Heraklion is Bombed

The Luftwaffe began flying sorties in early May 1941. Although these were initially concentrated against ships attempting to bring supplies to the island, from the 14^th of the month Heraklion became the regular target of German warplanes. These no longer restricted themselves to bombing, but often machine gunned any potential target. Day by day the raids grew in intensity. Many people abandoned the town to seek refuge in villages in the hinterland. Together with the allied forces, those who stayed behind tried to adjust themselves to the new threat. Reg Spurr, a private in the 2^nd Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment, was in Heraklion throughout those crucial days:

"We were all sat by their door one day, we hadn't noticed one plane very low. Bullets ripped into the yard floor. The old lady wanted us to go in and shelter in one of the caves. Of course we had to tell her we had to watch for German paratroops... I remember one day, during a particularly vicious air attack, the two older girls wanted us to take shelter in one of their cave rooms, saying they would stay in our slit trench and let us know if the enemy paratroops started to land. We couldn't of course accept." (Reg Spurr, To Have and to Lose, Society of Cretan Historical Studies 2005, p. 185)