Interview with Brigadier General Andreas Mentzelopoulos,
Hellenic Army (Retired)
1. How did the Battles of Greece and Crete impact the Germans in World War II?
"Many historians support the idea that the Greek victory against the Italians influenced the outcome of the entire WW2 because it forced the Germans to delay their attack against Russia so that they could help their allies the Italians who were losing the war against Greece. The delayed attack against Russia in June of 1941 entangled the German forces against the harsh conditions of Russian winter, the result being their defeat during the Battle of Moscow."
"It was said that Adolph Hitler, in a conversation with Leni Riefenstahl, mentioned bitterly that “if the Italians had not attacked Greece and had not needed our help, the war would have taken a different path. We would have avoided the Russian Winter by several weeks and would have captured Leningrad and Moscow. There would not have been a Battle of Stalingrad."
2. Why was the island of Crete so important to the German war effort?
"The purpose of securing Crete by the Germans was to use the island as an aircraft base against British forces in Eastern Mediterranean area, especially as a base to protect sea transit routes in the Aegean sea against British air attacks that originated in Alexandria (Egypt) and especially for the protection of oil transport ships on their way to Italy."
"It was believed that the decision to invade Crete was taken by Adolph Hitler himself on 25 April 1941, a few days after the mainland part of Greece fell against the Axis forces. The operation took the name “Operation Mercury”. Its purpose was to secure the southeastern flanks of the Germans ahead of “Operation Barbarossa” and, using Crete as a springboard, to attack North Africa."
3. How did the Battle of Greece and Crete later influence Operation Barbarossa and other German military operations in World War II?
"A lot has been written about how the Axis involvement in Greece in 1940-1941 led to the delay of Operation Barbarossa. There are opposing viewpoints, focusing on the “Balkan Key”. That is, the main reason for delay was lack of supplies for the German army. As far as the Balkan operations of Germany are concerned, one should consider whether the landing of British forces in Greece delayed the Russian invasion. The answer there is “yes” and “no”. “Yes” in that decisions made by German high command broke down the coordination between Operation Marita and Operation Barbarossa and put in jeopardy the timely start of the latter. “No” in that the British landing in Greece did not contribute at all to the lengthening of German operations in Greece."
"One can see how this view was flawed because it did not look at the true problem at hand. The issue really was not whether the British landing in Greece or the Yugoslavian instability and coup delayed the Russian invasion, but rather whether the Axis involvement in Greece at all from October 1940 to June 1941 caused the delay. The accepted view is that Operation Marita gravely affected Operation Barbarossa not because of the schedule alone but because modifications had to be made to the Operation Barbarossa plans. This was the view taken not just by historians but by the main participants in the Axis war effort such as General Franz Halder, the chief of the German OKH General Staff and Heinz Guderian, the Axis pioneer of fast armoured warfare or “Blitzkrieg”.
"The Germans entered Bulgaria on 2 March 1941 with the intent of capturing the Aegean coast and the Thessaloniki area, with contingency plans to continue thru Larissa and into Corinth. The British landed in Greece on 7 March 1941. Even the highest orders by Hitler himself called for operations in Greece to be limited to the northern mainland, north of the Aegean Sea. The German battle plan only called for a week’s time for operations to complete and was not comprehensive but rather vague as to what was needed. The British landing complicated the situation and forced operations to continue as south as Peloponnesus until all British forces retreated (which they did)."
"This change in the battle plan caused additional resources to be brought in for Operation Marita, from 10 divisions to 24 and seriously impacted the Barbarossa timeline not because of the time needed for the additional forces to be diverted from Barbarossa to Marita, but the time for the Marita operations to conclude and the forces participating, largely armored or fast moving infantry resources, to return to their original position and prepare for Barbarossa. In addition, some infantry resources that were originally set to invade the Ukraine remained in Greece as occupation forces. This impacted the overall German battle and resource plan and caused far fewer resources to be available for the Russian invasion as well as the defense of the oil-rich Romania area, another key German objective."
"The historical facts all suggest that it was those changes in Barbarossa battle plans caused by the Greek invasion that impacted the Russian invasion considerably and ultimately caused its failure."
"The Battle of Crete had an impact also. The delay of Germans in Crete allowed the British under the leadership of Field Marshall Wavell to better organize the defense of Egypt. In addition the heavy casualties of German paratroopers and especially the large number of German aircraft lost really helped keep the Axis forces from having air power over the general Mediterranean region. Field Marshal Wavell later said that the defense of Crete eventually
saved Cyprus, Syria, Iraq, and even Tobruk (Libya) from the Axis forces."
