots attached to an Austrian para. To his dying day he believed that the allies pissed that show right up. He lived in caves for a while and lots of officers left. He and is mates were under direct artillery fire in a ravine. That was when he threw in the towel and climbed up the ridge to be met by said shiny boots.

[@Kaegis]

If it were the Americans, they would not have retreated. Typical Royals.

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

@@Kaegis Ah yes the bravely neutral USA of 1939 to the end of 1941...

[@louistracy6964]

It was a farce as far as planning and logistics goes.

[@stevesick1]

Wow there’s a lot of film that I’ve never seen before in this doc… awesome

[@shdw713]

:) Thank you uploader

[@EricFapton]

Those were some badass paratroopers

[@martinkscott]

How brave were the cameramen during the war

[@louistracy6964]

most of this is not crete, but yes, they were

[@havanadaurcy1321]

And I still have strength to remember-great uncle at his last march. He, like my grandfather, lost all their unit in 30 years. He did Crete via Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

[@n.b.2164]

The background music is fantastic. It's eerie at times.

[@toddmoss1689]

Took balls of steel for those fallschirmjager to drop into a hot LZ outnumbered from the very beginning and fight off repeated counterattacks with minimal supplies and firepower. Whoever developed those intelligence estimates of commonwealth strength should have been court martialled.

[@theodorebennett7938]

Yeah, bad intel will 100% get you stacked like 90% of the time lol

[@shanemcdowall]

Americans got their arses handed to them at Kasserine Pass in 1942. Got thir arses kicked in Vietnam. Could not beat a Third World dump. The war in Ukraine shows just how impotent the US military are against an opponent that can fight back.

[@toddmoss1689]

@@shanemcdowall Dude, you understand that Kasserine Pass was the first American battle against the Wehrmacht. Are you familiar with Midway, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Omaha Beach, Pork Chop Hill, the Ia Draing Valley, and Desert Storm to name a few. If we’re invited into Ukraine, the Russians will pay dearly.

[@shanemcdowall]

@@toddmoss1689 Dude, heard of all of them. If you do not like having your country and your servicemen disrespected, then do not disrespect others. US will do nothing in the Ukrainian. Even Trump the Chump ain't that dumb. The US tried to halt Japanese aggression in 1941 with economic sanctions, in particular, oil. How did that turn out? Hint: Pearl Harbour.

[@toddmoss1689]

@@shanemcdowall I don’t disrespect others and you’re making false equivalences. The interwar period was far more complicated than you’re portraying it.

[@gordonfrickers5592]

Crete, a magic island, beaches, mountains, good food and drink, good folk, recommend to visit. One of my uncles was captured on Crete. He had a terrible experience as a German PoW. 40 years later I visited Crete. I saw German tourists turned away from several venues, much hated. I'm blonde... When word got round the village, not only am I English but an uncle fought on Crete, the locals treated me like family; very touching. Not everyone falls for the 'pc' rubbish that say most German soldiers were "just doing their duty". The Cretans remembered the Germans as bullys, arrogant, cruel, murderous sons of filthy **********.

[@zeelowsguys]

My Grandfather was captured on Crete I'm proud of him doing his duty for nz, but I'm ashamed at the atrocious behaiviour of what went on that has not been so well documented with regards to massacres etc

[@Bigsky1991]

I've been to Kreta many times. I accompanied the Deutsche Fallschirmjäger Ehrenwache as they performed the Kranzniederlegung at the Helden friedhof there. Kreta was the death of German Airborne operations. They were bled white there. After Kreta they only dressed like Paras.... it was an insanely costly adventure. The majority of the Combat footage shown were re-enacted by fresh troops that had not made the jump. The losses were horrific. The follow on Luftwaffe transport planes were literally skidding into each other and crashing in heaps at the main Airfield. Then huge amounts of the Gebirgsjäger that were sent to reinforce were sunk and drowned in the Med. It was a debacle. Then the Kretan civilians were murdering German soldiers, and this led to reprisals and executions. The few Kreta vets that Have met you can see it on their faces 60 and 70 years later.

