410520_03: Mission Impossible at Rethymnon - PzC 13 Salerno '43

Rethymnon, May 20th 1941: Colonel Sturm, commander of the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Regiment, was noticeably upset that his unit, the one that had held the Corinth Isthmus the previous month, had been relegated to a secondary objective. He further resented losing one of his battalions, which had been seconded to the Heraklion part of the operation. He retained two tough veteran battalions and was tasked with capturing the town of Rethymnon, as well as the airstrip to the east. It seemed that intelligence estimates on the expected strength of the enemy were grossly incorrect. The town was held by over 800 Cretan gendarmeries and, for the protection of the airfield, there were two battalions of Australian Infantry supported by more than 2000 Greek soldiers. If the odds were not bad enough, the force was delayed leaving their own airfields in Greece and were late arriving for their own drop that took place late in the afternoon. The already disrupted operation got worse as the aircraft were brought under fire as they approached the drop zones. Aircraft were shot down and some aircraft sent their men out the door while over water. Those who did land were vigorously counterattacked. Colonel Sturm was captured, as was a staff officer, who had in his possession a complete copy of the "Mercury" operational orders. It was indeed a "mission impossible" situation and, that some paratroopers fought on for several days blocking the road at Pervolia and holding an olive oil factory near the airfield, was nothing short of a miracle. [Size, small] Designer Note: This historical scenario may be unwinnable as the attacking Germans are hopelessly outnumbered. Its inclusion in the game is merely telling part of the story of this battle, as such, the victory conditions are set to give the German side a chance to win, while not being successful in their assigned mission.