The Abduction of General Kreipe

1) Abduction Point

On April 26th, 1944, the German General Heinrich Kreipe was driving hismilitary vehicle from Archanes, where the Wehrmacht Headquarters werelocated, to Villa Ariadne, where he was living. At the junction where thehomonymous memorial stands today, British officers Patrick Leigh Fermorand William Stanley Moss were waiting for him, disguised as German MPs,and abducted him.

2) Heraklion

With Moss at the wheel and Fermor in the passenger seat, impersonatingKreipe, the car headed towards Heraklion. The German General sat in the backbetween three other abductors, Saviolakis, Tyrakis and Paterakis. The vehiclepassed undisturbed through 22 checkpoints to Heraklion and started headingtowards Rethymno. The passage was unimpeded, as Kreipe was notorious forhis bad manners and rude behaviour, causing the soldiers who saw his car tolet it through without inspection.

3) Cheliana

Fermor drove to the village of Cheliana, where the abductors abandoned thecar and left a note claiming responsibility for the abduction on behalf of theBritish Special Forces. They also scattered British cigarette butts, a Britishmilitary beret and a detective novel written in English around the area. Theaim of all these actions was to prevent reprisals against the local population.

4) Anogia

The group of abductors with Kreipe headed to Anogia on foot, where theyrested for a while. There they found themselves on the afternoon of April 27th,when a German plane dropped leaflets warning of reprisals if the General wasnot released within the next three days.

5) Mount Ida (Psiloritis)

Together with the German General, Kreipe’s abductors traversed the snowyslopes of Mount Ida in order to take cover and join the guerilla group ofMichalis Xilouris and, shortly afterwards, that of Giorgos Petrakis.Meanwhile, the news of the German officer’s abduction had begun to cause afrenzy of excitement among the Allies.

6) Amari Valley

Days after climbing the frozen Mount Ida, the abduction team began todescend to the south and head towards the Amari Valley at the foot of themountain. The operation was starting to become even more dangerous. TheGermans viewed the abduction as a matter of international prestige and knewthat the success of the operation would mean ridicule for the Axis and amorale boost for the Allies. Therefore, they tasked more than 20,000 men withthe mission of preventing the abductors from escaping Crete with Kreipe.

7) Agia Paraskevi

The abductors and the German General arrived in the village of AgiaParaskevi, Rethymno. There they were informed that, thanks to BBCbroadcasts, the Germans knew that Kreipe was still on the island and that,fearing an Allied invasion, they had intensified security measures. In fact, thehope of escaping the island from the port of Saktouria was shattered, as theresistance bases there were destroyed by the Germans.

8) Pantanassa

The abductors were forced to turn back and flee to the village of Pantanassa,Rethymno. There, resistance fighter George Psychoundakis and BritishSpecial Forces officer Dick Barnes brought the necessary radio equipment toenable communication with the Allies.

9) Patsos

One part of the abductors’ group fled to the village of Patsos, Rethymno,while the other part was trying to organize the escape from the island fromPantanassa. Divided between the villages of Patsos and Pantanassa, two hoursaway from one another, the abductors were able to better control the area, sothat they would be ready to take cover from German scouts.

10) Karines

The two groups of abductors reunited in the village of Karines, Rethymno, andbegan their journey of escaping the island.

11) Fotinos

The abductors and the German General Kreipe headed towards the village ofFotinos, Rethymno, for their next stop.

12) Argiroupoli

In the village of Argiroupoli, Rethymno, British officer of Greek descentDennis Ciclitira, together with a guerilla group of ELAS, helped Kreipe’sabductors escape.

13) Vilandredo

Next stop for the abductors’ group and the German General Kreipe was thevillage of Vilandredo, Rethymno.

14) Asi Gonia

In the village of Asi Gonia, Rethymno, the abductors were informed that aship would be waiting for them on the beach of the village of Rodakino totransport them away from the island.

15) Peristeres Beach

After 19 whole days, the daring mission had come to an end. On May 14th, asmall British speedboat picked up the captured General Kreipe from thelocation of Peristeres on the beach of Rodakino and, together with hisabductors, transported him to Egypt, where he was imprisoned andinterrogated. The operation was a complete success, news of which spreadrapidly all over the world, dealing a blow to Axis morale and strengtheningAllied resistance.