Crete 1941 - week 6, attack on the DZs

As move towards the end of the campaign, this battle saw the British attacking the third of the German DZs. For this battle the Germans were defending a small village with the olive oil factory dominating one end of the table. Fields and scattered woods made up the rest of the table.

View from the British left

Opposite view from the German left

The olive oil factory 

The British established a solid base-of-fire in the centre with their now customary mix of mortars and HMGs. The main attack was to be against the Germans left, with a strong probe towards the right.

British base of fire

The attack on the right developed quickly with troops fanning out through the woods and sheltering in the gully that bisected the table. This stimulated the Germans to place most of the elite Fallschirmjager against the main British attack, with a single section in the olive oil factory. The mountain troops deployed into the town.

The main attack 

Brits pinned in the open

Sneaky flank attack 

The main attack on the right began to slow as accurate fire from the Paratroopers pinned the advancing British and the Germans repositioned all their AT resources to counter the supporting Matilda.
   

Some heavy traffic awaits the Matilda 

Its hard to be strong everywhere though, and this redeployment left the German right weakened, thus allowing the British infantry deployed there to push forward and eventually capture an all important objective.
 

Brits close-in on victory

The JOP falls 

It was clear that the British had to upper hand so the Germans were forced to withdraw from the DZ. This victory means the campaign is finely balanced at 3 wins a side.