Maleme
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Maleme Μάλεμε (Τοπική Κοινότητα Μάλεμε) |
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| Basic data | |||
| Country |
 Greece
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| region | Crete | ||
| Regional district | Chania | ||
| local community | Platanias | ||
| Geographic coordinates | 35 ° 31 ' N , 23 ° 51' E | ||
| surface | 3.649 km² | ||
| Residents | 710 (2011) | ||
| LAU-1 code no. | 94200701 | ||
Maleme ( Greek Μάλεμε [ ˈmalɛmɛ ] ( n. Sg. )) Is a village on the northwest coast of Crete with 710 inhabitants. Administratively, Maleme is part of the Platanias municipality . In Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, Maleme is known for the airborne operation in 1941 as part of the Battle of Crete , during the Second World War .
location
The village of Maleme (Τ.Δ. Μάλεμε) is the northwestern part of the municipality of Platanias . The area extends for more than three kilometers along the coast of the Gulf of Chania ( Kolpos Chanion Κόλπος Χανίων), from the village of Tavronitis in the municipality of Voukolies in the west to the village of Kondomari in the municipality of Platanias in the east. In the south, about a kilometer inland, the villages of Vlacheronitissa and Xamoudochori border.
The old national road between Kissamos and Chania (16 km away) runs through Maleme, while the 90 motorway runs immediately south of the village. To the west of the village is Maleme Airport (Αεροδρόμιο liegtάλεμε). The German military cemetery and the height 107 are further south in the area of the village Vlacheronitissa.
history
Maleme was probably already settled in early Christian times. The place name Maleme was mentioned in writing for the first time in 1577 by Francesco Barozzi in the census during the Venetian rule . Also Kastrofylakas traditional name in 1583, when Francesco Basilicata was 1630, the place name Malema .
A late Minoan dome grave was uncovered near the military cemetery.
Second World War
During the Second World War , the German head of state, Adolf Hitler , ordered the conquest of Crete. On April 25, 1941, Directive No. 28 of the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) was issued and Maleme became one of the main targets of Operation Merkur . Maleme was home to the island's largest airfield, which was controlled by the Royal Air Force. On May 20, 1941, German paratroopers of Kampfgruppe West landed at Maleme in the morning under the command of Major General Eugen Meindl , consisting of the reinforced airborne storm regiment and the 3rd parachute hunter regiment of the 1st paratrooper division . Against the resistance of the Allied troops under the command of General Bernard Freyberg , with the New Zealand 2nd Division in the Maleme and Galatas area, consisting of British and New Zealanders, supported by around 3,500 Cretan resistance fighters. In Maleme, the New Zealand 5th Brigade was supposed to defend the airfield and destroy the German paratroopers by counter-attacks and carry out a mobile defense. On May 21, however, more paratroopers and troops of the Mountain Infantry Regiment 100 landed under heavy artillery fire by Allied troops from the dominant altitude 107 at Maleme airfield and took him and the village. The following day, German JU-52s landed on the captured airfield and brought urgently needed supplies and heavy weapons. Due to the German air superiority, the Allied troops were able to be pushed back by the evening and on the third day the airfield had been prepared into a usable base of operations for the German troops. On May 23, the Allied defenders withdrew their troops as far as Galatas off Chania . Until May 26th, Maleme could be expanded as an air landing head. On the night of May 27th, General Freyberg admitted defeat and applied for the evacuation of the Allied troops, which the British High Command agreed to and thus gave up Crete. The Allied soldiers made their way to the south coast and were then evacuated to Egypt by ship. During the airborne battle, Maleme was of decisive importance for the entire operation and was the only airfield that the Germans were able to bring under control in time.
German military cemetery
South of Höhe 107, the German military cemetery was inaugurated on October 6, 1974 by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge . The graves of 4,465 dead are on the site. The highest-ranking grave is that of the general of the parachute troop Bruno Bräuer , who was reburied here in the 1970s.
Maleme airfield
Maleme Airfield ( ) was built in 1941. The two asphalt runways are 1,050 m (orientation: 13L / 31R) and 950 m (orientation: 03L / 21R) long. The airfield is at a height of 5 m (16 ft) above sea level .
History of the airfield
Shortly before the German air invasion, the British had built an airfield for the Royal Air Force in Maleme by February 1941. The villagers of Maleme had given this area to the British troops. The Maleme airfield (Αεροδρόμιο Μάλεμε) is still in use today and was also in operation as a public airfield for Chania until 1959. Since then it has been a small base of the Greek Air Force and is also operated with permission from the Chania Aeroclub. Next to the airfield are five decommissioned aircraft of the Greek Air Force, F-5 , T-33 , F-84F and RF-84 , and F-104 "Starfighter".
Maleme Stadium
In Maleme there is a small stadium for 1,000 spectators, in which the neighboring AO Platanias sometimes holds games.
literature
- Heinz A. Richter : Operation Mercury. The conquest of the island of Crete in May 1941. Rutzen-Verlag, Mainz 2011, ISBN 978-3-447-06423-1 .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ) according to 2001 census , p. 128 (PDF, 793 kB)
- ↑ Census, 2011
- ↑ Ιωάννης Φαντάκης: Οι οικισμοί της Κρήτης κατά την β 'Βυζαντινή περίοδο . Rethymno 2001, p. 65 . ; Μάλεμε, Ψηφιακή Κρήτη: Μεσογειακές Πολιτισμικές Διαδρομές
- ↑ Lambert Schneider, Kreta, 4th edition 2011, p. 304
- ^ Website of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge
- ↑ explorecrete.com (accessed June 19, 2013)
- ↑ forgottenairfields.com (accessed June 19, 2013)
- ↑ explorecrete.com (accessed June 19, 2013)
- ↑ xania.net (accessed June 19, 2013, gr.)