The Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 - a unique event in the history of warfare - to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. They had no idea that the British, using Ultra intercepts, knew their plans and had laid a carefully-planned trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war, but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle round. Nor did the conflict end there. Ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance, aided by a dramatic cast of British officers from Special Operations Executive.
Crete: The Battle and the Resistance
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Antony Beevor's unerring flair for the climate and the feel of the conflict ... his insight and his grasp of these vents make them seem as though they had happened last week (Patrick Leigh Fermor, Daily Telegraph)
Excellent . . . an arresting account of the whole war on Crete, including the ghastly experiences of the Cretans under German occupation (John Keegan, Sunday Telegraph)
The best book we have got on Crete (Michael Foot, Observer)
Beevor's account is excellent: fresh, lively and peppered with anecdotes (Mail on Sunday)
'A new paperback edition is welcome for two reasons; reminding us that Beevor is a writer and historian of rare ability and for starkly illustrating the variables of war' (Neville Smith, Lloyd's List)
Excellent . . . an arresting account of the whole war on Crete, including the ghastly experiences of the Cretans under German occupation (John Keegan, Sunday Telegraph)
The best book we have got on Crete (Michael Foot, Observer)
Beevor's account is excellent: fresh, lively and peppered with anecdotes (Mail on Sunday)
'A new paperback edition is welcome for two reasons; reminding us that Beevor is a writer and historian of rare ability and for starkly illustrating the variables of war' (Neville Smith, Lloyd's List)
About the Author
A regular in the 11th Hussars, Antony Beevor served in Germany and England. He has had a number of books published and his book Stalingrad was awarded the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Wolfson History Prize and the Hawthornden Prize. Among the many prestigious posts he holds, he is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a splendidly-written account of the British Campaign in Greece and Crete in 1941, and to a lesser extent, of the resistance to the Germans during the occupation. The account of the defence against the German airborne invasion is masterly, and though many units are involved, the writer has the knack of keeping them distinct in the reader's mind such that there is no difficulty in following the actions at four separate but simultaneous landing points. Stories of heroism and of initiative, and also sadly of failure of will, abound on all sides. The aspect of the knife-edge that separated success and failure is very well conveyed. Bernard Freyberg emerges as a tragic figure, a man of magnificent personal courage and a Homeric hero of an earlier war, and in the same general theatre, but sadly out of his depth in the Cretan operation. One is reminded poignantly of the merciless revelation of John Bell Hood's weakness as a commander during his invasion of Tennessee in late 1864. The only fault I found with the Resistance part of the book was that it was too short, and I would have enjoyed a more extended account of individual actions. Inspired by this, I am now keen to locate "The Cretan Runner", so favourably mentioned by the author. Given the prominent role played in the Resistance story by Patrick Leigh-Fermor, those who enjoy this book will be entranced by his two books detailing a foot journey he made as a youth from Hook of Holland to Istanbul in 1934. In Crete, he and small band of heroes, British, Commonwealth and Greek, faced terrifying consequences for any failure when they faced a ruthless and merciless foe.... Read more ›
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sometime between writing this and writing his later, excellent 'Stalingrad' and highly regarded 'Berlin', Beevor seems to have changed his style, improved his research and 'blossomed' as a popular historian - perhaps this accounts for the rework of his (previously) disappointing book on the Spanish Civil War. As one of the few books on the war on Crete this is a disappointment. the narrative fails to 'flow', and there are too many asides, unimportant comments that detract from the main subject. When giving his account of the Battle, well before we get on to the resistance phase after the German victory, there is far too much about the undoubtably brave, obvioulsy colourful, but questionably relevant 'characters' from SOE - at the expense of information and details about the fighting by more conventional Forces. Too much 'gossip' and not enough fact and evaluation, and the maps are woefully inadequate in helping explain the story. He does give a very sympathetic but nonetheless crtical view of General Freyburg. Worth reading because there is little else on the subject available, but nowhere near the standard of his later, deservedly more popular books
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By GJ Rumble
Format:Paperback
Much like Maj Gen Freyberg's performance commanding the allied forces during the German airborne invasion of Crete I would say that overall this book was somehow a defeat where victory should have been assured. Reading some of the reviews above I was relieved to see that I was not alone in finding that the book's narrative did not always flow due to an obsession for peripheral detail as individuals' entered or departed the scene or re-entered or re-departed...or re-re-entered.....with a dog. At times I found his attention to detail for the, shall we say, 'members of the establishment' quite cringe-worthy at times. I don't really care that Nancy Double-Barrell, sister of Nigel Double-Barrell who went on to captain Oxford's lacrosse team, was one time lady in waiting to Princess This-or-that! Give that rubbish an asterisk and let those that care read it in the appendices. I agree too that the lack of maps was frustrating. I gave it 3 stars though as when it was good it was very good. The final chapters were especially very hard work as he seems to have attempted to ensure everyone who needed a mention got one? I do like accuracy and detail but ultimately save a lot of it for the appendices as who can remember all that (now pointless) detail two pages later? No one, but we do try to remember the flow of narrative. I would recommend this book when all is said and done especially as there is a dearth of such topics appearing on the shelves (or web pages) nowadays.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By J. Bloss
Format:Paperback
I am a big fan of Antony Beevor, enjoying every book that I have read by him. However, this account of the invasion and resistance on Crete during WW2 falls a bit short compared to his epic works on Berlin and the Spanish Civil War.
