1941.06.01 “Next Step?"
by Ralph Lee (1906-1947)
12 x 14 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection
Ralph Lee was an editorial cartoonist for the Portland Oregonian. He died suddenly, at 41, in January 1947. His cousin, Art Bimrose, was the editorial cartoonist for the Oregonian for more than three decades. In 1937, the Oregonian hired him part-time to work on printing plates. Following Lee’s death, Bimrose was hired as the Sunday editorial cartoonist.
The Battle of Crete was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of May 20, 1941, with multiple German airborne landings on Crete.
From May 28 to June 1, troops were embarked for Egypt, most being lifted from Sfakia on the south coast. The naval force was attacked for hours by Luftwaffe dive bombers on the voyage back, suffering ships sunk and damaged with numerous casualties among naval personnel and troops. The island came under German control on June 1.
The Battle of Crete was the first occasion where German paratroops were used en masse, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from decrypted German messages from the Enigma machine, and the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Due to the number of casualties and the belief that airborne forces no longer had the advantage of surprise, Adolf Hitler became reluctant to authorize further large airborne operations, preferring instead to employ paratroopers as ground troops. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to form airborne-assault and airfield-defense regiments (as dramatized in the series SAS Rogue Heroes, a commando group that ended up being a thorn in the Nazi paw).
The Next Step? In 1941, Egypt was effectively controlled by Great Britain, though the formal title of King was held by Farouk I. The British were there to maintain the Suez Canal and protect their interests in the region. The SAS group operated in the desert theater starting in November 1941).
