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The War Graves Photographic Project
Arrival and Departure Beaches.
Evidence for and against claims as to the locations of the Arrival Beach.
William Stanley Moss
In Ill Met By Moonlight, Moss gives the following as relevant facts.
Skipper of the boat taking them was Brian Coleman.
Passengers included George Tyrakis and Manoli Paterakis, Jonny Katsias and a 'couple of 'wanted' sheep-thieves; and a sprinkling of rogues..."
Crew included a youth nicknames 'Blondie'.
At ten o'clock (on 4th April 1944) the boat was still some three miles from the shore but they could already smell the heady sweetness of wild-thyme..
As they neared the coast, many among their number recognised certain landmarks on the skyline and concluded they were heading for a point which was farther to the west than the beach where they had intended landing. So course was altered, and we found ourselves running eastward, going no nearer the shore... Boat later turned northward.
They knew that there was German coastal position three-quarters of a mile to the west of the landing beach, and another one mile to the east.
Crew members were testing for depth and watching for rocks. A flashing light was spotted and the engines were cut down to half-speed.
Through binoculars Moss could make out the contours of a little cove, the lighter hue of a sandy beach, a ridge of cliff which seemed to from three sides of the landing place. They passed five fathoms depth and Coleman stopped engines fifty yards from shore. The ship's third officer and an oarsman scrambled down into a lowered dinghy, followed by a second rubber dinghy. The party were met by a number which included, initially, Sandy Rendell and then Zahari. Paddy was at the other end of the beach with German prisoners. Zahari said the beach had previously been heavily mined but shifting sands and wandering sheep had dealt them. There was a lot of barbed wire to be seen, much buried in the dunes, but no serious obstacle.
WSM says the party he had brought with him were twelve in number.
There were mules at the back of the cove.
Zahari told Moss that the hiding place was one and a half hours away, they left the beach at midnight and arrived at their destination at four in the morning. After climbing, their route ceased to lead upwards and they found themselves switchbacking over gullies and streams of fast flowing water. They passed in view of a German post. Their destination turned out to be a gully flanked on three sides by rock and surrounded by trees and thickets in the shelter of a grown over, dried up stream. Moss awoke at 7 o'clock, had freshly killed goat for breakfast. A freshwater spring was nearby. Their next destination was to intended to be Kastomonitsa but 'considering the time it had taken us to cover the comparatively short distance from the beach to our present hide out, it seemed to me quite impossible that we should reach Kastomonitsa in one night.
Moss gives no name for the beach in his text. His book includes a map with the landing beach- unnamed- is shown. It's position is in the vicinity of Tsoutsouros.
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George Harokopos
In The Abduction of General Kreipe, G Harokopos, names the arrival beach as " an ideal cove in Alyki" (p 79). He does not claim to have been present for the landing (though he was later embarked with Kreipe from Peristeres). He gives the date as 3rd April 1944
Harokopas names some of the boats party including Kapetan Yannis Katsias, Billy Moss, Manolis Paterakis, George Tyrakis, and that bit was captained by Brian Coleman. He names those meeting the boat as including Paddy Leigh Fermor, Captain Sandy Rendell, Kapetan Vassilis Konios, Haris Saridakis, Manolis Vrelianakis, Kimon Zografakis.
Harokopas writes that there were German guard posts to the left and right of the beach, not more than a kilometer away. He says Coleman stopped 75 yards from the shore and that first to land were Moss, Paterakis and Tyrakis "along with Kapetan Katsias's team". The landing and embarkation were over in three quarters of an hour and the men, headed by PLF and Kimon Zografakis as guide, were ready to climb the Asterousia Mts and leave the dangerous forbidden zone before dawn. They reached Kastomonitsa, Kimon Zografakis's village after a trek of two and a half nights. Both the Rendel and Katsias parties left the abduction group in that time.
An Alyki is shown on the G20 Iraklion War office map of 1943 as at 34' 57"N 25'.15"E.
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Sandy Rendell
Captain Sandy Rendell, in his Appointment in Crete, (p146 onwards) tells that "By the beginning of April Paddy and I and another British Officer, John Stanley, each with a few helpers were waiting in a deep valley running down to the sea for the boat, on which Stanley Moss and the rest of the kidnapping party were to arrive. Knowing that the boat could not come for several days they went off to visit the local monastery. He describes the walk to the monastery as ' another beautiful walk, first an hour through a sapling wood just turning green, till we reached open ground at twilight and then skirted the cypresses on the outskirts of two villages, on the edge of the plain. The last hour led through vineyards and olives till we reached the monastery itself, which stood far away from any other building. Unlike most monasteries it was not built nestling in a gully, but had its own fields stretching away openly all round it. The monastery was occupied by the Archimandrite, a nun (Anna) and a theological student (Joanne). One of the Cretans with them was Vassilis Konios. After a few days, in which they had a close shave avoiding visiting German troops, they heard that the boat was due. Amongst those due to leave on it was a Antonia from Ierapetra who had worked at German HQ as a typist and had been supplying information, four German deserters from an air force unit and a dozen Cretans who were to be trained in the Middle East.
