#410527_01 Canae - The Destruction of Force Reserve - North Africa 1941

Platanos, East of Canae, Western Crete, Greece: May 27th, 1941. (Scenario Size: Regiment Plus. Head to Head or German Human vs Allied AI) Poor intelligence and coordination was to hamper both sides during the battles on Crete. The most tragic miscommunication occurred on the night of 26th May when Major General Weston decided to commit the remaining Allied reserves to slow the German advance. Force Reserve consisted of a weak brigade of Allied infantry, that to date had not been committed to action. The brigade was ordered to cover the western approach to Canae and it was assumed that the Commonwealth forces that had fought at Galatas had only fallen back to the Kladiso River and would cover Force Reserves left flank. Marching through the night, Weston's troops were in position before dawn and it was only as the sun started to rose that it was realized that the troops appearing to the south were actually flanking German Fallschirmjaeger. Force Reserve was ultimately surrounded and almost completely destroyed in four hours, with little to show for its sacrifice.