[@davecopp9356]

To all german soldiers of WW2: RIP and thank you for your service. You gave it all with honor and loyalty till the bitter end. Respect.

[@thomassoifer7412]

I love the history keep it coming please😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃👀👀

[@PavLosTre]

The fact that MERE VILLAGERS fought and killed so many German soldiers with rakes and pickaxes seems unreal, much respect to the Cretan people..

[@MrMenefrego1]

It's almost like they didn't want them to visit their island! 👀

[@anthonymares5079]

The Cretan people paid a terrible price for their involvement in the battle as well.

[@MrMenefrego1]

@@anthonymares5079 Even before SS units came to Crete?

[@user-yf9ky3ji5b]

@@anthonymares5079 Creten people are very brave!

[@haroldfiedler6549]

I seriously doubt that many Germans were killed with clubs and pitchforks. It sounds like a pure propaganda embellishment. A few paratroopers may have been killed since it's pretty hard to defend yourself tangled in a parachute with not even a pistol for defense.

[@basilbrush8620]

THIS needs to be read, especially by the person who posted this.... Immediately after Crete fell, a series of collective punishments against civilians begun. Between June 2 and August 1, 195 persons from the village of Alikianos and its vicinity were killed in mass shootings known as the Alikianos executions.[94] On June 2, several male citizens from Kondomari were executed by a firing squad, with the shootings being captured on film by a German army war correspondent. On June 3, the village of Kandanos was razed to the ground and about 180 of its inhabitants killed. After the war, Student, who ordered the shootings, avoided prosecution for war crimes, despite Greek efforts to have him extradited.[95]

[@jessiepalm214]

Yeah the people were forming partisan groups. War has no rules and even the allies committed plenty of war crimes. So if you ask me the Germans did nothing wrong because if you're gonna ambush my soldiers and then try to claim that you were just civilian's is a oxy moron

[@jessiepalm214]

@zachie those fallschrimjagers fought hard and deserve to be honored and respected. Regardless if you agree on why they were there or not.

[@jessiepalm214]

@zachie it did when the partisans didn't man up and hid behind the civilian's. If they would have stepped forward there more than likely wouldn't of been any civilian deaths. The partisans were cowards and they hid behind the civilian's even though they were taking the brunt for their actions. So me being a German American I see why and how this led to a massacre. Americans did the same shit in veitnam man eventually if you don't wanna help them find those responsible then the punishment will be shared by all. Its war and it's ugly and this is the shit that ends up happening.

[@ABCBUGGYNZ]

@@jessiepalm214 Haha ~ yeah, the partisans were cowards. Good statement.

[@23scj]

@@jessiepalm214 perhaps not invading other sovereign nations would be a good start?

[@RichardFreeberg]

Must be the LONGEST intro to any documentary...

[@MidwesternCornbilly]

No kidding. It's 3 minutes long...WTF!!

[@Dan_1941R]

Richard Freeberg all of the War file series have the same intro

[@MidwesternCornbilly]

@@Dan_1941R Whoever came up with Fast Forward was a genius. That and the "Skip Intro" option..😂

[@metalmusic4958]

Gives time to reflect on what happened.

[@forrestmoore8453]

This is a part of a docu-mini series. So complain to the original makers.

[@tonyadams8043]

The commentator sounds like he's reading a bed-time story. Just managed to stay awake. Some good footage but many inaccuracies.

[@rickoshay6554]

@Tony Adams: I think I remember the voice from Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin.

[@billballbuster7186]

The last comment is a bit stupid, the German paratroops did not win the battle on their own. It was German air superiority that won the battle, they were able to bomb at will.

[@wolfmuller6737]

bill. Bombing was a part of the assault. If you know crete. You know, you see nothing from air. The Fallschirmjäger and mountin rifles won the battle by theyr own. It was the outstanding will of the soldiers., nothing else. Every other unit had surrender. Asp. the english.

[@221jono]

Correct...the Germans had about 300 planes and the Allies about 15!

[@wolfmuller6737]

John. What do you want to tell? The allies had artillery and tanks and mobility.

