The Most Absolutely Insane Target of WW2

Over an evening of drinks in Cairo, two British Special Operations Executive agents devised the organization's boldest plan yet.

During the Axis occupation of the Greek island of Crete, the two men hatched a plan to kidnap the feared Friedrich-Willhelm Müller.

For Captain Stanley Moss, barely 18, the mission was his first chance to shine within the top-secret SOE. But for Major Patrick Leigh Fermor, who'd been present during the invasion of the island and seen Mueller's savagery against the population firsthand, the operation was personal.

However, as the plan began to unfold and the men prepared to travel into Crete, one of the most dangerous islands in the Mediterranean, invaded by the Italians and the Germans, Muller was transferred.

After evaluating the immense risks of such an operation, the SOE had two choices: to cancel the mission outright or to go on with it.

As part of the United Kingdom's most elite spy and covert operations organization, the decision was clear for the two men: to face the danger and parachute into Crete to claim their prey…

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As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -

[derekfancett]

Sir Patrick Leigh-Fermor had a distinguished career after the war for his travel writing. However, his 2 best books (in my opinion) were his 'biographical' books about walking across Europe in the early 1930s when he was just over 18 years old: 'A Time of Gifts' and 'Between the Woods and the Water' [I put biographical in inverted commas because, some 50 years after he lost them, his contemporaneous diairies turned up and showed that his memory had betrayed him in places].
Best story about P L-F: later in his life he was giving a talk to a Greek audience (in Greek) and, as you do, he took regular drinks from his glass of water that he kept re-refilling from a carafe. Towards the end of the talk he was running low on water and asked for a fresh carafe, which he used to top off his glass, the water in his glass instantly turned milky; the audience realised they'd just watched a man deliver a full talk while drinking a whole bottle of neat ouzo.

[anotherone]

I believe in the 1960s, Moss, Leigh -Fermor, and General Kreip were interviewed together on a television show. I think it's still on YouTube.

[cliffwall]

The movie is actually titled " Ill (as in sick) Met By Moonlight" 1957 starring Dirk Bogarde, Marius Goring, David Oxley plus other well known actors.

[paulroberts]

I think the Nazi general got the best end of the deal. In British hands, a POW in Canada, he could watch from safety as Hitler and the others lost the war and died. And he retired.

[robertbruce]

This documentary was informative & stimulating, we narrated.

[canadianoutdoorguy]

I'm currently reading the book Capt Stanley Moss wrote about the raid, "Ill met by Moonlight". This video is a great addition to it.

[johnawhelan]

Two "German" stormtroopers, in British pattern webbing and using Lee Enfield Mk lll SMLE and a Vickers MG, and a ZC car reg, definitely Irish Free State Army troops during the "Emergency".

[Hope_Boat]

Civilian resistance was not unheard though. During the Italian invasion of Greece, the Greek population of Epirus took part to the fight, including Epirote women who climbed the mountain with mortar shells and rations in their back packs to deliver them to the soldiers in the highs and carried back the wounded on their bear backs. This gave a huge oral boost and a great mobility to the Greek armies combating in the mountain passes during the harsh winter of 1940-41. My grand mother and my grand aunt took part of the collective effort. Grand-ma broke her leg and limped for the rest of her life due to the rudimentary level of healthcare available in the field hospital.

[andersjensen]

It is strange to see a road sign with Danish text in Crete (at 5.04). The text "For Gaaende" means "Pedestrians" in English. A sign with "Greek" text would have been more appropriate.

[JackGordone]

@48 seconds: No, they had ONE, not TWO choices. Two courses of action, perhaps, but only one choice.

[ZacharyBurgard]

The cover photo for the video is Irish troops in ww2 set up in a road block

[Highcountry-Streamers]

If this bothers you read up on “operation paperclip”…Kinda of hard to look at the US government the same after that one…

[iamnolegend]

6:05 The “outlook” spotted the car? Don’t you meant the “look-out” spotted the car?

[philipliethen]

It’s INSANE!!! Absolutely & utterly INSANE!!! It’s MORE INSANE than all other INSANE actions! INSANE INSANITY it is!!!

[murrayscott]

Cretans, I believe, are ablend of Greeks, Turks, Phoenicians, Lebanese, etc. Once upon a time they may have just called them the " Sea People " . Ones to be feared.

[davidrenton]

there is a full length 1950's movie about this "ill meet by moonlight" well worth a watch

[brendanheffernan]

The thumbnail for this video is actually a picture of a n Irish Free State army checkpoint on Inniscarra bridge near Cork city, nowhere near Crete.
The juxtaposition of German style uniforms and British weapons were a common feature of the Irish defence forces at this time.
This may possibly be a staged photo as the car carries a spurious ( possibly) registration number.

[hiramabiff]

What always had me perplexed, is that not a single Ukrainian Waffen SS officer ever stood trial for war crimes, even though they had the biggest non German Waffen SS divisions dedicated to ethnic cleansing since late 42. We concentrate so much on Nazi German's who were sub human and yet so many others were just as vile if not worse and never talked about.

[tonyadeney]

good research impressive what these young guys would take on

[DavidAnderson-uz]

Oddly enough, his capture and imprisonment may have saved him from dying on the battlefield.