DOCSLIB.ORG

On the Run in Greece

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
On the Run in Greece ARTHUR ERNEST SCOONES (1917 – 2000) 20th NZ Battalion, 2nd Division ON THE RUN IN GREECE An account of the escape, evasion and eventual capture and incarceration of my father Arthur Ernest Scoones and his fellow soldiers Norman Joffre McTaggart and Patrick William (Paddy) Toohill in April 1941 during the Greek Campaign against the Axis forces of Italy and Germany. The original article was written and published by B C Borthwick on 7 August 1975 under the Title “Capture on the Island of Zante”. While the facts as described by Mr Borthwick remain unaltered, some grammar and place names have been corrected to assist readers. Also included in this account is an interview with Arthur by his Grand Daughter Anna Kirkwood as part of a 7th Form Project when she attended Riccarton High School. Document includes extract about the Battle of Greece taken from Wikipedia. Grant Scoones Marton, Rangitikei District April 2015 1 | P a g e ESCAPE, EVASION AND EVENTUAL CAPTURE ON THE ISLAND OF ZAKYNTHOS (ZANTE) The Three Musketeers The story concerns three NZ Infantry Soldiers fighting in Greece as part of the NZ Expeditionary Force, in the early stages of WW2. Sgt Norm McTaggart worked for Woolworths in Dunedin, Private Arthur Scoones, also from Dunedin was a butcher by trade and Private Paddy Toohill was a truck driver for a Christchurch brewery. All three had volunteered to serv ice their country, and were part of a small rear-guard echelon of British troops retreating from the advancing Nazi force in the Servia Pass area of Northern Greece. The retreat from Servia Pass was extremely dangerous, and the British troops scattered and took cover wherever they could, and for the next two weeks, Arthur, Norm and Paddy walked southwards avoiding main roads and the ever present German forces until they reached Astakos on the western coast of the Greek Peninsula. From Astakos, they travelled by launch to the island of Ithaca and then on to the island of Zakynthos (Zante) to the south of Ithaca in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece. Unfortunately for our intrepid three, their arrival in Zakynthos coincided with the occupation of the port town of Zante by Italian Paratroopers and they were captured to begin four years of imprisonment with the Italians and finally the Germans, when Italy capitulated. Aliakmon (Haliacmon) River The Battle for Servia Pass and Withdrawal to Thermopylae The battle of Servia Pass began in April 1941. British troops were dug into to defensive positions on the south side of the Aliakmon (Haliacmon) River in a bid to resist German penetration in Greece from the north and east. The German “Blitzkreig” in Yugoslavia had been so swift and devastating following the collapse of the Greek army in Albania, that to avoid being outflanked and overrun, it became critical that all British forces withdraw from Servia Pass to a more defensible position near Thermopylae on the east coast of Greece. On 23 April 1941 through tenacious defence, the ANZAC forces delayed the invading German forces in the area long enough to allow the evacuation of the British expeditionary force to Crete and ultimately to North Africa to fight again. This conflict became known as the “Battle of Thermopylae”. 2 | P a g e Withdrawal from Servia Pass The withdrawal from Servia Pass was under the command of Lt Col H K Kippenberger, Commanding Officer of the 20th NZ Battalion. With him were Lt Kelsall of the 6th Field Company Engineers and 60 Sappers with their trucks and ordnance, who were to carry out demolitions through the Servia Pass to cover the withdrawal. Also part of the force were the 20th Battalion Bren Carriers under Lt Green and Sgt Sullivan, the 20th Battalion Intelligence officer. Lt Col Kippenberger with Sgt Charles Upham VC & Bar At 9pm on 17 April 1941, the rear guard party took up their post at the first demolition point in Servia Pass, The primary objective was to get three battalions of infantry (18th, 19th and 20th) from their forward positions onto southbound trucks to join the force at Thermopylae. The Brigade Commander Brigadier Puttick wanted everyone onto trucks and evacuated south by 3am on the 18th April. The 19th and 20th Battalions were evacuated without major problems, but the 18th Battalion were forced to undertake a strenuous five hour march to the pickup point, which turned out to be a nightmare. Servia Pass Two of the companies failed to arrive as expected, and despite putting the safe withdrawal at risk, Kippenberger decided to delay the demolition work to give the troops more time. It was after 5am before all of the 18th Battalion had reported to the pickup point and at 6am the demolition work began. The sappers wasted no time in blowing the charges, but it was 8am and daylight before the rear-guard party was clear of Servia Pass. Brigadier 3 | P a g e Puttick remained with the