Alikianos () is the head village of the

Mousouroi Mousouroi (, ), is a former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Platanias, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . The municip ...

municipal unit in Chania regional unit,

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

located approximately 12.5 kilometers southwest of

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

. Alikianos is best known outside the island for the fierce fighting which took place there during the 1941

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

, during which the 8th Greek Regiment (Provisional) aided by the local population, helped cover the retreat of the 10th New Zealand Division, to which it was attached. In retribution, the German

paratroopers A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light inf ...

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

many civilians from Alikianos and the nearby villages.

References

Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Platanias {{Crete-geo-stub

See also

References