Australia honors 85 years since Battle of Crete with commemorative coin

Monday, 18 May 2026/Source: Google News/1 min read

Australia has presented Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with a commemorative coin marking 85 years since the Battle of Crete, which took place in May 1941. The battle was a pivotal World War II engagement in which Allied forces, including thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers, fought German paratroopers across the island before an eventual evacuation. Many Allied troops who could not be evacuated were sheltered by Cretan civilians at great personal risk, a sacrifice still deeply remembered today. Visitors to Crete can explore this history at the Battle of Crete and National Resistance Museum in Heraklion, as well as war cemeteries and memorials across the island. The anniversary, commemorated each May, often includes local ceremonies open to the public, particularly in Chania where much of the fighting occurred.