153:. North of the island, the Turkish coast juts out into a sharp promontory, the fictional Cape Demirci. The promontory is rimmed with rock but dimpled with coves of white sand beaches. Beyond the coast rise the towering Anatolian mountains. About sixteen miles north of the cape, according to the book, is the island of Kheros, which features importantly in the novel. To the west is the fictional Lerades group of islands, which stretches in a northwesterly direction for 60 miles. The closest of the Lerades is Maidos, six miles from Navarone. At one point in the book, a character on Navarone spots whitewashed fishermen's villages on Maidos. To the south is the
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character in the novel asserts: “The entire south coast of
Navarone . . . consists of one vast, impossible precipice.” At its highest point, the southern cliff is one quarter of a mile long and rises to a height of 400 feet. At the top of this cliff is a narrow, bare strip of ground, and then a fifty-yard-wide jumble of large boulders. The top of the cliff is accessible by a path, but the soil is soft, crumbling, and treacherous. At the base of the cliff, fifteen to twenty yards out in the water is a reef, “gap-toothed and needle-pointed.”
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a line of cliffs one hundred and fifty feet above the harbor, and a large fortress, its walls built of large blocks of masonry pierced by narrow embrasures. The central plot of the novel, a
British raid on the German garrison in 1943, leads to the destruction of much of the fortification. A particular feature of the fortress is a massive mound of volcanic rock towering over the walls and a large cave with a heavy overhang jutting out over the harbor. There is a sheer, 120-foot drop from the mouth of the cave to the surface of the water.
412:, with the aid of two large scanners atop the fortress. The Germans enlarge the cave by blasting out volcanic rock from the rear of the formation. They install turntables for the guns and lift shafts for hoisting shells. In the fortress -- the walls of which they topped with spikes and barbed wire -- they build barrack blocks, a powerhouse, an ordnance depot, a garage, a water storage tank, magazines, senior officers quarters, and a ferro-concrete control tower for the guns. Twin rows of
242:, characters shelter in a notable terrain feature between Margaritha and Navarone called “the Devil’s Playground.” It is a region of “gaunt, shattered” cliffs that rise steeply above the stunted, gnarled carob trees in the plain. Rock-strewn ravines cleave through the cliffs and wind aimlessly into the interior of the Playground or come abruptly to dead ends. The area is riddled with caves, leading some people to call it “Little
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459:. In November 1943, a small Allied unit of saboteurs launches a last-ditch attack on the guns, only a short time ahead of the German invasion of Kheros. Landing on the south coast, the Allied troops scale the high cliff, make their way to Navarone town, and demolish the German heavy guns with explosives. The coup leaves the way clear for the British naval squadron, led by the modern S-class destroyer H.M.S.
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family and aids the Allied raiders. Life is not easy for the inhabitants of occupied
Navarone. Many abandon their homes in Navarone town for Margaritha and other outlying villages. The sight of Germans occupying the fortress is particularly galling to those who live on the main square near the walls. The novel notes that German officers have moved into many of the empty houses on west side of the square.
399:. Moving through the Lerades would be too dangerous because the Germans had mined the narrow passages, and going around the northern tip of the island group would take too much time. Hugging the Turkish coast would endanger diplomatic relations with Turkey. Because of these considerations, the British squadron can only take one passage, the clear channel between Maidos and Navarone.
385:
This aspect of the novel closely resembles the real campaign in the
Dodecanese. The British did indeed try to wrest control of the islands from the Germans in 1943. The campaign included several elements mentioned in the novel, such as the British use of the SBS and the German use of paratroops and
199:
As described by MacLean, much of
Navarone is taken up by fields or wasteland, but several towns and villages also dot the island. The largest, of around 5,000 people, is the town of Navarone on the north coast. The town lies on an almost circular, volcanic bay with a narrow entrance to the northwest.
