Battle of Crete

From 20 May to 1 June 1941, German forces captured the island of Crete in the first major airborne invasion in history. After the fall of mainland Greece, British, Australian, New Zealand and Greek troops had withdrawn to Crete, under the command of the New Zealand general Bernard Freyberg. On the morning of 20 May, thousands of German paratroopers and glider-borne troops, led by General Kurt Student, landed around the airfields of Maleme, Rethymno and Heraklion. They suffered heavy losses on the first day, as Allied soldiers and armed Cretan civilians, including old men, women and children, fought back fiercely. However, the Germans captured Maleme airfield, allowing them to fly in reinforcements. The Allies were forced to retreat across the mountains to the south coast, where many were evacuated to Egypt by the Royal Navy, which lost several ships to German air attacks. Crete fell, but German paratroop losses were so severe that Hitler never again ordered a large-scale airborne operation. The Germans carried out harsh reprisals against Cretan civilians, and the island's resistance continued throughout the occupation.