Editing Battle of Crete (section)

==Battle==
===20 May===
====Maleme–Chania sector====
{{Main|Battle of Maleme}}
[[File:German prisoners under British guard.jpg|thumb|Captured German paratroopers under British guard]]
At 08:00 on 20 May 1941, German paratroopers, jumping out of dozens of [[Junkers Ju 52]] aircraft, landed near Maleme Airfield and the town of [[Chania]]. The [[21st Battalion (New Zealand)|21st]], [[22nd Battalion (New Zealand)|22nd]] and [[23rd Battalion (New Zealand)|23rd New Zealand battalions]] held Maleme Airfield and the vicinity. The Germans suffered many casualties in the first hours of the invasion: a company of III Battalion, 1st Assault Regiment lost 112 killed out of 126 men, and 400 of 600 men in III Battalion were killed on the first day.<ref name="Keegan 2011 135">{{harvnb|Keegan|2011|p= 135}}</ref> Most of the parachutists were engaged by New Zealanders defending the airfield and by Greek forces near Chania. Many gliders following the paratroops were hit by [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] fire seconds after landing, and the New Zealand and Greek defenders almost annihilated the glider troops who landed safely.<ref name="Keegan 2011 135"/>

Some paratroopers and gliders missed their objectives near both airfields and set up defensive positions to the west of Maleme Airfield and in "Prison Valley" near Chania. Both forces were contained and failed to take the airfields, but the defenders had to deploy to face them.<ref>{{harvnb|Keegan|2011|pp= 135–138}}</ref> Towards the evening of 20 May, the Germans slowly pushed the New Zealanders back from Hill 107, which overlooked the airfield. Greek police and cadets took part, with the 1st Greek Regiment (Provisional) combining with armed civilians to rout a detachment of German paratroopers dropped at [[Kissamos|Kastelli]]. The 8th Greek Regiment and elements of the Cretan forces severely hampered movement by the 95th Reconnaissance Battalion on [[Kolimbari]] and [[Paleochora]], where Allied reinforcements from North Africa could be landed.

====Rethymno–Heraklion sector====
{{Main|Battle of Rethymno|Battle of Heraklion}}
[[File:Paratroopers Crete '41.JPG|thumb|More German paratroops landing on Crete from [[Junkers Ju 52]] transports, 20 May 1941.]]
A second wave of German transports supported by Luftwaffe and [[Regia Aeronautica]] attack aircraft, arrived in the afternoon, dropping more paratroopers and gliders containing assault troops.<ref>Germany and the Second World War, Volume 3, Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, p. 546, Oxford University Press, 1995</ref> One group attacked at Rethymno at 16:15 and another attacked at Heraklion at 17:30, where the defenders were waiting for them and inflicted many casualties.

The Rethymno–Heraklion sector was defended by the British 14th Brigade, as well as the [[2/4th Australian Infantry Battalion]] and the Greek 3rd, 7th and "Garrison" (ex-5th Crete Division) battalions. The Greeks lacked equipment and supplies, particularly the Garrison Battalion. The Germans pierced the defensive cordon around Heraklion on the first day, seizing the Greek barracks on the west edge of the town and capturing the docks; the Greeks counter-attacked and recaptured both points. The Germans dropped leaflets threatening dire consequences if the Allies did not surrender immediately. The next day, Heraklion was heavily bombed and the depleted Greek units were relieved and assumed a defensive position on the road to [[Knossos]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}<!--I think I once read that the British &/or New Zealanders were involved in defending & retaking the port; this needs to be checked-->

[[File:Port view of a damaged German Junkers Ju52 troop transport aircraft Heraklion, Crete 1941 3785471.jpg|right|thumb|Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft downed by anti-aircraft fire near Heraklion.]]
As night fell, none of the German objectives had been secured. Of 493 German transport aircraft used during the airdrop, seven were lost to anti-aircraft fire. The bold plan to attack in four places to maximise surprise, rather than concentrating on one, seemed to have failed, although the reasons were unknown to the Germans at the time.

Among the paratroopers who landed on the first day was former world heavyweight champion [[boxing|boxer]] [[Max Schmeling]], who held the rank of ''[[Gefreiter]]'' at the time. Schmeling survived the battle and the war.

