By the time Germany had occupied mainland Greece in April 1941 Pendlebury had laid his plans, which could not include the Cretan division of the Greek army which was captured on the mainland. The invasion of Crete began on 20 May 1941, Pendlebury was in the Heraklion area where it started with heavy bombing followed by troops dropped by parachute. The enemy forced an entry into Heraklion but were driven out by regular Greek and British troops and by islanders armed with assorted weapons.