Reprimanded by his division commander for poor performance in his first action on Crete, Col. August Krakau of 85th Mountain Regiment drove his troops hard through the rough country south of the coastal road. The battered 5 New Zealand Infantry Brigade had pulled back to what was thought a safe rear area to finally rest from days of hard combat. As the Kiwis bedded down following a night march, Krakau’s troops unexpectedly appeared on their flank.

Krakau’s men reached the New Zealand positions as dawn approached, just as the men were bedding down after their march. Two New Zealand lieutenants spotted the assembling Germans and roused the men just in time to meet the assault. “The strong enemy force at Stilos was taken by surprise,” the mountain regiment reported. “A terrific struggle developed, including bloody hand to hand fighting.” The New Zealanders withdrew in good order with the Australians on their left flank following shortly afterwards.

Gebirgsjäger leaders in Parachutes Over Crete use conventional named ranks. The library was setup using German rank references.