407:
However, the
Germans had taken steps to ensure that such a move would be virtually suicidal. In the fortress cave overlooking the town of Navarone, they install two powerful artillery pieces. These are the “guns of Navarone,” the object of the raid that drives the plot of the novel. One character
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and several German tenders. To the west of the harbor, the terrain slopes up gently to a series of olive groves, and the dusty streets run down to the water. In the south, the streets run parallel to the water down to the old town, the ground rising more sharply to the south. Dominating the town are
333:
The novel reflects this campaign, with German forces occupying nearly all of the
Sporades, including Navarone. The British spirit Eugene Vlachos out of Navarone to Egypt ahead of the German advance, to avoid reprisals against him. One Vlachos retainer, Eugene's steward Louki, remains loyal to the
234:
About three miles south of
Navarone town, according to the novel, lies the village of Margaritha. It is located in a fold of hills near the mouth of an almost perfectly symmetrical valley that extends about four miles to the mountains in the south. It is small, with flat-roofed houses, and lies on
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monastery. In the lower town, one finds narrow, winding, and dimly-lit streets, only inches wider than a car, hugely cobbled, with almost knee high pavements. In one scene, MacLean describes a highly ornamented latticework grille protecting the outside landing at top of a set of white stairs. The
353:(SBS). By September, British troops hold most of the big islands, with some garrisons at or above battalion strength. However, the British bypass Navarone as too strongly held by the Germans. According to one character, Navarone has the reputation of being “a grim, impregnable iron fortress.”
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Above the southern cliffs rise the mountains of
Navarone. Their slopes are steep and wind-swept, covered in scree and scattered with boulders and shallow depressions. A few huts for shepherds and goatherds are the only habitations. Characters in the novel see their “grim, jagged” peaks from at
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focuses on World War II, and provides only limited information about the early history of
Navarone. The novel describes the castle at Vygos, 2 miles on the coast road to the east of Navarone town, and ascribes its construction to the Franks. The castle is small, essentially a manor house built
167:
MacLean implies that Navarone Island measures roughly 100 square miles. He describes a variety of terrain, from low-lying areas where carob tree groves thrive to snow-capped mountains. Virtually the entire coast is ringed with cliffs. This is particularly true in the south of the island. One
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In addition to the installations in Navarone town, the novel has the Germans spread troops and set up checkpoints throughout the island. They maintain roadblocks on Navarone's only two roads. An important garrison holds Margaritha. The German compound includes a hut for the enlisted men and
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harry the enemy -- the German hold absolute air supremacy in the Aegean. The British lose over 10,000 men during the onslaught. The Germans retake every island, with one exception. A British garrison of 1,200 men still holds out on Kheros. In November, near
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The comparison in the novel to mountains on the island of Crete seems apt. The Lefka Ori, or White Mountains, are snow-capped in winter, and exhibit many stretches of scree, or loose stones. Isolated shepherd and goatherd huts can be seen among the heights.
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In the novel, the Germans refuse to accept the British occupation of the islands. The Sporades have little strategic importance. However, neutral Turkey is close by, and Germany cannot afford to appear weak in the eyes of the Turks. Elite German
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organizes a squadron to steam north to Kheros. The ships have to reach the island and get back to base in a single night in order to avoid German air attack. As transport ships and tenders are too slow, the British can only use
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MacLean uses his fictional version of the eastern Aegean to establish a premise of the novel, that the men on Kheros can be relieved only by going past Navarone. In order to save the Kheros garrison, the British
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MacLean states that, for several generations, the island has been owned by the Vlachos family. The head of the family in the novel, Eugene Vlachos, is also a consul and a senior official of the Greek government.
