Scan barcode
fourtriplezed's review against another edition
4.0
Patrick Leigh Fermor is such a great writer that he makes this a seamless story. The abduction is fairly well known having had previous books written about and a film made. Anyone that has an interest in the Cretan events of WW2 will find this a more than useful addiction to their reading. Though the main story is short, only 91 pages in my copy, there is plenty more that the publishers have added to keep interest. Nine of the authors wartime reports make fascinating reading and there is a very good guide to the abduction route that has to be more than useful for anyone who would like to take that in while visiting Crete. Very good.
gautamsing's review against another edition
4.0
This is an amazing story of the abduction of a German General in occupied Crete in 1944. I have read a superb account of it in Ill Met by Moonlight by William Stanley Moss, and it also figures in The Cretan Runner by George Psychoundakis. It was led by a Major in the SOE, Patrick Leigh Fermor, later, a famous travel writer. I wondered why he never wrote about it himself & the introduction explains.
At the end of his first 18 month stay in Crete in September 1943, culminating in the successful spiriting away of the General in command of the Italian garrison after the surrender of Italy, Fermor returns to Egypt. That’s when he hatches the plan to abduct the German General responsible for atrocities in Crete and returns in February 1944. Though the butcher General has been replaced, he decides to kidnap the new one anyway. Plans are made swiftly, and had it not been for the late arrival of the rest of the team due to bad weather, the abduction may have happened even before April 28, 1944.
It is truly audacious. Fermor and Moss are to dress up as German traffic police and stop the General’s car. They did, and then drove through the German headquarters of Heraklion, past 22 checkposts and made it. Not having access to a working wireless, it is 16 days before they leave for Egypt on May 14. The poor infrastructure they had to survive with is demonstrated by the fact that even for a mission such as this, they couldn’t get hands on a proper wireless for days.
The German General, Kriepe, seems resigned to his fate and doesn’t give trouble. Fermor is fluent in German and they strike up a sort of friendship, even meeting again in Athens in 1970. Their other common language is Latin, and they have several witty exchanges in that tongue.
Taking General Kriepe through the Cretan resistance strongholds was, as Fermor says, like “taking the Sheriff of Nottingham through Sherwood Forest”. After many vicissitudes, they reach the beach on the night of May 14th where they are to be picked up by the Royal Navy. They almost missed the boat as neither Fermor nor Moss knew the Morse code for “B”, and were saved by the arrival of another British officer who fortunately did.
The account of the abduction is followed by extracts from Fermor’s reports to the SOE while in the field in Crete. They are replete with the tensions of the moment, and a very interesting read.
This is a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
At the end of his first 18 month stay in Crete in September 1943, culminating in the successful spiriting away of the General in command of the Italian garrison after the surrender of Italy, Fermor returns to Egypt. That’s when he hatches the plan to abduct the German General responsible for atrocities in Crete and returns in February 1944. Though the butcher General has been replaced, he decides to kidnap the new one anyway. Plans are made swiftly, and had it not been for the late arrival of the rest of the team due to bad weather, the abduction may have happened even before April 28, 1944.
It is truly audacious. Fermor and Moss are to dress up as German traffic police and stop the General’s car. They did, and then drove through the German headquarters of Heraklion, past 22 checkposts and made it. Not having access to a working wireless, it is 16 days before they leave for Egypt on May 14. The poor infrastructure they had to survive with is demonstrated by the fact that even for a mission such as this, they couldn’t get hands on a proper wireless for days.
The German General, Kriepe, seems resigned to his fate and doesn’t give trouble. Fermor is fluent in German and they strike up a sort of friendship, even meeting again in Athens in 1970. Their other common language is Latin, and they have several witty exchanges in that tongue.
Taking General Kriepe through the Cretan resistance strongholds was, as Fermor says, like “taking the Sheriff of Nottingham through Sherwood Forest”. After many vicissitudes, they reach the beach on the night of May 14th where they are to be picked up by the Royal Navy. They almost missed the boat as neither Fermor nor Moss knew the Morse code for “B”, and were saved by the arrival of another British officer who fortunately did.
The account of the abduction is followed by extracts from Fermor’s reports to the SOE while in the field in Crete. They are replete with the tensions of the moment, and a very interesting read.
This is a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
3.0
Patrick Leigh Fermor has been described as one of our nation’s finest travel writers, and I would agree with that. His walk across Europe from Holland to Istanbul before World War II is well worth reading. After the war he then wrote about Greece and the Caribbean, but up until recently there was very little about his exploits during the war.
This book changes that. His illustrious military career started with the Irish guards, but with his language skills he was soon seconded into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) where he was despatched to Crete and mainland Greece several times to work behind German lines and help with the local resistance. The pinnacle of his success there though was the moment that he and his team succeeded in kidnapping General Kreipe, the German commander in Crete. This audacious plan was developed between him and Captain Billy Moss, and took place on the 26th April 1944. Not only did they abduct him with almost no violence, they took the General through 22 German checkpoints with out being stopped before dumping the car and taking Kreipe into hiding. The SBS then collected Fermor and the General from a beach in the south of the island around two weeks later.
This book is Fermors own account of his exploits in Crete and the details behind the abduction. Written in his distinctive style, also include are the secret reports that he sent to his commanders in Egypt, bringing the actual events of that time vividly alive. It is not a long book as it is mostly about that event, but it conveys just how dangerous it was to be behind enemy lines and the number of close calls that he had, for example being in the cellar of a house with German soldiers just above him or being asked for papers and managing to convince the soldier that he was a native. Thankfully his papers were declassified after his death otherwise we would not have this firsthand account. It is not his best piece of writing, but you have to remember that this was written whilst under cover or in challenging circumstances, and allowances should be made. It is a must read for any fans of Fermor, and for fans of World War II books.
This book changes that. His illustrious military career started with the Irish guards, but with his language skills he was soon seconded into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) where he was despatched to Crete and mainland Greece several times to work behind German lines and help with the local resistance. The pinnacle of his success there though was the moment that he and his team succeeded in kidnapping General Kreipe, the German commander in Crete. This audacious plan was developed between him and Captain Billy Moss, and took place on the 26th April 1944. Not only did they abduct him with almost no violence, they took the General through 22 German checkpoints with out being stopped before dumping the car and taking Kreipe into hiding. The SBS then collected Fermor and the General from a beach in the south of the island around two weeks later.
This book is Fermors own account of his exploits in Crete and the details behind the abduction. Written in his distinctive style, also include are the secret reports that he sent to his commanders in Egypt, bringing the actual events of that time vividly alive. It is not a long book as it is mostly about that event, but it conveys just how dangerous it was to be behind enemy lines and the number of close calls that he had, for example being in the cellar of a house with German soldiers just above him or being asked for papers and managing to convince the soldier that he was a native. Thankfully his papers were declassified after his death otherwise we would not have this firsthand account. It is not his best piece of writing, but you have to remember that this was written whilst under cover or in challenging circumstances, and allowances should be made. It is a must read for any fans of Fermor, and for fans of World War II books.
More...