The battle of Crete

Spring 1941

Following the coup, which ousted the pro-Axis Yugoslavian government, the Germans decided to invade the Balkans. The invasion was swift and brought much needed relief to the beleaguered Italian army fighting the Greeks.

The occupation of Yugoslavia began on April 5^th and the country was quickly overrun. Mainland Greece followed immediately after, and by the 29^th the German had complete control of the region. During the initial occupation, a deadly bombardment from the Luftwaffe caused the explosion of the British cargo Clan Fraser in the port of Piraus. After a devastating explosion, a chain o reaction caused the loss of over 40,000-t. of shipping vessels.

The British expeditionary force, which had been sent to mainland Greece to aid the besieged nation, was now in desperate need to be rescued. Over 50,000 troops were evacuated, most of which were transported to the island of Crete. Immediately, the Germans switched their attention from Malta to Crete. The decision to invade the island was made, but the Regia Marina would only play a marginal role. Still, in two distinct actions, vessels of the Italian Navy wrote some of the most epic pages of their history.

R.N. Lupo (ANPA)

On the night of May 21^st, the torpedo boat Lupo was escorting a large number of smaller vessels loaded with over 2,300 German troops and directed from the mainland to Crete. The convoy was intercepted by a British naval squadron under the command of Admiral Glennie. The small Lupo, under the command of Captain Mimbelli, went on the attack scoring a few hits on the destroyer Kingstone. Thanks to the bold action, only half of the convoy was lost with all but 297 Germans rescued

The same day, another British force lead by Admiral King had endured an unsuccessful attack carried out by six Italian MAS near the strait of Keso, just south of the island of Scarpanto. The same force will later encounter another small convoy loaded with German troops, causing it its complete destruction.

Giuseppe Cigala Fulgosi - Francesco Mimbelli

At 9:59 the Torpedo boat Sagittario, while escorting the convoy, sighted the incoming British force. This small unit, under the command of Captain Giuseppe Cigala Fulgosi, would achieve the impossible task of saving the convoy. The British force, strong of the cruiser Naid, Perth and Carlisle and several destroyers, was caught by surprise by the bold attack conducted by the lonely Italian vessel. Admiral King, whose nerves had been tested by continues aerial attacks, misjudge the situation and withdrew thus allowing Captain Fulgosi to become the center of German admiration.

Ultimately, due to constant German and Italian air attacks, the Royal Navy paid a very high price for the defense and then evacuation of Crete. Although the honor of the oldest Navy was retained, the cruiser Glouchester, Fiji and Calcutta, the destroyers Juno, Greyhound, Kelly, Kashmir, Imperial and Hayward were lost. The battleships Warspite, Valiant and Barham were damaged along with the aicraft carrier Formidable and the cruisers Ajax, Naiad, Perth, Orian, Dido and Carlisle, plus several destroyers. Only the Warspite was damaged badly enough to cause its withdrawal from the Mediterranean.

R.N. Sagittario

The difference in effectiveness between the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica were evident with the later credited only with the destruction of a destroyers and the damaging of the Ajax.

The battle of Crete cost the British over 15,000 casualties. At times, some of the crew were so brutally mauled from the air that some were close to mutiny. Ultimately, the British recovered from this disaster, while the Germans, after the losses suffered by Student’s paratroopers, would become much more cautious.

The shifting of attention from Malta to Crete caused a delay in the occupation of this British-controlled Island, and eventually its cancellation. Operation C3, the occupation of Malta, would be one of the gravest strategic mistakes made by the Axis.



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