Bruno Bräuer Bruno Bräuer ( 4 February 1893 – 20 May 1947 ) was a German paratrooper from Willmannsdorf , Prussian Silesia . In 1905 he joined the army cadets and started his military career . In World War I he received the Iron Cross first and second class whilst serving in the 7th West Prussian Infantry regiment . After joining the Reichswehr , he took command of the first Battalion , General Göring regiment . As a major commanding this battalion ( the first German unit to become airborne operational ) , Bräuer became the first German paratrooper to jump from a plane on 11 May 1936 . By 1938 he was in command of the first " Fallschirmjäger " regiment ; Major Von Grazy succeeded him as commander of the 1st Battalion . He commanded this unit through Poland , France , the Netherlands and the Balkans . Later he became commander on Crete and then commanded the 9th Paratroopers division as a Major General . After the war , he was executed for war crime s . Personality and appearance . Bräuer was quite short and had a slight stutter . He was also renowned for his gold cigarette case , which he can be seen holding in one of the few pictures taken of him on Crete in 1941 . He was said to have been the most humane commander of fortress Crete . Early war . Bräuer led the regiment in Poland , France and the Low Countries . In the Netherlands , he earned a reputation for outstanding bravery . His objective was to take two bridges : Moerdijk and Dordrecht . At Moerdijk his second battalion under Captain Prager captured the bridge by dropping two of his companies at each end and storming the bridge , taking it before it could be blown . At Dordrecht the first Battalion , first Fallschirmjäger regiment could only drop one company - the 3rd company under Lieutenant von Brandis . Fierce fighting took place , but the bridge remained in Dutch hands and Brandis was killed . A nearby airfield , Waalhaven , was taken by the third Battalion , first Fallschirmjäger regiment by luring the defenders away from the airfield and then landing in it . As Dutch resistance increased and Dordrecht Bridge still had not been taken , Bräuer commandeered Dutch vehicles . After terrible fighting and bravery from Bräuer , the bridge was taken intact . He received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross for this feat . Bräuer would also have been involved with the spearhead for Operation Sea Lion , the planned German invasion of Great Britain . While Major Meindl ' s battalion would be dropped at Hythe , it was planned that Bräuer ' s regiment would be dropped over Paddlesworth and Etchinghill . Both these units ' objectives would be Sandgate . While they were moving to their targets , the Luftwaffe would be flying back to France to transport the second wave of paratroopers - Major Stenzler ' s battalion - who would support the first wave . Crete . On 20 May 1941 Nazi Germany launched its air attack on Crete . Bräuer was to lead the first Fallschirmjäger regiment and the second battalion , second Fallschirmjäger regiment . His objective was to take the airfield at Heraklion . This action was not a success . The second battalion , first Fallschirmjäger regiment , landed on the coast road and came under extreme enemy fire as there was little cover . Bräuer and the first battalion , who had landed to the east of the town quickly moved westwards to try to find any remnants of the second battalion . Eight days later the airfield still had not been taken . When the news that Germans were advancing across the Island from Maleme reached the Allies , the latter withdrew to the harbor and were evacuated . Commander on Crete . In November 1942 Bräuer replaced General Alexander Andrae as commander on Crete . He tried to make his officers treat the Cretans with more respect . On 25 March , Greek National Day , he released 100 Cretan prisoners from jail . One prisoner , Constantinos Mitsotakis , would later become Prime Minister of Greece . Brauer acquired the reputation as hard but fair and the most humane commander of Crete . After German failures at Stalingrad and El Alamein , it was Bräuer who ordered the construction of underground command bunkers , more defenses around Suda Bay and increased ammunition stocks . In 1944 General Friedrich - Wilhelm Müller , renowned for his brutality when commander of the 22nd Infantry Division , replaced Bräuer as Commander of Fortress Crete . 9th Paratroopers . In January 1945 the German 9th Parachute Division was formed under Bräuer . It had only five battalion s . It was mainly made up of Luftwaffe ground forces and not the battle - hardened Fallschirmjäger . In January 1945 two of his battalions were encircled by the first Ukrainian front in Breslau , where they were destroyed . The rest of the division retreated back to the Seelow Heights , where it dug in and prepared to defend against an imminent Russian offensive . With little experience , many of the troops fled when the Russian barrage began . Before long , the line had nearly completely collapsed and many of Bräuer ’ s men began to desert . Bräuer suffered a nervous collapse and was relieved of his command . Execution . Along with General Friedrich - Wilhelm Müller , Brauer was charged with war crimes by a Greek military court . He stood trial in Athens for alleged atrocities on Crete . He was accused of the deaths of 3 , 000 Cretans , massacres , systematic terrorism , deportation , pillage , wanton destruction , torture and ill treatment Brauer was convicted and sentenced to death on 9 December 1946 . He was executed by firing squad at 5 o ' clock on 20 May 1947 , the anniversary of the German invasion of Crete . Historian Antony Beevor describes him as ' a truly unfortunate man ' having been executed for crimes ' committed under another general ' . Burial . Three years later , the Association of German Airborne troops requested that Brauer ' s remains be moved to Crete and reinterred on hill 107 , with German troops killed on the island during the invasion and the occupation . His remains were buried by George Psychoundakis , resistance fighter and author of " The Cretan Runner " . Brauer ' s grave can be found in the far left corner of the cemetery next to an unknown soldier .