CRETE MIRACLE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 293, 10 December 1943, Page 4

CRETE MIRACLE

TRIUMPH IN DEFEAT

NEW ZEALAND'S PRIDE

Though the story of, Crete has been told, sectionally, again and again it is a story that will never lose its thrill of pride to the people of New Zealand. It is pride that exists, and will persist despite the fact that Crete was a lost battle— lost in the sense that the island was eventually occupied by the enemy.

The , surprising thing, and the major cause for prido, lies in that fact, that it cou'd have been held fur even a short period by troops who had already suffered a severe battering in Greece, whose supplies and equipment were meagre, and who were without air cover. In defeat, the Battle for Crete became a triumph, the influence of which on the whole course of the European war can never be fully assessed. The first connected story of that battle has now been told in the official publication, Battle For Crete, compiled in the office of the Official Archivist, 2nd N.Z.E.F.

Not Entirely Complete

As the foreword by LieutenantGeneral Sir Bernard Freyberg, V.C., who commanded the garrison, warns, many documents and much data cannot be used by the historian until after the war. The survey, therefore, is not entirely complete, but it gives a picture which fills the mind of the reader with wonder and gratitude It is a valuable addition to the literature already building up concerning the campaigns of the New Zealand Division in the Middle East.

The spectacular aspects of the battle —the most spectacular in history—are fully and well handled— the steadfastness of the troops under the most severe air attacks yet experienced, the fierce hand-to-hand righting among the olive groves when the white cloud of German paratroops was launched in the first airborne attack in history from an overseas base, the remarkable bayonet attacks at Maleme, Canea and elsewhere, the grim righting retreat to Sphakia, and the brilliant, alldaring, costly actions by which the Royal Navy 'destroyed two attempts at sea landings on the island, the faithful work of that same Navy in evacuating the greater part of the garrison.

Immense Difficulties

With the British and Greek troops evacuated from Greece, General Freyberg had at his disposal about 28,500 British, Greek and Imperial troops, plus from 4000 to 5000 unarmed Cypriote and Palestinians. There were few complete units, and none was completely armed and equipped. Acute shortage of transport removed any possibility of reinforcement from one part of the island to another, and each of the three main defence groups, at Herakleon, Retimo and in the Suda Bay-Maieme area had to fight as a separate force.

The position as the booklet points out, was similar to that in Britain after Dunkirk, in that here was a large force of men, with few real fortifications, and an acute shortage of transport, artillery, armoured fighting vehicles, weapons of all kinds, signal equipment, tools and ammunition. In Britain there was fighter strength to maintain at least air parity and plenty of aerodromes as bases; in Crete "there were six Hurricanes, sixteen obsolete planes, and no safe aerodromes," and no chanco of improving the situation.

With this force General Freyberg had to be prepared to stand siege against the whole weight of the German Army and Air Force, a large part of it fresh units, splendidly equipped and triumphant after the success of the campaign in Greece. Crete was within easy bombing and fighter range from the mainland of Greece.

Supply Problems The supply situation on Crete was almost desperate. Even in peace Crete was not self supporting; there was nothing of the last harvest left and there were thousands more mouths to feed. There were 15,000 Italian prisoners, and 400,000 civilians to feed. At the start there was about 30 days balanced rations available, but unforeseen elements rapidly reduced these. Trenches, gun emplacements, wire obstacles, demolitions—all had to be prepared. Picks, shovels and other tools were almost non-existent.

There was also the problem of stevedores. "Finally," it is stated, "the New Zealanders furnished a dock company. Of all the achievements in the battle that was to follow, none was finer or more courageous than the work of these voluntary stevedores who went on unloading until the bombs were actually falling."

While all this was going on, tired and disorganised troops from Greece had to> be reorganised, equipped so far as was possible, and trained for their new task. Factors of Heroism So strong was the air attack on supplying shipping that eventually cruisers and destroyers had to be used, and that at night. "In spite of sinkings, material and equipment began to arrive—tons of wire, tank mines and defence stores, guns captured from the Italians in Libya, many of them without sights or instruments of any kind." These last called on the ingenuity of the men to whom they were issued. . .

"One crew set to work making a sighting apparatus from wood and chewing gum. Another group of gunners made charts which enabled them to shoot without sights or instruments."

All these factors have to be considered side by side with the stories of magnificent individual and imit courage and resource in assessing the battle of Crete.

And when at last the withdrawal was begun after the troops had done all and more than any men could be expected to do they went out as fighting troops. . . "Even when their feet became like lumps of lead and their shoulders ached and their eyelids drooped wearily through the long night marches, they kept their columns intact and clung to their weapons as the last possessions with which they would ever part."

And their accomplishment? It took the enemy a vital month to launch the attack and capture the island. In that period Syria was occupied by British troops, the defence of Cyprus prepared. Hitler s paratroops were virtually destroyed, hundreds of planes and thousands of airborne troops intended to be used for an assault on Syria had had to be used to reduce Crete. Germany s invasion of Russia had to be postponed for that period. "How valuable the respite of one month's campaigning was in that year, when the German armies reached the gates of Leningrad and Moscow, history alone can tell."