===21 May===
Overnight, the 22nd New Zealand Infantry Battalion withdrew from Hill 107, leaving Maleme Airfield undefended. During the previous day, the Germans had cut communications between the two westernmost companies of the battalion and the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel [[Leslie Andrew]] VC, who was on the eastern side of the airfield. The lack of communication was assumed to mean that the battalion had been overrun in the west. With the weakened state of the eastern elements of the battalion and believing the western elements to have been overrun, Andrew requested reinforcement by the 23rd Battalion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/meda/sound/donald-haddon-interview |title=Haddon Donald describes defending Maleme airfield, Crete |first1=Haddon |last1=Donald |first2=Megan |last2=Hutching |year=2000 |publisher=New Zealand History online |access-date=3 June 2012 |archive-date=20 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820040929/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/meda/sound/donald-haddon-interview |url-status=live}}</ref> Brigadier [[James Hargest]] denied the request on the mistaken grounds that the 23rd Battalion was busy repulsing parachutists in its sector. After a failed counter-attack late in the day on 20 May, with the eastern elements of his battalion, Andrew withdrew under cover of darkness to regroup, with the consent of Hargest.<ref name=crete1-2-3>{{cite web |title=The battle: days 1–3 – The Battle for Crete |url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/the-battle-for-crete/the-battle-day-1-3 |publisher=New Zealand History online |year=2011 |access-date=3 June 2012 |archive-date=2 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202070009/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/the-battle-for-crete/the-battle-day-1-3 |url-status=live}}</ref> Captain Campbell, commanding the westernmost company of the 22nd Battalion, out of contact with Andrew, did not learn of the withdrawal of the 22nd Battalion until early in the morning, at which point he also withdrew from the west of the airfield.<ref name=ch11>{{harvnb|Long|1953|pp=221–255}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |degree=Master |last=Πέπονας |first=Εμμανουήλ |date=2019 |script-title=el:Η μάχη της Κρήτης (1941) |url=https://olympias.lib.uoi.gr/jspui/handle/123456789/29749 |doi=10.26268/heal.uoi.9746 |publisher=University of Ioannina |language=el}}</ref> This misunderstanding, representative of the failings of communication and co-ordination in the defence of Crete, cost the Allies the airfield and allowed the Germans to reinforce their invasion force unopposed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The controversies – The Battle for Crete |website=NZHistory |url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/the-battle-for-crete/the-controversies |access-date=24 November 2015 |archive-date=16 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216071441/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/the-battle-for-crete/the-controversies |url-status=live}}</ref> In Athens, Student decided to concentrate on Maleme on 21 May, as this was the area where the most progress had been made and because an early morning reconnaissance flight over Maleme Airfield was unopposed.<ref name=crete1-2-3/><ref name=tdono>{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5003191/Officer-breaks-rank-over-the-Battle-of-Crete |first=Tim |last=Donoghue |title=Officer breaks rank over the Battle of Crete |year=2011 |publisher=stuff.co.nz |access-date=27 April 2012 |archive-date=2 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702093913/http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5003191/Officer-breaks-rank-over-the-Battle-of-Crete |url-status=live}}</ref> The Germans quickly exploited the withdrawal from Hill 107 to take control of Maleme Airfield, just as a sea landing took place nearby. The Allies continued to bombard the area as {{nobr|Ju 52s}} flew in units of the 5th Mountain Division at night.<ref name=ch11/>