444:, and SBS troops launch a large scale amphibious attack on Navarone. They are massacred. Twice in late October and early November, SBS teams parachute into the island. They are never heard from again. The
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protect the main battery. Searchlights and mortar and machine gun emplacements dominate each side of the harbor mouth. The heavy artillery battery dominates the Maidos channel. When the British 8-inch
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least fifty miles away. The highest mountain is Mount Kostos. When the novel places characters on its slopes, snowfall is heavy and continuous, impressing one character as being more than in the
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As with other details in the novel, MacLean models Navarone town on real Greek towns. For example, visitors to Thera can see a small monastery and the Orthodox cathedral of Panagia Ypapanti.
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main square abuts the southern side of the old fortress. Houses on the west side of the square are flat-roofed (to catch winter rains), and are fairly modern, built of whitewashed stone and
564:(Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, 1957), 11, 12, 197, 212. The Sterling Publications edition of 2011 includes a map of the island and a map of Navarone town. Alistair MacLean,
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describes how, in the late summer and early fall of 1943, the United Kingdom sends missions to many of the Aegean islands. Much of the British effort is led by elements of the
382:, will support the fleet. MacLean mixes fact with fiction by referring to the fictional island of Kheros and the real island of Samos and the real city of Athens.
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MacLean not only invented the island of Navarone, but he also created a whole setting for it in the eastern Aegean. In the novel, Navarone forms part of the
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The novel describes a tavern in Navarone as having walls, tables, chairs, and shelves painted a bright (MacLean calls it garish) blue. Advertisements for
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separate quarters for officers, and is surrounded by a barbed wire fence ten feet high. A guard post covers the head of the valley north of Margaritha.
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the bank of a little stream that winds through the valley. The village square is shaded by plane trees. Olive groves lie to the south of the village.
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granite. The east side of the square, in contrast, mostly has antiquated timber and turf houses similar to those found in remote mountain villages.
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113:, but the film changed some of the geography of the island. Although Navarone does not exist, its history is based on the real history of the
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dive bombers. At the height of the campaign, a German invasion force fought and won a pitched battle for the British-held island of Leros.
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have each ruled for a time and then departed before modern Greece claimed the islands. The period of Greek history known as "The
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515:," and reactivated the cannons, and that the original team that had shut down the guns in 1943 randomly recruited
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thus provides both a fictional setting for its plot and frames this setting within the real world of the Aegean.
231:, a real product, adorn the walls. The novel claims that wine shops are painted red, and sweetmeat shops green.
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The fictional southern cliffs of Navarone are reminiscent of the real cliffs of the island of Thira, or
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In the outskirts of Navarone town, the novel describes high-walled terraced market gardens, a decaying
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Although Kheros, Maidos, and the Lerades are invented, the Sporades and Dodecanese islands are real.
758:(Spring 1941) (Washington, D.C.: Center for Military History, United States Army, 1984), 86, 96, 111.
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175:. Thira's tall cliffs of lava, ash, pumice, and slag are part of the remains of an ancient volcano.
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The real island of Cyprus is indeed known for its caves, both those on land and along the seashore.
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Churchill’s Folly: Leros and the Aegean, The Last Great British Defeat of World War Two
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Churchill’s Folly: Leros and the Aegean, The Last Great British Defeat of World War Two
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who sees them estimates that they are at least 12 inch guns. This artillery is
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The novel lists several British efforts to neutralize the guns. In September,
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187:. Southern Navarone is honeycombed with caves, some of piled volcanic slabs.
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Islands group. Four miles to the east of Navarone's main town lies mainland
862:. Washington, D.C.: Center for Military History, United States Army, 1984.
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Cliffs of Navarone showing openings to gun positions were portrayed in the
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These failures set the scene for the final attempt that is the subject of
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In reality, the islands of the eastern Aegean have had many masters. The
801:(London: Cassel, 2003), for an account of the campaign in the Dodecanese.
736:(Abingdon: Andromeda Oxford Ltd., 1997), 20, 21, 29, 41, 48, 54, 59, 110.
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Navarone does not appear in, but is mentioned by name in the titles of,
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bombers to attack the guns, but the cave overhang thwarts the attempt.
