Cunningham's scheme was to relay troops from Greece through Crete so coherent units would remain on the island while others continued to Egypt. The collapse in Greece made that orderly movement impossible. On 21 April, about 223,000 Greek soldiers were caught in Albania, removing much of the Greek Army from the later defence. Crete consequently inherited fragments of formations instead of the balanced force its defence required. Evacuation preserved many people, but it did not preserve the organization needed to make them an effective field force.
Notable Point · 9:41-11:56
The Greek evacuation plan breaks up the defence
A relay evacuation through Crete was meant to preserve coherent units, but the disorder of the Greek campaign instead delivered scattered formations to the island.