Chapter 608: Crete
How long had he been resting? How long had he been a battalion commander? Borol sat in the slightly rattling transport plane, looking at his men. The deputy battalion commander and other key personnel from the battalion staff were on different transport planes, a basic requirement for airborne drops. All important commanders were forbidden from flying together to avoid the unit losing its entire command structure in an instant.
He steadied his helmet with one hand, gathered his thoughts, and looked at the map in his hand to confirm the objective his unit was supposed to capture. The size of the German paratrooper force had expanded fivefold, and as a direct beneficiary of this expansion, Borol’s distinguished combat record had earned him a promotion to airborne battalion commander. He was now in charge of an elite airborne battalion participating in this operation.
This was the first massive-scale airborne operation in human history, and one to be completed independently by the paratroopers themselves. They were ordered to drop onto Crete and seize Germany’s most important future base in the Mediterranean. With the roar of the plane’s engines, Borol looked up at the white clouds outside the window. Based on his calculation of the flight time, they were about to reach the drop zone.
An army is trained for a thousand days to be used for a single moment. Since their large-scale drop on the British mainland, the German paratroopers had not participated in any major combat operations. This was not because they had faded from the stage of war, but because Kurt Student, at Akado’s direction, had deliberately concealed this force, carefully preparing it to make a stunning impact on the island of Crete.
Two days earlier, German soldiers, accompanied by Italian units, had occupied all of Greece. A jubilant Mussolini rushed to Athens to personally award the Italian medal to the commander of Germany’s J Army Group, Hermann Hoth, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Balkan campaign. Amidst cheers and laughter, the German army took complete control of the Balkan Peninsula and began intensive preparations for the attack on Crete.
To ensure the success of the airborne operation on Crete, the German army prepared a full four airborne divisions, totaling over 50,000 men. Of course, some of these were “light infantry” transported by aircraft, rather than true paratroopers who could jump into combat.
“Woooo…!” The alarm sounded. Borol stood up and clipped his parachute’s static line to the anchor line cable inside the aircraft. Watching the indicator light flash on, he had all his soldiers stand up to check their parachutes and their weapons and equipment.
“Number 1 ready! Sir!” the soldier at the very back shouted, reporting the results of his inspection. He was followed by the next soldier in line, and so on, until the man at the front had checked his gear. Only then did Borol nod in satisfaction.
Then, the green light came on, indicating they had reached the target area and could begin the jump at any time. Borol forcefully pulled open the closed hatch beside him and yelled to his men, “Attention all! Everyone prepare to jump!”
On the distant ground, fires and black pillars of smoke were everywhere. An hour earlier, “Butcher” bombers and Do-217 bombers flying from frontline airfields had practically turned Crete inside out. The entire island was devastated by the hundreds of bombs that had been dropped, and the few military installations on the island had been blown to pieces.
He took a leap and jumped from the plane, feeling the wind whistling past his ears as he watched the ground rapidly approach. He no longer jumped last; instead, he was the first out of the hatch. During a parachute drop, the time spent inside the aircraft was not actually safe. As a battalion-level commander, he had to ensure his own safety.
The parachute opened, his speed decreased, and he saw a glider hurtling towards the ground in the distance. He saw one white parachute after another blossom in the sky. He was overjoyed to see the German paratroopers grow from a few thousand to tens of thousands; he had witnessed the development of a terrifying modern branch of the military.
A huge impact came from under his feet, and his heart settled in that moment. After all, their operation on the island of Malta had not been too difficult, so Borol didn’t know what kind of battlefield awaited him this time. As he unbuckled the harness of his parachute and took the Mauser 98k rifle from his chest, he let out a small sigh.
The higher up the chain of command, the worse the German paratroopers’ equipment. A company commander could pull some strings to get an MP-44 assault rifle for personal use, but a battalion commander had no such luck. Because battalion commanders did not participate in direct combat, they were only issued a Mauser 98k for self-defense, which was much inferior to a company commander’s weapon.
However, the situation at hand looked pretty good. Two more German paratroopers landed safely beside him. These soldiers were just as quick to pack up their parachutes and, taking out their G43 rifles, they gathered around Borol. Since it was daytime, neither of them shouted the unnecessary password. They ran crouched over to Borol’s side and took cover in a bush.
