The Germans attack on 11 April 1941

By 5pm on 11 April 1941, the Germans launched an attack on the Australians astride the road in the Greek mountains. The attackers were about two battalions of infantry. British artillery stopped the attack before they reached the most forward Australian infantry. The Germans continued to probe and finally dug in a short distance from the Australians. All the while, the snow continued to fall. In the late evening, the snow was about six inches deep, although in places on the 3000 foot ridge, the snow was as deep as a foot. After 10pm, the Germans attacked the 2/8th, but lost prisoners. Some were found to be from the Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler SS motorized division. The Australians of the 2/8th were not well-equipped and lacked such essentials such as blankets. By then, the 2/8th was thinly spread over two miles of front. To the north, the Greek Cavalry division was able to hold their German attackers. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Official History.