The Invasion of Crete - May 1941
The German invasion of Crete was the final clash in the overall battle for Greece in 1941. Greece and Yugoslavia were invaded on multiple fronts on April and steamrolled by the attacking Germans. By the end of the month, Greek and British troops retreated from the Greek mainland and established a stronghold on the island, roughly 3,200 square miles in size and only 70 miles to the south.
Kurt Student (left), commander of XI. Flieger Korps and the architect of the Fallschirmjäger, was eager to further show the fighting ability of his troops and pushed for an airborne invasion of the island. He urged Hermann Goering as Luftwaffe commander to insist on an airborne assault. Plans were made to attack from the air with elements of 7. Flieger-Division and 22. (LL.) Infanterie-Division, however it was altered when 22. ID was not seen as fit to take on the assignment. 5. Gebirgs-Division was pegged as the replacement and would eventually arrive by way of transport aircraft, as well as by sea. Specifically, the plan was that the initial invasion force would primarily come via parachute and glider troops; and waves of mountain troops would later arrive by sea on caciques and in troop carriers once the first waves had captured Crete’s key airfields.
Kurt Student (left), commander of XI. Flieger Korps and the architect of the Fallschirmjäger, was eager to further show the fighting ability of his troops and pushed for an airborne invasion of the island. He urged Hermann Goering as Luftwaffe commander to insist on an airborne assault. Plans were made to attack from the air with elements of 7. Flieger-Division and 22. (LL.) Infanterie-Division, however it was altered when 22. ID was not seen as fit to take on the assignment. 5. Gebirgs-Division was pegged as the replacement and would eventually arrive by way of transport aircraft, as well as by sea. Specifically, the plan was that the initial invasion force would primarily come via parachute and glider troops; and waves of mountain troops would later arrive by sea on caciques and in troop carriers once the first waves had captured Crete’s key airfields.
The attacking force generally consisted of 7. Flieger-Division, Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment and various support units subordinate to XI. Fliegerkorps. 7. Flieger-Division was essentially three regiments (Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1, Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2 and Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 3), along with various divisional units (Machine Gun, Pionier, Artillery and Panzerjäger). Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 was developed in early 1939 when the original Fallschirmjäger force (Luftwaffe and Heer) was reorganized and reconfigured. It was commanded by Bruno Bräuer, former commander of I. Batallion (and IV./Regiment General Göring (Landespolizei). With minor exception, the Fallschirmjäger sat out the invasion of Poland and continued to train and expand. They saw action during the invasions of Denmark and Norway when units from the I. Batallion were deployed, primarily, to capture airfields in advance of the invading ground troops. The first major actions by the Fallschirmjäger were the assaults on the Low Countries in May 1940. By the spring of 1941, the Fallschirmjäger were ready to go again, and could bring their training and skills as well as their experience from the previous year’s fighting.
Among the troops pegged for the invasion of Crete, were Oberjäger Hans Piechotta and Obergefreiter Hermann Oppers, both of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1. Both were veterans of the fighting in Holland a year earlier and both were awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for those actions. Piechotta served with 1. Kompanie, I. Batallion, while Oppers was attached to 14. (Pz. Jg.) Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1, the anti-tank outfit of III. Batallion.
The invasion began on the morning of May 20, 1941 as Ju52 transport planes carrying the first wave left the Greek mainland and descended over Crete. The first waves attacked Maleme airfield on the western part of the island and additional waves attacked Rethymno and Heraklion in the afternoon. It was Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 who had the task of taking Heralkion. Piechotta and his unit were landed to the east of the city while Oppers and his unit were landed to the west. Scheduling issues with the transports in Greece and unexpectedly intense resistance by the British, Greeks, and Cretan civilians caused the Germans considerable complications. The Fallschirmjäger were spread out throughout their various drop zones and struggled to meet their objectives. The Germans in the vicinity of Heraklion were initially unable to meet their goals; elements of III. Batallion even reached the city from the southwest, but were forced out due to increased resistance and shortages of ammunition. Piechotta, who was fighting far to the east was wounded in action on May 21st. For days, the Fallschirmjäger took cover in the area in order to regroup and engaged the Allies in varying degrees depending on their positioning and the threats they immediately faced. As the days went on, elements from the east and west sides of the city linked up, and were able to solidify their pressure on the British.
