Heinrich Kreipe
Heinrich Kreipe | |
---|---|
22nd Air Landing Division Fortress Crete | |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Awards | Iron Cross First Class Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe (5 June 1895 – 14 June 1976) was a German career soldier who served in both
Early life and career
Kreipe was born in 1895, the thirteenth child of a Lutheran pastor from Hanover. He fought in
World War II
As commander of Infantry Regiment 909 of the 58th Infantry Division, Kreipe participated in the
Abduction by Greek and British agents
In the spring of 1944, the Allies hatched a plan to kidnap
On the night of 26 April 1944 General Kreipe left headquarters in Archanes. The car headed without escort to a well-guarded residence, "Villa Ariadni", about 5 km outside Heraklion. Major Leigh Fermor and Captain Moss, dressed as German military policemen, waited for him 1 km before his residence. When he arrived, they asked the driver to stop and asked for their papers. As soon as the car stopped, Leigh Fermor opened Kreipe's door, jumped in, and threatened him with his pistol, while Moss took the driver's seat. (The abduction is now commemorated near Archanes.)[7][8] Moss drove the kidnappers and the General for an hour and a half through 22 controlled road-blocks in Heraklion before he left Leigh Fermor to drive on and abandon the car, with material being planted that suggested their escape from the island had been made by submarine. Moss set off with the general on a cross-country march, supported by the Greek resistance, soon rejoined by Leigh Fermor. Hunted by German patrols, the kidnappers crossed the mountains to reach the southern side of the island, where a British Motor Launch (ML 842 commanded by Brian Coleman) was waiting to rendezvous. Eventually, on 14 May 1944, they were picked up from Peristeres beach near Rhodakino and ferried to Egypt.[2]
Kreipe was interrogated and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Canada. He was later transferred to a special camp in Wales.[9]
Later life
Kreipe was released from British captivity in 1947. He met his kidnappers again in 1972 on a Greek television programme.[10]
He died at Northeim on 14 June 1976.[citation needed]
In popular culture
In 1950 W. Stanley Moss, one of the leaders of the operation, wrote a bestselling account of the abduction: Ill Met by Moonlight. In the 1957 film Ill Met by Moonlight, based on the book, Kreipe is portrayed by Marius Goring.[11]
This operation was also parodied by the BBC radio program The Goon Show with the episode "Ill Met by Goonlight".
References
- ISBN 978-1780226231– via www.orionbooks.co.uk.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4447-9658-2.
- ISBN 978-1632861931.
- ^ Leigh Fermor 2014, p. 39.
- ^ Leigh Fermor 2014, pp. 6–9.
- ISBN 9780062259295– via Google Books.
- ^ "Panoramio - Photo of ΣΤΗ ΜΝΗΜΗ ΤΗΣ ΟΜΑΔΑΣ ΑΠΑΓΩΓΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗ ΤΩΝ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΩΝ ΔΥΜΑΜΕΩΝ ΚΑΤΟΧΗΣ (ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΟΥ ΚΡΑΙΠΕ)". 19 May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013.
- ^ "Photo". Archived from the original on 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
- ^ Brett Exton, Generalmajor Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe Archived 2007-11-23 at the Wayback Machine, Some of the Prisoners Held at Special Camp 11, A link from the website ISLAND FARM PRISONER OF WAR CAMP: 198 / Special Camp: XI, Bridgend, South Wales Archived 2007-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, 2004.
- ^
Nikos Mastorakis, "The abduction of general Kreipe" Video on YouTube
- ^ "Night Ambush" – via www.imdb.com.