Historical Background: The 3.Fallschirmjäger Regiment composed the first wave of Group Mitte (Group Centre). To reach its target, the regiment was dropped in a valley near Chania, called "Prison Valley". Defenders of the area were from the 10th New Zealand Brigade and some battalions of the Hellenic Army. They were entrenched in defensive positions and opened fire on the German paratroopers during their drop, inflicting heavy losses to the invaders before the landing. All German units were engaged by the enemy during the day, restricting their movement. In the evening of 20th May, the German regiment had succeeded to reassemble but was blocked in the "Prison Valley" for several days , surrounded by numerous and aggressive troops, with no possibility to extricate itself. The way of Chania was closed ! The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Briefing: Axis player [Germany] : 5 command cards, you move first. Allied player [New Zealand/Greece] : 5 command cards.
Conditions of Victory: 6 medals. The Prison and Galatas are each a temporary medal objective for the Axis player.
Special Rules: - All Axis units are paratroopers, use "Specialized Units" rules (Troop 2). Badges are not required. - Use "BCF Command" rules (Nation 5) only for New Zealand troops. - Use "Fordable Streams" rules (Terrain 61) for the river. - Use "Blitz" rules (Action 15). - Use "Paradrop" rules (Action 20). During the 1st turn of the Axis player, five infantry units are dropped on each battle star hexagon. If one unit falls in an hexagon occupied by a friendly unit, place this unit in an free adjacent hex. - Heavy Armament Paradrop : During the first turn, one badge "Antitank Weapon" is dropped on each dropping zone and one badge "Mortar" is dropped on the dropping zone to the preference of the Axis player. Only Axis soldiers may take and use these weapons if they ended their movement in the hexagon of the weapon. After that, use "Special Weapon Assets" rules for these units (SWA 1,2,3). Remove the badge if an allied unit find it first. - Kampfgruppe : During the war, the German officers had the ability to mix some different units and isolated soldiers to form a "Kampfgruppe". In this scenario, once only, two Axis units which suffered some losses could mix and form a single unit if the number of figures doesn't exceed four (i e : 1+1, 2+1, 2+2, 3+1). The disbanding of one unit doesn't count for an Allied medal. - Use "Depleted Units" rules for the allied tank (Troop 19). - "Air Power" card is not allowed to the Allied player. Discard it and take another. - "Barrage" card is not allowed to the Axis player. Discard it and take another.
Scenario Bibliography: - "La Crète, tombeau des paras allemands" - Jean Mabire. - Magazine Troupes d'élite - Le dernier saut des paras du Reich. - 39/45 Magazine hors-série n°3 - Opération Merkur, les paras allemands sautent sur la Crète.
Warning: Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.
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