Rendell does not name or further describe the beach, or detail the hike inland but only refers to leaving Paddy's group to return to Males.
However, inside the front cover of his book are two maps. One shows Aliki - but no other south coast places apart from Ierapetra and Tymbaki.
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Paddy Leigh Fermor
In unpublished reports by Patrick Leigh Fermor, he writes that, at the beginning of April, he, Sandy and John Stanley were lying up in the mountainous prohibited zone not far from Soutsouro. He relates how they had a narrow shave at the Monastery of the Holy Apostles when a heavily armed German foraging gang arrived, and how the Archimandrite Theophylaktos just had time to hide them.
He continues that, at last, on 4th April, the sound of a ship's engine answered their third night of torch signals. He mentions Billy, Manoli and George coming ashore. He later bids farewell to Vassili Konios 'our protector in the area, and how the part head inland for the long climb to comparative safely, settling at last in a high ravine full of oleanders, with sea shining far below.
Paddy generously loaned us a map of his. It bears a number of endorsements in his own hand and includes markings in the Tsoutsouros area which are open to interpretation. They suggest that the landing beach could have indeed been Aliki.
Normally such evidence, from the man himself, would be indisputable but several reasons exist to cast doubt on such an interpretation. Firstly, we have not heard from Paddy's own mouth that these markings relate to the beach, and how they should be interpreted.
Further, in a private letter many years ago, in response to a request that Paddy confirm that certain photographs (of Dermati) were of the landing beach, he had told me that he was could not tell if it (Dermarti) was the beach or not. He explained that the beach was in a prohibited zone and that the only people allowed in their were shepherds- who were inevitably working for the allies, and that these people acted as guides for him. He added that he had never seen the beach in daylight, that they were in and out in the dark.
My main reason for not readily accepting Paddy's map as the definitive source for the landing beach is the evidence from official files that follows. It may be that an explanation from Paddy, that clarifies beyond doubt what his map's endorsements relate to, will be forthcoming.
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John Houseman.
In UK National Archive report ref HS-5 727, (Reports Various, Individual Reports, Crete Personnel FR-LA), is the personal report of Captain John W Houseman, March 1944- Jan 1945.
He writes that he gets word that he is to go to Crete and that he leave for Tobruk accompanied by Billy Moss and six Cretans, two of whom are to destined to join PLF for an operation to capture General Kreipe. There were a number of delays, but in mid-March (sic), the 'small motor launch slid into one of the dark and bleak creeks on the southern Cretan coast (Tsoutseros), at one o'clock in the morning' where he set foot on Cretan soil for the third time, this time not only for a few hours as he had done previously as a conducting officer. They were met by hundreds of scoundrelly looking Cretan peasants, Maj. Leigh Fermor, Capt Rendell, and a ISLD officer (John Stanley?). There were donkeys on the beach. In true Hemingway style they climbed the cliff accompanied by the bravos of Leigh Fermor and, after three hours of most terrible mountaineering they slid into their first cave for the night. He subsequently tells of Paddy and Rendell going off, and that he set off on an eighty mile walk to meet up with Tom Dunbabin. Later he is in the HQ of Michali Xilouris (at Anogia) when Paddy, Kreipe and others join them. It is Houseman who takes many of the photographs of the group and their captive.
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National Archive Files
Operation Moonstruck
This operation makes up the file HS-5-677 in the UK National Archives and amounts to some 70 odd pages relating to the Naval operation for "landing of personnel and stores at Dermati".
The operation is intended to take place as son as possible after 25/26th March. There are a number of postponements noted.
The earliest pages start around 12th March and many are concerned with stores issued for the operation. One page, dated 21st March 1944, makes specific mention of additional stores required for CHERETIS Lt I and KATSIAS I. Another page, dated 20th March, names the personnel for infiltration as, Lieut. J.W. Houseman, "Ivan", "Stiffer", "Zachary", "Gregory", "Peeler" and "Thug".
The same page, and others, refer to the reception beach as point H.295977 (DERMATI) N 34 58' 54" and E 25 19' 6" under TOM's arrangement.
It also notes that the nearest German posts are at VATOS H.266982 strength 17 men: KERATOKAMBOS H 350995, strength 17 men, connected by telephone to VIANNOS.