====Maleme Airfield counter-attack====
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-166-0508-31, Kreta, Vormarsch deutscher Fallschirmjäger.jpg|thumb|right|Attacking ''[[Fallschirmjäger (World War II)|Fallschirmjäger]]'']]
In the afternoon of 21 May 1941, Freyberg ordered a counter-attack to retake Maleme Airfield during the night of 21/22 May. The 2/7th Battalion was to move {{convert|18|mi|km}} north to relieve the [[20th Battalion (New Zealand)|20th Battalion]], which would participate in the attack. The 2/7th Battalion had no transport, and vehicles for the battalion were delayed by German aircraft. By the time the battalion moved north to relieve 20th Battalion for the counter-attack, it was 23:30, and the 20th Battalion took three hours to reach the staging area, with its first elements arriving around 02:45.<ref name=ch11/> The counter-attack began at 03:30 but failed because of German daylight air support.<ref name=crete1-2-3/> (Brigadier [[George Alan Vasey]] and Lieutenant-Colonel [[William Cremor]] have criticised Freyberg for not properly defending Maleme Airfield.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://neoskosmos.com/news/en/Battle-of-Crete-Dr-Maria-Hill-Diggers-and-Greeks |title=Battle of Crete: Greece sacrificed much for the greater good – Neos Kosmos |date=30 May 2010 |access-date=15 March 2015 |archive-date=15 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315051311/http://neoskosmos.com/news/en/Battle-of-Crete-Dr-Maria-Hill-Diggers-and-Greeks |url-status=live}}</ref> Hargest also blamed Freyberg for the loss of the airfield.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lawrencewattskiwiwarhistory.wordpress.com/tag/battle-of-crete/ |title=Battle of Crete |website=www.lawrencewattskiwiwarhistory.wordpress.com |access-date=15 March 2015 |archive-date=15 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315055949/https://lawrencewattskiwiwarhistory.wordpress.com/tag/battle-of-crete/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Axis landing attempt, 21/22 May====
[[File:Francesco Mimbelli.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|Captain Francesco Mimbelli]]An Axis convoy of around 20 [[caïque]]s, escorted by the {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Lupo}}, tried to land German reinforcements near Maleme. [[Crete order of battle#Force D|Force D]] under Rear-Admiral [[Irvine Glennie]], with three light cruisers and four destroyers, intercepted the convoy before midnight; the convoy turned back with the loss of more than half of its boats, despite ''Lupo''<nowiki/>'s defence.{{sfn|Pack|1973|p=32}} The attacking British force suffered only slight damage on cruiser {{HMS|Orion|85|6}} caused by friendly fire.{{sfn|Roskill|1957|p=441}} About {{frac|2|3}} of the German force of more than 2,000 men was saved by the Italian naval commander, [[Francesco Mimbelli]], against an overwhelmingly superior Allied naval force. A total of 297 German soldiers, two Italian seamen<ref>{{harvnb|Greene|Massignani|1998|p=170}}.</ref> and two British sailors on ''Orion'' were killed.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Bilalis |first=Aris |date=2019 |title=The German convoys to Crete |url=https://www.academia.edu/43672983 |journal=Naftiki Ellas |via=Academia.edu |access-date=2 November 2021 |archive-date=5 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105122356/https://www.academia.edu/43672983/The_German_convoys_to_Crete |url-status=live}}</ref> Eight caiques were caught and sunk, while at least another six managed to get away,<ref>{{harvnb|O'Hara|2009|pp=119}}</ref> along with three Italian escorting motor-sailing boats.<ref name=":1" /> Only one caïque and one cutter from the convoy reached Crete. The caïque landed 3 officers and 110 German soldiers near Cape Spatha, while the cutter arrived safely in [[Akrotiri, Crete|Akrotiri]], where her crew was engaged by a British Army patrol<ref>{{harvnb|Beevor|1991|p = 164}}</ref> and took heavy casualties. Of the German soldiers who landed at Akrotiri, only one managed to get through the British lines and join the German paratroopers already fighting for Chania.<ref>{{harvnb|Shores|Cull|Malizia|1987|pp=357}}</ref> According to other authors, only one German officer and 35 men from the 100th Regiment landed from the caïque that arrived in Crete.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stewart |first=Ian McDougall Guthrie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fhmAAAAMAAJ&q=ca%C3%AFque+%22Cape+Spatha%22+1941 |title=The Struggle for Crete, 10 May--1 June 1941 |date=1966 |publisher=Oxford U.P. |isbn=978-0-608-13736-0 |page=281 |language=en |access-date=15 November 2021 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416193558/https://books.google.com/books?id=1fhmAAAAMAAJ&q=ca%C3%AFque+%22Cape+Spatha%22+1941 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===22 May===
====Maleme====
The defending force organised for a night counter-attack on Maleme by two New Zealand battalions, the 20th Battalion of the 4th Brigade and the [[28th Maori Battalion]] of the 5th Brigade. A New Zealand officer present at the battle claimed a long delay ordering the planned counter-attack turned a night attack into a day attack, which led to its failure.<ref name=tdono/> Fears of a sea landing meant that a number of units that could have taken part in the attack were left in place, although this possibility was removed by the Royal Navy which arrived too late for the plans to be changed. The delayed counter-attack on the airfield came in daylight on 22 May, when the troops faced ''Stuka'' dive bombers, dug-in paratroops and mountain troops. The attack slowly petered out and failed to retake the airfield, which forced the defenders into withdrawals to the eastern end of the island, to avoid being out-flanked.<ref name=tdono/>

====Axis landing attempt, 22/23 May====
[[File:Sagittario at anchor.jpg|thumb|Italian torpedo boat {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Sagittario|1936|2}}]]

[[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|Admiral Andrew Cunningham]] sent Force C (three cruisers and four destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral [[Edward King (naval officer)|Edward Leigh Stuart King]]) into the [[Aegean Sea]] through the [[Kasos]] Strait, to attack a second flotilla of transports, escorted by the Italian torpedo boat {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Sagittario|1936|2}}. The force sank an isolated ''caïque'' at 08:30, saving itself from an air attack that struck the cruiser {{HMS|Naiad|93|6}} as the German pilots tried to avoid killing their troops in the water. The British squadron was under constant air attack and, short of anti-aircraft ammunition, steamed on toward Milos, sighting ''Sagittario'' at 10:00. King made the "difficult" decision not to press the attack, despite his overpowering advantage, because of the shortage of ammunition and the severity of the air attacks.<ref>Cunningham, Section 1, paragraph 5.</ref> The transports were defended by a torpedo charge by ''Sagittario'', which also laid a smoke screen and traded fire with the British force,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> trying to lure them to a different direction. Indeed, King was unaware that a major enemy convoy was ahead of his force until 11:00.<ref name=":1" /> Eventually, the convoy and its escort managed to slip away undamaged. King's ships, despite their failure to destroy the German troop transports, had succeeded in forcing the Axis to abort the landing by their mere presence at sea. During the search and withdrawal from the area, Force C suffered many losses to German bombers. ''Naiad'' was damaged by near misses and the cruiser {{HMS|Carlisle|D67|6}} was hit. Cunningham later criticised King, saying that the safest place during the air attack was amongst the flotilla of ''caïque''s.<ref name=":2">{{harvnb|Greene|Massignani|1998|p=172}}.</ref><ref name=":3">{{harvnb|Beevor|1991|p=167}}</ref>

