German Airborne Operations in the Battle of Crete, 1941

Abstract

The German airborne assault on Crete was a strategic victory for the Axis and ensured the defense of their southern flank prior to Operation Barbarossa in Russia. Operationally however, as a stand-alone airborne assault, German success on Crete is questionable. The island of Crete in 1941 held substantial strategic value for both the British and Germans as a valuable air and naval base. Churchill and the British general staff perceived Crete as a key staging area for naval sea control of the Eastern Mediterranean while Hitler was concerned about the threat to German oil resources at Ploesti. In May of 1941, the German Luftwaffe conducted a joint forcible entry airborne operation to seize the island.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 21, 2020
Accession Number
AD1177913

Entities

People

  • William G. Jr Wheatley

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircrafts
  • Amphibious Operations
  • Birds
  • Command And Control
  • Directed Energy Weapons
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Fighter Bombers
  • Lessons Learned
  • Logistics
  • Military History
  • New Zealand
  • Sea Control
  • Second World War
  • Students
  • Tactical Air Support
  • Tilt Rotor Aircraft
  • Transport Aircraft
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies