Crete

This book covers the German airborne invasion of Crete in 1941, an operation with no earlier equal in warfare. As the book tells it, German planners counted on surprise and an easy win. British commanders, however, had read their intentions through intercepted Ultra messages and set a careful trap. The book describes a fatal misunderstanding that changed the course of the fight, when a German defeat had seemed possible. It then follows the Cretan resistance, in which local fighters were helped by British officers of Special Operations Executive.

Why You Should Read?

• Discover how the book presents the German airborne assault of 1941 as a plan built on tactical surprise.
• Learn how the book says Ultra intercepts gave British commanders advance knowledge of what the enemy intended.
• Understand the fatal misunderstanding that, as the book tells it, reversed a battle that could have ended in German defeat.
• Meet the Cretan freedom fighters and the British officers from Special Operations Executive who backed their resistance.

About the Author

Antony Beevor is a British military historian and author, born on 14 December 1946 and styled Sir Antony James Beevor FRSL FRHistS. He became a visiting professor at Birkbeck, University of London, and the University of Kent. He is known for Stalingrad (1998) and Berlin: The Downfall 1945 (2002), which cover the battles between the Soviet Union and Germany and focus on ordinary people. Berlin proved very controversial in Russia for its material on mass rapes by the Red Army in 1945. He has lectured at military establishments in several countries.