sappers and only after confirming that all the charges had blow and that Kippenberger had left, did he head south. Eager to be on road, the rear guard party convoy formed up in ten vehicles to the mile and with Kippenbergers staff car the last vehicle in the convoy, the order was full speed ahead and no stopping, even if attacked by the Luftwaffe. ME110 Fighter Bomber (r) and “Betsy” Surveillance aircraft of the Luftwaffe It was now broad daylight and after a mile or two on the road, the column was spotted by “Betsy” a German reconnaissance aircraft and within minutes, the column was attacked by ME110s with bombs, machine guns and cannons. Under this intense attack, the convoy ground to a halt and the troops dived for cover. Servia Pass The carrier driven by Cpl Lawrence came under heavy fire and he and his driver, Alan Sharp, jumped off, followed by Sgt Sullivan, the Intelligence Officer, who had joined them shortly before as a passenger when the motorcycle he had ridden through Servia Pass, had finally broke down. Sullivan jumped into a ditch, while Sharp and Lawrence ran for cover on higher ground. Sullivan did not see Sharp and Lawrence again. Initially Sullivan thought that they were being strafed by the Luftwaffe, but he quickly realized that the carrier was under attack from two German tanks, which were now clearly visible. As it transpired, while the leading truck in the convoy had passed through the area before the tanks reached the road, the rest of the vehicles were now in a trap. Sgt Sullivan decided to run back and warn Kippenberger and the other two carriers at the rear of the echelon but his boots became stuck in the heavy mud and by the time he had reached Kippenberger's car there was nobody there, although there were carrier tracks close by indicating that the CO had been picked up. 4 | P a g e With the arrival of a third German tank and lorry loads of German infantry, Kippenberger realized that his rear-guard party were heavily outnumbered and rather than stand and fight and be annihilated, the sensible action was to take cover. In the meantime, Lt Green had sensed the situation was desperate and he took Kippenberger and his driver Freddie Ross on board and signaling Cpl Frank Ross in the third bren carrier to follow, headed for cover in scrub and bush further away from the advancing Germans. To get to the safer ground, the carriers had to cross some ploughed and muddy fields, which clogged the carrier tracks making them impossible to steer and eventually stalling their progress completely so that they became a sitting target for the advancing Panzers. The crews bailed out of the carriers and dived for cover over a bank to a safer position for the moment. Now out of the line of fire from ground troops and tanks, but still under aerial surveillance from “Betsy”, the isolated and vulnerable groups of soldiers began to consider other options for escape. It was became apparent to the men that they were no longer part of an aggressive and disciplined fighting force but were being outgunned and outnumbered by a significant enemy force. They were now on the run and their survival was dependent entirely on their own initiative and resourcefulness if they wished to escape from the advancing Nazi military machine. Elassona After a time, “Betsy” left the area and the men in Cpl Ross’s carrier took stock. The group comprised Ross, his gunner Arthur Scoones, his driver Paddy Toohill, Sgt McTaggart, whose own carrier had been disabled in the pass and another unnamed passenger who had joined the group in the retreat. They had their rifles, two bren guns and some ammunition, but no food, personal kit or blankets. With a NZ rear-guard holding the road further south at Elassona, they knew they had to flank the Germans and try and catch up with the main Allied force before it pulled out from the town, and they realised they had to get a move on. After two hours travelling south they group caught up with seven other soldiers who were also on the run and they joined forces. On reaching a ridge they looked at the depressing sight of a plain covered with German tanks, which would require a much longer route to bypass them, further limiting their chances of catching up with the main force. Progress was slow and with night coming, they realized that they had eaten nothing that day. They were able to obtain some bread and a few eggs from a small village, but with Germans close by, the villagers were understandably nervous about the Kiwis presence and did not permit them to sleep in the 5 | P a g e vicinity of the village.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Zakynthos Island, Greece
