"The Battle of Crete"

LIMITED EDITION PRINT by Nicolas Trudgian

OVER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING, for the discerning collector, Nicolas Trudgian and Fine Arts Autographs have created a superbly atmospheric print depicting one of the most spectacular aspects of German tactics in World War Two, SIGNED BY KNIGHTS CROSS VETERANS WHO WERE ACTUALLY THERE. German paratroopers have long been a fascination for military enthusiasts and yet they are a subject rarely tackled by artists, perhaps because of the complexity of the subject-matter. In ‘The Battle of Crete’, Nicolas Trudgian displays his talents to the full and puts the viewer at the heart of the action. This is surely the best and also the last print to depict this historic event which is signed by the veterans.

The Fallschirmjäger, Germany’s elite parachute force, had already proved itself in smaller-scale operations during the ‘Blitzkrieg’ in the Low-Countries in May 1940; seizing bridges in front of the main German advance and capturing the supposedly impregnable fort of Eben-Emael in Belgium. When, in 1941, the Germans overran Greece, it became necessary to consider the capture of Crete. Hitler was very aware that the Royal Navy would repel any attempt to land troops on Crete using a seaborne invasion. However, Kurt Student, the head of the Fallschirmjäger, convinced Hitler that his paratroop units could capture Crete from the air.

The main drops were to seize the vital airfields at Maleme and Heraklion, to enable supplies and additional troops to be flown in. However, German planning had completely underestimated the number of Allied troops on the Island, forcing the Fallschirmjäger to fight a much larger force than originally planned. Some 50,000 Allied troops awaited 15,000 paratroops. Despite heavy losses, the German paratroops achieved their objectives and Crete was taken.

The Fallschirmjäger never again dropped in such large numbers but were used as elite ground troops in North Africa, Sicily and France and it was for their determined defence of Monte Cassino that they earned their fame as the ‘Green Devils’. Having seen the effectiveness of the Fallschirmjäger forces, particularly in the Battle of Crete, Allied commanders began to form dedicated paratroop units of their own, which later proved so vital in the Normandy Invasion of June 1944.

We are proud to offer a selection of limited editions of this print, including NICOLAS TRUDGIAN'S WORLD-RENOWNED REMARQUE and CANVAS GICLEE EDITIONS.

Each limited edition print, except the Canvas Giclee and the Fallschirmjäger Edition, is accompanied by two of Nicolas Trudgian’s unrivalled pencil prints: 'Monte Cassino' and ‘Fallschirmjäger in Normandy’:

‘MONTE CASSINO’, with its commanding views overlooking the road to Rome, had for more than two thousand years been a site of religious and strategic importance. Since the 11th century it had been home to a magnificent monastery, a building of great importance in the history of the region, but the location of which during the Second World War was to prove its demise.

The monastery gazed down upon Highway 6, the route of the Allied advance to the capital. Repeated artillery attacks on Allied assault troops led their leaders to believe, as it turned out, incorrectly, that the building was a stronghold of German defences. Consequently, on the 15th February 1944, it was almost completely destroyed by American-led air raids that killed Italian civilians, who were seeking refuge within its ancient walls, but no soldiers. Ironically, the ruins of the great building then provided excellent cover for German forces, including ‘Fallschirmjäger’ paratroopers of the 1st Parachute Division, depicted here in this evocative drawing.

The Germans were finally driven from their positions, but at great cost. The capture of Monte Cassino resulted in 55,000 Allied casualties and 20,000 Germans, killed or wounded.

Overall companion print size 20½" x 16½"

‘FALLSCHIRMJÄGER IN NORMANDY’. In response to the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, German Fallschirmjäger, paratroop, divisions were used as infantry and became regarded as the best of all the ground units deployed by the Germans. The ‘Bocage’ countryside, with its many dense hedgerows, provided perfect cover for their preferred tactics of ambush. Tank-hunter teams, equipped with Panzerschreck anti-tank weapons, as depicted here, proved particularly damaging to the advancing Allied armour and, in addition, a small band of Fallschirmjäger soldiers was responsible for one of the most remarkable of German successes in the entire war.

Oberfeldwebel Alexander Uhlig was commander of 16 Kompanie, Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6, a unit that was coming under heavy attack from the US 90th Infantry Division. In an ambitious attempt to stabilise the situation, Uhlig led a small combat group of just 30 men who managed to defeat an entire US Battalion. The Germans took 250 prisoners, including the Battalion commander and eleven other officers. For this tremendous achievement Alexander Uhlig was awarded the Knight’s Cross, although he himself became a prisoner of war not long after.

Overall companion print size 20½" x 16½"

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