1941年4月,法西斯德国为了彻底控制巴尔干半岛,建立进攻苏联的南方战略基地,发动了巴尔干战役。克里特岛争夺战是巴尔干战役的最后阶段。但由于克里特岛处于东地中海中部、东南欧至北非航线中央的重要战略位置上。因而克里特岛争夺战又是与激烈持久的北非战事紧密相关的。同时克里特岛战役是战争史上第一次大规模的空降 In April 1941, Fascist Germany launched the Balkan Campaign in an effort to completely control the Balkans and to establish a southern strategic base for attacking the Soviet Union. Cretaceous war is the last stage of the Balkan campaign. However, due to the fact that Crete Island is strategically located at the center of the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Europe to North Africa routes. Therefore, the battle of Crete is again closely linked with the intense and lasting war in North Africa. At the same time, the battle of Crete was the first large-scale airborne war in the history of war