The aircraft streamed across the skies from mainland Greece seeking the turquoise waters of the Aegean. Their destination: Crete. The objective: to seize this strategically vital island entirely from the air. Nobody in history had ever successfully conquered a strategic objective from the air alone. Remarkably, it has never been done since.

What followed was a nine-day campaign to seize the island, but at the heart of the battle was the three-day struggle for the high ground, Hill 107, its ragged crest casting a shadow over the crucial airfield, possession of which would determine whether reinforcements could be flown in. Without these the German paratroopers, their numbers already decimated by ferocious defensive fire, would not be able to hold out.

Drawing upon many original post-combat reports and letters and diaries with personal accounts from both sides, the three-day battle for Hill 107 is vividly brought to life.