Von Blücher Brothers at Crete

Among the German dead at the Battle of Crete were a trio of brothers, relatives of the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher of Waterloo fame. The first to fall was Count Leberecht von Blücher, who was attempting to resupply his brother, Lieutenant Wolfgang von Blücher, with ammunition when the latter and his platoon were surrounded by members of the Black Watch. The 19-year old Leberecht had commandeered a horse which he attempted to gallop through British lines; he almost reached his brother's position, and in fact was shot before the count's very eyes. The next day, 24-year old Wolfgang was killed with his whole platoon, followed by the youngest brother, 17-year old Hans-Joachim, who was reported killed in action a few days later but whose body was never recovered. For years afterward, Cretan villagers report seeing a ghostly rider galloping at night down a road near the spot where Leberecht was shot; yet until they were told the story of the von Blücher brothers, they had assumed that he was British. [Peter D. Antill, "Crete 1941: Germany's lightning airborne assault", "Campaign" series (Osprey Publishing : Oxford; New York, 2005) ISBN 1-84176-844-8, pp. 61-62]

ee also

* Battle of Crete

External links

* [http://www.fallschirmjaeger-denkmal.de/G29eng.htm Grave of Wolfgang and Hans-Joachim von Blücher]

Notes