Historical Resources About The Second World War

Battle of Crete – Operation Mercury Maps

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greece/History/images/BattleOfCreteMap.jpg – Map of the German assault on Crete

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/10-brigade-galatas-map-crete – Battle for Crete map

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/the-german-assault-on-crete-map – Map of German assault on Crete

http://www.historyofwar.org/Maps/maps_crete1.html -  Battle of Crete Map – Allied Dispositions Suda, 19 May 1941

http://www.historyofwar.org/Maps/maps_crete2.html – Battle for Crete Map – 5th Bridage Area, 19 May 1941

http://www.historyofwar.org/Maps/maps_crete3.html – Battle of Crete Map – The German Landings at Maleme, 20 May 1941

http://www.historyofwar.org/Maps/maps_crete4.html – Battle of Crete Map – The German Landing in Prison Valley, 20 May 1941

http://www.historyofwar.org/Maps/maps_crete5.html – Battle of Crete Map – German landings around Rethymnon, 20 May 1941

http://www.historyofwar.org/Maps/maps_crete6.html – Battle of Crete Map -  German landings at Heraklion, 20 May 1941

http://www.historyofwar.org/Maps/maps_crete7.html – Battle of Crete Map -  The Counterattack Fails, 21-22 May 1941
The Battle of Crete (German Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta; Greek Μάχη της Κρήτης) was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. The battle began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur (“Operation Mercury”). Greek rebels and Allied forces defended the island.

After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered appalling casualties and none of their objectives had been achieved. The next day, through miscommunication and the failure of Allied commanders to grasp the situation, Maleme airfield in western Crete fell to the Germans, enabling them to fly in reinforcements and overwhelm the Allied forces.

The Battle of Crete was unprecedented in three respects: it was the first-ever mainly airborne invasion; it was the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from the deciphered German Enigma code; and it was the first time invading German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. In light of the heavy casualties suffered by the parachutists, Adolf Hitler forbade further large scale airborne operations. However, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers, and started to build their own airborne divisions