The intention is given as to infiltrate personnel as reinforcements to TOM and to send stores as per Appendix 'A', evacuating any persons he may have sent to the beach for that purpose.
The conducting officer is listed as Elia MILAS. The shore to ship recognition signal is to be the letters M.C. flashed every ten minutes after 2100 G.M.T.
A similar report, dated 24th March 1944 is address to the Commanding Officer H.M.M.L. 842 (Brian Coleman though he is not named as such). The order also sets out positions to pass through en route and with an arrival time/date of 2300B/28. A similar but later order gives arrival time as 2300 B/31.
Other papers dated 6th April and after refer to items and personnel brought back from Crete. Some 45 people, of whom 39 were Greeks, were brought back to Cairo.
File ADM-199-889 refers to Naval Operation Summaries 1944.
Under the Operation name Moonstruck/B.O.D, it reports that it was an operation on behalf of Force 133 with the object of landing 13 agents with equipment and stores, and to embark 43 evacuees. The position is given as 35 deg.58' N , 25 deg 19' 30" E. M.L.842 under Lieut B,.C. Coleman, R.N.V.R was the named officer. Under remarks, it notes that "Operation planned to take place from Tobruk 28th March, but owing to Tobruk being placed "Out of Bounds" for Special Operations, and also rough weather prevailing, was postponed until 4th April. On 4th April, M.L.842 sailed from Bardia for rendezvous beach and completed the operation without incident, returning to Bardia. (Reported to Admiralty under ref. FOLEM.976/00250/2/D of 15th April, 1944)
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N.A. Kokonas.
The Cretan Resistance 1941-1945.
Accounts in this book are reportedly based upon official reports.
Page 84 advises that "Capt Moss and the remainder of the party landed at DERMATO (H.2998) on 4/5 April.
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Local enquiries in the Tsoutsouros area.
Both Chris Paul and I have made independent enquiries in the Tsoutsouros area. Chris found several possible locations to the west of Tsoutsouros. These fit more closely to endorsements on the map of Paddy Leigh Fermor. Chris was advised by locals that a beach west of Tsoutsouros was the landing beach.
I was assisted in my enquiries by Yannis Samatas. In October 2007, we were advised by locals that Pourgonero Beach, a beach immediately to the east of Tsoutsouros, was the beach that Moss and party landed. Our informant claimed to have been told of this location by one of the original participants.
I had previously assured by a Keratokambos local that Dermarti was the beach.
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Conclusions.
Until such time as there is evidence to the contrary, I am inclined to believe that the beach at which Moss and party arrived at is that known as Dermati. I cannot offer an explanation at this time as to why Paddy's map suggests a beach west of Tsoutsouros.
It seems to me that the most likely scenario is that Moss and his Kreipe abduction party grabbed a lift on Brian Coleman's ML 842, a trip that was initially intended to drop Houseman, Katsias and others at Dermati in Crete as reinforcements for Tom Dunbabin's mission.
The physical description of the beach, where there are references to three sides, does not suit Dermati as well as it does Aliki. Dermati proper does not have cliffs but there are some at it's western end, and there are cliffs at Pourgonero.
The map coordinates in pre, and post, operation official Operation Moonstruck reports are for locations very close to Dermati beach suggesting that the intended coordinates were indeed used.
There are official records of a German post at Keratokambos which is approximately 3 miles east of Dermati. I can find no Vatos in the area of Tsoutsouros but there is an Inatos a short distance east of Dermati. Inatos, in Greek script is Ινατοσ, easily misread as vatos if the I is dropped.
At present I cannot confirm if there was a German post west of Aliki at Tris Ekklises, nor Maridaki just west of Tsoutsouros. In 1944 there was German post at Tsoutsouros, it had been used many times for drops previously.
All accounts mention Brian Coleman as the skipper of the motor launch that delivered Moss and party. Operation Moonstruck does not mention Moss but does mention Houseman and Jonny Katsias (WSM mentions Katsias in IMBM). There seems little doubt that Houseman and Moss, and their respective parties, were all on ML 842 with Coleman and were delivered in the closing hours of 4th April 1944. ADM-199-889 quotes numbers that would confirm such a view. The omission of references to Houseman, in IMBM, suggests, in my view, a certain amount of 'artistic licence' from Moss rather than strict compliance with fact.
The disparity in various personal accounts, as to precise location and times, is not surprising given the circumstances in which the accounts were recorded, after the event and often on the basis of second hand information from guides. In contrast, Coleman's reports are rather more contemporary, chart based and detailed in many regards. I believe the Kokonas account was derived from second hand information and thus has less credibility.
To be continued...............................