In this remarkable history, we discover each of the individuals whose actions determined the outcome of the battle for Hill 107, the key event that decided the campaign to capture the vitally strategic island of Crete in May 1941. All the events are narrated through the filter of these eyewitnesses. The Allied perspective is from the summit of Hill 107. We experience the fear and the adrenalin of a lowly platoon commander, Lieutenant Ed McAra, perilously positioned at the top of the hill, alongside the combat stress and command fatigue of the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Andew. In contrast, the German view is looking up from below as they cling to the slopes while simultaneous dazzled by the morning glare and decimated by defensive fire. We join the regimental doctor, Dr Heinrich Neumann, as he assumes command of one battalion and leads a daring nighttime charge towards the summit. The Hill details what was felt, heard or seen throughout the battle for both attacker and defender.
Drawing upon original combat reports, diary entries, letters and interviews, the battle is brought vividly to life. The narrative reads like a Shakespearean tragedy, the soldiers revealing their stories in and around the shadows of Hill 107.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Prologue
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Chapter 1: The Decision
Chapter 2: Deployment and Plan
Chapter 3: Eve of Battle
Chapter 4: The Flight of Daedalus and Icarus
Chapter 5: Parachute Assault
Chapter 6: A Battalion Dies
Chapter 7: Command Dilemmas
Chapter 8: Victory by Chance
Chapter 9: Daedalus Returned
Chapter 10: The Swing of the Force Pendulum
Postscript
The Key Decision-Makers and Takers
Table of German Military Ranks
Notes
Bibliography
Index
A good read, well written and well researched, there is little by way of new material here, just a very good summary of a critical battle for Crete, drawing on first person accounts from both sides, historical information, and some analysis. The book focuses on the battle itself, the men who fought, and the terrain that favored the allies.
There is some good detail here and there, without detracting from the overall narrative, and some good profiles of a few characters. There are a couple of examples where we learn about a particular man over a couple of pages, his wife or family, based on his letters home, only to read later in the book that he fell in battle, which personalized the book, for me at least.
We read of gliders full of Fallschirmjäger that crash into the sea, with no survivors, or into the hill itself, with equally bad results. That at one point, as the Allies withdraw from Hill 107 under cover of darkness, they pass within meters of Fallschirmjäger, who, for their part, are unaware that for a period there was no one in-situ. The 'fog of battle' is well conveyed, too, even if unintentionally; mis-information becomes fact, poor decisions are made, and the effect of fatigue on men under stress. Case in point, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Andrew, "[a] competent soldier and VC holder... [who] stuck to faulty personal judgement", first page of photographs, unnumbered - see images.
There is a tension in the writing about the rigors of battle, and how men respond to life threatening events, which gives the book a depth that exceeds the title. The narrative flows well and in a logical order, and despite a large cast of characters, it is easy to follow who is doing what and how they fit into scheme of things.
The maps are basic but show the information clearly, the images are mostly well known with a couple of exceptions. This would be the only weak part of the book, I'd of liked to have seen some current images of Crete that illustrate the prevailing environmental conditions both sides fought under / in, given that the weather favors no one, and the terrain was unforgiving.
Something that did stick with me, page 70, Generalmajor Eugen Meindl, as a principal of leadership, "Sub-unit commanders were reminded to lead men as individuals and live humans, not assets."
Easily recommended, whether for the battle itself or as a study of the logistics of trying to take a remote and isolated objective by airdrop alone - which is not recommended.
Achtung PANZER! For their part, the Allies recovered a lot of Fallschirmjäger gear and equipment.
Its a book, there are pages of words.
A map
not their finest moment...