Borol took the binoculars from the case hanging on his chest and carefully observed the surrounding terrain. Thanks to the effective bombing by the air force, there was no significant resistance nearby. The Greek defenders’ anti-aircraft fire was sporadic and posed no threat to the German paratroopers. Not far away, an anti-aircraft gun position was firing continuously; it was the only enemy fire point near them.
When he lowered his binoculars, he discovered that more than a dozen soldiers were now crouched beside him. Their faces were painted with camouflage, and one soldier was even carrying a Panzerfaust rocket launcher. These soldiers were all waiting for his orders, their eyes fixed on Borol without a word.
Borol really wanted to walk a few steps forward and give these idiots a good kick. It had been repeatedly stressed before departure that to avoid friendly fire, they must strictly ask for and verify the operational password. Yet these soldiers had once again cast these words aside, identifying friend and foe based on uniforms and familiar faces.
“First Company commander!” Borol saw an old acquaintance and, pointing to the enemy anti-aircraft position that was still firing, he ordered, “Take your men and circle around! Take out that position for me!”
“As you wish, Commander,” the 1st Company commander replied, grabbing his weapon and leading seven or eight soldiers to sneak up on the Greek anti-aircraft gun that was still firing at the sky. On the other side of that gun, Borol’s 2nd Company was also beginning to assemble. Their drop zone had been split into two by the gun position; once it was eliminated, Borol’s battalion could link up.
German soldiers began to set up machine gun nests in the cover of the bushes. More soldiers landed, many from other units. It was then that the password system finally came into play. One challenge after another was called out, followed by responses, and Borol’s 3rd Company finally found their battalion headquarters.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Black smoke suddenly erupted from the nearby Greek anti-aircraft gun position. After getting close, the German paratroopers had used a two-man bounding overwatch formation and thrown four grenades to attack. The attack was clearly effective; the Greek anti-aircraft gun instantly fell silent.
About 200 meters behind Borol, the door of a massive transport glider had been pried open. A German paratrooper airborne fighting vehicle drove out. Around this vehicle, a hundred German soldiers had already gathered. They began to advance on a Greek anti-aircraft position in another direction, sweeping away all resistance.
“Reporting, Commander. We found a map at the anti-aircraft position. It looks like we’re about 1,500 meters from our objective,” the 1st Company commander reported on his return. He didn’t mention any casualties, so it seemed the enemy hadn’t caused his unit much trouble. “Head west from here, just past that patch of woods.”
The airborne troops in the distance appeared to be from the regimental headquarters. They were already using branches and other materials to build a simple camp. Borol had sent a runner to make contact a few minutes ago, but he hadn’t returned yet. The battalion’s radio operator was fine, but so far, no messages had come through from regimental or divisional headquarters.
“Did you see anyone from regimental HQ during the attack?” Borol asked the 1st Company commander without looking up, as he cross-referenced his German map with the captured Greek one.
“Didn’t run into them. We linked up with the men from 2nd Company over there, so we have about 110 men now. The rest of the soldiers are gathering here. Our losses are light, and the aircraft formation wasn’t broken up by the anti-aircraft fire, so there shouldn’t be any problems.” The 1st Company commander was also a veteran and one of Borol’s old subordinates, which made him the easiest to work with. He reported a lot in one go, clearly explaining most of what Borol wanted to know.
“Very good!” Borol nodded. His subordinates were very capable, which allowed him to command them as if they were an extension of his own limbs. He glanced at his aide, Donner, and gave an order, “Go find the deputy battalion commander. We’re moving out now to capture our objective area.”
Donner nodded and, slinging his rifle, quickly walked towards the deputy battalion commander who was repeatedly counting the troops in the distance. Their battalion had 510 men, and they had already gathered over 300. It was safe to say they had met little resistance during the drop, and their losses were well within acceptable limits.
“Hey! Boss! Do we have any tanks or artillery to cover us?” After a few dozen seconds, the deputy commander yelled to Borol from a distance.
“Battalion HQ has three mortars! Don’t even think about the airborne vehicles, I haven’t even contacted Regiment yet!” Borol shouted back.
Published: 2025-09-10T05:23:53.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-19T15:55:22.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c608-crete-138561524
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