Chapter 624: Occupying the Balkans

The situation for the Allied forces on Crete was, in fact, dire. The officer who had insisted on commanding the defense from the island had stubbornly believed that German paratroopers would be unable to use the airfields to transport more soldiers to Crete. Therefore, he did not destroy the three airfields on the island in advance. But after a day of fierce fighting, the Allies discovered that the Germans had taken control of two of the three airfields, and a dense swarm of German aircraft was using them to land on the island.

Another rather tragic fact was that the weapons of the Allied garrison on the island were a real headache.

The soldiers of the Greek army were equipped with many types of rifles, including the 6.5mm Mannlicher–Schönauer M1903 and the Austrian-made 8mm Mannlicher M1895 rifle. About 1,000 Greek soldiers were even using ancient M1874 Gras rifles. Most of these firearms were products of the First World War era.

The Greek garrison had committed their best weapons to the earlier defense of the mainland. They had expended their modern equipment in Athens, but these losses on the mainland made their arsenal for the defense of Crete even more pitiful. They now had only 12 obsolete St. Étienne M1907 light machine guns and 40 other light machine guns of various models.

What made the Greek soldiers most desperate was that many were issued with fewer than 30 rounds of ammunition. The jumble of weapon calibers made it impossible for them to receive resupply from the British, because the British troops (actually just one New Zealander infantry battalion) used a different caliber. This severely hampered the role the Greek soldiers could play in the battle.

To the further exasperation of the New Zealander commander, the Greeks had concentrated their already scarce munitions in a single arsenal. This arsenal was located in the eastern part of Crete, because they estimated the Germans would not attack there. As a result, this ammunition depot now belonged to the German paratroopers.

However, these Greek defenders on Crete, despite their lack of ammunition, still showed admirable courage. They used everything they could find to fight back against the Germans, creating all sorts of trouble for the paratroopers. When describing the Greek soldiers, German soldiers said, “Their fighting is full of courage and indomitability.”

At the same time, the most elite unit fighting on the island, a New Zealander battalion, also fought very bravely. They had now lost about 110 soldiers but still had not surrendered to the Germans opposite them. They were defending the island’s port, preventing the Germans from using it to land more soldiers.

Hill 107 was a strategic point that controlled the only remaining Allied airfield. Greek troops were ordered to defend this position to the death. The German paratroopers were likewise ordered to capture this core defensive location as quickly as possible.

With a loud crack! of a rifle, another German attack was repulsed. The Greek defenders’ position was riddled with craters and smoldering fires. The Germans had already left 71 bodies in front of this position. Including the nearby dead, the Germans had lost 130 soldiers in the vicinity. Yet the position remained in the hands of the Greek soldiers, never having fallen.

A Greek soldier looked at his rifle, his mud-caked face devoid of expression. In the last fight, he had fired his last bullet. Now, the only weapon he had left to fight with was the bayonet fixed below the muzzle of his rifle. Around him, everyone was in a similar situation. Some had a few bullets left, others a single hand grenade.

The machine gunner had been killed hours ago. His machine gun was the first to run out of ammunition, and after that, the old weapon was useless. As the battle progressed, the Germans used a variety of weapons to attack, including flamethrowers and 75mm recoilless rifles.

But even though the Greek soldiers’ casualties were three times that of the Germans, they still did not yield the position. They were ordered to hold here, and so they did, gritting their teeth and persevering. It was not only Germany that produced soldiers loyal to their duty. In fact, any country could have such a group of people, so stubborn it was endearing, so stubborn it was moving.

“Everyone, fix bayonets! We’ll take the German devils with us!” A Greek battalion commander, a bandage wrapped around his head, calmly looked at his men. As he fixed the bayonet to his own rifle, he said, “When they come up, we’ll show them what true Greek warriors are!”

Everyone was silent. They gripped the steel rifles in their hands tightly, as if to pour their final will into their weapons. They knew that after this battle, their motherland might no longer exist. So they decided to hold on here, even if it meant letting the nation of Greece exist for one second longer.

On the position, the tattered Greek flag still fluttered gently in the wind. Looking at this flag, everyone felt as if they were filled with boundless strength. The soldiers leaned in their trenches, waiting for the Germans. The German paratroopers opposite did not make them wait long.