[@billballbuster7186]

The Germans used aircraft as heavy artillery stopping movement by day and inflicting mounting casualties on the Allies. No matter after Crete the Fallschirmjager losses had been so great they were never used again as airborne troops. Silly comment its like saying the Luftwaffe had no influence on the Blitzkrieg in 1940!

[@wolfmuller6737]

bill. Do you know how big this Island is? Do you know, how many german fighters/Bombers were part in the battle? There was never a rolling bombardment like in Normandy. In the first 3 days, the Germans had no knowledge, where theyr troops are on the ground. The Luftwaffe must fly from the greek Homeland. The first time, an airforce stopped a whole army and every supply was in Normandy 1944. Exampel. the british tanks were destroyed by the Fallschirmjäger, not by the Luftwaffe. The british lost by fighting superiority of the Fallschirmjäger/mountin troops. If the brits had made a Counter attack on day one, the battle was finished. What you also not know, same as mr. chapmann. The Luftwaffe fights TWO days of the battle only against the british fleet. They bomb 3 british cruicers and 6 destroyer to the ground. British losses. 2.000 dead. For you to know. The "bad" Germans resque about 500 british sealords with theyr own ships and naval Flyers. On the other side, many mountin troops , Swimming in the sea after sinking of theyr boats by br. navy ,were shoot by british spitfire. The Luftwaffe take Revanche. Thats Military history.

[@philipdukeauthor9627]

A very interesting video. Thank you for posting. My historical novel "The Village. A Novel of Wartime Crete" is set in the invasion and early occupation.

[@allgood6760]

Thanks for this Freyberg is an honoured name... thanks from NZ 👍🇳🇿

[@jeremy28135]

Isn’t it crazy how you can never really see any shrapnel in any WW2 footage? But yet it’s so there, and so deadly

[@havanadaurcy1321]

One of my grandfather's transcripts still remains to this very day: Sir, I request that you send *Private* home, he is complaining of shrapnel in left thigh (wasn't a doctor but worked with his soon to be brother in law and his unit). That man survived having the best nurse in the world (not an exaggeration, she was at that time)

[@clicheguevara5282]

My grandmother's brother was there as well. He was a paratrooper with the Wehrmacht and landed in Crete during the 3rd wave. He ended up in a POW camp in Italy at the end of the war. He was released in exchange for helping the Allies clear partisans out of the mountains. After this, he walked all the way back to Berlin to find our family still living in the ruins of their apartment.

[@chickentube2229]

Respect to the German's, hard fighting men. Shows the humanity in both sides. Today is ANZAC day in Australia, our Australian soldiers were there as well, fighting for their country. Many lives were lost from both sides. Respect to all honour bearing soldiers, regardless of which side. Lest we forget.

[@Mr667406]

Allan Snackbar I don’t get the point ?? What respect you re talking about about hard fighting men attacking,killing,plundering other countries ?? Past is past but please don’t glorify the aggressor!!

[@chickentube2229]

@@Mr667406 Germans where fighting for their country the same way the ANZACS where fighting for theirs. A soldier has no say in the politics of war, he takes orders and gets the job done. Despite Hitler and the attrocities of the Nazi regime there is no reason to dehumanize the German soldier for following orders. Most were just boys indoctrinated by the Hitler youth. Yes the military was the aggressor, but on a human level the men fighting those battles, the millions of Germans that perished had no say in the aggressive actions of their leader. Any man who fights with honour and distinction on the battle field deserves respect for having the courage to pick up a rifle and give their lives for their country. It's not as simple as 'Germany bad'. Their were attrocities committed by both sides, do you forget who developed weapons of mass destruction ? Do you forget that the United kingdom were the first to bomb civilian targets in Berlin ? War is not a simple case of good vs bad, the victors write the history books and write it in a favourable light for their culture and country. This shouldn't take away from the honourable actions of the ANZACs, what they did for their country, how they tried to fight off the Germans and served their country. I have more respect for ANZACs than I do Germans but that does not mean the Germans should be demonised simply for the actions and orders of one man. Underneath Hitler and the NAZI's there were thousands of men who just wanted to return home to see their family, bit we're drafted into war forced to fight and die for their country. There is no glory in war, but any man with the guts to pick up a rifle and fight for their country deserves a level of respect. The ANZACs knew how hard the Germans fought, they fought with pride and ferocity. I'm not trying to "glorify the aggressor" that is a very simple linear view of war which is a complex multi faceted conflict. Despite his Nationality being German the soldier fighting for the NAZI regime may still have been a good person, with belief in God and country who did what he thought was right. In my opinion it is wrong to demonize a soldier because of the side they fought for. Each man has their own beliefs of what is right and wrong and most of the time they're just taking orders.