While Force C made its attack on the convoy, Force A1 (Rear Admiral [[Bernard Rawlings (Royal Navy officer)|H B Rawlings]]), Force B (Captain Henry A Rowley) and Glennie's Force D converged west of [[Antikythera]]. Concerned about the level of anti-aircraft ammunition available following repeated air attacks, the combined force was ordered to report on their stock of high-angle ammunition at 09:31. Of the cruisers, {{HMS|Ajax|22|6}} had 40 per cent, ''Orion'' 38 per cent, ''Fiji'' 30 per cent, {{HMS|Dido|37|6}} 25 per cent and ''Gloucester'' only 18 per cent. ''Ajax'', ''Orion'' and ''Dido'' were ordered to return to Alexandria with Glennie's Force D to rearm but ''Gloucester'' and ''Fiji'' remained with Rawlings' Force A1.<ref name="OtterC14">{{harvnb|Otter|2001|loc=Chapter 14}}</ref>

At 12:25 Force A1, stationed 20 to 30 miles west of Antikythera, received a request from King to support the damaged ''Naiad.'' Force A1 headed east into the [[Kythera]] Channel, rendezvousing with Force C between 13:30 and 14:00. As the more senior admiral, King took command, with air attacks now inflicting damage on both forces. A bomb struck {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}} and the destroyer {{HMS|Greyhound|H05|6}} was sunk. King sent {{HMS|Kandahar|F28|6}} and {{HMS|Kingston|F64|6}} to pick up survivors, while the cruisers ''Fiji'' and ''Gloucester'' were ordered respectively at 14:02 and 14:07 to provide anti-aircraft support. Writing in despatches after the battle, Cunningham stated that King was unaware of the shortage of anti-aircraft ammunition in ''Gloucester'' and ''Fiji''. At 14:13 King and Rawlings exchanged messages about the shortage of ammunition within both Force C and Force A1, with Rawlings expressing concern about the orders given to ''Gloucester'' and ''Fiji''. Following this communication, King issued an order to recall both ''Gloucester'' and ''Fiji'' at 14:57.<ref name="OtterC14"/><ref>Cunningham, Section 1, paragraph 8, and Section 2, paragraphs 30-35.</ref>

Between 15:30 and 15:50, while attempting to rejoin Force A1, ''Gloucester'' was hit by several bombs and had to be left behind due to the air attacks;<ref>Cunningham, Section 2, paragraph 35.</ref> the ship was sunk and 22 officers and 700 ratings were killed.<ref name="OtterC14"/>{{sfn|Roskill|1957|p=442}} The air attacks on Force A1 and Force C continued; two bombs hit the battleship {{HMS|Valiant|1914|6}} and another hit ''Fiji'', disabling her at 18:45. A [[Junkers Ju 88]] flown by Lieutenant [[Gerhard Brenner]] dropped three bombs on ''Fiji'', sinking her at 20:15.<ref>Cunningham, Section 2, paragraph 38.</ref> Five hundred survivors were rescued by ''Kandahar'' and ''Kingston'' that night. The Royal Navy had lost two cruisers and a destroyer but had managed to force the invasion fleet to turn round.<ref>{{harvnb|Beevor|1991|pp=166–168}}.</ref> Royal Navy AA gunners shot down five [[Junkers Ju 87]]s and five Ju 88s and damaged sixteen more, some of which crash-landed upon their return to base on the night of 21/22 May.<ref>{{harvnb|Shores|Cull|Malizia|1987|pp=357–9}}</ref>

===23–27 May===
[[File:Smoke hanging over the habour in Suda Bay.jpg|thumb|Aftermath of a German air attack on [[Souda Bay]]]]
Fighting against fresh German troops, the Allies retreated southward. The 5th Destroyer Flotilla, consisting of {{HMS|Kelly|F01|6}}, {{HMS|Kipling|F91|6}}, {{HMS|Kelvin|F37|6}}, {{HMS|Jackal|F22|6}} and {{HMS|Kashmir|F12|6}} ([[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]], Lord [[Louis Mountbatten]]), was ordered to leave [[Malta]] on 21 May, to join the fleet off Crete, and arrived after ''Gloucester'' and ''Fiji'' were sunk. They were sent to pick up survivors and then diverted to attack a German convoy of about fifty ships and ''caïque''s off Cape Spatha on Rodopou peninsula, western Crete, on the night of 22/23 May and then shell the Germans at Maleme. ''Kelvin'' and ''Jackal'' were diverted to another search while Mountbatten, with ''Kelly'', ''Kashmir'' and ''Kipling'', was to go to Alexandria.{{sfn|Roskill|1957|p=443}}

