Editing Battle of Crete (section)

====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>