Photographs of the German Fallschirmjäger airborne invasion of Crete in May 1941. The German attack on Crete was the first major airborne offensive in WWII. [All photographs Bundesarchiv via Wikimedia, Creative Commons CC-BY-SA.]
Fallschirmjäger in characteristic jump smocks advance during the invasion of Crete, May 1941. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-166-0508-27 / Weixler, Franz Peter / CC-BY-SA)
Lightly-equipped Fallschirmjäger move through the courtyard of a house during the Battle for Crete. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-166-0508-14 / Weixler, Franz Peter / CC-BY-SA)
A Fallschirmjäger officer armed with MP-40 submachine gun sprints across a field toward cover in Crete. Note the MP-40 folding stock and officer’s map case. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-166-0508-28 / Weixler, Franz Peter / CC-BY-SA)
A 3.7 cm antitank gun is dropped by parachutes over Crete. Throughout the Crete battle, the Fallschirmjäger were hindered by a lack of artillery and other heavy weapons. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 141-0853 / Unknown / CC-BY-SA)
Wrecked German Junkers Ju 52 transports on Crete. (Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-166-0512-39 / Weixel / CC-BY-SA)
Tough battle. Tough soldiers.