Merkur, paras sur la Crête - Mai 1941, les FallschirmJäger sautent sur la Crête

Following Marita, the Balkan Campaign and the German victory in mainland Greece, the island of Crete, as an RAF base, posed a serious threat to the Reich, with the Ploesti oil fields reportedly under threat by English bombers. Decision is made, the XI. Fliegerkorps is transferred to Greece for an airborne operation to prepare for the arrival of land troops by sea. The Fallschirmjäger jumped on Crete on May 20, 1941, in several waves. The battle will be fierce and very costly for the paratroopers who will lose almost half of their workforce. A costly victory for the Germans but also for the British, who lost this base and almost as many men and left 12,000 prisoners.
 
The heart of this new work is made up of 150 remarkable and very rare photos, out of more than 300 photos and 30 color profiles and maps. A detailed account of the operations, accompanied by testimonies, will make this richly illustrated album an essential reference on a battle that has become legendary.