When rounding the western side of Crete, the three ships were attacked by 24 Ju 87 ''Stuka'' dive bombers. ''Kashmir'' was hit and sank in two minutes, and ''Kelly'' was hit and turned turtle soon after and later sank. ''Kelly'' shot down a ''Stuka'' before sinking and another was badly damaged and crashed upon returning to base.<ref>{{harvnb|Shores|Cull|Malizia|1987|p=358}}.</ref> ''Kipling'' survived 83 bombs, while 279 survivors were rescued from the ships. (The [[Noël Coward]] film ''[[In Which We Serve]]'' was based on this action.)<ref>{{harvnb|Beevor|1991|pp=170–171}}.</ref> The Royal Navy had suffered so many losses from air attacks that on 23 May Admiral Cunningham signalled his superiors that daylight operations could no longer continue, but the Chiefs of Staff demurred.{{sfn|Roskill|1957|pp=443–444}} German search-and-rescue aircraft and Italian motor torpedo boats spotted and rescued the 262 survivors from the German light convoy sunk off Cape Spatha.

After air attacks on Allied positions in [[Kastelli, Heraklion|Kastelli]] on 24 May, the 95th ''Gebirgs'' Pioneer Battalion advanced on the town.<ref>{{harvnb|Davin|1953|pp=289–292}}.</ref> These air attacks enabled the escape of German paratroopers captured on 20 May; the escapees killed or captured several New Zealand officers assigned to lead the 1st Greek Regiment. The Greeks put up determined resistance but, with only 600 rifles and a few thousand rounds of ammunition available for 1,000 ill-trained men, they were unable to repel the German advance.<ref>{{harvnb|Davin|1953|pp=71–72}}</ref> Fighting by the remnants of the 1st Greek Regiment continued in the Kastelli area until 26 May, hampering German efforts to land reinforcements.

Despite the dangers posed by British naval forces, the ''Kriegsmarine'' made another attempt to supply the invasion by sea. On 24 May ''Oberleutnant-zur-See'' Österlin, who had led the Maleme Flotilla, was given the task of transporting two ''[[Panzer II]]'' light tanks to [[Kastelli-Kissamou|Kastelli Kisamou]]. Österlin commandeered a small wooden lighter at [[Piraeus]] and arranged for the tanks to be lowered onto it. At dusk the next day, the lighter, towed by the small harbour tug ''Kentauros'', left Piraeus and headed south towards Crete. Reports of British naval units operating nearby convinced Admiral Schuster to delay the operation and he ordered Österlin to make for a small harbour on the German-occupied island of [[Kithira]].<ref name=Ansel401-402>{{harvnb|Ansel|1972|pp=401–402}}.</ref><ref name=Schenk25>Schenk, p.25</ref> At a meeting in Athens on 27 May, Luftwaffe Generals Richthofen, Jeschonnek, and Löhr pressed Schuster to get the tanks delivered somehow before "...&nbsp;the Englander claws himself erect again".<ref name="Ansel 1972 401–402">{{harvnb|Ansel|1972|pp=401–402}}</ref> One of Richthofen's liaison officers had returned from the island on 26 May; the paratroopers were in poor condition, lacking in discipline, and "at loose ends". He stressed the "absolute and immediate need" for "reinforcement by sea shipment of heavy weaponry if the operation is to get ahead at all."<ref name="Ansel 1972 401–402"/>
{{quote|Awful news from Crete. We are scuppered there, and I'm afraid the morale and material effects will be serious. Certainly the Germans are past-masters in the art of war—and ''great'' warriors. If we beat them, we shall have worked a miracle.|''[[Alexander Cadogan]], Diary, 27 May 1941<ref>Cadogan, Alexander (1972). ''The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan 1938–1945: Edited by David Dilks'', G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. Page 381.</ref>''}}

Schuster issued Österlin new orders to sail for the [[Gulf of Kissamos]], where a landing beach had already been selected and marked out. Upon nearing the shore on 28 May, the lighter was positioned ahead of the tug and firmly beached. A party of engineers then blew the lighter's bow off using demolition charges and the two tanks rolled ashore. They were soon assigned to ''Advance Detachment Wittman'', which had assembled near Prison Valley reservoir the day before. This ad hoc group was composed of a motorcycle battalion, the Reconnaissance Battalion, an anti-tank unit, a motorised artillery troop, and some engineers. General Ringel gave orders for Wittmann to "strike out from Platanos at 03:00 on 28 May in pursuit of the British 'main' via the coastal highway to Rethymno" and thence towards Heraklion.<ref name=Ansel401-402/> Although they did not play a decisive role, the panzers were useful in helping round up British troops in the [[Kissamos]] area, before speeding eastward in support of the German pursuit column.<ref name=Ansel401-402/>

