German mountain troops en route to Crete

May 20-22
Mediterranean, Crete
A German force of 23,000 men, supported by 600 aircraft, attacks Crete. The German plan is to launch an airborne assault that can then be reinforced by a seaborne force. After preparatory air attacks, the Germans launch the first major airborne operation in history.

Paratroops come under attack while landing and meet determined resistance from the 42,000 British, New Zealand, Australian, and Greek troops stationed on the island. After an Allied battalion commander holding Máleme airfield mistakenly withdraws, the Germans gain a footing for reinforcements to be landed. While the Germans are able to land some troops by glider and parachute, around 5000 men are lost on vessels sailing from Greece that are intercepted by British ships. The British Mediterranean Fleet in Cretan waters is subjected to massive German air attacks on the 22nd, forcing it to withdraw its ships off northern Crete.

May 23-27
Sea War, Atlantic
Two British cruisers, Norfolk and Suffolk, assisted by radar, find the German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Straits between Iceland and Greenland.

However, the two Germans ships sink the battlecruiser Hood and damage the battleship Prince of Wales, which have been sent to engage them. Bismarck's oil tanks, however, are hit and begin leaking. That night, a torpedo-bomber hits the ship but does little damage.

The German vessels make for Brest and the British lose radar contact for several hours. Aircraft from the carrier Ark Royal disable Bismarck's steering with a torpedo on the 26th and other ships encircle her. Shelling from the battleships Rodney and King George V leave the Bismarck a shattered and burning wreck.

May 27
Politics, United States
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares that 'an unlimited national emergency now exists.' The government assumes wide-ranging powers over the economy and pledges to resist any act of aggression from Germany.

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