Toaw Scenario: Crete 41

Crete,
May 20, 1941,

Axis army of 59 units opposed to Commonwealth army of 59 units
for a battle of complexity 0.49 at Battalion(II) level
on a 2.5 Km/Hex map
for 8 turns of Half Day each.

by Charles Kibler & Eric Larsen submited on 18-12-2002

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Briefing
OPERATION MERCURY Germany's largest airborne operation to capture the strategically important Mediterranean island of Crete Date: May 1941 Location: Crete Map Scale: 2.5km per hex Time Scale: Half-day turns Unit Scale: Company/Battalion Length: 8 Turns UNIT COLORS: AXIS German Infantry: White on Gray German Luftwaffe: White on Light Blue Italian Air Force: White on Yellow COMMONWEALTH British: White on Tan Australian: Green on Tan New Zealand: Blue on Tan Greek: Dark Blue/Red on Tan SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: The Germans have decreasing levels of air transport capacity on turns 2 and 3. On turn 2 Crete guerillas start resisting the German invasion. The German 5th Mountain Division appears as reinforcements at Maleme airfield (hex 16,11) on turns 4 and later if the location is German controlled or empty. The Germans gain a 2% increase in supply for each airflield captured at Maleme (16,11), Retimo (47,14), or Heraklion (75,12). If the Commonwealth recaptures an airfield the German supply is reduced by 2%. The Germans can recapture the airfields and regain their 2% supply increase. The Commonwealth supply will be reduced 2% for each supply point captured at Suda Bay (26,11) or Heraklion (72,12) by the Germans. The Commonwealth can restore the 2% decrease by recapturing the supply points. ****************** On the morning of May 20th, 1941, the Commonwealth forces on the island of Crete waited for an Axis invasion of the island. Allied intelligence about the gathering of German seaborne forces in Greece, and a total lack of understanding of the capabilities of German airborne troops, led the Commonwealth commander, General B.C. Freyberg, to deploy his troops in three brigade-sized enclaves in and around the three important airfields along the northern coast of Crete, defending primarily against a seaborne invasion. Many of the Commonwealth forces were the battered remnants of the unsuccessful defense of Greece, with severe shortages in heavy equipment, supplies, and even rifles. German General Student's plan to capture the island with a large-scale airborne operation came as a rather unpleasant surprise on the morning of 20 May to the Commonwealth forces who were looking toward the sea for the invasion force - not in the sky! On the morning of the 20th, the first of three waves dropped around the Maleme airfield and Canea, intending to swiftly capture the airfield, Canea, and the port of Suda. In the afternoon the second wave dropped around the airfields at Retimo and Heraklion. The first day did not go according to plan as the Germans took horrendous losses as they dropped their airborne troops almost on top of the initially surprised, but quick to react, defenders. Too, the Germans had not expected such strong resistance from an opponent that, they had been informed, was "demoralized". The German "Fallshirmjaeger" (parachutists) could do little to dislodge the numerically superior Commonwealth defenders. The first day was very costly to the Germans in terms of men and material, and they had failed to capture the vital airfields which would have enabled the third wave to airland early on the second day. On the morning of the second day, around Maleme, the New Zealand defenders withdrew from their vital defensive positions around the airfield after wrongly thinking they were about to be overrun. General Ramcke then proceeded to take advantage of the unexpected gift by seizing the Maleme airfield so that troops of the 5th Mountain Division could begin airlanding in the afternoon. Meanwhile, to the north, German attempts at seaborne reinforcement had been badly scattered or sunk by British warships, making possession of airfields the sole source of supply and reinforcement for the Germans. The 5th Mountain division continued arriving at Maleme on the third day and the Germans finally had enough strength to roll up the Commonwealth defense eastwards to link up with the other paratroopers attacking Retimo and Heraklion. The Germans adapted well to the terrible situation they had jumped into, and their commanders changed plans during the battle to wrest the upper hand from the Commonwealth defenders. The German VIII Air Corps, along with some Italian air units, provided important support for the Crete operation and contributed significantly to its success. The transport air groups suffered heavy losses as they bravely brought in the German troops, despite several cases of faulty terrain intelligence that caused some planes to plow into terraced hillsides. On 24 May Gen. Freyberg abandoned hope of holding Crete and on the 27th the order to evacuate the island was given. The Commonwealth troops headed for Sphakia (on the southern coast) and completed another successful evacuation by sea, like they had at Dunkirk, by the end of the 31st of May. The Germans won a pyrrhic victory at Crete, losing many of their elite paratroopers. Hitler decided that large-scale airborne operations were no longer feasible because the element of surprise of airborne operations was finally lost. The Germans never launched another large-scale airborne operation and the remaining parachute formations were used primarily as ground infantry. The Allies learned valuable lessons from the Crete airborne operation and launched several successful large-scale airborne drops. The Allies found that the element of surprise was not lost, it merely needed proper planning and execution to exist. Scenario design by: Charles Kibler & Eric Larsen