The best thing about this work is that it does flow well and is written in a very readable style, so you don't get bogged down and I believe it gives a good overview with what was going on from beginning to end.
There are quite a few things which would improve it though. There are not enough maps for a start and the work is so skewed towards a British viewpoint that I would have loved to have found out a bit more about the Cretans and the Germans. The Italians hardly get a mention so I really have no idea what they did on the island ( maybe nothing?! ). Whilst I think the story of the invasion is covered pretty well, covering parallel actions in different areas the occupation/resistance seems a bit bitty. We hear too much about some SOE agents, but only tantalising titbits about others, or about other soldiers left behind after Crete fell, for instance the handy trio of Australians that crop up every now and again...I am assuming they must have had a good story to tell but they are not even named!
One other item that I feel would be really interesting is covering what happened to some of the characters after their involvement in Crete came to an end...what happened to Captain Forrester after he led that amazing charge of Cretan men, women and children!
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book but feel it could have been a lot better.
The best thing about this work is that it does flow well and is written in a very readable style, so you don't get bogged down and I believe it gives a good overview with what was going on from beginning to end.
There are quite a few things which would improve it though. There are not enough maps for a start and the work is so skewed towards a British viewpoint that I would have loved to have found out a bit more about the Cretans and the Germans. The Italians hardly get a mention so I really have no idea what they did on the island ( maybe nothing?! ). Whilst I think the story of the invasion is covered pretty well, covering parallel actions in different areas the occupation/resistance seems a bit bitty. We hear too much about some SOE agents, but only tantalising titbits about others, or about other soldiers left behind after Crete fell, for instance the handy trio of Australians that crop up every now and again...I am assuming they must have had a good story to tell but they are not even named!
One other item that I feel would be really interesting is covering what happened to some of the characters after their involvement in Crete came to an end...what happened to Captain Forrester after he led that amazing charge of Cretan men, women and children!
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book but feel it could have been a lot better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great sweeping historical account of the importance of Crete in...
Great record of the near allied victory over the nazi paratroopers, a battle lost due to a general sticking to his battle plan without any flex. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Caspar
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Crete disaster in WWII explained.
I'm a fan of Anthony Beevor and I have learned from and appreciated his carefully researched books. There are several on my shelves.
Published 4 months ago by G. F. Underwood
5.0 out of 5 stars
Usual immaculate research.
As always Anthony Beever's books are thoroughly researched and make very exciting reads.
It seems that if the General commanding in Crete had made the right decisions, the... Read more
It seems that if the General commanding in Crete had made the right decisions, the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by clockwatcher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take this book on holiday to Crete!
The Germans took Crete by the narrowest of margins, and we knew when and where they were coming. With the benefit of hindsight that armchair warriors have, it was largely a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by JWW
5.0 out of 5 stars
crete
exellent delivery as we purchesed it to go to crete on hols. hubby sat by the pool couldnt put the book down.was interesting as we also visited some places pointed out in the book
Published 6 months ago by beverley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crete: The Battle and the Resistance
I had just read Fortress Crete = The Secret War and found it interesting and in the notes they mentioned this book by Antony Beevor. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. Anthony Walmsley
4.0 out of 5 stars
THE BEST BOOK ON THE BATTLE OF CRETE (SO FAR)
Not having read any of Beevor's books I had nothing to compare this book with...so...I liked the book very much, it flows well and is researched well. Read more
Published 7 months ago by pg stanley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read in Crete - added a certain something...
Superb read - and superb a primer for a campaign I knew little or nothing about before this. I picked it up at the Airport when en-route to the Island for some sun. Read more
Published 9 months ago by R. Parry
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crete Antony Beaver
Very well written in the usual excellent style of the author. I would recommend this to any one who is a fan of history.
Book arrived before the stated time.
Book arrived before the stated time.
Published 13 months ago by Mare
3.0 out of 5 stars
May I opine?
In considering Crete, and its defence, as an expatriate New Zealander now living in Blighty, I really do feel someone must speak up for the ANZACs. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2010 by C. Young
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