The demise of the 3rd Armoured Brigade

On April 4, 1941, the remnants of the 3rd Armoured Brigade were at Msus. They got the word to withdraw only in the afternoon. At this point, the 5th RTR had 9 cruiser tanks and there were still some M13/40's in the 6th RTR. The latter had the disadvantage of being diesel powered, and their fuel was in short supply. By the afternoon on April 5th, there were 8 cruiser tanks and 14 light tanks remaining. There were only two M13/40's left. They had been kept going by transferring fuel from the poorer specimans, until they had reached this last point. The desire to keep the 3rd Armoured Brigade in being led to its being wasted anyway. The British were paying a steep price for sending almost everything they had to Greece, and hoping that the Germans would hold off until more forces could be gathered. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Official History.