Battle of Crete order of battle facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Battle of Crete was a major battle during World War II in 1941. This is a list of all the military units and their leaders who fought in this battle. It shows which groups were involved and who was in charge of them.

Allied Forces

The Allied forces on Crete were a mix of soldiers from different countries, mainly the British Commonwealth (like Australia and New Zealand) and Greece. They were led by Major-General Bernard Freyberg.

Land Forces

Commonwealth & Allied Forces, Crete - "Creforce"

This was the main group of Allied land forces on Crete.

Commander: Major-General Bernard Freyberg
Tanks: A small number of light tanks and two larger Matilda tanks were present.
Infantry: The 1st Battalion, The Welch Regiment was a key infantry unit.

2nd New Zealand Division

This division was a large part of the Allied forces, mainly defending the western part of Crete.

Commander: Brigadier, Acting Major General Edward Puttick
Units:

* 27th New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion * 5th New Zealand Field Artillery Regiment * 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade (Brig. Lindsay Merritt Inglis) with the 18th, 19th, and 20th New Zealand Infantry Battalions. * 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade (Brig. James Hargest) with the 21st, 22nd, 23rd New Zealand Infantry Battalions, and the 28th (Maori) Infantry Battalion. * Greek soldiers also fought alongside the New Zealanders, including the 1st and 6th Greek Regiments.

British 14th Infantry Brigade

This British brigade was stationed around Heraklion.

Commander: Brigadier Brian Herbert Chappel
Units:

* 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment * 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment * 2nd Battalion, Black Watch * 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders * 7th Medium Regiment, RA: These soldiers fought as infantry because they had no artillery weapons. * Attached Units: The Australian 2/4th Battalion and Greek 3rd, 7th, and Garrison Regiments also fought with this brigade.

19th Australian Infantry Brigade

This Australian brigade played a vital role in defending different areas of Crete.

Commander: Brigadier George Vasey
Units:

* 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion (Lt. Col. Ian R. Campbell): This commander led all Allied forces in the Rethymno area. * 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion * 2/7th Australian Infantry Battalion: These soldiers moved to different battle areas during the fight. * 2/8th Australian Infantry Battalion: They helped British forces and also saw action in the Souda-Chania area. * Artillery units from the 2/3rd Field Regiment were also present, some using captured Italian guns. * Greek 4th, 5th, and Gendarmerie Privates School units also fought with the Australians.

Mobile Base Defence Organization

This group was responsible for defending key areas like Souda Bay.

Commander: Major-General CE Weston
Units:

* 15th Coast Regiment, RA * "S" Royal Marine Composite Battalion * 1st Battalion, The Rangers (later 9th Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps) * 102nd (Northumberland Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery: These soldiers fought as infantry because they had no anti-tank equipment. * 106th (Lancashire Hussars) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery * Australian Composite Battalions (formed from smaller units) * 2nd Greek Regiment * 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Marines

Naval Forces

The British Royal Navy played a crucial role in trying to stop German ships and later in evacuating Allied soldiers.

Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet: Admiral Sir Andrew B Cunningham

Naval Forces (A1, B, C, D, E)

These forces were groups of warships assigned to different tasks around Crete. Many ships were damaged or sunk by German air attacks.

Force A1: (Rear Admiral H B Rawlings) included large battleships like HMS Warspite and HMS Valiant, along with several destroyers. Both battleships were damaged.
Force B: (Captain Henry A Rowley) included light cruisers like HMS Gloucester and HMS Fiji, both of which were sunk. Other ships like HMS Orion and HMS Dido were damaged.
Force C: (Rear Admiral Edward Leigh Stuart King) included light cruisers HMS Naiad and HMAS Perth (Australian), both damaged. The destroyer HMS Juno was sunk.
Force D: (Rear-Admiral Irvine Glennie) was involved in destroying a German convoy. Ships like HMS Dido, HMS Orion, and HMS Ajax were damaged. The destroyer HMS Hereward was sunk.
Force E: (Captain JP Mack) included destroyers like HMS Ilex (D61) and HMS Jervis (F00).

5th Destroyer Flotilla

This group of destroyers was led by Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten.

HMS Kelly and HMS Kashmir were both sunk on May 23, 1941.

Evacuation Fleet

As the battle turned against the Allies, a fleet was sent to evacuate soldiers from Sphakia.

Commander: Rear-Admiral King
Ships: Included light cruisers like HMS Phoebe and HMAS Perth, and the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta, which was sunk during the evacuation. Landing ships and destroyers were also part of this vital mission.

Air Forces

The Allied air presence on Crete was very limited compared to the Germans.

Commander: Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore
Squadrons:

* No. 30 Squadron RAF (flying Bristol Blenheim aircraft) * No. 33 Squadron RAF (flying Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Hurricane fighter planes) * No. 80 Squadron RAF (also with Gladiators and Hurricanes) * No. 112 Squadron RAF (with Gladiators and Hurricanes) * No. 203 Squadron RAF (flying Bristol Blenheims)

Axis Forces

The main Axis forces were German, focusing heavily on airborne (paratrooper) attacks and air support.

Land, Airborne and Air Forces

Fliegerkorps XI (11th Air Corps)

This was the main German air corps responsible for the airborne invasion.

Commander: Generalmajor Kurt Student
Transport Units: KGzbV 1, KGzbV 2, and KGzbV 3 were transport groups flying many Junkers Ju 52 planes to drop paratroopers and supplies.
Reserve: The 22nd Luftlande Division was a reserve unit, ready to be flown in if needed.

Fliegerkorps VIII (8th Air Corps)

This air corps provided strong air support, bombing Allied positions and fighting Allied aircraft.

Commander: General der Flieger Freiherr Wolfram von Richthofen
Bomber Units:

* Kampfgeschwader 2 (flying Do 17Z bombers) * Lehrgeschwader 1 (flying Ju 88A and He 111H bombers)

Fighter Units:

* Jadgeschwader 77 (flying Bf 109E fighter planes) * Zerstörergeschwader 26 (flying Bf 110C and Bf 110D heavy fighters)

Dive Bomber Units:

* Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 * Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 * Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 * These units flew the famous Ju 87R "Stuka" dive bombers, which were very effective at attacking ground targets.

Luftflotte IV (Air Fleet 4)

This was a larger German air command overseeing the operations.

Commander: General der Flieger Alexander Löhr
Ground Units: The 5th Panzer Division (tank division) and 6th Gebirgs Division (mountain division) were available for ground support if needed.

Luftlande Sturmregiment (Air Landing Assault Regiment)

This was a key German paratrooper unit, designed for quick, surprise attacks.

Commander: Generalmajor Eugen Meindl
Battalions: It was made up of four battalions, with the 1st Battalion being a glider unit.

7th Flieger Division (7th Air Division)

This was another important German paratrooper division.

Commander: Generalleutnant Wilhelm Süssmann
Support Battalions: Included engineer, artillery, machine gun, and anti-tank battalions.
Paratrooper Regiments:

* 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment (Oberst Bruno Bräuer): Fought around Heraklion. * 2nd Fallschirmjäger Regiment (Oberst Alfred Sturm): Fought around Rethymno. * 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment (Oberst Richard Heidrich): Fought around Chania.

5th Gebirgs Division (5th Mountain Division)

This German mountain infantry division was brought in to reinforce the paratroopers.

Commander: Generalmajor Julius Ringel
Support Battalions: Included artillery, anti-tank, reconnaissance, engineer, and signal battalions.
Mountain Infantry Regiments:

* 85th Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 100th Gebirgsjäger Regiment * 141st Gebirgsjäger Regiment * These regiments were well-trained for fighting in difficult terrain.