Battle of Crete - Day Two, 21 May

Day Two, 21 May

Overnight, the New Zealand 22nd Infantry Battalion withdrew from Hill 107, leaving the Maleme airfield undefended. During the previous day the Germans had succeeded in cutting off communications between the two westernmost companies of the battalion and the battalion commander, Lt Col Leslie Andrew VC, who was on the east of the airfield. Andrew mistakenly interpreted the lack of communication as meaning his battalion had been overrun in the west. With the weakened state of the eastern elements of the battalion, and believing the western elements to have been overrun, Andrew requested reinforcement by the 23rd Battalion. This was denied by his superior, Brigadier James Hargest, on the grounds that the 23rd Battalion were fully committed repulsing parachutists in their sector. After a failed attempt at a counter-attack late in the day of the 20th with the eastern elements of his battalion, Andrew withdrew under cover of darkness to regroup, with the consent of Hargest. Captain Campbell, commanding the western-most company of the 22nd Battalion, out of contact with Andrew, did not learn of the withdrawal of the 22nd Battalion until early in the morning, at which point he also withdrew from the west of the airfield. This misunderstanding, representative of failings of communication and coordination in the Allied defence of Crete, cost the allies the airfield, and allowed the Germans to reinforce their invasion force unopposed. In Athens, General Kurt Student decided to concentrate his forces on Maleme on the 21st, as this was the area where the most progress had been made on the first day, and due to an early morning reconnaissance flight over the Maleme airfield that was unopposed by defending forces. The Germans quickly exploited the withdrawal from Hill 107 to take control of the Maleme airfield, just as a sea landing took place nearby. The allies continued to pour artillery fire into the area as Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft started flying in units of the 5th Mountain Division at night. The Germans now had a foothold on Crete.