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Notably, the town of Margaritha from the novel is renamed Mandrakos.
903:. directed by J. Lee Thompson. Culver City: Columbia Pictures, 1961.
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511:) took over the island, here with the thinly veiled pun name of "
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launched amphibious landings on Greek islands in the Aegean.
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tries to run the gauntlet in July, she is quickly sunk.
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for the capture of Kheros. German air units, based on
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http://www.cyprusalive.com/en/location/caves-sea-caves
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MacLean, 9, 16, 198, 234-235, 262-263, 266-268, 286.
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in April 1941. As part of the campaign, the German
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MacLean, 17, 18, 19, 31, 79, 88, 90, 106, 117, 145.
315:raid in 1943 that causes significant damage to the
200:In the novel, the harbor contains both a fleet of
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860:The German Campaign in the Balkans (Spring 1941)
581:(Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1982), 21, 85.
99:is a fictional island portrayed in a novel by
608:MacLean, 48, 88, 123, 125, 136-137, 139, 152.
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620:"Crossing Crete's White Mountains on foot"
890:. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1982.
876:. Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, 1957.
869:. Abingdon: Andromeda Oxford Ltd., 1997.
365:attack the British garrisons, as German
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883:. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2011.
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785:MacLean, 8, 12, 13, 14, 159, 199, 212.
568:(New York: Sterling Publishing, 2011).
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886:Rietveld, Gordon F., Jane Rietveld,
137:by marble quarries on the island of
846:MacLean, 8, 88, 217, 225, 284, 288.
577:Gordon F. Rietveld, Jane Rietveld,
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756:The German Campaign in the Balkans
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500:The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
319:installations on the island.
109:. The novel was made into a
932:Mediterranean Sea in fiction
714:(accessed January 10, 2019).
261:around crenellated towers.
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888:Greece, Aegean Island Guide
776:MacLean, 8, 13; Rogers, 12.
579:Greece, Aegean Island Guide
450:Consolidated B-24 Liberator
322:In actuality, Nazi Germany
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767:MacLean, 13, 19-21, 229.
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347:Long Range Desert Group
867:Atlas of World History
734:Atlas of World History
477:Force 10 from Navarone
276:, the Byzantines, the
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901:The Guns of Navarone
881:The Guns of Navarone
879:MacLean, Alistair.
874:The Guns of Navarone
872:MacLean, Alistair.
566:The Guns of Navarone
562:The Guns of Navarone
536:The Guns of Navarone
469:The Guns of Navarone
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448:sends a squadron of
403:The guns of Navarone
351:Special Boat Service
343:The Guns of Navarone
309:The Guns of Navarone
258:The Guns of Navarone
240:The Guns of Navarone
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106:The Guns of Navarone
517:Bullwinkle J. Moose
495:The Guns of Abalone
270:Alexander the Great
125:Setting and terrain
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893:Rogers, Anthony.
723:MacLean, 232, 248.
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560:Alistair MacLean,
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671:"Fix-beer"
629:2022-11-16
397:destroyers
392:Royal Navy
284:, and the
155:Dodecanese
487:Partisans
438:commandos
282:Venetians
210:Byzantine
173:Santorini
103:entitled
75:Mandrakos
25:Geography
480:and its
349:and the
229:Fix beer
157:group.
147:Sporades
139:Palmaria
67:Navarone
30:Location
20:Navarone
513:Abalone
422:Sybaris
419:cruiser
376:E-Boats
202:caĂŻques
467:After
461:Sirdar
372:Athens
317:German
313:Allied
280:, the
278:Franks
274:Romans
272:, the
244:Cyprus
219:Parian
151:Turkey
119:Greece
89:Greeks
56:Greece
53:
523:Notes
497:" on
380:Samos
185:Crete
111:movie
507:spy
361:and
135:film
795:See
246:”.
183:of
117:of
913::
673:.
622:.
490:.
121:.
683:.
632:.
551:.
141:.
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