Dimensions
214 x 234 x 16mm
Of all the Second World War battles in which New Zealand troops fought, the Battle of Crete was perhaps the most dramatic. For 12 days in May 1941, a mixed force of New Zealand, British, Australian and American soldiers sought to prevent the island falling to the invading Germans, who arrived in spectacular fashion, parachuting in from aeroplanes and gliders at around 8am on the morning of 20 May.
The defenders were hopelessly outnumbered and had little in the way of arms or munitions, having abandoned most of their weapons during the retreat from Greece. Still, they dug in and battled on gamely. Finally, the authorities realised that the island was going to fall, and they ordered the evacuation of thousands of soldiers.
For many, their flight to safety began with a hard treacherous trek over the mountains of Crete, with no food, no water, no shelter, not even a blanket to sleep under. Many of the walking wounded had to be left along the way. And once they made it to a ship, they were still under constant attack from the German planes. Not all could be taken off, and some 2,100 New Zealanders remained on Crete, many of whom were taken prisoner of war.
This book is a collection of oral histories of 15 New Zealanders who were on Crete (including one woman). They each tell of their own experiences of the battle for Crete; the majority were soldiers, but one was a nurse, one a medical assistant, one a sailor on the evacuation ships. The book is prefaced with an introduction that explains the events that occurred before, during and after the battle for Crete and is illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs.
