Page "Battle of Crete" Paragraph 10

The British Commonwealth contingent consisted of the original 14, 000-man British garrison and another 25, 000 Commonwealth troops evacuated from the mainland.

The evacuees were the typical mix found in any contested evacuation — substantially intact units under their own command, composite units hurriedly brought together by leaders on the spot, stragglers without leaders from every type of unit possessed by an army, and deserters.

Most of these men lacked heavy equipment.

The key formed units were the New Zealand 2nd Division, less the 6th Brigade and division headquarters ; the Australian 19th Brigade Group ; and the British 14th Infantry Brigade.

In total, there were roughly 15, 000 combat-ready British Commonwealth infantry, augmented by about 5, 000 non-infantry personnel equipped as infantry, and one composite Australian artillery battery.

On 4 May, Freyberg sent a message to the British commander in the Middle East, General Archibald Wavell, requesting the evacuation of about 10, 000 personnel who did not have weapons and had " little or no employment other than getting into trouble with the civil population ".

However, few of these men had left Crete by the time the battle started.