[@Mr667406]

Allan Snackbar once more there is no honor killing unarmed civilians old man.woman and children. My self have served in the army and there is a code of conduct. Obeying orders is one thing, committing crimes is an other . Long story short story. The Germans are a extremely civilized nation but the problem they have is that they cannot challenge they superiors. The myth of the „ clean“ Wehrmacht has collapsed long time ago. When you tolerate crimes you are accomplishing. If the simple German soldier had reacted none of these things would’ve happened. Ultimately they paid the price for the hell their unleashed. To end this conversation im coming from a country which suffered 700,000 ( 10% of our population at that time ) deaths which was a direct and indirect consequences of WW2. So please spare me your theories of Honor and Dignity!! At your disposal for further clarification

[@papateras4212]

With other words he was filthy nazi who kill thousands of innocent people

[@SNP-1999]

The trouble with too many senior British and Commonwealth commanders at this stage of the war was that they were still mentally fighting the First World War. This included Freyberg - undoubtedly a very courageous man and an excellent commander of men, but his mindset pertaining to modern warfare was very limited. Hence, while being forewarned that the German attacks might come from the sea or air, he completely disregarded the possibility of an airborne assault and concentrated on defending Crete from an attack from the sea. To enable such a defence, his troops were distributed along the whole Northern coastline instead of concentrated on those areas around airfields, the first objectives in an airborne attack. The premature withdrawal from Meleme airfield by New Zealand troops was the begining of the end for the British defence of Crete. A tragedy because the Australians at Rethymnon and the British at Heraklion gave the German Fallschirmjäger a very bloody nose indeed and the battle was practically half won at that stage.

[@MsHburnett]

Yes Freyberg in retrospect was incompetent in managing the Crete campaign.per haps his decisions relied on senior approval before he could action offence fighting.

[@Idcanymore510]

At last an intelligent, cogent and well-observed comment. Far too many amateur historians posturing their ignorance on this thread.

[@Idcanymore510]

@@MsHburnett No, he had operational control once the battle started and didn't need authorisation from higher up the command chain to launch a local counter-attack.

[@Holy_hand-grenade]

What an absurdly long intro. Skip to 3:21 or so.

[@randywarren7101]

Are you people so stupid and insensitive? They're trying to get you to understand the crisis that at the time in history people were going through and dealing with! The decisions made and not made almost brought about the domination of the world by the Axis nations of Nazi Germany, Italy , and the Japanese Empire!

[@MadGnu]

My first thought exactly

[@mandarw100786]

@Ed Peters agreed... No one can understand which army whose... Difficult to differentiate for other county viewers

[@juddvance7721]

Thank you. Agreed. I wondered if there was any narration.

[@gerrylamb3780]

@@randywarren7101 I'm neither stupid nor insensitive and that intro was absurdly long!! I agree with Holy_Hand_Grenade_of_Antioch. Fucking ridiculous!

[@donaldjmccann]

I had the good fortune to talk to a man that was at this battle when he was only 15. He and his relatives suspected that the Germans were coming, so they blacked out their town and lashed together a number of boats all lit up to look like their Crete town. The paratroopers jumped into the reservoir and were drowned. He and his comrades killed thoses that had succeeded in shedding their equipment in an attempt to swim to safety. He was a very small man, but I saw in him the fierceness of the Greek soldier.

[@juppan]

They attacked during the day, didnt they?...