On the night of 26/27 May, a detachment of some 800 men from [[No. 7 Commando|No. 7]] and [[No. 50/52 Commando]]s, as part of Layforce, landed at Souda Bay (Colonel [[Robert Laycock]]).<ref name=Saunders55>{{harvnb|Saunders|1959|p=55}}</ref> Laycock had tried to land the force on 25 May, but had turned back due to bad weather.<ref name=Saunders55/> Although armed mainly with only rifles and a small number of machine guns, they were to carry out rearguard actions in order to buy the garrison enough time to carry out an evacuation.<ref name=Saunders55/>

Troops of the German 141st Mountain Regiment blocked a section of the road between Souda and Chania. On the morning of 27 May, the New Zealand [[Māori Battalion|28th (Māori) Battalion]], the [[2/7th Australian Infantry Battalion|Australian 2/7th Battalion]] and the [[2/8th Australian Infantry Battalion|Australian 2/8th Battalion]] cleared the road by a [[Bayonet|bayonet charge]] (the "[[Battle of 42nd Street]]").<ref>{{harvnb|Davin|1953|pp=377–379}}</ref> Command in London decided the cause was hopeless after General Wavell informed the Prime Minister at 0842, 27 May, that the battle was lost, and ordered an evacuation.<ref name="Forty, George 2001, P.129">Forty, George, ''The Battle of Crete'' Ian Allan, London, 2001, p. 129</ref> Freyberg concurrently ordered his troops to withdraw to the south coast to be evacuated.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

====Italian landing at Sitia====
[[File:Sitia 1941.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|An Italian marines' machine gun team takes position after landing at [[Sitia]].]]
On 26 May, in the face of the stalled German advance, senior Wehrmacht officers requested Mussolini to send Italian Army units to Crete in order to help the German forces fighting there.<ref>Germany and the Second World War, Volume 3, Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, p. 549, Oxford University Press, 1995</ref>{{request quotation|date=May 2022}} On the afternoon of 27 May, an Italian convoy departed from [[Rhodes]] with the intention of landing a brigade from the [[50th Infantry Division Regina]], supported by 13 [[L3/35]] light tanks.<ref name=hunter/> Italian participation in the battle of Crete was limited and finally on 28 May, when the campaign was already decided in the Germans' favour and Allied evacuation had begun, an Italian landing force approached the east coast of the island, off Sitia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Airborne Invasion Of Crete, 1941 |date=15 August 2014 |publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing |isbn=978-1-78289-318-9 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jAlvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |access-date=20 May 2022 |language=en |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416193558/https://books.google.com/books?id=jAlvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Palazzo |first1=Albert |title=The Battle of Crete |date=1 July 2010 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-921941-24-5 |page=76 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqbuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT131 |language=en |access-date=27 May 2022 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416193606/https://books.google.com/books?id=MqbuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT131 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C. |title=World War II: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [5 volumes]: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection |date=6 September 2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-969-6 |page=477 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wm_YDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA477 |language=en |access-date=27 May 2022 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416193559/https://books.google.com/books?id=wm_YDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA477 |url-status=live}}</ref>

At 13:30 on 28 May, the Italians believed that three cruisers and six destroyers of the Royal Navy were steaming up towards the northern coast of Crete in support of Allied troops, but the Royal Navy was fully occupied evacuating the Crete garrison.<ref name="Forty, George 2001, P.129"/><ref name=hunter/> The Italians assumed that the Royal Navy force would be off [[Sitia]], the planned landing site, by 17:00, and the commander decided that the slowest ship of the convoy would be taken in tow by ''Lince'' to increase speed and ''Crispi'' was detached to shell the lighthouse at Cape [[Sideros]]. The 3,000 men of the division and their equipment were on shore by 17:20 and advanced west mostly unopposed, rendezvousing with the Germans at [[Ierapetra]]. The Italian troops later moved their headquarters from Sitia to [[Agios Nikolaos, Crete|Agios Nikolaos]].<ref name=hunter>Cocchia, Aldo (1980). ''The Hunters and the Hunted''. Naval Institute Press, pp. 59–69. {{ISBN|978-0-405-13030-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dodecaneso.org/creta41.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203210702/http://www.dodecaneso.org/creta41.htm |title=''Egeo in Guerra – Lo sbarco italiano a Creta del maggio 1941'' |archive-date=3 February 2011 |access-date=6 January 2021}}</ref>