    ANNALS OF THE UPPER SILESIAN MUSEUM IN BYTOM ENTOMOLOGY Vol. 27 (online 004): 1–13 ISSN 0867-1966, eISSN 2544-039X (online) Bytom, 9.11.2018 LECH BOROWIEC1 , SEBASTIAN SALATA1,2 Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Zakynthos Island, Greece http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1481794 1 Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Taxonomy, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 65, 51-148 Wrocław, Poland e-mail: 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected] Abstract: Forty five ant species were recorded from the Zakynthos Island (Ionian Islands) in 2018, including seven not attributed to any formally described taxon. A comparison of ant fauna of Zakynthos with ant fauna of Samos islands is presented. Both islands have similar surface area (405.6 versus 476.4 km2) and are placed almost on the same latitude (37°) but represent the most western and the most eastern fauna complexes in Greece; 78 species and morphospecies were recorded from both islands but only 23 species are common. Key words: ants, Greece, East Aegean Islands, Samos, faunistics, taxonomy. INTRODUCTION Zakynthos is a Greek island placed in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, placed 13.5 km south of Kephalonia – the largest Ionian island, and 18 km west of the Peloponnese. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands Region. The area of the island is 405.55 km2 and it is 37 km long and 19 km wide. Its coastline is roughly 123 km. The island is very diverse, with a mountainous plateau on its western half, steep cliffs on southwest coast, and densely populated and fertile plain, with long sandy beaches and several isolated hills, on the eastern part.
    [Show full text]
  • Cataloging Service Bulletin 098, Fall 2002
    ISSN 0160-8029 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/WASHINGTON CATALOGING SERVICE BULLETIN LIBRARY SERVICES Number 98, Fall 2002 Editor: Robert M. Hiatt CONTENTS Page DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGING Library of Congress Rule Interpretations 2 SUBJECT CATALOGING Subdivision Simplification Progress 58 Changed or Cancelled Free-Floating Subdivisions 58 Subject Headings of Current Interest 58 Revised LC Subject Headings 59 Subject Headings Replaced by Name Headings 65 MARC Language Codes 65 Editorial postal address: Cataloging Policy and Support Office, Library Services, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540-4305 Editorial electronic mail address: [email protected] Editorial fax number: (202) 707-6629 Subscription address: Customer Support Team, Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20541-4912 Subscription electronic mail address: [email protected] Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-51400 ISSN 0160-8029 Key title: Cataloging service bulletin Copyright ©2002 the Library of Congress, except within the U.S.A. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGING LIBRARY OF CONGRESS RULE INTERPRETATIONS (LCRI) Cumulative index of LCRI to the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition, 1998 revision, that have appeared in issues of Cataloging Service Bulletin. Any LCRI previously published but not listed below is no longer applicable and has been cancelled. Lines in the margins ( , ) of revised interpretations indicate where changes have occurred. Rule Number Page 1.0 98 11 1.0C 50 12 1.0E 69 17 1.0G 44 9 1.0H 44 9 1.1B1 97 12 1.1C 94 11 1.1D2 84 11 1.1E
    [Show full text]
  • Contribution of Greece to the Victory of the Allies During Ww Ii
    CONTRIBUTION OF GREECE TO THE VICTORY OF THE ALLIES DURING WW II Lt Colonel of Engineering Panayiotis Spyropoulos Historian of the History Directorate of Hellenic Army General Staff The peninsula of Greece has, since antiquity, been a point of confrontation be- tween East and West, as it constitutes an area of utmost strategic value, situated on the flanks of the main axis of operations in East-West direction and vice-versa. Who- ever occupies Greece can effortlessly with his forces harass the flanks or even the rear of troops operating along the aforementioned axis, control the sea line of com- munication from Gibraltar to Suez, and block from the west the sea route from the Black Sea to Propontis (Marmara) Sea, the Hellespont (Straits), the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The geo-strategic value of Greece has been dramatically enhanced during the XXth century, due to the rapid technological development of war equipment (as per the quote of sir Halford Mackinder on the «Heartland»). During the 2nd World War, Italy launched the attack against Greece, without informing its ally, Germany. Berlin was enraged by the Italian action and considered it «totally incoherent» and mistimed, because it was initiated just before wintertime, a season unsuitable for mountain operations, as well as just before the elections in the (still neutral) USA, providing Roosevelt with even more convincing arguments for go- ing to war. Moreover, it criticised the Italians refraining from any seaborne operation, a fact that facilitated the British in debarking on Crete and other islands, significant for their strategic importance; while they left them the margin to deploy in Thessalo- nica.