[@davecopp9356]

To all german soldiers of WW2: RIP and thank you for your service. You gave it all with honor and loyalty till the bitter end. Respect.

[@davecopp9356]

The Kretan civilians were murdering German soldiers, and this led to reprisals and executions.

[@gfoe_3376]

God damn everlasting intro!

[@polarvortex3294]

There seems to be some debate in the comments about whether or not the defenders had any tanks. Here is some info from After the Battle magazine's Facebook account, which speaks about an article in its 175th issue, called Matilda Tanks on Crete: "One crucial aspect of that battle was that the Allied defenders of the island - a conglomerate of British, New Zealand, Australian and Greek infantry units - had only very limited armoured support, consisting of just nine Matilda infantry tanks and a not much larger contingent of light Vickers Mark VI tanks. These tanks were distributed over the various defensive sectors set up on the island’s northern shore, the 7th Royal Tanks dispatching pairs of Matildas to bolster up the defences of the three airfields at Maleme, Rethymno and Heraklion and the 3rd Hussars sending its 16 Light Mark VI tanks to Heraklion and Canea. After the German airborne invasion had started, these tanks were all committed in various attempts at counter-attack, with mixed success. Several were knocked out, others bogged down, some were recovered and carried on fighting with improvised Australian crews, but in the end all those still operable after 12 days of battle had to be left behind in the final evacuation from the island." The actual article reveals, apparently (and remarkably, if you think about it), where every one of the Matildas involved in the battle met its end, as determined by the research of the co-authors of the piece. Hope this helped someone...

[@glutinousmaximus]

... It was a hard fought battle for the parachutists all the same. The force was broken up, decimated as they were and never to reform. War is a bastard for all involved.

[@Phantomrasberryblowe]

Adam Mangler The Battle of Crete it may be argued that it was a very shallow, pyrrhic victory. Over 6,000 Germans were killed or wounded and the overall casualties they suffered were over 25% of the forces they committed. This was the highest percentage casualties suffered by the German Army in a single action up to that point in the war. The Allied troops had little heavy equipment and the Germans had complete air superiority. *“In some ways, the fate of Crete was decided before the battle began.* The air assets available to the Luftwaffe *gave the Germans a thirty-to-one numerical superiority in aircraft over the Allies…* *….Instead of a quick, decisive battle, the Germans were locked into a ferocious fight for the island. Allied units performed heroically given their strength in numbers but inferiority in equipment. The Allies succeeded in inflicting heavy casualties on the Luftwaffe despite the fact that the Germans had the initiative, used elite troops, and possessed air superiority.“* Battle of Crete: Hitler’s Airborne Gamble. Biank, A. Maria Major The Germans were on the verge of pulling out. The paratroopers were literally being shot up. Freyberg and a New Zealand unit were supposed to be protecting an airfield but took a wrong turn as they were more worried about Germans coming from the sea not the air. This allowed the Germans to capture the airfield and land more troops. Psychologically it was a Nazi defeat: The Germans who fought in Crete or were engaged in its planning were totally demoralized. They were instructed by their superiors not to discuss the battle with other units in the future. Significantly, the Battle of Crete totally altered the course of future battle plans in the Eastern Mediterranean. Hitler was so stunned by the losses that he chose not to use the Herman Goering Division as a parachute unit again. Not having this division available as a parachute weapon would turn out to be devastating for Germany’s war efforts in the Middle East. General Kurt Student would dub Crete "the graveyard of the German paratroopers" and a "disastrous victory." It didn’t even mean very much in the end because the Royal Navy still dominated the eastern Mediterranean with Crete not leading to any campaign winning difference. Hitler, believing airborne forces to be a weapon of surprise which had now lost that advantage, concluded that the days of the airborne corps were over and directed that paratroopers should be employed as ground-based troops in subsequent operations in the Soviet Union.

[@philtucker1224]

I lost two uncles, Richard Dunn and his brother Sydney Dunn, fighting the Germans on Crete in WW2.

[@aungmyohtike]

Fallschirmjäger, I never knew properly about them. I only know them in Company of heroes game. Such heroes existed. Thank for wonderful documentary.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Heroes? They was murdering civilians and Maoris because they thought they was doing voodoo on them!!!