4. Please comment on the Germans military tactics in the Battle of Crete and the Cretan response.
"Operation Mercury, i.e. the invasion of Crete, was really a defensive operation, trying to neutralize Crete to protect the Axis’ southeastern flank ahead of Operation Barbarossa. The participation of thousands of Cretans in the operation was definitely something that the Germans never accounted for. The Germans believed that the Cretans, known for their strong
anti-monarchy sentiments, would actually welcome the Axis forces as ‘liberators’ from the rule of the King of Greece. The Germans expected only minor resistance from a small Greek force. Of course that was just another example of failed German espionage getting incorrect information."
"The Battle of Crete was called “the graveyard of German paratroopers” due to their heavy casualties. The casualties led the Germans to decide never to use such air transported infantry again. Ironically, the Allied forces were impressed with the potential of paratrooper infantry and quickly developed their own paratrooper forces to use later in the war. Today the Battle of Crete is considered the only major battle ever where the objective was fully captured using only air deployed infantry (without supporting sea or land based
forces)."
"The defeat of Greek, British, and New Zealand forces in Crete was not unavoidable. The island could have been held by the Allied forces if much higher casualty rates and destruction to the civil infrastructure were to be acceptable. The island had already suffered heavy civilian losses so there was no point in the Allies making a stand and bringing in even more casualties and further destruction. Nevertheless, it is believed that the heavy casualties suffered by Germans in Crete were the main reason that their occupation of Crete was made more brutal and oppressive (thus needing even more Axis forces) than it needed to be from a purely military viewpoint."
"The key to the Axis success in Crete was the taking of the Maleme airport by German paratroopers. This introduced yet another tactic to the war theater. The Germans then used the airport to fly in considerably more supplies and infantry reinforcements by using heavy airlift capabilities and eventually take over the island."
"It is interesting to note that the heavy casualties that the Axis took in the Battle of Crete convinced them to not use paratroopers again in that way. Before the Battle of Crete the Germans were planning for air invasions of Cyprus and the Suez Canal in Egypt. After the invasion of Crete and heavy casualties, even the German leadership conceded that “the era of paratroopers has passed for good."
"Many historians support the idea that the Greek victory against the Italians influenced the outcome of the entire WW2 because it forced the Germans to delay their attack against Russia so that they could help their allies the Italians who were losing the war against Greece. The delayed attack against Russia in June of 1941 entangled the German forces against the harsh conditions of Russian winter, the result being their defeat during the Battle of Moscow."
"It was said that Adolph Hitler, in a conversation with Leni Riefenstahl, mentioned bitterly that “if the Italians had not attacked Greece and had not needed our help, the war would have taken a different path. We would have avoided the Russian Winter by several weeks and would have captured Leningrad and Moscow. There would not have been a Battle of Stalingrad."
2. Why was the island of Crete so important to the German war effort?
"The purpose of securing Crete by the Germans was to use the island as an aircraft base against British forces in Eastern Mediterranean area, especially as a base to protect sea transit routes in the Aegean sea against British air attacks that originated in Alexandria (Egypt) and especially for the protection of oil transport ships on their way to Italy."
"It was believed that the decision to invade Crete was taken by Adolph Hitler himself on 25 April 1941, a few days after the mainland part of Greece fell against the Axis forces. The operation took the name “Operation Mercury”. Its purpose was to secure the southeastern flanks of the Germans ahead of “Operation Barbarossa” and, using Crete as a springboard, to attack North Africa."
3. How did the Battle of Greece and Crete later influence Operation Barbarossa and other German military operations in World War II?
"A lot has been written about how the Axis involvement in Greece in 1940-1941 led to the delay of Operation Barbarossa. There are opposing viewpoints, focusing on the “Balkan Key”. That is, the main reason for delay was lack of supplies for the German army. As far as the Balkan operations of Germany are concerned, one should consider whether the landing of British forces in Greece delayed the Russian invasion. The answer there is “yes” and “no”. “Yes” in that decisions made by German high command broke down the coordination between Operation Marita and Operation Barbarossa and put in jeopardy the timely start of the latter. “No” in that the British landing in Greece did not contribute at all to the lengthening of German operations in Greece."
