Two more battalions were formed during the fall of 1940 and the unit was redesignated as the 1st Air Landing Assault Regiment ( ) . A fourth battalion was raised during the winter of 1940/41 . The regiment did not participate in the opening stages of the invasions of Greece and Yugoslavia , but was kept in reserve until it was needed for the invasion of Crete . The 1st battalion was landed by DFS 230 gliders towed by Ju 52s of '' Luftlandegeschwader 1 '' , but the rest of the regiment was parachuted in the vicinity of Maleme airfield on 20 May 1941 . They landed almost on top of the New Zealand 5th Infantry Brigade , part of the 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division and suffered severely at their hands . However , reinforced by several battalions of the 5th '' Gebirgs '' ( Mountain ) Division that landed the next day they were able to force the New Zealanders to retreat . This was the only time in the war that the regiment fought as a complete unit . Following the surrender of Crete , regiment forces were involved in mass reprisals against civilians in villages such as Kondomari , Alikianos and Kandanos
Kondomari
Massacre of Kondomari
Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment