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 Wehrmacht Oberleutnant #50 Eastern Front 1941-1945 Axis & Allies NM Axis & US $3.89
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The German paratroop regiments were referred to as Fallschirmjager. They were the elite force of the Wehermatch and Hitler wanted to use them for decisive results.
An opportunity presented itself to capture the island of Crete. Crete is Small Island in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and its capture was essential for the Germans to control the entire area. The OKW under Hitler planned a Para invasion of the island. This was to negate the effect of the Royal Navy which was controlling all the sea lanes around the island. The capture of Crete was important to secure the lower belly of the Axis forces which had occupied Greece. The Attack was sandwiched before the invasion of Russia and as such the OKW which was busy planning the invasion of Russia was reluctant to undertake this operation at this juncture. But Herman Goering and the Luftwaffe were keen on this operation to restore their flagging prestige which had been severely dented during the Battle of Britain in 1940. As such Hitler after persuasion ordered an air-borne assault on Crete.
The Allies had a fairly substantial force of about 40,000 on the island under command of Major General Freyberg. The command for the airborne on the German side was with General Kurt Student. The attack began on 20 May 41 when airborne gliders towed by Junker Ju 52 landed at various places on the island. The gliders with troops and equipments landed en masse. In addition the German Para brigades were parachuted from the air at a number of places. However it was a bloody fight and the Para forces suffered very heavy losses. They saw a bloody conflict and the defenders put up fierce resistance in places such as Monte Casino. But the basic element of surprise so important in warfare and complete superiority over the air paid dividends and soon the Germans could capture one of the airfields and flew in more troops and guns. The battle was bloody for the Germans who suffered heavy causalities but by 28 May London had decided that the situation was hopeless and ordered an evacuation of the forces. In another week of fighting the island was completely subdued and the OKW could announce a victory. But the heavy causalities suffered by the Germans were a dampener and that was perhaps the reason that Hitler never ordered any large-scale invasion by air later in the war.
The allies however were suitably impressed and started building their own airborne regiment which they used later. The assault on Crete is an important battle during the Second World War. It brought home the potency of airpower and the success of such operations. The Indian army also ordered a Para drop during the Bangladesh war (1971) at Tangail the cantonment near Dacca with decisive results. Hitler was to use his Fallschirmjager in 1943 in a daring and successful operation to rescue Benito Mussolini from his place of arrest in Italy. The Crete airborne assault forms part of the curriculum at the Staff college in Wellington and brings to the fore the truth of Douhets axiom of superiority of airpower in a decisive victory. For posterity this is an abject lesson on the potency of an air assault.
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