Greek Army Surrendering to the Leibstandarte ϟϟ and Battle of Crete

Sepp Dietrich during the capitulation of the Greek Army in Thessaly

Messerschmitt Bf 109s of JG 27 escorting a Heinkel He 111 over Crete

Fallschirmjägers of the 7.Flieger-Division in Crete

On April 20 1941, the commander of the Greek First Army surrendered the entire Hellenic Army to the Leibstandarte SS commander SS-Obergruppenführer Josef Sepp Dietrich. British Commonwealth troops were now the only Allied forces remaining in Greece, and they were falling back across the Corinth Canal to the Peloponnesos. By April 26 1941 the Leibsatandarte SS had reached the Gulf of Patras. Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler remained concerned about attacks on his Romanian fuel supply. British bombers based on the island of Crete were within range of the Ploiești oil fields in Romania. On April 25 1941, he ordering the invasion of the island by air. About 43,000 Greek and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island against 22,000 German paratroopers and mountain troops. It was the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. The Cretan Resistance was particularly savage, torturing and mutilating any German who fell into their hands. Nevertheless, the fierce battle of Crete continued until May 29 1941 when the evacuation of Crete began by British forces from the small port of Sphakia. Immediately after Crete fell, a series of collective punishments against civilians began. Top image: Sepp Dietrich and General Franz Böhme with Greek officers during the surrender conference of the Greek Army at Larissa airport in Thessaly on April 21 1941. Credit: Christos Kaplanis. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Middle image: Luftwaffe fighter ace Staffelkapitän Emil Josef Clade and Unteroffizier Rudolf Moycis of Jagdgeschwader 27 escorting a Heinkel He 111 bomber transporting Luftwaffe Generals Alexander Holle and Martin Fiebig to Crete. Photo taken on a later occasion. Credit: Richard James Molloy. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: a group of elite Fallschirmjägers of the 7.Flieger-Division after landing on Crete in May 1941. In September 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front. The division would later became known as the 1.Fallschirmjäger-Division. Picture Alliance. Fair use.