Set up: long
Game time: long
Solo play: not suitable
Historical Background
The Battle for Crete opened on 20th May 1941, when German paratroopers landed on the shore of Crete, by Maleme Airfield, and the city of Chania. Another wave hit Rethymnon Beach a few hours later. Both beaches utilized the newly developed paratrooper to land troops in places normal seashore units couldn’t hope to land. On the Chania/Maleme sector, the Germans made a push toward the airfield and the town, by were pounded by the New Zealand infantry. The Germans attacking Chania were also held up. They encountered some serious Greek resistance, and were bogged down. Of the paratroopers that landed, many were hit by mortar fire within seconds of landing.
At around 16:15 German paratroopers arrived at the town of Rethymnon. The Greeks there were in dire need of proper supplies, and thus, had a hard time fighting back effectively. Nonetheless, the Germans managed to capture their objectives, but it was only a short while before a Greek counter-attack drove them away. The Germans then turned to bombing runs. These were very effective, but still didn’t help the infantry achieve their goal. The one success the Germans had was when they were able to push the New Zealanders back from Hill 107. After this failed attack, they piled the rest of the troops that the Germans had into Maleme airfield. It paid off the second time, and the German forces headed down to Rethymnon, and choked the Allies stationed there. They surrendered on May 30.
Briefing
Axis 10 cards, move first. Allies 10 cards.
Conditions of Victory
11 medals.
Chania, Rethymnon, and Maleme airfield are temporary medals for the Axis.
Special Rules
Before the start, the Axis have an airdrop. Drop 3 Infantry figures from 12 inches above the battlefield (2 on Drop 2, and 1 on Drop 1). A figure which falls of the board or lands in a hex with another friendly or enemy unit, is out of the game (no medal). If the unit landed safely, add 3 more figures and it is ready for action.
Scenario link:
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After playing Part 1 and Part 2 solo, I was keen to try out the Overlord version with my regular opponent…
Half an hour to set up, over an hour to play, but well worth it.
Set up:
The German paradrop was a disaster - 1 unit landed in the sea (red cirle, top of first photo), the other 2 on allied positions (thus eliminated)!
My opponent was a bit rusty after not having played for a while, and it showed as he wasn’t urgent enough in getting troops and tanks out of the water and into action. This meant that when I attacked them they were very vulnerable (cannot retreat into the sea, so a flag is a kill - two tank units destroyed as a result!).
Instead, he focussed on the paras already inland, but they were mostly eliminated (5/6). This led to an 11-4 defeat, but the Allies had a lot of heavily damaged units, so it was closer than it sounds.
If you have the time, and want to try a different scenario (Germans hitting the beach), then I would recommend this one.