p y r r h i c v i c t o r y
Italy's North African Army collapses.
What began as a probing attack by British forces
resulted in the surprising route of the Italian Army
in North Africa. It would take German intervention
to prevent the complete loss of the Mediterranean
to British control.
Britain's victory in Libya frees up troops for Greece.
With Italy on the ropes in North Africa
Churchill decides to divert troops in Libya
to Greece in order to protect that nation's
independence from Nazi rule.
Hitler will not tolerate Churchill's presence on his flank.
Britain's presence in Greece would eventually include
RAF bombers that could threaten Hitler's source of energy -
the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti.
A defeated Britain makes another Dunkirk retreat.
The forces available for Churchill's venture were
a mere half-measure of what would be needed
to match German aircraft and armor.
Britain once again abandoned its tanks to its enemy
as its infantry made a hasty retreat to ships offshore.
German Airborne conquers British Crete.
Britain makes another getaway by sea.
The Ju-52 was the Luftwaffe's transport workhorse.
German paratroopers boarding their flight to Crete.
Paratroopers begin their slow
agonized descent as targets
swinging suspended in plain view
and hunters beneath sight in
on them as they would ducks
in a sporting event.
Heavy groundfire devastates German paratroopers.
Despite taking enormous casualties German paratroopers
managed to wrest airfields from British control,
flying in desperately needed troops to reinforce
their beleaguered invasion force.
Though being outnumbered 2 to 1 German infantry
forced Britain to rely on the sea for escape
from another defeat.
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