    [Show full text]
  • Lakes of Northern Greece
    Lakes of Northern Greece Travel Passports are spelt correctly and match the names on your You may need to renew your British Passport if passport. Your flight ticket is non-transferable and you are travelling to an EU country. Please ensure non-refundable. your passport is less than 10 years old (even if it has 6 months or more left on it) and has at least 6 Departure Tax months validity remaining from the date of travel. Flight Taxes are included in the price of your EU, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino holiday. or Switzerland valid national identification cards are also acceptable for travel. For more information, please visit: Baggage Allowance passportchecker We advise that you stick to the baggage allowances advised. If your luggage is found to be Visas heavier than the airlines specified baggage If you’re a tourist, you do not need a visa for short allowance the charges at the airport will be hefty. trips to most EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Your EasyJet ticket includes one hold bag of up to Norway and Switzerland. You’ll be able to stay for 23kg plus one cabin bag that can fit under the seat up to 90 days in any 180-day period. in front of you, (maximum size 45 x 36 x 20cm, including any handles or wheels). If you book an For all other passport holders please check the upfront or extra legroom seat you can also take an visa requirements with the appropriate embassy. additional large cabin bag on board. For more For further information, please check here: travel information visit www.easyjet.com to the EU Greek Consulate: 1A Holland Park, London W11 Labels 3TP.
    [Show full text]
  • In Search of Andreas Vesalius the Quest for the Lost Grave
    In Search of Andreas Vesalius The Quest for the Lost Grave by Theo Dirix Leuven Lannoo Campus 2014 *** Index Nominum *** Maurits Biesbrouck comp. sept. 2014 Index nominum Adam 21 Asscher, Maarten 20 Adam, Melchior 91 Athens 11, 15, 24, 35, 42, 44, 45, 47, 53, A.E.I.M.S. 15 56, 57, 65, 68, 71, 74, 103, 140 Agfa Gevaert 42 Athens, Academy of Sciences and Fine Agfa HealthCare 42, 131 Arts 50, 57 Aghii Theodorii, see Holy T. Athens, Dutch Institute 7 Aghia Paraskevi 73 Athens, First cemetery 805 Aghia Triada 108 Athens, Medical Society of 53 Agriou, Maria 88 Athens, Momentum 120 Aikaterini Ton Gripon, Church 131 Athens, National Museum 98 Aktipis, D. 66 Augsburg 91 Aktypi, Panagiota 88, 89 Axis 96 Albius, Andreas 110 Baert, Remi 53, 54 Alexander the Great 31 Bakatselos, Alexander 75 Alexandria 92 Baldwin, King of Belgium 56 Alfagen 22 Barbianis, Dionysios 38, 50, 51, 63 Alumni 60, 61 Barbianis Monument 53 Ambiorix 41 Barbianis, Nicolas 26, 38, 44, 45, 47, 49- Amsterdam 78 60, 62-64, 66, 67, 69, 72, 112, 120, Anastasiadou, Ifigeneia 51 122, 158 Andernacus, J.G. 100 Barbianis, Ricardo Count 63 Andreas, Apostle 80 Barbiano the Belgiojoso, Count 63 Andrea Vesal Square 61, 62 Baron Fernandez, José 112 Andre Vesal Street 121 Basel 110, 112 Andrianakou, Eleni 124 Baudelaire, Charles 30 Andriessen, Louis 74 BBC 41 Angevins 36 Belang van Limburg 133 Annunciata, l’ 128 Belgian Government 45, 46 Antwerp 31, 41, 42, 46, 83, 124, 125 Belgian Medical Yachting Club 33, 66 Antwerp, Greek house 125 Belgian School of Athens 34, 105 Aphrodite 21 Belgium 13, 15, 25, 31, 33, 40, 42, 44, 60, Apollo 115, 117 61, 81, 82, 85, 92 Apollonius 21 Belvedere, torso 21, 22 Aquino, Thomas of 108 Benedetti, Alessandro 23 Argasi 80, 87, 127 Bern 110 Argolis 108 Bevan, A.