===Retreat===
[[File:Wounded British troops disembarking.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|British wounded evacuated to [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]]]]
The Germans pushed the British, Commonwealth and Greek forces steadily southward, using aerial and artillery bombardment, followed by waves of motorcycle and mountain troops (the rocky terrain making it difficult to employ tanks). The garrisons at [[Souda]] and [[Beritania]] gradually fell back along the road to [[Vitsilokoumos]], north of Sfakia. About halfway there, near the village of [[Askyfou]] lay a large crater nicknamed "The Saucer", the only place wide and flat enough for a large parachute drop. Troops were stationed about its perimeter, to prevent a landing that might block the retreat.
On the evening of the 27th, a small detachment of German troops penetrated Allied lines near Imbros Gorge threatening a column of retreating unarmed Allied forces. The attack was held off by four men, the only ones with weapons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Crete |website=Operations & Codenames of WWII |url=https://codenames.info/operation/battle-of-crete/ |access-date=2024-06-09}}</ref> Led by Cpl Douglas Bignal, the men sacrificed themselves,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Crete |website=Operations & Codenames of WWII |url=https://codenames.info/operation/battle-of-crete/ |access-date=2024-06-09}}</ref>securing the withdrawal of the remainder. Amongst this group was New Zealander Pte Willy Falconer of the Maori battalion, a hero of 42nd Street and Galatas. Also killed were LCpl Philip Stamp and Pte Andrew Payton.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Crete |website=Operations & Codenames of WWII |url=https://codenames.info/operation/battle-of-crete/ |access-date=2024-06-09}}</ref>

Near Souda, the 5th New Zealand Brigade and the 2/7th Australian Battalion, held off the 141st Mountain Regiment, which had begun a flanking manoeuvre, and on 28 May, at the village of [[Stylos]], the 5th New Zealand Brigade fought a rearguard action. The Luftwaffe was over Rethymno and Heraklion and they were able to retreat down the road.{{sfn|Playfair|Flynn|Molony|Toomer|1956|p=144}}

The retreat of the brigade was covered by two companies of the Māori Battalion under Captain [[Rangi Royal]], who overran the I Battalion, 141st ''Gebirgsjäger'' Regiment and halted the German advance. When the main unit was safely to the rear, the Māori retreated {{convert|24|mi|km}}, losing only two killed and eight wounded, all of whom were recovered. Layforce was the only big unit in this area to be cut off. Layforce had been sent to Crete by way of Sfakia when it was still hoped that reinforcements could be brought from Egypt to turn the tide of the battle.<ref name="Saunders55"/> The battalion-sized force was split up, with a 200-man detachment under Laycock at Souda to cover the retreat of the heavier units. Layforce and three British tanks were joined by the men of the 20th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, who had been assigned to guard Souda docks and refused to believe that an evacuation had been ordered. After a day of battle, Laycock ordered a night retreat to Beritiana, where he was joined by Royal and the Māori, who managed to fight their way out, but Layforce was cut off near the village of Babali Khani (Agioi Pantes). Laycock and his Intelligence Officer, [[Evelyn Waugh]], were able to escape in a tank. Most of the other men of the detachment and the 20th HAA Battery were killed or captured. (By the end of the operation about 600 of the 800 commandos sent to Crete were listed as killed, wounded or missing; only 179 men got off the island.)<ref>{{harvnb|Chappell|1996|p=16}}</ref>

===Evacuation, 28 May – 1 June===
[[File:Pictures For Illustrating Ritchie Ii Book. November and December 1942, Alexandria, Pictures of Paintings by Lieutenant Commander R Langmaid, Rn, Official Fleet Artist. These Pictures Are For Illustrating a Nava A13643.jpg|thumb|Painting of Rear Admiral Rawling's force under attack on 28 May]]
From 28 May – 1 June, troops were embarked for Egypt, most being lifted from Sfakia on the south coast. More than 4,000 troops were rescued from Heraklion on the night of 28/29 May but that naval force was attacked for hours by Luftwaffe dive bombers on the voyage back, suffering ships sunk and damaged with numerous casualties among naval personnel and troops. About 6,000 men were withdrawn by cruisers and destroyers from Sfakia on the night of 29 May. Two destroyers carried another 1,400 soldiers away on the night of the 30/31st. During the night of 31 May, Cunningham sent the cruiser ''Phoebe'' with four smaller vessels to transport more than 3,500 troops to Alexandria.<ref>Ian Stewart The Struggle for Crete 1966, pp. 457-472</ref> About 18,600 men of the 32,000 British troops on the island were evacuated; 12,000 British and Dominion troops and thousands of Greeks were still on Crete when the island came under German control on 1 June.{{sfn|Roskill|1957|pp=444–446}}

===Surrender===
Colonel Campbell, the commander at Rethymno, was forced to surrender his contingent. Rethymno fell and on the night of 30 May, German motorcycle troops linked up with the Italian troops who had landed on Sitia. On 1 June, the remaining 5,000 defenders at Sfakia surrendered.{{sfn|Playfair|Flynn|Molony|Toomer|1956|pp=142, 146}} By the end of December, about 500 Commonwealth troops remained at large on the island. While scattered and disorganised, these men and the partisans harassed German troops for long after the withdrawal.

