The German invasion of the island of Crete in mid-1941 was preceded by a massive airdrop of paratroopers in the island's interior, to assist naval-borne units by cutting communication lines and pressing the British defenders in a vise, fighting on two fronts. Due to high casualties in the battle, Nazi high command viewed the use of Paratroopers as difficult at best, and abandoned it for the remainder of the war. The Allies however, viewed the operation as a brilliant success (for the Germans), and began training their own airborne units, ultimately destined to successfully pull off the same strategy during D-Day.