Crete

Crete PDF Author: Antony Beevor
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1848546351
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Antony Beevor vividly brings to life the epic struggles that took place in Second World War Crete - reissued with a new introduction. 'The best book we have got on Crete' Observer The Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 - a unique event in the history of warfare - to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. They had no idea that the British, using Ultra intercepts, knew their plans and had laid a carefully-planned trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war, but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle round. Nor did the conflict end there. Ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance, aided by a dramatic cast of British officers from Special Operations Executive.

Crete

Crete PDF Author: Antony Beevor
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1848546351
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Antony Beevor vividly brings to life the epic struggles that took place in Second World War Crete - reissued with a new introduction. 'The best book we have got on Crete' Observer The Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 - a unique event in the history of warfare - to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. They had no idea that the British, using Ultra intercepts, knew their plans and had laid a carefully-planned trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war, but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle round. Nor did the conflict end there. Ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance, aided by a dramatic cast of British officers from Special Operations Executive.

Crete 1941

Crete 1941 PDF Author: Peter Antill
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782007105
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Operation Mercury, the German airborne assault on the island of Crete in May 1941, was the first strategic use of airborne forces in history. The assault began on 20 May, with landings near the island's key airports, and reinforcements the next day allowed the German forces to capture one end of the runway at Maleme. By 24 May, the Germans were being reinforced by air on a huge scale and on 1 June Crete surrendered. This book describes how desperately close the battle had been and explains how German losses so shocked the Führer that he never again authorised a major airborne operation.

The German Campaigns in the Balkans (spring, 1941).

The German Campaigns in the Balkans (spring, 1941). PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description


The Lost Battle

The Lost Battle PDF Author: C. A. MacDonald
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780330490597
Category : Crete (Greece)
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
A highly intriguing and moving account of this significant and wasteful battle. The invasion of Crete in 1941 should have been a textbook battle for General Kurt Students German troops, a swift and decisive blitzkrieg based on technical surprise. In fact it was based on a series of misjudgements which resulted in large and bloody losses and Crete became the graveyard of the German parachute troops.

Battle for Crete

Battle for Crete PDF Author: Matthew Wright
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780908318162
Category : Operation Mercury, 1941
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
Confronting the might of the Luftwaffe! New Zealand soldiers arrived in Crete during early May 1941, short of equipment after a hasty evacuation from Greece. Three weeks later Germany invaded from the air, and the fate of New Zealand

Operation Mercury

Operation Mercury PDF Author: John Sadler
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783460539
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
Unlike the few other books written on the catastrophic fall of Crete in May 1941, this book concentrates on the military actions between the first German paratroop landing on 20 May and the final defeat and evacuation on 30 May. As well as studying the strengths, tactics, leadership and weapons of both sides, the book contains numerous graphic personal anecdotes by participants, be they German, Allied or Cretan. While the battle was a decisive defeat for the Allies, the Germans made a disastrous start. How they recovered from this so spectacularly is well covered.This is a worthy addition to the Battleground series being both a fine study of the conflict and an invaluable guide. The Author has visited Crete on many occasions and knows the ground well.

Battle of Crete

Battle of Crete PDF Author: George Forty
Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Examines in detail, largely from the German viewpoint, one of the most bitterly contested engagements of the Western front. Includes a wealth of contemporary photographs, together with first-hand reminiscences of combatants. The essential reference to this important but often overlooked battle.

The Cretan War, 1645-1671

The Cretan War, 1645-1671 PDF Author: Bruno Mugnai
Publisher: Century of the Soldier
ISBN: 9781911628040
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The army and the navy of Venice and Ottoman Empire during the campaigns fought for the possession of the 'pearl of the Mediterranean'. The legendary Venetian resistance impressed the courts of whole Europe, transforming the conflict in the 'Campo di Marte' of the continent.

Battle for Crete

Battle for Crete PDF Author: John Hall Spencer
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 178159466X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
This WW2 military history “combin[es] a look at the background to the battle . . . and the ground level memories of the participants with great skill.” (History of War.org) After two years’ extensive research, John Hall Spencer has written a thorough account of the political and military background to the German invasion of Crete and the bitter fighting that followed the first airborne assault on an island in history. Battle for Crete tells of confused negotiations between the British and Greek governments; the misunderstandings between Winston Churchill’s War Cabinet and commanders in the field; the near capture of the King of Greece; the lack of preparation by the defenders and the suppression of a critical post-battle report by General Wavell. There are vivid eyewitness accounts of the fighting both during the invasion and the subsequent campaign and ultimate retreat and evacuation. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force’s contribution is well documented, as are the roles of the German air force, in this “close run” campaign fought with aggression by both sides.

Men of Valour

Men of Valour PDF Author: Ron Palenski
Publisher: Hodder Moa
ISBN: 1869713095
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
In May of 1941 New Zealand?s citizen soldiers, not long removed from their day jobs, were thrust into a type of fighting the world had not seen before: a land force against an airborne invasion. It was man against machines. In many ways, Crete became in the Second World War what Gallipoli had been in the First: another Dunkirk ? a scrambling effort to survive after defeat. This book breathes new life into the baptism of fire for New Zealand?s men of valour. It puts a human face on a military disaster, a failure that paradoxically was as large for the victors, the Germans, as it was for the losers, the Allies, among whom New Zealanders dominated. Crete tempered the New Zealand Division, and it went on to become one of the most respected and admired fighting forces of the Second World War.