order of battle
Order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed force. Various abbr ...
for the
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 ...
and related operations in 1941.
Allied
Land forces
Commonwealth & Allied forces, Crete - "Creforce"
;Headquarters Creforce - (Eastern Zone, east 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 ...
)
:Major-general
Bernard Freyberg
Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a United Kingdom, British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the List of g ...
3rd The King's Own Hussars
The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, ...
(seven light tanks)
:Major G.W.Peck
:10
Light Tank Mk VI
The Tank, Light, Mk VI was a British light tank, produced by Vickers-Armstrongs in the late 1930s, which saw service during the Second World War.
Development history
The Tank, Light, Mk VI was the sixth in the line of light tanks built by V ...
s
* B Squadron,
7th Royal Tank Regiment
The 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7th RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1917 until disbandment in 1959.
History
The 7th Royal Tank Regiment was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. The regi ...
:Lieutenant George Simpson
:Two Matilda tanks, crewed in part by two officers and five gunners of the 2/3rd Field Regiment,
Royal Australian Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's f ...
(RAA).
* 1st Battalion, the
Welch Regiment
The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the am ...
Lindsay Inglis
Major-General Lindsay Merritt Inglis, (16 May 1894 – 17 March 1966) was a New Zealand military officer, lawyer and magistrate. Born in Mosgiel, he volunteered for service in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during World War I. Inglis ser ...
James Hargest
Brigadier James Hargest, (4 September 1891 – 12 August 1944) was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces, serving in both the First and Second World Wars. He was a Member of New Zealand's Parliament from 1931 to 1944, representin ...
) (
Maleme
Maleme () is a small village and civilian airfield to the west of Chania, in north western Crete, Greece. It is located in Platanias municipality, in Chania regional unit.
History
Bronze Age
A Late Minoan tholos tomb has been discovered in the ...
and
Platanias
Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platani ...
New Zealand Engineers
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995
* "New" (Daya song), 2017
* "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...
(148 personnel)
** 19th Army Field Corps Company (216 personnel)
** New Zealand Field Punishment Centre (FPC) Prisoners were released to fight the enemy.
** 1st Greek Regiment (1,030 personnel), (Col. IP Papadimitropoulos)
** Evelpidon Officers' Academy (17 officers, 300 cadets), (Lt. Col. Loukas Kitsos)
* 10th New Zealand Infantry Brigade (Lt. Col.
Howard Kippenberger
Major General Sir Howard Karl Kippenberger, (28 January 1897 – 5 May 1957), known as "Kip", was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces who served in the First and Second World Wars.
Born in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, Ki ...
) (Galatas)
** New Zealand Divisional Cavalry (194 personnel)
** New Zealand Composite Battalion (1,007 personnel)
** 6th Greek Regiment (Lt. Col. M Grigoriou)(1,485 personnel)
** 8th Greek Regiment (Lt. Col. Pan Karkoulas)(1,013 personnel)
Heraklion
Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...
** 2nd Battalion,
Leicestershire Regiment
The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...
York and Lancaster Regiment
The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...
(Lt. Col. A Gilroy) (742 personnel)
** 2nd Battalion,
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...
Ivan Dougherty
Major General Sir Ivan Noel Dougherty, (6 April 1907 – 4 March 1998) was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War and early Cold War period.
Education and early life
Ivan Noel Dougherty was born on 6 April 1907 in Leadville, ...
) (550 personnel)
** Greek 3rd Regiment (Lt. Col Ant Betinakis) (656 personnel)
** Greek 7th Regiment (Col. E Cheretis) (877 personnel)
** Greek Garrison Battalion (commander unknown; ex- Greek 5th "Crete" Division, left behind as a garrison when their division was summoned to defend the mainland) 830 personnel)
19th Australian Infantry Brigade
Mobile Base Defence Organization
;Headquarters Mobile Base Defence Organization - Maj.-Gen. CE Weston-
Souda Bay
Souda Bay () is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akroti ...
Royal Marine
The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
Composite Battalion, Maj. R Garrett (Royal Marines)
* 1st Battalion, the Rangers, the King's Royal Rifle Corps - (later designated 9th Battalion, the
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...
(the Rangers))
*
102nd (Northumberland Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of t ...
- no equipment, used as infantry
* 106th (Lancashire Hussars) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery - Lt. Col. AF Hely
* 16th Australian Brigade Composite Battalion - 350 officers and men Formed from the under strength 2/2nd and 2/3rd Australian infantry battalions
* 17th Australian Brigade Composite Battalion - 270 officers and men Formed from the understrength 2/5th and 2/6th Australian infantry battalions
* 2nd Greek Regiment - 930 officers and men
* 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Marines
G and H-class destroyer
The G- and H-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Six additional ships being built for the Brazilian Navy when World War II began in 1939 were purchased by the British and named the ''Havan ...
;Force E - Captain JP Mack (CO 14th Destroyer Flotilla)
* - Capt. (D2) H St L Nicholson
* - Capt. (D14) P J Mack
* - Lt. Cmdr. Max Joshua Clark
* - Capt. TC Hampton - damaged
5th Destroyer Flotilla
5th Destroyer Flotilla - Captain
Mountbatten
The Mountbatten family is a British family that originated as a branch of the German princely Battenberg family. The name was adopted by members of the Battenberg family residing in the United Kingdom on 14 July 1917, three days before the Br ...
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
- Air Chief Marshal Sir
Arthur Longmore
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore, (8 October 1885 – 10 December 1970) was an early naval aviator, before reaching high rank in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of the RAF's Middle East Command from 1940 to 1941.
E ...
* Senior RAF Officer, Crete - Group Captain
George Beamish
Air Marshal Sir George Robert Beamish, (29 April 1905 – 13 November 1967) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force from the Second World War to his retirement in the late 1950s. Prior to the Second World War, while Beamish was in the R ...
**
No. 30 Squadron RAF
No. 30 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft and is based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.
The squadron was first formed as a unit of the Royal Flying Corps in 1915, serving through the rest of the ...
(Squadron Leader RA Milward/Sqn. Ldr. Shannon) -
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.
Developed privat ...
,
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
**
No. 80 Squadron RAF
Number 80 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 15 April 2024 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, after the numberplate was awarded to the British team at the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laborato ...
Two glider companies were detached and seconded to 7th ''Flieger Division'', below
7th ''Flieger Division''
''The 2nd Battalion of the 2nd FJ Rgt was used with the 1st FJ Rgt in Heraklion''
5th ''Gebirgs'' Division
See also
*
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 ...
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 ...
Order of Battle
Order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed force. Various abbr ...