Then and Now: 1941-2018, a water well in a WW2 battlefield and “Gnome III”, one of the 9 Matilda IIs of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment’s B Squadron

Interviews, Then and Now, WW2, WW2 in Greece

By Pierre Kosmidis

Research and photos by Andreas Sfakianakis

Then and Now: 1941 – 2018, the battle of Rethymno in Crete, by Andreas Sfakianakis

Then and Now: 1941-2018, WW2 in Crete, by Andreas Sfakianakis 

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Crete island in Greece was hotly contested in May 1941, during the airborne operation of the Germans, which eventually led to a costly victory for the invaders.

Although much has changed since 1941, the trained eye of researcher Andreas Sfakianakis from Crete managed to identify yet another battle landmark, a water well, which was located close to where some fierce fighting took place, including a British Matilda tank named “Gnome III”, one of the 9 Matilda IIs of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment’s B Squadron stationed on Crete at the time of the German invasion.

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Today, at the same position, new constructions and a road obstruct the view to the water well, but the mountain in the background enabled Andreas Sfakianakis to identify the exact spot where this photo was taken by Australian soldiers back in 1941.

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