    [Show full text]
  • General Papagos and the Anglo-Greek Talks of February 1941 by JOHN S
    General Papagos and the Anglo-Greek Talks of February 1941 by JOHN S. KOLIOPOULOS The Anglo-Greek talks of February 1941 are one of the most con- troversial issues in the historiography of World War II. The talks were held in Athens to discuss Britain's decision earlier in that month to help Greece against a possible German attack, and to agree on a line of defense which could be reasonably expected to check the enemy ad- vance. In addition to the strength of the forces required to hold the enemy and the allocation of these forces, the representatives of the two 'countries were obliged to take into account two important factors: (a) the attitude of Yugoslavia; and (b) the time factor. In accordance with the agreement reached late on February 22, the British would send to Greece, in addition to their air force units already operating in the country, five squadrons of aircraft and land forces equal to four divisions. The British troops would arrive in three installments, and would be deployed on a line to the west of Salonika, running from northwest to southeast along Mt. Vermion and Mt. Olympus, the "Aliakmon line," as it was called. The Greeks, on the other hand, would provide four additional divisions (thirty-five battalions) from Thrace and eastern Macedonia for the defense of the Aliakmon line, and one division in reserve at Larissa. By the same agreement, Anthony Eden, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, undertook to approach Yugoslavia in order to enlist its military cooperation with Britain and Greece.
    [Show full text]
  • John S. Koliopoulos Unwanted Ally: Greece and the Great
    JOHN S. KOLIOPOULOS UNWANTED ALLY: GREECE AND THE GREAT POWERS, 1939-1941 Greece’s international position and national security, from the spring of 1939 when the Axis powers initiated a policy of outright conquest in Europe until the German invasion of the country two years later, have, until recently, been examined mainly from the point of view of contemporary official Greek policy, leading thus to the development of a semi - official Greek historiography1. Most of the governing as­ sumptions and premises of this historiography grew out of both war­ time rhetoric and the post - war requirements of Greek policy, to be­ come in time axiomatic. Some of these assumptions and premises are: a) that Greece followed, before the' Italian attack, a neutral policy towards the great European powers; b) that the Italian attack was unprovoked ; c ) that Anglo - Greek cooperation was subsequent — and consequent — to the Italian attack ; d ) that the Greek Government, although resolved to resist a German attack, did everything to avoid it, and e) that the German invasion was unprovoked and undertaken to rescue the defeated Italians in Albania. In this paper I propose to examine these assumptions in the light of evidence newly made avail­ able, and see particularly whether Greece followed a really neutral policy until the Italian attack, and whether the Greco - Italian war was, until Germany decided to intervene and extinguish the poten­ tially dangerous conflict in the Balkans, more than a local war loosely connected with the strategical interests of Britain and Germany. Greece’s foreign relations before World War II were first put to the test in April 1939, on the occasion of the Italian occupation of Al­ bania.
