Command Decision: Test of Battle – When Olympus Trembled: Operations Marita, Merkur & Herkules (2013)

Overview

When Olympus Trembled

What's inside:

An overview history of Operations Marita, Merkur, and Herkules covering the invasions of Greece, Crete, and the proposed invasion of Malta. 10 historical battles presented as game battles - from the opening drive into Northern Greece to the air assault on Crete, to the fictional drive across Malta to the capital of Valletta. TO&E charts for all Greek Divisions in the Greco-Italian War and Operation Marita including organizational and equipment changes. Corps and army level non-divisional units in the Greek Army: numbers, types and organizations including corps and army artillery, cavalry, engineer and AA units.

In 1941 the German Army launched the invasion of Greece and then later the airborne assault on Crete. The two operations were both planned and executed quickly, and with almost disastrous results. The fighting on Crete was vicious, and the casualties among the German forces so great that it caused the cancellation of the last of the above operations -“ the invasion of Malta. Unlike the invasion of Crete, which was rushed and undertaken against numerically superior Allied forces, the invasion of Malta was very well planned, and would have been done with overwhelming numbers. It is indeed fortunate for the Allied war effort that the operation was cancelled.