page_title: Kidnap of Heinrich Kreipe
section_title: Operation
hierarchical_section_title: Kidnap of Heinrich Kreipe / Operation
caption_attribution_description: English: British propaganda leaflet dropped on Crete following the kidnapping of major general Heinrich Kreipe, IWM.
context_page_description: The kidnap of Heinrich Kreipe was a Second World War operation executed jointly by the Special Operations Executive and the Cretan resistance. The operation was launched on 4 February 1944, when SOE officer Patrick Leigh Fermor landed in Crete with the intention of abducting notorious war criminal and commander of Fortress Crete, Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller. By the time of the arrival of the rest of the abduction team, led by William Stanley Moss, two months later, Müller had been succeeded by Heinrich Kreipe, who was chosen as the new target.
  On the night of 26 April, Kreipe's car was ambushed while en route from his residence to the Divisional H.Q. Kreipe was tied and forced into the back seat while Leigh Fermor and Stanley Moss impersonated him and his driver respectively. Kreipe's notorious impatience at roadblocks enabled the car to successfully pass 22 checkpoints before being abandoned at the hamlet of Heliana. The abductors continued on foot, continuing to evade thousands of Axis soldiers sent to stop them, with the help of guides from the local resistance.
context_section_description: In late 1943, Fermor and Moss formed a squad with two Cretan resistance members, Georgios Tyrakis and Emmanouil Paterakis, who were to accompany them in their mission. After undergoing training in Palestine and facing numerous delays the team flew to the headquarters of the British 8th Army in Bari on 4 January 1944. On 4 February, they were driven to Brindisi airport, where they boarded a bomber destined for Crete. Fermor was the only one be airdropped at the Katharo plateau, due to a sudden weather change that caused the area to be obscured by clouds. Fermor was greeted by Cretan resistance members and SOE Captain Sandy Rendel, while the rest of the squad returned to Cairo. While hiding in a cave above the village of Tapais in the Lasithi mountains, Fermor reestablished old contacts learning that Müller had been replaced by Major General Heinrich Kreipe on 1 March. While certainly not as infamous as Müller, Kreipe had been decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his role in the Siege of Leningrad and the fighting in the Kuban. The rest of the team attempted to parachute into Crete seven more times without success; after two months, on 4 April, they arrived by Motor Launch ML 842 at Tsoutsoura. They were met on the beach by Fermor and Rendel. Upon hearing about Müller's departure they reluctantly agreed to continue with their plan.
  The team moved to a cave system in the mountains above the Kastamonitsa village, the hideout of a local rebel band. There the SOE team was augmented by a number of Cretans: Antonios and Grigorios Papaleonidas, Michail "Mikis" Akoumianakis and Grigorios Chnarakis. Mikis' house was conveniently located across the road from Kreipe's residence, the Villa Ariadne, in the village of Knossos. Fermor dressed up as a Cretan shepherd, received fake documents, and his mustache and eyebrows were darkened with burnt cork in preparation of his trip to Knossos. After traveling by bus with Mikis, he reconnoitered the area surrounding the villa. Surrounded by a triple wire barrier (one of which was rumoured to be electrified) and guarded by a sizeable garrison, it was deemed too dangerous to attempt a kidnapping directly. The decision was taken to seize Kreipe during one of his frequent trips from his residence to the divisional H.Q. in Ano Archanes, some 5 miles (8.0 km) away. Upon surveying the route, they discovered a T-junction where the road from Archanes joined the main road to Heraklion, forcing cars to slow down to almost a standstill, the location was subsequently named Point A. Pavlos Zografistos, the owner of a small vineyard cottage outside Skalani, some twenty minutes from the abduction point, agreed to collaborate, turning the building into an observation point. Owing to the heavy traffic on the main road, the operation had to be undertaken during nighttime.
  Mikis supplied the team with two Feldgendarmerie Corporal summer uniforms, complete with campaign badges, side arms and a traffic policeman's stick. Resistance member Elias Athanasakis set up a wire from a height overlooking the German H.Q., signalling whenever Kreipe left the building. Four more resistance members, Efstratios Saviolakis, Dimitrios "Tzatzas" Tzatzadakis, Nikolaos Komis and Antonios Zoidakis, were recruited as guides. Shortly before the abduction was to take place, the team received a letter from a local commander of the pro-communist Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), who threatened to betray them to the authorities if they did not vacate the area. The operation was postponed for several days as the general did not leave his residence.
  On the night of 26 April 1944, Fermor and Moss received a signal that the general had got into his car. Changing into the German uniforms, they followed Saviolakis to Point A. Fermor and Moss hid in a ditch 1 yard (0.91 m) east of the road. Further to the west Zoidakis, the Papaleonidas brothers, Tyrakis and Komis lay in wait. At 9:30 p.m., Tzatzadakis flashed his torch three times signalling that Kreipe's car was approaching unescorted. Fermor and Moss blocked the road, an
caption: British propaganda leaflet addressed to the German troops: "You are looking for him [Kreipe] in vain! He is long since in England!"
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