Gus Bilirakis: “I too rise proudly to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the Battle of Crete, a World War II event that had a profound…”

“I too rise proudly to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the Battle of Crete, a World War II event that had a profound impact on the ultimate result of the war. Amidst the cataclysm that had engulfed the countries of Europe at the time, it seems now preposterous that a small island dared to stand up to such a powerful enemy. For the benefit of future generations, I will share a brief account of these events as they unfolded. In early April 1941, Greece was invaded by the German Army rushing to the aid of their defeated and humiliated ally, Italy. Following a valiant struggle against overwhelmingly superior German forces in and among the mountains to the north, Greek forces had been pushed entirely off the continent and were forced to take refuge on the Island of Crete. The German Army then looked across the sea to Crete because of the British airfields on the island, which could be used by the allies for air strikes against the oil fields of Romania, thereby denying this vital war commodity to Hitler's forces. If captured, it would also provide air and sea bases from which the Nazis could dominate the eastern Mediterranean and launch air attacks against Allied forces in northern Africa. In fact, the Nazi high command envisioned the capture of Crete to be the first of a series of assaults leading to the Suez Canal.”