[@prismunit2]

Crete, the most heavily armed civilian population in the Mediterranean Sea to this day! Molon Labe!

[@obabas80]

True, Cretans love guns. They’re like the Texas of Europe lol.

[@klausbrinck2137]

The greek dictator Metaxas (a nationalist and fascist himself) has disarmed the population shortly before the war begann, in order to avoid a revolution against him, and with the excuse, that Cretans were too uncivilised for 20th-century-standards (!!!). Very little guns were owned by the civilians during the invasion, that was a great disaster for Cretans!!! Cretans never allowed again (in the future) the same mistake, to be taken their guns away ...

[@obabas80]

Klaus Brinck very true, good post. The Greeks as a whole have always been a rather bellicose people, and the Cretans seem to embody that attitude in a rather extreme way lol. However, globalism has also taken its toll in Crete, especially in recent years and has eroded even their staunch beliefs in self defense and right to bear arms.

[@TheYeti308]

@Calamity Are they allowed to buy ammo?

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@TheYeti308 wait they need to ask permission?? 😁😁😁

[@galapagos4154]

Çok teşekkür ederim

[@eddyalexiou9951]

humanity at it's madness - futile loss of life

[@biggstavros5876]

My Grandfather was captured on Crete and was sent to Stalag 4C.

[@rosrebel]

He survived ..fought at monte casino ...in Russia ...and finally on the Rhine .....

[@Crackshotsteph]

Watching this on the 19 of May 2020.

[@hrvojebozic614]

THIS LOOKS SENSATIONALLY GOOD who the hell had taped this from the both camps in the middle of the fierce shooting I mean look at some of these scenes it is amazing almost like they have some mini gopro cameras scattered all over the place even sound is decent

[@philtucker1224]

Yes and to think how big and heavy those early cine cameras were, quality is quite amazing..

[@dimasarayan2327]

SALUTE TO ALL SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT THIS WAR NEITHER SIDES ARE HEROS OF THEIR OWN PERSPECTIVES AND BELIEFS!!! NO MORE WAR!!LETS MAKE THIS WORLD PEACEFUL AND SAFE TO ENJOY OUR LIVES WITH!!

[@roscoefoofoo]

Yes, Nazis are just as good as anti-Nazis. Genocide is just as good as defending innocent people. No value is any better than any other. So why wish for peace, if no morality exists to call peace better than war? Gawd, the madness here!

[@shanetharle2090]

It was a magnificent tactical victory, considering that the allies have broken German code, and Churchill you know the time and date of the invasion of crete

[@havocgr1976]

Oh yeah Churchill knew, his troops and officers?Not so much, it was more important to keep it a secret.

[@Idcanymore510]

Also Freyberg made a serious tactical blunder at the beginning of the campaign by not attacking the disorganised and scattered German forces at Maleme airfield. This in effect cost the British the battle, even though they made the Germans pay a very, very heavy price for their victory.

[@Phantomrasberryblowe]

Shane Tharle The Battle of Crete it may be argued that it was a very shallow, pyrrhic victory. Over 6,000 Germans were killed or wounded and the overall casualties they suffered were over 25% of the forces they committed. This was the highest percentage casualties suffered by the German Army in a single action up to that point in the war. The Allied troops had little heavy equipment and the Germans had complete air superiority. *“In some ways, the fate of Crete was decided before the battle began.* The air assets available to the Luftwaffe *gave the Germans a thirty-to-one numerical superiority in aircraft over the Allies…* *….Instead of a quick, decisive battle, the Germans were locked into a ferocious fight for the island. Allied units performed heroically given their strength in numbers but inferiority in equipment. The Allies succeeded in inflicting heavy casualties on the Luftwaffe despite the fact that the Germans had the initiative, used elite troops, and possessed air superiority.“* Battle of Crete: Hitler’s Airborne Gamble. Biank, A. Maria Major The Germans were on the verge of pulling out. The paratroopers were literally being shot up. Freyberg and a New Zealand unit were supposed to be protecting an airfield but took a wrong turn as they were more worried about Germans coming from the sea not the air. This allowed the Germans to capture the airfield and land more troops. Psychologically it was a Nazi defeat: The Germans who fought in Crete or were engaged in its planning were totally demoralized. They were instructed by their superiors not to discuss the battle with other units in the future. Significantly, the Battle of Crete totally altered the course of future battle plans in the Eastern Mediterranean. Hitler was so stunned by the losses that he chose not to use the Herman Goering Division as a parachute unit again. Not having this division available as a parachute weapon would turn out to be devastating for Germany’s war efforts in the Middle East. General Kurt Student would dub Crete "the graveyard of the German paratroopers" and a "disastrous victory." Hitler, believing airborne forces to be a weapon of surprise which had now lost that advantage, concluded that the days of the airborne corps were over and directed that paratroopers should be employed as ground-based troops in subsequent operations in the Soviet Union.

