Overall not a bad look at the battle of Crete and all of the characters involved in it. For me though it was not up there with the authors other books. The narrative did not grip me and I found myself wandering and having to read some section over again.

The Italian invasion of Greece, launched on October 28, 1940, was undertaken remarkably carelessly. Originally, Mussolini wanted to invade Yugoslavia, but the idea was firmly vetoed by Hitler.Yugoslav raw materials were almost as important to Germany's war effort as Romanian oil. It was, to some extent, a surprise that Hitler did not also veto the attack on Greece because he had enough warning of what the Italians were up to, especially after his meeting with The Duce in Brenner on October 4. Mu...

Anthony Beevor has a distinct writing style of blending the operational aspects with human interest stories. Beevor was a regular in the 11th Hussars of the British Army. His book on Stalingrad won many prizes including the Wolfson History Prize.This book about Crete is divided into three parts. The first part is Operation Marita, the invasion of Greece by German and Italian forces and the subsequent evacuation of the Allied forces to Crete. The second part is the largest taking up half of the b...

This is a good book by the Beevs. It almost reads like two books: The first is part is the invasion itself and the 2nd part is the guerrilla campaign against the Germans. Both parts of the book are important to understand but I found the actual battle for Crete much more interesting than the guerrilla campaign. The latter was sort of an anticlimax. The invasion for the German airborne was nearly a disaster. I’m still trying to understand how the British didn’t happen to win. They referred to sho...

This is a very good book and one that is great pleasure to read. It is not however a masterpiece on the same level as Stalingrad or Berlin, the Downfall 1945. Antony Beevor's fans will not be disappointed by this admirable book nor will those simply interested in a solid work on the battle of Crete.

Incredibly well-researched, and the opening chapters on the battle itself are compelling. But Beevor has difficulty maintaining his trademark readability in the face of a plethora of important historical figures, and the complex web of minor incidents and political intrigue that marked the resistance movement.

I found this book - the first in Antony Beevor's justly celebrated histories of various campaigns of World War II - incredibly hard to read. Not because Beevor's writing is flawed - far from it: but because the story of Crete in World War II is a tragic one of flawed tactics, wrong-headedness and missed opportunities on both sides, and an appallingly unnecessary loss of life.After the debacle of the Greek Campaign, which Beevor briefly touches on, there was little doubt that the Wehrmacht intend...

I read this book whilst in Crete, and with a fair amount of prior knowledge. I'd previously read Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure by Artemis Cooper, The Cretan Runner: His Story of the German Occupation by George Psychoundakis, and Abducting a General: The Kreipe Operation and SOE in Crete by Patrick Leigh FermorI knew, from George Psychoundakis, that Crete has a long history of occupation and counter-resistance. The conflict in Crete between the Cretan guerrillas, supported by a handful of Br...

Antony Beevor's story of Crete, its capture, occupation, resistance and eventual withdrawal of the occupiers is as brilliantly researched and thrillingly told as his other books about the Second World War and events in Spain and France before and after the war.The fall of Crete was one of those military disasters which bedevilled Britain and the Commonwealth in the early years of the war. There is little doubt that different tactics and better use of the Ultra intelligence that had originated at...

I listened to this on Kindle. If you are familiar with Antony Beevor books, more of the same, although I don't feel it was as good as his books on Stalingrad and D-Day. You will enjoy the book if you don't get too obsessed with keeping the cast of characters straight.There is a very large cast of characters. I had to consult a map of Crete to get my bearings. The last part of the book, which dealt with the resistance and special forces operations, had by far the largest cast of characters, inclu...

Fascinating account of the occupation and resistance in Crete, with accounts of the battle, quickly degenerating into farse, particular highlights. However, it was a dry read occasionally, with numerous bit-part characters introduced every other sentence in some sections. However, I can appreciate why this was necessary, given the historical significance of the events described

an education as I had no prior knowledge to the occupation of Crete

I saw a review of Beevor's new book on Normandy. I was not familiar with him and looked at his previous work. I found this book on Crete. I had read articles and chapters about the battle but never a full length work. So I picked this up. Overall the book is good but with a couple of faults, there were some natural questions I feel he left unanswered. Beevor covers the allied point of view from boots on the ground to high level command. The German point of view is covered but just supplemental.

Excellent book by Beevor, if you love his other works youll love this one. Excellent overview and in depth look at Crete by the men who fought it, and the subsequent reistance and liberation. The story of Crete plays out like a poorly written drama, but as they say truth is stranger than fiction. The ups and downs, the missed opportunities, and the various personalities and politics all play their role in a story that wouldnt be out of place in a modern soap opera. Highly reccomended for those i...

One of the striking things about this book is the portrait of British class society. The use of golfing and shooting metaphors by British officers for example: such and such a regiment had to "walk the course" or "bagged a brace of Germans before breakfast." British society does indeed appear absurd. The contrast is all the stronger because it is in the face of war. This is something that Evelyn Waugh later exploited in Officers and Gentlemen, and is used in effect as part of the reason for the

Another excellent piece of work by Antony Beevor. He tells great history in a very acceable way, and this is no exception. He gives first hand accounts, sometimes very funny, of the fighting, and also about the immense sacrifices of the Cretians themselves, and the great resistance they put up, and courage in sheltering Allied soldiers. I read this while on holiday in Crete, and it certainly made the whole read a lot pore poignant.

I spent 18 months on Crete in 1969-1970 while in the U. S. Air Force. It was a wonderful assignment. The people of Crete were incredible, friendly, and a delight to be around. Unfortunately, I didn't take advantage much of the history of Crete due to my work schedule and times off. We all learned the people of Crete hated the Germans because of their occupation from 1941-1945. I knew of Maleme Airfield but never traveled west of Chania. Most of our travels away from our base near Gournes were ma...

Anthony Beevor, in my view, is one of the outstanding WW2 historians today. Stalingrad is a phenomenal book. Crete 1941 is Beevor's history of the Nazi invasion of Crete followed by the occupation and Cretan opposition. The book starts out slowly as Beevor works to provide insight into the runup to the invasion of Greece and the events that led to Germany's intervention and set the stage for the airborne invasion of Crete. Once Beevor's attention moves to Crete, the book gets moving. Beevor is a...

Excellent look at the Germans last major airborne operation of World War II. Organized into three sections looking at preparation, the conventional fight, and the resistance post-British withdrawal. The author mixes tactical and individual perspectives with an operational level look at the conflict. The most interesting part of the book is the review of resistance and how the British SOE supported it throughout the war. This story highlights the importance of bold aggressive action in war. A wor...

The main lesson I took from this is that you should never explore wells, quarries, valleys or pretty much any hole in Crete cos it’s almost certainly filled with corpses. Seriously, almost every execution is followed by them tossing the corpse/s down the nearest hole.As for the book, it’s pretty much standard Beevor fare, he seemed to cover most of the bases and whilst it’s never particularly exciting, he also doesn’t get too bogged down in the boring shit like some writers. My only complaint wa...