The General's Appraisal

A few days before the attack, New Zealander General Bernard Freyberg informed his superior, General A. Wavell, of the following: "Forces at my disposal are totally inadequate to meet attack envisaged. Unless fighter aircraft are greatly increased and naval forces made available to deal with seaborne attack I cannot hope to hold out with land forces alone, which as a result of campaign in Greece are now devoid of any artillery, have insufficient tools for digging, very little transport, and inadequate war reserves of equipment and ammunition. Force here can and will fight, but without full support from Navy and Air Force cannot hope to repel invasion..."

(Antony Beevor, Crete, The Battle and the Resistance, London: Penguin 1992, p. 87)