Showdown at Heraklion - The Matrix Games version of West Front

Heraklion, Crete: [Best played as Axis] Following the beginning of Operation Mercury and the early morning air assaults around Maleme and Suda Bay on Crete, a second wave of German airdrops began late in the day. At Heraklion, Brigadier Chappel, commanding the 14th Infantry Brigade and Allied garrison had not been informed of the previous attacks and was surprised when the German 1st Parachute Regiment began dropping out of the sky. More importantly, it meant that none of the Commonwealth and Greek troops defending the airfield and port facilities had been moved west. However, the landings were poorly timed, scattering elements of four battalions across the area and taking precious time before all of Colonel Brauer's force was on the ground. By then the defenders were well aware of the paratroopers arrival and confusion reigned in the growing darkness as the Germans struggled to regroup. The stage was set for a showdown between the German airborne elite and the well trained regular infantry of the Commonwealth, and possibly the success or failure of the largest airborne assault to date.