As the Fallschirmjäger were engaged in and around Heraklion, the heavy fighting near Maleme ultimately shifted in favor of the Germans. Both sides suffered heavily in the area of Maleme airfield, and the decision was made for the Allies to evacuate the island, including a seaborne evacuation from Heraklion on the night of May 28. Oberst Bräuer and his men were unaware of the British operation that night and came to realize that the city had been given up the next morning. They occupied the city on the 29th as German troops slowly took hold of the island. The fighting for Heraklion was over and the Fallschirmjäger could claim a flawed victory.
Despite being wounded, Piechotta survived the invasion, as did Oppers. Both were awarded for bravery with the Iron Cross First Class, an honor shared by many Fallschirmjäger. In fact, evidence suggests that all Fallschirmjäger that took part in the invasion were awarded the Iron Cross; the Second Class award if they had not been decorated before and the First Class Award if they had. Some were even decorated with both classes. All Iron Cross First Class awards for the fighting in Crete were authorized by General der Flieger Student as commander of XI. Fliegerkorps. Piechotta and Oppers each received their EK1s after June 30, 1941, the likely date the authorization was implemented.
Among the troops pegged for the invasion of Crete, were Oberjäger Hans Piechotta and Obergefreiter Hermann Oppers, both of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1. Both were veterans of the fighting in Holland a year earlier and both were awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for those actions. Piechotta served with 1. Kompanie, I. Batallion, while Oppers was attached to 14. (Pz. Jg.) Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1, the anti-tank outfit of III. Batallion.
The invasion began on the morning of May 20, 1941 as Ju52 transport planes carrying the first wave left the Greek mainland and descended over Crete. The first waves attacked Maleme airfield on the western part of the island and additional waves attacked Rethymno and Heraklion in the afternoon. It was Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 who had the task of taking Heralkion. Piechotta and his unit were landed to the east of the city while Oppers and his unit were landed to the west. Scheduling issues with the transports in Greece and unexpectedly intense resistance by the British, Greeks, and Cretan civilians caused the Germans considerable complications. The Fallschirmjäger were spread out throughout their various drop zones and struggled to meet their objectives. The Germans in the vicinity of Heraklion were initially unable to meet their goals; elements of III. Batallion even reached the city from the southwest, but were forced out due to increased resistance and shortages of ammunition. Piechotta, who was fighting far to the east was wounded in action on May 21st. For days, the Fallschirmjäger took cover in the area in order to regroup and engaged the Allies in varying degrees depending on their positioning and the threats they immediately faced. As the days went on, elements from the east and west sides of the city linked up, and were able to solidify their pressure on the British.
As the Fallschirmjäger were engaged in and around Heraklion, the heavy fighting near Maleme ultimately shifted in favor of the Germans. Both sides suffered heavily in the area of Maleme airfield, and the decision was made for the Allies to evacuate the island, including a seaborne evacuation from Heraklion on the night of May 28. Oberst Bräuer and his men were unaware of the British operation that night and came to realize that the city had been given up the next morning. They occupied the city on the 29th as German troops slowly took hold of the island. The fighting for Heraklion was over and the Fallschirmjäger could claim a flawed victory.
Despite being wounded, Piechotta survived the invasion, as did Oppers. Both were awarded for bravery with the Iron Cross First Class, an honor shared by many Fallschirmjäger. In fact, evidence suggests that all Fallschirmjäger that took part in the invasion were awarded the Iron Cross; the Second Class award if they had not been decorated before and the First Class Award if they had. Some were even decorated with both classes. All Iron Cross First Class awards for the fighting in Crete were authorized by General der Flieger Student as commander of XI. Fliegerkorps. Piechotta and Oppers each received their EK1s after June 30, 1941, the likely date the authorization was implemented.
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Shown are Piechotta's award documents for fighting at Crete. His Wound Badge in Black award document is shown above - for the wound he receeived on May 21, 1941. Note that it was processed at Stendel on July 15, 1941 and authorized and signed by Oberst Bräuer.
Below are Oppers' award documents. He also earned the Iron Cross First Class, and was later awarded the Kreta Cuff Title. Both were authorized by Kurt Student. |
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The results of the invasion of Crete had a significant effect on how the Fallschirmjäger were used throughout the remainder of the war. There was never again an example of any large scale airborne operations by the Germans. Although the Fallschirmjäger continued to grow throughout the war and expanded into many divisions, they were almost entirely limited to ground fighting and would see significant actions in Russia, Italy and the West before war’s end. Crete was the last great airborne operation for Student’s creation.