AMAZING SCENES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20571, 3 June 1941, Page 5

AMAZING SCENES

CRETE INVASION INCREDIBLE LOSSES NAZI PLANES AND MEN (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service.) Elec. Tel. Copvricht—UritcH Press Assn.'* (Reed. June 3 in « m.) CAIRO. June 2. A string of Mnsserschmitt fighters is rorecchinff r>vo)T>°nd in the devilish nn-mn of follow th n leader es. in the -Seltnr of o stone wall on thp bat.tl nhnlrl in Crete on TVTnv 23. T begin this "inrv nC Toijr of iVio nonet dav in, onv ATp.,. 7polon r ] soldier's h'fe. ■pnon .Son- T f,l m ..„ 0 l f tHo l *..n.n,+ rtf ■'pw li'lnniS V, - f + l O T TO noo : r, fq co’*n o + noi cnonfofnr O r onorn- non 11 inoo and On g'' f, ■witness tHn fresh donwoslvotinns "'O wonrlnnw of o.w 0-V, f„ noon t n „p oil „f pi—oricions of itidks narachu+" and glider •endings, a vast graveyard of wrecked Corn-inn nlanes. and the doomed '■ova go of a huge seaborne armv of invasion. Those are seeming unreali--1 es of p eh gin of events which surelv „ no nnnolln! of hiltnrof Cloooo U—fll,. Inn •.no imnvnosinns nf rWo-ptf roan-hunt.l- - and through vail CVS onrl nitche r ’. ivottloc; fonght under relentless air attack o . Tlop manner in wifi oil Ger .non— attpmotod to invade Crete wr -n cnootaoulor as to be almost fnnlost'c. hut what molly matters is the fato of thp Nazi troons now they are on the ground. There has been much Moron fighting and will be moro. and ihe New Zealanders, like other Empire irooos. are striking more damaging blows than thev receive despite the annarentlv unlimited air support afforded the enemy forces. Breakfast-Time Blitz

It was in the breakfast-time blitz four mornings ago that we knew the long-awaited day had arrived. There was something about that prolonged attack, with the constant criss-crossing and circling movements of the hedgehooping phones and the un-aimed snrsy of bullets through the fields and olive groves ihat marked it differerd from a normal raid. The scream and whine of hundreds of unmusical aircraft engines a few feet overhead and the largely indiscriminate nature of the bombing and machine-gunning told us the enemy was trying to unnerve us or keep our noses to the ground. These, we knew, were the opening tactics of landings by airborne troops.

Yet as I stood in a farmhouse doorwav dodging occasional explosive bullets, and discreetly watching the aerial show, I was almost awestruck by the sight in the skv above the blue Aegean horizon. A ghost plane, huge and noiseless, low in the air, was slipping straight in across the shore. I stared amazed at the great black wing until the craft was close enough f o be identified hs a glider, one of many which cruised silently into the coastal hills after being probably towed most of the way across the Aegean Sea by the big transport planes which I now saw reaching the coast in a veritable armada.

Like Toy Balloons

Then the fertile slopes of the misty blue mountains of Crete became the background of what looked like a picture in which artistic imagination had run riot. From slow, ungainly Irnnsports men and supply containers tumbled in scores, floating down among trees and villages as the parachutes opened and drifted earthwardgently, so it seemed, like a shower of toy balloons. That picture was repainted in four places within sigh' during the day and again the following day. when reinforcements of men and materials were landed. The first shots which rang out were ours. A troop-carrier slipped from position in the flight hastening empty out to sea and crashed in flames. A parachute vanished when an incendiary bullet struck it and the owner plummeted earthwards. Auckland infantrymen across th< road from me ran from tree to tree, resting their rifles against the tranks shooting up the newly-landed Germans. Snipers and Bren-gunner? picked off two machine-gun crews or a nearby slope, and a Bren-carrier raised dust in an olive grove as it scampered about seeking targets. Signal Secrets Learned

Scores of containers packed with arms, grenades, tools and other supplies fell into our hands. Wellington troops found the secret of the signah used by the Germans to attract their supply planes. They set out markers and were rewarded later with a windfall in the form of a wireless and similar equipment. Silk ’chutes were souvenired for use as bivouac tents. That sort of thing was happening everywhere. When the first flush of excitement was over we moved quickly into positions whence we could stem any mass action by the enemy, launch mopping-up raids and guerilla attacks. The parachutists in this sector, which was one of the most heavily invaded areas, were limited after two days to a few pockets where mortars and machine-guns were established and these, together with small partier 'urking in the gullies, are patiently being cleared up. Typical of these temporary trouble spots was one whence I was shot at last night by Germans who with tommy-guns and grenades lay in ambush on the roadside. A mixed band of New Zea landers organised a patrol and drove the parachutists back, after which the tanks escorted the road traffic safelj through.