Divisions of paratroopers took the Chania Gate and advanced along the Platia Strata (now Andreas and Maria Kalokairinou Avenue) to the Meintani (market square), but there they came under attack from Greek forces and were forced to retreat. Another division headed along the seafront road, aiming to take the harbour. The Electricity building (an electricity generating station, next to what is now the Natural History Museum) was taken, and paratroopers took up fortified positions in various surrounding buildings. The defenders often used hand grenades and petrol to annihilate them:

"With the help of an interpreter, we called on the Germans holed up inside [the Linardakis quilt shop on Kalokairinou St] to surrender. Their reply came in a hail of machine gun fire, killing and injuring some of our men. We lost no time in drenching the facade of the quilt shop in petrol and setting fire to it. That way, three paratroopers were forced to come out with their hands up, one of whom was wounded."

(Lefteris P. Malagardis, Armageddon, Athens 1982, p. 37 - in Greek)