Acclaimed historian and bestselling author Antony Beevor vividly brings to life the epic struggles that took place in Second World War Crete reissued with a new introductionThe best book we have got on Crete ObserverThe Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 a unique event in the history of warfare to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise They had no idea that the British using Ultra intercepts knew their plans and had laid a carefullyplanned trap It should have been the first German defeat of the war but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle round Nor did the conflict end there Ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance aided by a dramatic cast of British officers from Special Operations Executive