Obstructed airstrips deny German reinforcement

Instead of dispersing scarce troops across several usable airfields, defenders could wire off light strips and protect the obstacles with small fortified detachments. The main force would hold the concrete airfield while railways shifted supplies and reinforcements around the island. Armoured trains could protect those movements, and local repair capacity would help restore track damaged by German attack. Attempts to sabotage the railway would also expose German parties to observation and attack by Cretan civilians. British submarines operating forward from Crete would add pressure across the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic approaches.