Crete veterans ‘neglected’

Press, 28 April 1981, Page 18

Crete veterans ‘neglected’

PA Wellington Allied soldiers who fought in Greece and Crete during World IVar- II . have been neglected by history, according to a publication just issued to mark the fortieth anniversary of the campaigns. The publication, "Baptism of Fire,’’ , written by two Wellington former servicemen. Messrs Peter Bates and George Kay, say that the battles in Greece and Crete were recorded as defeats, although they contributed to the Allies’ ultimate victory. The authors suggest that the high casualties suffered by German parachutists on Crete at the hands of New Zealand soldiers possibly saved Malta from airborne invasion. Quoting a German paratroop general who later became a professor of international law, Dr Albert Von der. Heydte, the paper says Hitler and his generals drew the wrong conclusions from the Crete battle, seeing only the losses and not the reasons for them.

As a result the paratroopers were sent to Russia as .ordinary infantry. The authors say that while the men who fought the battles have not been forgot-

ten, they have been neglected. They quote Lieut-General Lord Freyberg, who commanded the New Zealand Division and who in Crete commanded all forces, as saying that Crete "was the hardest and most savage campaign of the New Zealand Division.’’ A total of 20.000 copies of the tabloid paper have been printed for sale.