With a rumbling sound, four German paratrooper assault vehicles appeared in front of the Greek position. It seemed the Germans had no intention of letting the last warriors of Greece have their moment of glory. They had no plans to fight the Greeks with bayonets; these battle-hardened German soldiers intended to use the weapons in their hands to crush their defiant opponents to death.

The front of the German airborne vehicles was covered with many cloth sacks. These sacks had been airdropped onto Crete along with the vehicles. The paratroopers had filled the sacks with sand and earth and then fixed them to the front armor of the vehicles—a method of increasing protection. Most importantly, this weight could be sourced locally, without taking up the precious carrying capacity of the aircraft.

The tracks of the airborne vehicles rolled forward inch by inch, kicking up dirt that fell to the side. There was a machine gun on the front of these vehicles, which made dealing with the Greek soldiers a simple matter. Several Greek soldiers leaped out of their trenches, trying to get close to the advancing German vehicles, but they were quickly hit by bullets and fell on the soil they were defending.

Crack! A Greek soldier with only one bullet left in his rifle pulled the trigger, aiming at an airborne vehicle. The bullet hit a sandbag, kicking up a spray of dark earth, but the vehicle continued to advance. It was clear his bullet had not penetrated the front armor plate.

A large group of German soldiers followed behind these airborne vehicles. They held their MP-44 assault rifles and G43 semi-automatic rifles, keeping low and advancing slowly behind the tank tracks. They knew that the men opposite them were also a group of desperate fighters, so they approached their objective with extra caution.

“Don’t show your heads! Wait for their tanks to pass!” the Greek battalion commander shouted to his soldiers. But before he could finish, the Germans, having gotten close enough, actually threw a volley of hand grenades over their own vehicles in a high arc. Instantly, the Greek position was rocked by explosions, and countless clouds of dust were thrown into the air.

Using the cover of the dust from the grenades, the German grenadiers rushed out from the flanks of the tanks. They raked the Greek defenders in the trenches with their superior firepower, preventing them from charging out to engage in close combat.

A dense storm of German bullets swept the entire position. One Greek soldier after another was hit and fell in their trenches. Some managed to charge out of the trenches, only to fall just a few steps from the Germans. The Germans were not without casualties; some Greek soldiers still had a few bullets left, and German soldiers fell in pools of blood with each crack of a rifle. Neither side had any intention of retreating; the final showdown was unfolding here.

When the Greek commander charged out of the trench with his rifle, he came face to face with a German soldier. Without the slightest hesitation, he rushed towards this enemy. The enemy opposite him was equally unforgiving and raised his own rifle. Just like in a battle during the Boxer Rebellion, the one who fired the gun was victorious, while the one with the bayonet could only fall in tragic defeat.

The most brutal battle on Crete began on Hill 107 and ended on Hill 107. The Germans lost 143 soldiers here, while the Greek defenders, a battalion and a company, were completely wiped out, leaving behind 670 cold bodies.

The German soldiers felt no joy in victory, for they had already spent too much time and too many troops here. When they reached the top of the hill, they saw that the airfield on the other side was already in flames. The retreating Greeks had set fire to the airfield and blown up what little aviation fuel was left.

However, the German offensive did not stop. A few hours later, the airfield was in German hands. The Germans raised a national flag here to prove that a fierce battle had once been fought for this ground. But good news soon arrived: a battalion of soldiers had routed the New Zealander forces, broken through their defense line, and charged into the port. The surrounded British and New Zealander troops finally surrendered, and the Germans captured the vital port.

After losing all the airfields and the main port, the situation for the defenders deteriorated rapidly. A German infantry regiment landed at the port, and the shortage of German troops on Crete was quickly remedied. A few hours later, the garrison on Crete was cut off and surrounded by German forces. Although resistance continued, it had lost any effective organization and coordination.

On this day, September 1st, Germany formally announced the permanent occupation of Crete. In his statement, Akado solemnly announced to the world: “Crete has become a sacred territory of the Third Reich. Germany will have the permanent right to establish material transport pipelines on the Balkan Peninsula, and the two Balkan nations of Turkey and Italy must provide the necessary conveniences.”

Amidst the applause of the Italian and Turkish representatives, the official battle for the Balkan Peninsula came to an end. The German army turned its attention to the distant shores of North Africa, and Rommel once again became the focus of the world.

Published: 2025-09-12T04:00:03.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-27T16:07:27.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c624-balkans-138711732

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