Poor General Student. Things aren’t going so well in Crete. On the second day, another drop attempt was made along with the Assault Regiment advancing from the West to East to capture Maleme and Pythgos. Both towns succeeded in resisting a punishing air attack and a two pronged assault with added pressure from a reinforced company from the South. If the logistics problems hadn’t occurred,the paratroopers probably would have done better. But when a critical shortage of ammunition happened 2+ hours into the battle, General Student called a halt to the attack.

It was a great day for theKiwis, who had their backs against the wall. All performed admirably, especially the 28th Maori, who assaulted the paratroopers in the East with great success. Freiburg was quite pleased, and gave the unit special mention in dispatches home. The New Zealanders also suffered ammunition shortages, but shot with reasonable accuracy. The Germans didn’t suffer so many losses, only three steps, but suffered many unit and leader demoralizations. This was especially true in the drop zone. Units simply could not get cohesion and organization and launch an attack on Pythgos. However, the air attack killed many troops around Pythgos. NZ losses were six steps here.

NZ forces were able to filter into Maleme and hold onto to that town as well. Thus, no part of the attack was a success for Germans.

Author	treadasaurusrex (Greece, Maori, New Zealand)
Method	VASSAL
Victor	Maori, New Zealand, Greece
Participants	OldPueblo
Play Date	2024-09-27
Language	English
Scenario	PoCr006

This was a 4-session play-through with the daring & intrepid Old Pueblo leading the attacking German paras intent on taking Maleme airfield and the nearby community of Pythgos. I had the hard-fighting Allied force made up of New Zealanders, including Maoris, and Greeks. We ignored the defense-facvoring-FOW, but used the consolidation, excess initiative, smoke optional rules. The potentially deadly Luftwaffe air support proved mostly ineffective in our go during the mid-and-end game. The paras got chewed up as they landed, as did 6 steps of the defenders.

Others have described the game play in this one, which for the most part, mirrored their experience, particularly as regards the fierce Maorir contingent and the difficulty of coordinating the scattered German force. More Jerry steps were lost than we expected, primarily in adjacent-hex firefights and against the ferocious Maoris in close assaults. Poor dice rolling and multiple leader losses told quickly against the Teutonic attackers. They also suffered a senior leader decapitation on game turn 5 that caused a good deal of disorientation, along with numerous disruptions and leader demoralizations. In the end, the Allies were able to hold Maleme and secure the necessary town hexes.

We give this one a 4, although that was primarily due to it being fun to play with a very aggressive and opportunistic opponent. This closely-balanced scenario is recommended for SHARED and SOLO play.