    [Show full text]
  • Kinley on Tsoutsoumpis, 'A History of the Greek Resistance in the Second World War: the People's Armies'
    H-War Kinley on Tsoutsoumpis, 'A History of the Greek Resistance in the Second World War: The People's Armies' Review published on Thursday, August 20, 2020 Spyros Tsoutsoumpis. A History of the Greek Resistance in the Second World War: The People's Armies. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016. 288 pp. $105.00 (cloth),ISBN 978-1-78499-251-4. Reviewed by Christopher Kinley (The Ohio State University) Published on H-War (August, 2020) Commissioned by Margaret Sankey (Air University) Printable Version: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=55113 Undeniably, one of the most researched episodes in the history of modern Greece is the Axis occupation and the subsequent civil war that devastated the country and left traces still tangible today. Although there is an abundance of Greek-language scholarship regarding the occupation and resistance fighters, much of it is confined within an accusatory political discourse that obscures historical realities and the nuances of the Greek resistance. Further compounding the limited nature of this scholarship is that Anglophone works regarding the topic are routinely dominated by narratives anchored by the Nazi enterprise, typically to garner a broader audience. What emerges from Spyros Tsoutsoumpis’s book, A History of the Greek Resistance, is a rich study that acts as a corrective to these historiographical shortcomings. In this well-written and provocative study, Tsoutsoumpis meticulously weaves together archival sources, memoirs, and oral histories to unearth the complex nature of the Greek resistance, from internal organization to the motivations that drove individuals to join as well as defect from guerilla bands.
    [Show full text]
  • Acrobat PDF File
    Vol. 3 / No. 1 Published by IMMA Inc. May 2000 Guest Editorial: Monachus in Memoria by Keith Ronald. Reflections on a quarter century of monk seal conservation. International News Hawaiian News Mediterranean News Cover Story: When Fishermen Save Seals by William M. Johnson & Alexandros A. Karamanlidis. Why the artisanal fishers of the Mediterranean are beginning to save monk seals in order to save their own Cover Story: A young monk seal in the Aegean fragile livelihoods. experiences the perils of entanglement in the nets of its traditional enemy. In Focus: Final Millennium for the Caribbean monk seal by Gail Swanson. A Florida Keys historian reflects on the Caribbean monk seal’s lethal encounters with European explorers and native Indians. Perspectives: Surf’s Up, Live! Maui on less than $500 a day by William M. Johnson. Snapshots and outtakes from the 13th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Maui, Hawaii. Monachus Science: Kompanje, E.J.O., H. Güçlüsoy & P.J.H. van Bree. In Focus: An early victim of European arrivals to Insufficient calcium intake as a possible cause of the New World, the Caribbean monk seal has osteoporosis in an adult female monk seal Monachus probably lived its final millennium monachus from Çesme, Turkey. van Bree, P.J.H, & A. Panou. Do monk seals eat aborted fetuses? Baird, R.W. High levels of human interaction with a Hawaiian monk seal on the island of Maui. Karamanlidis, A.A. Monitoring human and Mediterranean monk seal activity in the National Marine Park of Alonnissos and Northern Sporades, Greece. Letters to the Editor including Monk Seals in the Main Hawaiian Islands by Thea Johanos.
