DK - World War II Map by Map

THE MIDDLE EAST AND EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN 83

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SYRIA

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PALESTINE

Cyprus

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T U R K E Y

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Vichy French

Army

Habforce

Iraqi Army

Madinat ath Thawrah

Masjed Soleyman

Famagusta

Ad Diwaniyah

Dayr az Zawr

Latakia

Qasr-e Shirin

Tel Aviv-Yafo

An Nasiriyah

As Suwayda

Iskenderun Al Hasakah

Abu Kamal

Ramadi

Habbaniyah

Rutba

Damascus

Rayak

Fallujah

Jerusalem

At Tafilah

An Nabk

Karaman

Tripoli

Baghdad

Sanliurfa

Celeken

Larnaka

Palmyra

Abadan

El Arish

Karbala

Nicosia

Aleppo

Hama

Paphos

Mardin

Kuwait

Zakho

Kirkuk

Mosul

Beirut

Basra

Homs

Haifa

Acre

Gaza

Arar

Bijar

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Suda^ Bay

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of (^) Crete
Cape Lithinon
May 22
HMS Gloucester cruiser
May 22
HMS Fiji cruiser
May 22
HMS Greyhound destroyer
May 23
Destroyers
HMS Kelly and
HMS Kashmir
May 29
HMS Hereward destroyer
May 29
HMS Imperial
destroyer
May 20
HMS Widnes minesweeper
May 22
HMS York cruiser
Heraklion
Pirgos
Ierapetra
Canea
Rethymnon
Tymbaki
Maleme
Kandanos
Sphakia Sitia
Zakros
Kos
GERMANY INVADES CRETE
In May 1941, in the world’s first large-scale
airborne invasion, the Germans quickly
overran Crete despite fierce resistance.
The British evacuated the island, suffering
heavy losses on land and at sea.
May 21–22
A German convoy
is dispersed by the
British fleet.
THE MIDDLE EAST AND
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
In 1941 the Allies faced a series of challenges that ended with Axis powers dominating the eastern
Mediterranean. However, the Allies strengthened their position in the Middle East, securing oil and
supply routes from Iraq to the USSR that would prove invaluable in the months to come.
The Allies experienced mixed fortunes in the Middle East and east
Mediterranean in the first half of 1941. They were chased out of
Greece by the German advance in April (see pp.80–81) and suffered
a further humiliation in Crete in May. There, they were ousted by a
surprise airborne assault, despite having known that the Germans
had planned to invade since April. The loss of Crete deprived the
Allied forces of around 16,000 men—either dead or captured—and
cost the Royal Navy nine ships, with another 13 damaged. It was
followed by more failure, when a British attempt to relieve Tobruk
in North Africa in June ended in disaster. Yet Hitler failed to
capitalize on the dominance of the Mediterranean that the Axis
powers had won through the conquest of the Balkans and Crete,
and their success in North Africa. Instead, the Germans turned
their attention to the Soviet Union.
The Allies were left to consolidate the gains they had begun to
make in the Middle East. By mid-June, they had wrested control
of Iraq from its pro-German leader, Rashid Ali, and had launched
a successful invasion of Vichy-held Syria.
German advance
May 25–28, 1941
German forces airdropped
from Maleme May 28
Allied retreat
May 22–28
Allied evacuation
May 28–31
CAPTURE OF THE ISLAND MAY 25–31, 1941
Despite being heavily outnumbered and losing many
troops on landing, the Germans secured Maleme and
captured its airstrip, which they used to send further
troops and supplies around the island. They repelled
Allied attempts to recapture Maleme, and rapidly
advanced through Crete. On May 28, the British began
evacuating, transporting 16,500 men to safety by May 31.
5
German airborne
troop landings
May 20
Airfields
German troop
convoys dispersed
by British fleet
British naval losses
THE INVASION OF CRETE MAY 20–25, 1941
In one of the most daring invasions of the war, at
8 am on May 20, Germany dropped the first of
around 22,000 troops on Crete’s airfields after a
fierce bombardment. The island’s defense rested
with around 50,000 troops, including around 20,000
Greek soldiers, and the Royal Navy, which worked
to prevent more German troops arriving by sea.
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US_082-083_Mid_East_Eastern_Med.indd 83 24/05/19 1:16 PM