After the Germans overran mainland Greece, with their Italian allies, The British and Commonwealth troops, as well as the Greek government, and Greek military units withdrew to the island of Crete, under the protective umbrella of the Royal Navy. The question then became, what next?
The answer came from a hotel in Athens where General Kurt Student, father of the German airborne, began planning Operation Merkur, and airborne assault on Crete.
Student had been sidelined since the previous year in the Netherlands when he was seriously wounded in a friendly fire incident, courteousy of the 1st SS, the "LEIBSTANDARTE ADOLF HITLER". His paratroopers had already seized the Corinth Canal as part of Operation MARITA, so were in country.
The plan was fairly simple. the 7th Airborne would jump inot Crete and seize several airfields, particularly Maleme in the northwestern part of the island. The 22nd Air Landing division [aircraft borne infantry would then land and expand the bridgehead while more German troops were flown in. Additionally other German units would be ferried to the island on small boats. To cover it all, a huge Luftwaffe Stuka, bomber, and fighter force would blanket the island.
The plan had two flaws. First, the Germans seriously underestimated the number of Allied troops on the island. Second, the Allies knew when, and where, the Germans were coming, and what the plan was [the Enigma code breakers].
The Germans jumped into Crete on May 20th [the Luftwaffe had been softening Crete up for days]. They ran into trouble almost immediately. They took heavy losses coming down, and once they landed. Fire from higher ground denied them the ability to bring in the 22nd Air Landing Division. Allied naval units destroyed most of the seaborne transport units before they got anywhere near Crete.
Bu then a British unit holding the high ground near Maleme pulled back. The paratroopers seized the high ground, and the 22nd flew in, debarked, and extended the bridge head. More troops flew in. As they moved out, they linked up with other bridgeheads, and more troops came in. The Allies began retreating to the south east.
Now things turned on the Allies. The Luftwaffe played hob with the Royal Navy's efforts to rescue the Allied troops. A lot of ships were sunk in the process.
Crete became German. But the price was high. So high that Hitler forbade any further airborne operations, and used his paratroopers as infantry for the rest of the war at places like Cassino, St. Lo, Carentan, and other hotspots. German troops involved in MERKUR received a "KRETA" cuffband to wear on their uniforms. One of the recipients of the cuff band was former heavyweight champion Max Schmeling, who jumped into Crete at the age of 40. He was being punished for refusing to support Naziism.
