We at HiTech Creations are willing to bet that the majority of gamers who play Aces High, our online combat simulator, are students of history. It only stands to reason that players who devote many hours to playing a game, who are constantly aware of changes and new versions of our flight simulator, would know a great deal about the actual aircraft, ships, and land vehicles used during World War II. It also stands to reason that a majority of our players know a great deal about the battles of World War II so that they can be better versed when playing our World War 2 flight simulator.
Well, let’s talk about another of those battles, one that was relatively unimportant with regards to total casualties but one that had pretty large significance regarding the history of warfare.
The Battle of Crete was fought between May 20th and June 1st, 1941. On the morning of May 20th Germany launched Operation Mercury, an airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete. Defending the island were troops from England, Greece, New Zealand, Australia, and also civilians from Crete.
Germany suffered heavy casualties the first day of fighting, but eventually gained control of Maleme airfield in western Crete and was able to fly in reinforcements and eventually overwhelm the defenders of the island.
So what made this battle so noteworthy? First, it was the first time a country had attempted such a massive parachute drop of military personnel. It was also one of the first mainly airborne invasions in military history. It was also the first time German invaders encountered strong, organized civilian resistance.
The Germans suffered huge losses among the paratroopers, prompting Adolf Hitler to forbid such large scale airborne operations during the rest of the war, but the Allied commanders were so impressed by it that they began to organize their own airborne divisions which played a huge part as the war continued.
By battle’s end there were over 23,000 casualties and 370 aircraft destroyed, fairly insignificant considering the huge losses that would follow, but rather important considering military lessons learned.
The makers and players of Aces High love military history like that, and through our flight simulation game history comes alive for us each and every time we play our game. If you have never played Aces High then what are you waiting for? Download the free trial and then sign up for the action.