The Cretan Runner

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The island's fighters were never put to the ultimate test; they had hoped Crete might be a starting point for the invasion of southern Europe. Read more about the seller notes “This product has passed our meticulous quality checks and is guaranteed to be in good condition. I would add that the "runners" received no pay, they worked for the longest hours because of a sense of duty. He began life as a shepherd to the family’s small flock, so learned to get all around the mountains on goat paths, which served him well once he began working with SOE.

The Cretan Runner by George Psychoundakis. - Tripadvisor The Cretan Runner by George Psychoundakis. - Tripadvisor

Psychoundakis translated Homer's works, Iliad (560 pages) and Odyssey (474 pages), from ancient Greek into Cretan dialect.THE CRETAN RUNNER (1955) is a remarkable memoir written by George Psychoundakis, a 21 year old Cretan shepherd who became a "runner" in the Resistance Movement during the German occupation of Crete. First, Cretan society was characterized by the presence of a collection of local Kapetanioi, leaders of armed bands formed on a local, clan basis. Following this read, Crete became more than an island to me, but instead a massive place to get lost in, in which the old world mentality rules and there is a bit of fantasy still at play 60 years ago.

The Cretan Runner by George Psychoundakis | Waterstones

Third, Cretan women of all ages, old men, and young boys also fell upon the Germans spontaneously and with a terrible ferocity, their weapons being ancient rifles, kitchen knives, and agricultural implements, such as sickles and pitchforks – Psychoundakis refers to this in the fir Even if you know nothing about the Nazi takeover of Crete, wait until you've finished Psychoundakis's scenes from his life in the island's resistance before you read the introduction to this book to catch up on the facts. A war heroes life is briefly recounted, in verses that remind us of novel things like honor, patriotism, courage, and plain goodness. Kreipe was tied and forced into the back seat while Leigh Fermor and Moss impersonated him and his driver respectively.

George Psychoundakis was a young shepherd boy who knew the island of Crete intimately when the Nazis invaded by air in 1941. Patrick Leigh Fermor (later Sir Patrick), had been parachuted on to the island to help organise the resistance and not only translates, but provides clarifying comments in the footnotes.

The Cretan Runner: His story of the German Occupation

It was relatively easier to infiltrate and exfiltrate agents than in mainland Greece, Yugoslavia, or Albania – always provided there were vessels available. A 21-year-old humble 'mountain boy', George Psychoundakis, was one of the local partisans who helped the small covert British force that remained on the island.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. The result was that the German presence was thicker on the ground and stronger than in mainland Greece or Yugoslavia.

The Cretan runner: his story of the German occupation by The Cretan runner: his story of the German occupation by

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 22nd Air Landing Division, Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller. As the team continued their journey from Ida to the Amari Valley, Crete's garrison of over 30,000 men had been placed on alert and Axis troops began to assemble around the mountain range in an attempt to block their escape.Rumours of a general uprising and an Allied invasion had prompted Bräuer to strengthen Chania's garrison and continue the security sweeps. He turned round when he was on all fours at the exit, rolled his eyes, raised a forefinger portentously, whispered, "the Intelligence Service", and scuttled through like a rabbit. Following his interrogation Kreipe was transferred to Calgary in Canada, where he was interned with other captured German generals until 1947. They soon departed for Mount Ida, where they were met by a band of resistance men led by Michael Xylouris and the SOE officers attached to them.