Troops of the 2nd New Zealand Division fought bravely during the Battle of Crete in May 1941. Around 7750 men was given command for the defence of the island after their evacuation to Crete from mainland Greece. In this battle 671 were killed, 967 wounded and 2180 captured.
The below New Zealand soldiers are Warlord Games and Artizan Designs miniatures.
New Zealanders
An infantry squad
The NCO
The NCO is an Artizan Designs miniature of the SAS Long Range Group III.
A Boys anti-tank rifle team
A Vickers machine gun team
I replaced two soldiers' Brodie helmets with the iconic kiwi "lemon squeezer" hats.
During the Battle of Crete the village of Galatas was the site of fierce fighting between German paratroopers and allied forces (New Zealanders and Greeks) in late May 1941. The battle lasted ten days. The locals are proud about their forefathers and say that the village of Galatas had more days of resistance against the Germans than some Europian countries!
The Greek-New Zealand Memorial for the Battle of Galatas
The column where the number of the dead is written. Ten Greek officers and sixty one soldiers. Five New Zealanders officers and one hundred forty soldiers.
Dead New Zealand soldier in front of the church of Agios Nikolaos in the village of Galatas. Next to him a Bren machine gun. (Collection of Dimitris Skartsilakis)
The same church today.
A commemoration ceremony for the Battle of Crete is held each year in May at the Souda Bay War Cemetery.
Souda Bay War Cemetery
That's all for today! Stay tuned for more!
Nice post-I have been to the souda bay cemetery and it’s a very moving place.
ReplyDeleteThank you Norber! Yes, it is indeed.
ReplyDelete