Having been recently inspired by Donald Featherstone's book, Wargaming Airborne Operations, our club recently put together a small scenario based on the German airborne invasion of Crete on May 21, 1941. Though designed for Command Decision (CD hereafter), published by Game Designers' Workshop, it shouldn't be too difficult to extrapolate the fundamental elements of the scenario to fit your house or club rules. Several minor modifications were made to CD to adjust them to fit the pecularities of this scenario. The map left some room for interpretation. In lieu of accuracy, our intent was to convey the flavor of what both sides ran up against, while providing a game that was both playable and fun.

ORGANIZATION

Troop dispositions for both sides were as follows (indentations indicate subordinate units):

GERMAN	NEW ZEALANDER
1 Infantry regiment.	1 Infantry battation.
1 Command stand.	1 Battalion command stand.
1 80mm mortar.	1 80mm mortar.
2 Infantry battations.	4 Infantry companies.
1 Battation command stand.	1 command stand.
3 Infantry companies.	2 Infantry stands.
1 command stand.	1 Heavy company.
2 SMG stands.	3 MMG stands.
1 Heavy company.	1 Cavalry company.
1 80mm mortar.	1 Universal carrier.
3 MMG stands.	1 Recon carrier.
(all stands have integral ATRs)	(all stands have integral Boys ATRs)
3 Gliders, each capable of carrying 1 infantry company (enabling a maximum of one of the infantry battalions to be glider-borne)

SCENARIO AND RULES NOTES

The scenario was set around the northwestern end of the invasion site. The assigned German objective is to take Hill 107 and secure the airfield at Maleme. Historically and geographically these two points are two miles apart. In our game they wound upon the same table. We game with 20mm / 1:72nd scale vehicles. Consequently, a five by nine foot table represents an area approximately one and one half by three quarters of a mile. If the maps in Featherstone's book are checked, one can see that we sacrificed scrupulous accuracy to give a better feel for what the German attackers and the New Zealander defenders might have been up against.

The gliders (see illustrations) were all home made and were designed and painted to be generic, so they could be used in other games. Interiors were accessed via an easy-to-remove roof which simply rested in place. There was space inside each glider to accommodate the troops it carried. Each could hold one infantry company, or three stands and a support weapon (mortar or MMG). Construction was simple. White glue was used throughout; straight pins were used to hold components together while the glue dried.

To airdrop troops, I used an age old technique described in several books. Number each German stand, including heavy weapons, consecutively, correspondingly numbering a one inch square piece of note paper. Select drop zones for all German paratroops to be airdropped from those listed on the map. Place the pieces of paper for all troops landing in a single drop zone one inch apart and no more than two deep along a yardstick. The pieces of paper corresponding to the heavy weapons represent their drop canisters. Hold the yardstick 24 inches above the drop zone and turn it over, allowing the pieces to flutter down randomly, landing everywhere.

Stands landing in trees or rivers must cast two six sided dice for effect: Stands survive intact on a roll of five or less. Otherwise, they take one hit marker and are pinned for the turn. Defenders are allowed opportunity and general fire during the turn of the air drop.

The Germans learned a bitter lesson on Crete when weapons canisters landed far astray of crews desperately needing them. Weapon crews landing within four inches of their drop canister are allowed to retrieve their heavy weapons immediately and are allowed to fire the turn after they are dropped. Weapon crews landing more than four inches from their canisters must receive movement orders the turn after they are dropped in order to get to their heavy weapons before firing and cannot fire until the turn after they retrieve their weapons.

The German player landed gliders by selecting a drop zone for each glider from those listed on the map. Each glider took a normal morale check upon landing. If passed, the landing was safe and on target, and the glider infantry were given a four inch movement allowance upon debarking from their gliders. Otherwise, the glider missed its mark and deviation was diced for on the bombing deviation chart to determine the actual landing location. The troops aboard were then debarked and pinned for the duration of the landing turn.

Large Map of Crete Scenario (slow: 105K)
Jumbo Map of Crete Scenario (very slow: 247K)

As all German infantry stands were SMG equipped, it became readily apparent to the German player that the only viable option upon landing was to close assault immediately with 'elan'. The SMG rules, modified in the CD Barbarossa 25 campaign module, allows SMG stands to always fire at one movement level lower than they are actually moving. For example, a stand with a "Full Advance" order would fire as if it had a "Cautious Advance" order. This allowed the German troops to close with the New Zealander troops. All stands were required to pass normal morale checks in order to close assault, however, so even this tactic was not certain of success.

THE GAME

The New Zealander battalion was historically deployed mainly to defend Maleme. Hill 107 was defended by one infantry company, the battalion command, one 80mm mortar, and two MMGs. They were deployed in a horseshoe formation about the summit. A second infantry company and another MMG were deployed on the northwestern slope. The two remaining infantry companies were deployed in depth around the air- field. The cavalry company was held in reserve on the southern slope of H ill 107. None of the New Zealanders were placed on the table until after the paratroop drop. The German player did not know where any defending troops were placed until after he'd made his air drops.

The German players chose to air drop one of this battalions and air land the other. The entire paratroop battalion and a glider company from the other battalion landed almost on top of Hill 107. They were engaged in a firefight immediately and took horrendous casualties. The other two glider companies landed on the beach side of the road. Once disembarked from their gliders, they pushed due south, in support of the paratroops who were in obvious need of a supporting flank attack. The landings were remarkably uneventful. All gliders landed safely on target. Unlike their historical counterparts, all drop canisters were efficienty recovered by their crews and were rapidly deployed.

The New Zealander infantry company deployed on the northwest slope of Hill 107 was quickly wiped out by fire that seemed to come from all directions at once. Several hapless German stands landed on the summit and were quickly engaged, decimated, and forced back into cover, where they were pinned down. They were soon overwhelmed as more New Zealanders arrived from Maleme airfield in their rear. Both German battalions then close assaulted the summit of Hill 107. Outnumbering the defenders approximately five to one, they succeeded in taking it. The New Zealander stragglers retreated to a defence of the airfield, fighting a successful rearguard as they went.

CONCLUSION

This game proved to be fun, focused, as it was, on a relatively obscure campaign that was very challenging to both sides. The defender, acting also as referee when needed, simply deployed in approximately historical positions. The German player then plotted his glider and paratroop landings. It was ideally suited for play by two players. The game length was also quite convenient, lasting about two hours. A problem our group frequently encounters is that of finding a night when we can consistently all get together. I developed this scenario with the need for smaller two player games in mind. I hope you get as much enjoyment from this scenario as we did. Good gaming!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chadwick, F. Command Decision, Game Designers' Workshop, Normal, IL 1986.
ibid. Barbarossa 25, GDW, Normal, IL, 1987.
Featherstone, D. Wargaming Airborne Operations, A. S. Barnes and Co. Inc., Cranbury, NJ, 1979.

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