Briefing

OPERATION MERCURY
Germany's largest airborne operation to capture the strategically important Mediterranean island of Crete

Date: May 1941
Location: Crete
Map Scale: 2.5km per hex
Time Scale: Half-day turns
Unit Scale: Company/Battalion
Length: 8 Turns

UNIT COLORS:
AXIS
German Infantry: White on Gray
German Luftwaffe: White on Light Blue
Italian Air Force: White on Yellow

COMMONWEALTH
British: White on Tan
Australian: Green on Tan
New Zealand: Blue on Tan
Greek: Dark Blue/Red on Tan

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
The Germans have decreasing levels of air transport capacity on turns 2 and 3.
On turn 2 Crete guerillas start resisting the German invasion.
The German 5th Mountain Division appears as reinforcements at Maleme airfield (hex 16,11) on turns 4 and later if the location is German controlled or empty.
The Germans gain a 2% increase in supply for each airflield captured at Maleme (16,11), Retimo (47,14), or Heraklion (75,12). If the Commonwealth recaptures an airfield the German supply is reduced by 2%. The Germans can recapture the airfields and regain their 2% supply increase.
The Commonwealth supply will be reduced 2% for each supply point captured at Suda Bay (26,11) or Heraklion (72,12) by the Germans. The Commonwealth can restore the 2% decrease by recapturing the supply points.

******************
On the morning of May 20th, 1941, the Commonwealth forces on the island of Crete waited for an Axis invasion of the island. Allied intelligence about the gathering of German seaborne forces in Greece, and a total lack of understanding of the capabilities of German airborne troops, led the Commonwealth commander, General B.C. Freyberg, to deploy his troops in three brigade-sized enclaves in and around the three important airfields along the northern coast of Crete, defending primarily against a seaborne invasion. Many of the Commonwealth forces were the battered remnants of the unsuccessful defense of Greece, with severe shortages in heavy equipment, supplies, and even rifles. German General Student's plan to capture the island with a large-scale airborne operation came as a rather unpleasant surprise on the morning of 20 May to the Commonwealth forces who were looking toward the sea for the invasion force - not in the sky!

On the morning of the 20th, the first of three waves dropped around the Maleme airfield and Canea, intending to swiftly capture the airfield, Canea, and the port of Suda. In the afternoon the second wave dropped around the airfields at Retimo and Heraklion. The first day did not go according to plan as the Germans took horrendous losses as they dropped their airborne troops almost on top of the initially surprised, but quick to react, defenders. Too, the Germans had not expected such strong resistance from an opponent that, they had been informed, was "demoralized". The German "Fallshirmjaeger" (parachutists) could do little to dislodge the numerically superior Commonwealth defenders. The first day was very costly to the Germans in terms of men and material, and they had failed to capture the vital airfields which would have enabled the third wave to airland early on the second day.

On the morning of the second day, around Maleme, the New Zealand defenders withdrew from their vital defensive positions around the airfield after wrongly thinking they were about to be overrun. General Ramcke then proceeded to take advantage of the unexpected gift by seizing the Maleme airfield so that troops of the 5th Mountain Division could begin airlanding in the afternoon. Meanwhile, to the north, German attempts at seaborne reinforcement had been badly scattered or sunk by British warships, making possession of airfields the sole source of supply and reinforcement for the Germans. The 5th Mountain division continued arriving at Maleme on the third day and the Germans finally had enough strength to roll up the Commonwealth defense eastwards to link up with the other paratroopers attacking Retimo and Heraklion.

The Germans adapted well to the terrible situation they had jumped into, and their commanders changed plans during the battle to wrest the upper hand from the Commonwealth defenders. The German VIII Air Corps, along with some Italian air units, provided important support for the Crete operation and contributed significantly to its success. The transport air groups suffered heavy losses as they bravely brought in the German troops, despite several cases of faulty terrain intelligence that caused some planes to plow into terraced hillsides.

On 24 May Gen. Freyberg abandoned hope of holding Crete and on the 27th the order to evacuate the island was given. The Commonwealth troops headed for Sphakia (on the southern coast) and completed another successful evacuation by sea, like they had at Dunkirk, by the end of the 31st of May.

The Germans won a pyrrhic victory at Crete, losing many of their elite paratroopers. Hitler decided that large-scale airborne operations were no longer feasible because the element of surprise of airborne operations was finally lost. The Germans never launched another large-scale airborne operation and the remaining parachute formations were used primarily as ground infantry.

The Allies learned valuable lessons from the Crete airborne operation and launched several successful large-scale airborne drops. The Allies found that the element of surprise was not lost, it merely needed proper planning and execution to exist.

Scenario design by: Charles Kibler & Eric Larsen