[@TheYeti308]

@@Phantomrasberryblowe You must have Ultra clearance to ?

[@user-ms4ef8xz9t]

Hats off to the Vets below. It would have been a better documentary with a few maps thrown in.

[@RhodeIslandWildlife]

Well edited documentary, but points off for including Japanese Zeros in some of the air battle scenes. Make me wonder what other in accuracies are included.

[@allandavis8201]

Quite a few visual and script errors, no point repeating them as I have in the main comments section.

[@michaelwier1222]

First saw action on 10 May 1940....Also saw action in Denmark and Norway. The campaign in Scandinavia was BEFORE the French campaign.

[@philladalecomte2735]

Just returned from the glorious Cretan land and the beautiful allied cemetery in souda bay. My father as commander of the Australian navy fought in the battle of Crete and the Australian navy evacuated thousands of troops from chora sfakion. This film seems rather biased in its praise more for the Germans and mentions very little of the valiant heroic effort from the thousands of New Zealanders and Aussies who lost their lives in Crete. Nor does it mention or portray the incredible bravery of the Cretan people, so many cretan men and women who attacked and killed many paratroopers and soldiers.

[@buehlerama]

"so many cretan men and women who attacked and killed many paratroopers and soldiers." and were rightfully executed for these crimes.

[@emololasdf5492]

Ihr seid Charlie entire village’s wipeout from executions..

[@buehlerama]

@@emololasdf5492 civilians, soldiers without uniforms, partisans, are not protected by the Geneva convention if they participate in combat. Every nation at that time summarily executed those. So what?

[@VERGIS92]

@@buehlerama the attacks on german soldiers were barbaric, I agree, but the germans executed civilians even when their general was adapted, and the kidnapping was carried out by british agents and greek soldiers, not local residents. in other cases they wiped everyone out, even small babies, and in the case of SS officers they lied many times. They said they wouldn't alow Bulgarians into the country, and they didn't keep their promise. They also lied to prisoners of war, in concentration camps, many times, and even used them to clear unexploded bombs that the americans had droped. Most of the time there was no geneva convention, it's the necessity of war, and remember in Stalingrad, Germans officers broke their oath, they pulled guns on each other and on low ranking soldiers, just to hijack and get on the planes and return to Germany, that's the reality of life under the pressure of war.

[@user-ug3uw5lu7v]

@@buehlerama i understand what your saying(Im from Greece but you r right). After all Metaxas didnt want a war against Germans. Then English spies assasinate him. The english provoke the war between Greece and Germany.

[@timp3931]

At 3:40 they say total loses in this battle exceeded total losses in ALL previous battles combined. Totally wrong. Tens of thousands killed in the Battle of France and in Poland. Who wrote this?

[@wolfmuller6737]

The first assault of a great land mass only from air. The mostly very Young Fallschirmjäger (17-20 years Young) wrote Military history. One of the best Fighting Forces ever. Crete was theyr 3 assault in the war. After Norway, Netherland/Belgium. The Fallschirmjäger jumped without theyr Rifles. The Rifles were in extra boxes. This was the greatest fault and costs so many Young lives. But they take crete and rest in Peace on hill 107, cemetery near malemes Airport, for which they fought so hard. A Beautiful pice of earth today. .p.s. The british know time and date of the assault.

