Does anyone know details about a WWII (allies) soldier who fought on his own for 3 hours a German regiment?

Question

I was told that this event took place in late April 1941 when a German regiment was attempting to land on the coast of an island in the Aegean Sea (Greece). The coast was protected by a single machine gunner who managed to hold them at bay for 3 hours. The Germans suffered heavy losses in their landing crafts and had to call in their airforce for cover. They eventually took the island but never found the lone machine gunner. When he run out of ammunition he hid in a village and eventually escaped to neutral Turkey.
This surely has to be the most incredible battle fought during WWII since a single soldier fought off an entire regiment (approximately 800 men).
What was the island? The nationality (British or Greek?) and name of this soldier? Is this event recorded in a book?

Hello:
Some additional details:

1 We don't know if this soldier was Greek or British

2 In 1941 over 5000 Greek soldiers escaped to Turkey during the German invasion of Greece. When the Germans started landing on the greek islands almost all garrisons fled to Turkey, only a few miles away. Many were apprehended by the Turks but by early 1942 almost all were allowed to leave for Egypt and join the newly formed Greek Armed Forces of the Middle East.

3 It is a fact that the German forces landing on the greek islands never used their airforce for cover. There was no resistance and no need for their airforce. The case of the lone machine gunner is the sole exception. Crete is different because the landing there was airborne and met with fierce resistance.
This event did not take place at Crete.

4 The machine gunner was left on his own since his comrades fled as soon as they saw the German dinghies sailing to the coast.

5 He kept loading the gun by himself

Answer 1

A single sniper could easily tie up a regiment if he's canny. If there's no way to outflank him and he's covering a bottleneck. I suppose it's possible, and I do seem to remember something about it, I think he was a sailor who'd been stranded in Greece after his ship had been sunk.

Answer 2

I can't remember the name of this soldier, but a similar event occured during the Allied invasion of France. Two paratroopers were separated from the rest of the army in a storm and landed in a swamp outside a small French town occupied by the Germans. On their own they managed to liberate the town from about 100 opposition fighters without receiving any backup.

Answer 3

It being April 1941 I would think the nationality of the soldier was British being that the US were still preaching neutrality at the time and Britain was the only nation still fighting.

As for the story, personally I've not heard it but you've got my interest so i'm gonna do some research!

Answer 4

I would like to know the true answer to this as We werent at war with Germany in April 1941 and the 1st Army or Marine action against Germany was in North Africa at the battle of the Kasserine Pass in 1942. We werent at war with Germany until December 11. 1941.

Answer 5

It sounds very very like a by-made of the conflict of Crete. The Germans made airborne drops of paratroopers onto Crete against the British garrison yet suffered maximum of casualties that they in no way tried yet another airborne invasion. If the story is actual, the soldier would have been British.