War in the Aegean, Oct 1944 to July ´45

War in the Aegean, Oct 1944 to July ´45
By Michael Lenz

http://www.geocities.com/kumbayaaa/gerwaraegean4445.html

1. Evacuation

Evacuation started on 30 August, both by air and by land. By air, some 106 Ju 52‘s of the Luftwaffe brought 30.740 soldiers back to the Greek Mainland in 2.050 flights. Likewise, from 30th of August 1944 till the end of October 1944, the German Kriegsmarine evacuated 37.138 soldiers, with the loss of 380 soldiers and 29 out of the 52 engaged ships/boats. Within 2 months 67.878 soldiers were evacuated from the Aegean Islands. Thus, left on the Aegean islands by the time the evacuation ended on 30th October 1944 (German troops evacuated the last harbors on the mainland) were:

On Crete 11.828 Germans and 4.737 Italians
On Rhodos 6.356 Germans and 4.097 Italians
On Kos 3.228 Germans and 611 Italians
On Leros 1.102 Germans and 809 Italians
On Milos 620 Germans
On Tilos 266 Germans
On Kalymnos 193 Germans.

23.607 Germans and 10.254 Italians (= 33.861 soldiers) were still stationed on the Aegean Islands. This is the story of them and what remained of the war for them.

Nominally the head of the 133.FestD, Gen KLEPP, should have been the head of the German forces on Crete. Due to illness, however, the CO of artillery on Crete (Arko „Kreta“) Obst BENTHACK, from December on GenMjr, became CO of Crete.

Some facts on the fighting later on:

From late September 1944 then began a flurry of Allied activity, mostly landings of the Free Greek “Sacred Regiment”, but culminating in two larger, mixed Allied landings in late October. During the month leading up to it, the Greeks ligerated/occupied 5 islands:

1) Liberation of Mykonos (30 September 1944); after some initial fighting (on 25-IX-44) with the German garrison, which suffered 6 dead, 7 wounded and 6 prisoners before withdrawing to Syros.

2) Liberation of the islands of Chios (10 October 1944), and Lesbos (10-X-44), immediately after the Germans left, without fighting.

3) Liberation of Samos (4 October 1944), which resulted in the surrendering of the Italian garrison consisting of about 1000 men.

4) Liberation of Naxos (15 October 1944), which resulted in the death of 1 German and the capture of 69 others.

5) Liberation of Lêmnos (16/17 October 1944), which resulted in the capture of 250 Germans and 60 Italians, mainly on ships blockaded inside the port of Moudros by the British fleet.

The culmination came with a twin landing on the islands of Milos and Tilos, both on 26 October:

Communications

After Allied ships have sunk on 4th November the vessle„Helmut“, on 11th November „Dante Alighieri“ and on 16th December of 1944 „Calavarda“, the Germans stopped supplying the isles by ships/boats.
Some - at first look - non-airworthy planes (Ju 52, He 111) were left behind on the Aegean Islands. The better ones were rebuild (out of 3 bad, 1 good...). So these few planes did in 1945 every month some supply flights within the Islands. They also transported field post form Rhodos to other Islands.

Also every fortnight, from 7th November 1944 onwards, a plane from the KG 200 landed on Rhodes, carrying field post. These were mostly captured B-17‘s or B-24‘s, less often a FW 200 or a Ju 290.
On the return-trip they brough wounded soldiers back to Germany. The last flight was in the beginning of May 1945, the loss of airfields in Germany making any further flights impossible.

On the 9th of May, KJ 25 transported first British troops to Rhodos.

In Allied documents you can read very often that the German soldiers hereafter were more or less POW, who were guarding themselves. Not so. While on 9th May of1945 GenMjr BENTHACK had signed the surrender in Heraklion, the German forces required to surrender to the British 28th Infantry-brigade (CO was BrigGen P.G.C. PRESTON), the Germans waited in vain for the British occupation troops. Then, on 11th of May, however, an emergency call of the British arrived, as these were in heavy combat with the „ELAS“ (the communist Greek resistance movement). A German assault unit/task force with a tank battalion liberated the British and drove back the Greek partisans. Afterwards, the car of BrigGen PRESTON was always escorted by two German tanks.



Till the end of June 1945 (1.600 German soldiers were still in the area of Suda) the Germans were involved in anti-partisans war-fare.

GenMjr BENTHACK ordered via radio 5 KC‘s for awarding in his estimation. Only the names of three of the decorated are known, and presented with the decoration on 21st May of 1945 were
GenMjr BENTHACK, Hans-Georg; CO of „Fortress“ Crete
Obstlt KAMINSKI, Werner; Ia of „Fortress“ Crete
GenMjr WAGENER, Dr. Otto; CO of „Fortress“ Rhodos

On 11th May of 1945 DÖNITZ gave order to stop further promotions and awarding. So all 3(5??) KC winners received their KCs back-dated to 10th of May.

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Lesser known war area facts!

 

Interesting details of the Aegean area in late war and German retreat and supplying the troops left Behind.