"One can see how this view was flawed because it did not look at the true problem at hand. The issue really was not whether the British landing in Greece or the Yugoslavian instability and coup delayed the Russian invasion, but rather whether the Axis involvement in Greece at all from October 1940 to June 1941 caused the delay. The accepted view is that Operation Marita gravely affected Operation Barbarossa not because of the schedule alone but because modifications had to be made to the Operation Barbarossa plans. This was the view taken not just by historians but by the main participants in the Axis war effort such as General Franz Halder, the chief of the German OKH General Staff and Heinz Guderian, the Axis pioneer of fast armoured warfare or “Blitzkrieg”.
"The Germans entered Bulgaria on 2 March 1941 with the intent of capturing the Aegean coast and the Thessaloniki area, with contingency plans to continue thru Larissa and into Corinth. The British landed in Greece on 7 March 1941. Even the highest orders by Hitler himself called for operations in Greece to be limited to the northern mainland, north of the Aegean Sea. The German battle plan only called for a week’s time for operations to complete and was not comprehensive but rather vague as to what was needed. The British landing complicated the situation and forced operations to continue as south as Peloponnesus until all British forces retreated (which they did)."
"This change in the battle plan caused additional resources to be brought in for Operation Marita, from 10 divisions to 24 and seriously impacted the Barbarossa timeline not because of the time needed for the additional forces to be diverted from Barbarossa to Marita, but the time for the Marita operations to conclude and the forces participating, largely armored or fast moving infantry resources, to return to their original position and prepare for Barbarossa. In addition, some infantry resources that were originally set to invade the Ukraine remained in Greece as occupation forces. This impacted the overall German battle and resource plan and caused far fewer resources to be available for the Russian invasion as well as the defense of the oil-rich Romania area, another key German objective."
"The historical facts all suggest that it was those changes in Barbarossa battle plans caused by the Greek invasion that impacted the Russian invasion considerably and ultimately caused its failure."
"The Battle of Crete had an impact also. The delay of Germans in Crete allowed the British under the leadership of Field Marshall Wavell to better organize the defense of Egypt. In addition the heavy casualties of German paratroopers and especially the large number of German aircraft lost really helped keep the Axis forces from having air power over the general Mediterranean region. Field Marshal Wavell later said that the defense of Crete eventually
saved Cyprus, Syria, Iraq, and even Tobruk (Libya) from the Axis forces."
4. Please comment on the Germans military tactics in the Battle of Crete and the Cretan response.
"Operation Mercury, i.e. the invasion of Crete, was really a defensive operation, trying to neutralize Crete to protect the Axis’ southeastern flank ahead of Operation Barbarossa. The participation of thousands of Cretans in the operation was definitely something that the Germans never accounted for. The Germans believed that the Cretans, known for their strong
anti-monarchy sentiments, would actually welcome the Axis forces as ‘liberators’ from the rule of the King of Greece. The Germans expected only minor resistance from a small Greek force. Of course that was just another example of failed German espionage getting incorrect information."
"The Battle of Crete was called “the graveyard of German paratroopers” due to their heavy casualties. The casualties led the Germans to decide never to use such air transported infantry again. Ironically, the Allied forces were impressed with the potential of paratrooper infantry and quickly developed their own paratrooper forces to use later in the war. Today the Battle of Crete is considered the only major battle ever where the objective was fully captured using only air deployed infantry (without supporting sea or land based
forces)."
"The defeat of Greek, British, and New Zealand forces in Crete was not unavoidable. The island could have been held by the Allied forces if much higher casualty rates and destruction to the civil infrastructure were to be acceptable. The island had already suffered heavy civilian losses so there was no point in the Allies making a stand and bringing in even more casualties and further destruction. Nevertheless, it is believed that the heavy casualties suffered by Germans in Crete were the main reason that their occupation of Crete was made more brutal and oppressive (thus needing even more Axis forces) than it needed to be from a purely military viewpoint."
"The key to the Axis success in Crete was the taking of the Maleme airport by German paratroopers. This introduced yet another tactic to the war theater. The Germans then used the airport to fly in considerably more supplies and infantry reinforcements by using heavy airlift capabilities and eventually take over the island."
"It is interesting to note that the heavy casualties that the Axis took in the Battle of Crete convinced them to not use paratroopers again in that way. Before the Battle of Crete the Germans were planning for air invasions of Cyprus and the Suez Canal in Egypt. After the invasion of Crete and heavy casualties, even the German leadership conceded that “the era of paratroopers has passed for good."