===Civilian resistance===
Cretan civilians joined the battle with whatever weapons were at hand.<ref>{{harvnb|Beevor|1991|pp=116–117}}</ref> Most civilians went into action armed only with what they could gather from their kitchens or barns and several German parachutists were knifed or clubbed to death in olive groves. In one recorded incident, an elderly Cretan man clubbed a parachutist to death with his walking cane, before the German could disentangle himself from his parachute.<ref>{{harvnb|MacDonald|1995|pp=176–178}}.</ref> In another recorded incident, a local priest and his teenage son broke into a small village museum and took two rifles from the era of the [[Balkan Wars]] and sniped at German paratroops at landing zones. The Cretans also used captured German small arms. The Crete civilian actions against the Germans were not limited to harassment; mobs of armed civilians joined in the Greek counter-attacks at [[Kastelli Hill]] and Paleochora; the British and New Zealand advisers at these locations were hard pressed to prevent [[massacre]]s. Civilians also checked the Germans to the north and west of Heraklion and in the town centre.<ref>{{harvnb|MacDonald|1995|p=195}}.</ref>

===Massacres of civilians===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-166-0525-30, Kreta, Kondomari, Erschießung von Zivilisten.jpg|thumb|[[Massacre of Kondomari|Massacre of Cretan civilians at Kondomari]], Crete, 1941]]
The Battle of Crete was not the first occasion during the Second World War where the German troops encountered widespread resistance from a civilian population, as similar events took place during the invasion of Poland ([[Kłecko]]); nevertheless it initially surprised and later outraged them. As most Cretan partisans wore no uniforms or insignia such as armbands or headbands, the Germans felt free of all of the constraints of the Hague Conventions and killed armed and unarmed civilians indiscriminately.{{sfn|Beevor|1991|pp=342, 235–248}}{{ref label|Note|e|e}} Even before the end of the battle, civilians were being executed, [[Missiria executions|such as in Missiria]]. Immediately after Crete fell, [[collective punishment]]s against civilians intensified. Between 2 June and 1 August, 195 persons from the village of Alikianos and its vicinity were killed in mass shootings known as the [[Alikianos executions]].{{sfn|Kiriakopoulos|1995|pp=32–34}} On 2 June, several male citizens from [[Massacre of Kondomari|Kondomari were executed]] by a firing squad, with the shootings being captured on film by a German army war correspondent. On 3 June, the village of [[Razing of Kandanos|Kandanos was razed]] to the ground and about 180 of its inhabitants killed. After the war, Student, who ordered the shootings, avoided prosecution for [[war crime]]s, despite Greek efforts to have him extradited.{{sfn|Beevor|1991|pp=236, 342}}

The first [[Supreme Committee of Cretan Struggle|resistance movement]] in Crete was established just two weeks after its capture. Throughout the German occupation in the years that followed, reprisals in retaliation for the involvement of the local population in the Cretan resistance continued. On several occasions, villagers were rounded up and summarily executed. In one of the worst incidents, around 20 villages east of [[Viannos]] and west of the Ierapetra provinces were looted and burnt in September 1943, with [[Viannos massacres|more than 500 of their inhabitants being massacred]].{{sfn|Beevor|1991|pp=292, 165}} These massacres were among the deadliest during the [[Axis occupation of Greece during World War II]]. In August 1944, more than 940 houses in [[Razing of Anogeia|Anogeia]] were looted and then dynamited. During the same month, nine villages in the [[Amari Valley]] were destroyed and 165 people killed in what is now known as the [[Holocaust of Kedros]].{{sfn|Beevor|1991|pp=231}} All these reprisals were ordered by ''[[General (Germany)|Generalleutnant]]'' [[Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller]], who was nicknamed "The Butcher of Crete". After the war, Müller was tried by a Greek military court and executed.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401143013/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/warcrimgenrls.htm |url=http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/warcrimgenrls.htm |title=Noteworthy War Criminals |author=Stein, Stuart |publisher=University of the West of England |archive-date=1 April 2012 |access-date=21 May 2016}}</ref>
Further assaults on civilians, albeit with lower death tolls, occurred in  [[Razing of Vorizia|Vorizia]], [[Burnings of Kali Sykia|Kali Sykia]], [[Kallikratis executions|Kallikratis]], [[Skourvoula executions|Skourvoula]], and [[Malathyros executions|Malathyros]].