    [Show full text]
  • Churchill, Wavell and Greece, 1941*
    Robin Higham Duty, Honor and Grand Strategy: Churchill, Wavell and Greece, 1941* In our previous works, then Capt. Harold E. Raugh and I took too limited a Mediterranean view of the background of the Greek campaign of 6-26 April 19411. Far from its being Raugh’s “disastrous mistake,” I argue that General Sir Archibald Wavell’s actions fitted both traditional British practice and the general policy worked out in London. In 1986 and 1987 I argued after long and careful thought since 1967 that Wavell went to Greece as part of a loyal deception of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, whose bellicose way at war was the antithesis of Wavell’s own professionalism. Further, whereas Raugh took the narrow military view, mine was a grand-strategic approach relating ends to means. My argument here is that a restudy of the campaign in Greece of 6-27 April 1941 utilizing the Orange Leonard ULTRA messages reconfirms my thesis that going to Greece was a deception and that far from being the miserable defeat which Raugh imagined, the withdrawal was a strategic triumph in the manner of a Wellington in Spain and Portugal or of the BEF’s in France in 1940. For this Wavell deserves full credit. In this respect, then, the so-called campaign in Greece must be seen not as an ignominious retreat in the face of superior forces, but rather as a skilful, carefully planned withdrawal and ultimate evacuation. It was a successful, though materially costly, gamble. * This paper was accepted for publication in late 2005 but delayed by the Balkan Studies financial crisis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of Crete: Hitler’S Airborne Gamble
    THE BATTLE OF CRETE: HITLER’S AIRBORNE GAMBLE A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE Military History by MARIA A. BIANK, MAJ, USA B.A., College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1990 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 2003 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Name of Candidate: Major Maria A. Biank Thesis Title: Battle of Crete: Hitler’s Airborne Gamble Approved by: _____________________________________, Thesis Committee Chair Lieutenant Colonel Marlyn R. Pierce, M.A. _____________________________________, Member Samuel J. Lewis, Ph.D. _____________________________________, Member Lieutenant Colonel John A. Suprin, M.A. Accepted this 6th day of June 2003 by: _____________________________________, Director, Graduate Degree Programs Philip J. Brookes, Ph.D. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student author and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to this study should include the foregoing statement.) ii ABSTRACT THE BATTLE OF CRETE: HITLER’S AIRBORNE GAMBLE, by MAJ Maria Biank, 96 pages As Adolf Hitler conquered most of the European continent in 1939-1941, the small island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea became vital to future operations in the Mediterranean region for both the Axis and Allied powers. If the Allies controlled Crete, their air and sea superiority would not allow the Germans a strategic military foothold in the region. For the Germans, Crete would secure the Aegean Sea for Axis shipping, loosen Great Britain’s grasp in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and provide air bases to launch offensives against British forces in Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • Haifa 12/12/02 FREEDOM OR DEATH: the Jews in the Greek Resistance Steven Bowman, University of Cincinnati Visiting Profe
    Haifa 12/12/02 FREEDOM OR DEATH: The Jews in the Greek Resistance Steven Bowman, University of Cincinnati Visiting Professor, University of Haifa “Better one hour of freedom than 40 years of slavery and prison” Rigas Pheraios (1757-1798) Neither the Greek Government nor the Greek people accepted the surrender of their trapped and exhausted armies in April 1941. Nor did the people of Crete who fought alongside the remnants of the Greek army and the British Expeditionary Force accept the German invasion and subsequent occupation. Resistance continued from the victory over the Italians and was the Greek response to the Axis invasions. Resistance took many forms. Urban resistance emphasized gathering of information, refusal to volunteer for labor in Germany, occasional acts of sabotage, demonstrations and protests, sympathy with and assistance to British prisoners of war; even survival was an act of resistance. Rural resistance, in the main, consisted of hiding food and offering sanctuary and assistance to escaped British POWs and to resistance fighters. Eventually the rural population contributed its sons – and daughters – to the new vision of Greece imposed by EAM-ELAS. The mountains however have justly claimed the historical high ground for resistance. It was to the mountains, as traditionally among the klephtes of the Ottoman period, that men and women ran from the occupying authorities and planned their attacks. The mountains, as Leon Uris described them, were angry, indeed as angry as a swarm of bees whose pastoral life was disturbed by rabid wolves. The resistance in Greece began as a continuation of the war against the Axis forces that had invaded, conquered, and occupied Greece.
    [Show full text]