Cuff bracelet Crete

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Cuff bracelet Crete

The Crete cuff was an award for activity and bravery of the German Wehrmacht in World War II . It was introduced by Hitler in 1942, who ordered the conquest of Crete with directive No. 28 ("Mercury") of April 25, 1941 .

background

As the last offensive operation of the Balkan campaign , the Wehrmacht attacked the island of Crete on May 20, 1941 with Italian support, around 15,000 paratroopers and around 8,500 mountain fighters. In addition to smaller naval units, mainly 493 Ju 52 transport aircraft and 80 gliders, supported by over 430 bombers and around 180 fighters , were responsible for the transfer of the troops .

Crete was defended by an estimated 30,000 British , New Zealanders and Australians and around 11,000 to 14,000 Greeks . After fierce and costly fighting, the forces of the Axis powers gained the upper hand. With an entry in the OKW's war diary of June 3, 1941, which read: “The battle for Crete is over”, the island was considered conquered.

Award Regulations

The exact foundation dates of the volume are not known to this day. The commanders-in-chief of the three branches of the armed forces announced the foundation in various ways:

The foundation texts of the three armed forces also differed considerably from one another due to the diversity of the branches of armed forces involved.

In principle, the Crete cuff bracelet could be awarded to members of the Wehrmacht who had directly participated in the fighting around Crete in the air, on the ground or at sea:

  • Army : Soldiers who landed on the island by May 27, 1941, as well as those who went to sea on May 19, 1941 and were involved in the naval battle off Crete.
  • Navy : All members of the Navy who reached Crete by air or sea by May 27, 1941, as well as members of the Navy who reached Crete on May 21/22, 1941. May 1941took partin the naval battles near Sparta and Milos with the first and second transport squadrons. In addition, those members of the Navy who participated in the first tank transport from the mainland to Crete on May 26-27, 1941 could be taken into account.
  • Luftwaffe : The paratroopers who jumped over Crete or were landed from the air were entitled to lend, crews of the combat squadron z. b. V. (for special use) who were deployed to drop paratroopers or to land on Crete, as well as the aircraft crews who were deployed until May 27, 1941 with combat missions over Crete or in the sea area around the island, reconnaissance, hunting and combat pilots, Stuka and destroyer units.

October 31, 1944 was set as the end date for the award. This time did not apply to missing persons and prisoners of war. The actual award of the cuff took place in mid-1943.

Presentation

The sleeve band (about 355 mm by 36 mm) consisted of a white fabric backing. The lettering Crete was made of golden-yellow artificial silk embroidery in the middle. It was bordered on the upper and lower edge of the cuff by a golden yellow cord around 3 mm wide and on the right and left by golden yellow embroidered palm trees with three groups of leaves each. It came from the production of the Wuppertal company BeVo. The cuff bracelet Crete was worn on the left forearm above the cuff.

literature

See also