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Holocaust Of Kedros
The Holocaust of Kedros ( el, Ολοκαύτωμα του Κέντρους/Κέδρους), also known as the Holocaust of Amari ( el, Ολοκαύτωμα του Αμαρίου), was the mass murder of the civilian residents of nine villages located in the Amari Valley on the Greek island of Crete during its occupation by the Axis powers in World War II. The massacre was a reprisal operation mounted by Nazi German forces.Παντινάκης, Μανόλης Α.. ''Νικητές στο απόσπασμα: το Αμάρι στις φλόγες'', εκδ. Καλαϊτζάκης, 2008. The operation was carried out on 22 August 1944 by Wehrmacht infantry and was followed in the coming days by the razing of most villages, looting, pillage of livestock and destruction of harvests.Beevor, Antony. ''Crete: The Battle and the Resistance'', John Murray Ltd, 1991. Penguin Books, 1992.Leong Kok Wey, Adam. ''Killing the Enemy: Assassination Operations in World War II'', I.B. Tauris, 2015 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Kedros
Mount Kedros ( el, Όρος Κέντρος, also Κέδρος), is a mountain on the island of Crete in Greece. It is located southwest of the Ida massif with which it forms the two flanks of the Amari Valley. Mount Kedros is conical-shaped and made of limestone. Its landscape abounds with canyons and rock cliffs and is almost barren, with dry scrubs and phrygana being the major forms of vegetation. Kedros grows endemic or rare flowers such as tulips, anemones, corn marigolds, turban buttercups, tassel hyacinths, orchids, etc., and provides ideal conditions for the nesting of falcons as well as larger birds of prey such as griffon vultures, golden eagles and Bonelli's eagle The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...s. Owing to the significance of its flora and fauna, Moun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The municipality has 108,642 inhabitants (2011). This consists of the city of Chania and several nearby areas, including Kounoupidiana (pop. 8,620), Mournies (pop. 7,614), Souda (pop. 6,418), Nerokouros (pop. 5,531), Daratsos (pop. 4,732), Perivolia (pop. 3,986), Galatas (pop. 3,166) and Aroni (pop. 3,003). History Early history Chania is the site of the Minoan settlement the Greeks called Kydonia, the source of the word quince. It appears on Linear B as ''ku-do-ni-ja''. Some notable archaeological evidence for the existence of this Minoan city below some parts of today's Chania was found by excavations in the district of Kasteli in the Old Town. This area appears to have been inhabited since the Neolithic era. The city reemerged after the end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rethymno
Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants (near 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is a former Latin Catholic bishopric as Retimo(–Ario) and former Latin titular see. Rethymno was originally built during the Minoan civilization (ancient Rhithymna and Arsinoe). The city was prominent enough to mint its own coins and maintain urban growth. One of these coins is today depicted as the crest of the town: two dolphins in a circle. History This region as a whole is rich with ancient history, most notably through the Minoan civilisation centred at Knossos east of Rethymno. Rethymno itself began a period of growth when the Venetian conquerors of the island decided to put an intermediate commercial station between Heraklion and Chania, acquiring its own bishop and nobility in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Language
Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Albania, and other regions of the Balkans, the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system is the Greek alphabet, which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with the epics of Homer, ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting impo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord ''in capite'' of the soldiers. Lesser barons of knightly rank could be expected to muster or hire a company or battalion from their manorial estate. By the end of the 17th century, infantry regiments in most European armies were permanent units, with approximately 800 men and commanded by a colonel. Definitions During the modern era, the word "regiment" – much like "corps" – may have two somewhat divergent meanings, which refer to two distinct roles: # a front-line military formation; or # an administrative or ceremonial unit. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. The word battalion came into the English language in the 16th century from the French language ( French: ''bataillon'' meaning "battle squadron"; Italian: ''battaglione'' meaning the same thing; derived from the Vulgar Latin word ''battalia'' meaning "battle" and from the Latin word ''bauttere'' meaning "to beat" or "to strike"). The first use of the word in English was in the 1580s. Description A battalion comprises two or more primary mission companies which are often of a common type (e.g., infantry, tank, or maintenance), although there are exceptions such as combined arms battalions in the U.S. Army. In addition to the primary mission companies, a battal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kidnap Of General Kreipe
