Tante Ju

摘要

South of mainland Greece lies the island of Crete, a stepping stone to North Africa and the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean. In 1941 Crete's position gave it a strategic importance to both Germany and Britain. For the British the island served as a base from which bombing operations could be carried out against die Axis oil fields in Romania. For Germany its occupation would serve as a protective screen against Allied strength in the western Mediterranean. By April 30,1941 some 25,000 British troops had been evacuated there from Greece and from mid-May more were landed as reinforcements. An attempt was to be made to hold on to Crete to prevent it giving the Germans a hold in the eastern Mediterranean.