258: Crete Pt. 3 - May 20th a Day of Failures
From History of the Second World War by Wesley Livesay
May 20, 2026 · 28 min · Season 4 · Episode 70
About this episode
The episode discusses the failures of the German airborne invasion of Crete on May 20th, 1941, highlighting the resistance from Allied forces and local civilians.
The first day of the German airborne invasion of Crete, May 20th, 1941, saw paratroopers drop not only around the critical airfield at Maleme but across three other sectors of the island. Near Chania, German forces landing in Prison Valley were held in check by New Zealand and Greek troops under Colonel Kippenberger, while the poorly armed 8th Greek Regiment stopped their attackers and then re-equipped itself with captured German weapons. The people of Crete themselves joined the resistance from the opening hours, with priests and civilians taking up arms in a fierce defense that shattered German assumptions that the islanders would welcome their arrival. In the afternoon a second wave of drops struck Rethymno and Heraklion, where the delays caused by aircraft damage and dust on the airfields spread the descending paratroopers out over a long window, making them easy targets for Allied gunners and leaving the survivors scattered and disorganized. At Rethymno, Australian commander Lieutenant Colonel Ian Campbell responded with quick, decisive counterattacks that became a model of how to meet an airborne assault, capturing the commander of the German 2nd Parachute Rifle Regiment…
People in this episode
Host: Wesley Livesay
Topics covered
- World War II
- military history
- airborne invasion
- Crete
- Allied forces
- German forces
Keywords
- Crete
- German invasion
- May 20th
- airborne troops
- Allied defense
- military strategy
- World War II
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: 8th Greek Regiment, German 2nd Parachute Rifle Regiment
Places: Crete, Chania, Prison Valley, Rethymno, Heraklion
More episodes of History of the Second World War
- 261: Crete Pt. 6 - Stick It Out · June 11, 2026 · 23 min
- 260: Crete Pt. 5 - Failed Counterattacks · June 3, 2026 · 21 min
- Listener Questions Pt. 4 · May 31, 2026 · 24 min
- 259: Crete Pt. 4 - Naval Victory, Naval Disaster · May 27, 2026 · 25 min
- 257: Crete Pt. 2 - May 20th at Maleme · May 7, 2026 · 24 min
- 256: Crete Pt. 1 - Preparations · April 29, 2026 · 36 min
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