The kidnapping of Heinrich Kreipe was an operation executed jointly by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and local resistance members in Crete in German-occupied Greece during the Second World War. The operation was launched on 4 February 1944, when SOE officer Patrick Leigh Fermor landed in Crete with the intention of abducting notorious war criminal and commander of 22nd Air Landing Division, Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller. By the time of the arrival of the rest of the abduction team, led by William Stanley Moss, two months later, Müller had been succeeded by Heinrich Kreipe, who was chosen as the new target. On the night of 26 April, Kreipe's car was ambushed while en route from his residence to his divisional headquarters. Kreipe was tied and forced into the back seat while Leigh Fermor and Moss impersonated him and his driver respectively. Kreipe's notorious impatience at roadblocks enabled the car to pass numerous checkpoints before being abandoned at the haml ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greatest living travel writer, on the basis of books such as ''A Time of Gifts'' (1977).Smith, Helen"Literary legend learning to type at 92" ''The Guardian'' (2 March 2007). A BBC journalist once termed him "a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond and Graham Greene". Early life and education Leigh Fermor was born in London, the son of Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor, a distinguished geologist, and Muriel Aeyleen (Eileen), daughter of Charles Taafe Ambler. Shortly after his birth, his mother and sister left to join his father in India, leaving the infant Patrick in England with a family in Northamptonshire: first in the village of Weedon, and later in nearby Dodford. He did not meet his parents or his sister again until he was four years old. As a chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xan Fielding
Alexander Wallace Fielding (26 November 1918 – 19 August 1991) was a British author, translator, journalist and traveller, who served as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent in Crete, France and the East Asia during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe and Asia against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. Biography Early life Fielding was born at Ootacamund, British Raj, India, where his father, Alexander James Lumsden Wallace, served in the British Indian Army, Indian Army, as a Major (United Kingdom), major in the 52nd Sikhs (Frontier Force). Fielding's mother Mary Gertrude (née Feilmann) died soon after his birth, on 13 December 1918, and he was largely brought up in Nice, France, by his maternal grandparents who adopted the name Fielding. He was educated at Charterhouse School, and then studied briefly at the Universities of Bonn, Munich and Freiburg in Germany. In the late 1930s Fielding move ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas James Dunbabin
Thomas James Dunbabin DSO (12 April 1911 – 31 March 1955), was an Australian classicist scholar and archaeologist of Tasmanian origin, as well as a renowned WWII soldier in Crete. Early life He was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 12 April 1911. His father was Thomas Dunbabin (1883–1973), a distinguished journalist and a contributor to ''Walkabout''. He attended Sydney Church of England Grammar School where he won the Cooper Prize and was a school prefect. He shared the Burke Prize for highest general proficiency in his school in 1926 and in that year achieved first class honours in English, Latin and Greek. He studied at the University of Sydney and then moved to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. There, he won the Haigh prize and was eventually appointed Reader in Classical Archaeology and Fellow of All Souls College, specializing in the Greek colonization in Italy.Dunbabin, Thomas J. ''The Western Greeks : the history of Sicily and south Italy from the foundation of the Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements. Few people were aware of SOE's existence. Those who were part of it or liaised with it were sometimes referred to as the "Baker Street Irregulars", after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Its various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed for security purposes behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau", or fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty or War Office. SOE operated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretan Resistance
The Cretan resistance ( el, Κρητική Αντίσταση) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek resistance, it lasted from 20 May 1941, when the German ''Wehrmacht'' invaded the island in the Battle of Crete, until the spring of 1945 when they surrendered to the British. For the first time during World War II, attacking German forces faced in Crete a substantial resistance from the local population. In the Battle of Crete, Cretan civilians picked off paratroopers or attacked them with knives, axes, scythes or even bare hands. As a result, many casualties were inflicted upon the invading German paratroopers during the battle. Development The Cretan resistance movement was formed very soon after the Battle of Crete, with an initial planning meeting on 31 May 1941. It brought together a number of different groups and leaders and was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
