Crete Presentation

Well done, gentlemen. You showed a firm grasp of the chronology of events and also highlighted issues that came up, such as the weapons drop containers and Hitler's rejection of paratroopers as a viable weapon after Crete. I think it was a good example of using specialized troops to do infantry work. The paratroopers were certainly one of the most trained units in the Wermacht, but they were committed en masse in an infantry-like assault on what was a rocky and easily defensible island. Regardless of training, weapons, etc. paratroopers are best used to seize objectives (such as Eben Emael or artillery positions on D-Day), not fight it out with infantry. This tendency for airborne troops to lose on a large scale to regular infantry was once again shown during Operation Market Garden, with the Allies getting the hammer this time. A notable exception to this rule was the defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, where the 101st Airborne held out against heavy German assaults. Perhaps the American are designed to be better infantry men than shock troopers as in the other nations' forces.