[@Idcanymore510]

Should have stayed in Germany then they would have lived long and fruitful lives.

[@wolfmuller6737]

@Heracles A. human waste.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@wolfmuller6737 praising cold blood idiotic murderers makes you the definition of human waste

[@staserstaa1969]

For the people who have been brainwashed by the Victors, this is the battle and the reason you are free today. It delayed the USSR invasion 6 weeks and winter came in and then you know... If that didn't happen Moscow and Stalingrad would fall way earlier and USSR would surrender..

[@a.p.3004]

There are a couple of things i'd like to mention. Operarion against Yugoslavia and Greece started on the same day. 06/04/1941. Yugoslavia surrendered on 12/04/41 wereas Greece and the Greek islands were only taken in late may. However, Germans couldn't occupy all of Greece. There were places they never went. On Crete there were mostly Commonwealth troops, Greek troops, and a battalion of fierce fighters, the Royal Marines. Amongst the commonwealth troops there were soldiers from Pakestine, Cyprus, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and many other colonies. It cost Hitler one and a half month delay of his attack against Russian. This was acknowledged by Marshall of the Soviet Union, Georgy Zhukov. Moscow would have probably, fallen if there was no delay. However, the difference between victory and defeat is really on a thread of events. May all those who were killed, live in peace. Fascism, never again.

[@lyndelbeckwith1706]

They csan say what they want, that was a helluva job by those German Commandos. Impressive.

[@tricap1542]

They certainly like their trumpets for background music.

[@Jeremyramone]

Those parachute landing s are quite hard to watch, bloody hell

[@vinceadams662]

Still watching the intro..

[@stephenscribbles]

Legend has it he's still watching the intro

[@theofanisntokos]

very wrong docum. with the numbers and half of the history

[@adyboggs9323]

Agreed on the intro music reminding ya of a final Fantasy game

[@Sugarmountaincondo]

This Documentary was very good and included a great amount of never seen before film footage. However i think this documentary glossed over the Naval Engagements that ensued and also did not include many of the Tactical & Operational Maps that are so readily to have been included.. This show should have been 2X times as long......Still a thumbs up and sub. :)

[@dougdenhamlouie]

Forgot later para were equipped with the FE 42. A concept well worth looking at when encountering fixed machine guns. Grazing fire kills allot of people so the lower you can be the better. The side feed mag and zero climb made it a great weapon. As much firepower as a Bren and half the weight.

[@micko11154]

FG 42?

[@alexm566]

Fg42 was invented after the invasion of Crete specifically because of the heavy losses they suffered there due to inferior weapons in separate containers

[@Irene-iu9sj]

Κρητικης καταγωγης ειμαι και εγω. Τιποτα δεν ξεχνω απ οσα μου ειπαν οι δικοι μου .παππους,πατερας,θειοι ,ξαδερφια..

[@mutoprime6641]

@Fonz augoustakis very accurate

[@Irene-iu9sj]

@Fonz augoustakis Ευχαριστώ.

[@user-fb6sw1rf5q]

This is the first and also the last airborne invasion in history.... The battle of Crete operation mercury.... The population took part in a great heroic action against the german invaders....and killed lot of them....

[@stokiestewpotter7956]

I love Crete and I always make a point of visiting the Allied and German war cemetery's It's a beautiful experience,RIP to all of our lads. Indeed,many Cretan people perished defending the island.

[@louistracy6964]

Cemeteries. Lots died.

[@stokiestewpotter7956]

@@louistracy6964 yes,much bloodshed.

[@simonpaterson9648]

Also, my grandfather, an Australian soldier fought in CRETE. They inflicted horrible casualties on the Germans. Many Australians also perished defending Greece.

[@stokiestewpotter7956]

@@simonpaterson9648 Hiya did your grandfather get home,if you don't mind me asking?

[@simonpaterson9648]

@@stokiestewpotter7956 No he came back and fought the Japanese in Papua New Guinea. he died in action there.