#OTD 17:35 4th February 1944, Operation Whimsical, an attempt to insert a Special Operations Executive team into Crete. The mission: kidnap General Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller "the butcher of Crete", commander of the occupying 22nd Division.

#SOE #Crete #Greece #WW2 #SWW #History

A Halifax bomber of 148 Special Duties Squadron of the RAF sets off from Brindisi, Italy. Along with a crew of 7, crammed inside are the 4 man team and their equipment, Emmanouil Paterakis, Georgios Tyrakis, William Stanley Moss & the mission leader Patrick "Paddy" Leigh Fermor.

29 year old Paddy had already led an interesting life. An idyllic childhood running wild in the Northamptonshire countryside, expelled from every school he attended, an epic journey from Holland to Istanbul on foot & action in the battles of Greece & Crete before joining SOE.

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, though given the numbers of German troops and the mountainous terrain, landing zones were limited. The target is the remote Katharo Plateau in Lasithi province to the east, formerly occupied by Italians until the armistice of Sept 1943.

The night sky of 4/5 February is cloudy over the mountains and the drop zone is small. Rather than jump together like a stick of paratroopers, the team will need to go one at a time as the Halifax completes a circuit of the area for another run in.

On the ground, fires in a triangle/V shape have been lit to mark the rendezvous point. A flare from the bomber and an additional fire mark the mission is on. The pilot informs Paddy they'll have to drop low. He agrees and will go first. If all is well he'll signal for the others.

After a few seconds of gentle parachuting, Paddy was back in Crete. It was then the first of many problems to beset the team occurred. By the time the plane had completed another circuit, the clouds had thickened and further jumps were impossible.

Fortunately Paddy had quickly been met by local andartes led by another SOE agent, Alexander "Sandy" Rendel. Despite subsequent efforts, no opportunity for another air drop presented itself. It would be another 2 months before the rest of the team could arrive by boat...

Sources:
UK National Archives documents -
Description of Müller's crimes: Lt. Tavana reports HS5/732
148 Squadron Sortie Report: AIR 23/1443
Paddy's SOE file: HS 9/507/4
Paddy's report on the mission: HS5/728

Kidnapping a General - Patrick Leigh Fermor