Britain’s elite commandos and the civilians of Crete… An unlikely partnership that took on Hitler and astonished the world.

On 20th May 1941, thousands of elite Nazi paratroopers assaulted the island of Crete. It was the beginning of the Battle of Crete - the largest Nazi airborne operation of the war. They had expected to control the island within a few days; after all, they had only needed to occupy Paris for a week before France surrendered. What they hadn’t expected was that the hundreds of stranded soldiers from England, Australia, and New Zealand, together with the men, women, and even children of Crete, would fight them to their dying breath.

Now a film has been produced which examines these lost events in mesmerising detail. ‘The 11th Day’ uses first-hand accounts, rare original footage and carefully crafted flashback re-enactments to tell the gripping story of the Battle of Crete.

But the ten-day-long clash of arms is only the beginning of the story. From there, ‘The 11th Day’ goes on where no documentary has ever gone before - to chronicle, via extensive first-hand interviews, the astounding partnership between the people of Crete and the handful of British special operations commandos who had parachuted in to help them.

Together, they dealt Nazi Germany one of its most crippling defeats of the entire war. They would even kidnap General Heinrich Kreipe, the German garrison commander - the famous operation masterminded and led by British Special Operations officer Patrick Leigh Fermor. It was the only successful kidnapping of a German general throughout the war.

Fermor's participation in ‘The 11th Day’ marks his first on-camera interview in decades - just one reason why so many World War II historians and enthusiasts have celebrated this film.

Another source driving the film's robust fan base has been the unusual move by its producers to make freely available their unprecedented collection of research material, including over 2000 photos - more than 500 of which are rare and unpublished. Hundreds of these photos are included on the DVD, and the entire collection is available free of charge on the film's website, www.The11thDay.com. It is the largest on-line archive of World War II photos and documents in the world.

“They never gave up,” says director Christos Epperson. “They locked German soldiers into a state of continuous and relentless conflict in a single, isolated location for over four years, drawing in thousands of additional troops with each passing year. Nowhere else in Europe did that happen.”

‘The 11th Day’ provides audiences with an eye-opening portrayal of the Allied insurgency spearheaded by Fermor, his SOE colleagues and their Cretan partners. Most important, the film tells these stories through exclusive first hand interviews, establishing a truly intimate connection with its subjects - an intimacy rarely seen in most period documentaries.

“The events themselves are important, obviously, but not as important to us as the people who lived them,” says writer-producer Michael Epperson. “These are their stories, told in their own voices. That’s what makes this film unique.”

With over 20 veterans interviewed from Crete, England, Australia, and New Zealand, ‘The 11th Day’ is a heart-pounding adventure story about courage, faith, and heroism…a story that is all the more remarkable because it is real history.

The 11th Day can be ordered in the UK by calling 01202 400022.

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