Paratroopers study 'pyrrhic victory' on staff ride in Greece

By 1st Lt. Angelica LambertiMay 4, 2015

Sustained Airborne Training in Greece
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Special Troops Battalion, the Greek Army's 1st Paratrooper Battalion and the British Special Air Service rehearse for a combined airborne operation April 21, 2015 on the Greek island of Crete. The NATO all... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Checking maps
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Paratroopers from the Greek Army's 1st Paratrooper Battalion and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Special Troops Battalion conduct a map check April 20, 2015 during a combined staff ride on the Greek island of Crete. The NATO allies conducted retraced the ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Jumping into Crete
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Special Troops Battalion, the Greek Army's 1st Paratrooper Battalion and the British Special Air Service jump in Minoas Drop Zone April 21, 2015 on the Greek island of Crete. The NATO allies conducted a co... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
A paratrooper's view of Crete
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Special Troops Battalion, the Greek Army's 1st Paratrooper Battalion and the British Special Air Service jump in Minoas Drop Zone April 21, 2015 on the Greek island of Crete. The NATO allies conducted a co... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Wing exchange
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Special Troops Battalion, the Greek Army's 1st Paratrooper Battalion and the British Special Air Service exchange wings after a combined jump April 21, 2015 on the Greek island of Crete. The NATO allies co... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

CRETE, Greece--Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Special Troops Battalion conducted a staff ride, terrain-walk, and airborne operation here from April 20-24, 2015 to gain lessons from the World War II Battle of Crete.

Lt. Col. Michael T. Ripley, commander of the 173rd BSTB , selected forty-five leaders and Soldiers from across the battalion to attend the event. In addition to the BSTB, the Hellenic Armed Forces 1st Paratrooper Battalion and the British Army's 21st Special Air Services Regiment also attended the staff ride covering the Allied defense of the island and the first major airborne assault ever attempted.

The Battle of Crete, named Operation Mercury, led by Axis forces, began on May 20, 1941. The German military launched airborne forces to assault key points along Crete's northern shore. The German military received poor intelligence on the locations of the Allied troops, and as the German paratroopers began their airborne assault, they jumped into strong enemy fire and an unfriendly civilian environment. Nearly 4,000, or 80 percent, of the German paratroopers were killed during the first hours of the invasion.

A pyrrhic victory is one in which in the battle's victor takes such loss that the achievement is hollow, and the German seizure of Crete is widely considered to be such. In order to learn the tactical failures and successes of each side, the American, Greek and British paratroopers broke down into five groups. Each group conducted research on historically significant topics: logistics, key terrain, planning, civilian resistance, and mission command. At key locations around the island, these groups presented to a multinational audience their findings and the relevance of the battle on contemporary operations.

After conducting an airborne operation into Minoas Drop Zone, the same airfield seized during Operation Mercury in Maleme, Lt. Col. Ripley and his battalion loaded into Zodiac boats and conducted a waterborne movement to the tip of the Menies Peninsula. After a night on the beachhead, the multinational element conducted a 17-mile ruck march to gain an appreciation for the terrain where the Allied and Axis forces fought.

"It was one of the most phenomenal experiences I have had the privilege of participating in," said 1st Lt. Jennifer Lennon, commander of the battalion's support company.

On the first day of the staff ride, participants visited the German Military Cemetery in Maleme on Hill 107, the same location where Allied defenders dug-in against the descending Axis paratroopers over seven decades ago. On the last day, participants visited the Souda Bay Allied Cemetery. There, U.S. paratroopers accompanied the British SAS soldiers in laying wreaths at the headstones of several fallen British soldiers from their unit. To conclude the staff ride, the paratroopers jumped back into Juliet Drop Zone near Aviano, Italy.

"Reading a book or watching a documentary on a battle is one thing," said Capt. Brian Williams, a battalion operations officer. "But to actually walk the terrain, see where the German paratroopers jumped into Maleme, and see the historical monuments gave us a better understanding of Operation Mercury."

Related Links:

The 173rd Airborne Brigade

U.S. Army Europe

The 173rd Airborne on Facebook