British armour on 13 April 1941 in the rearguard

The Rangers, of the armoured brigade, and the 4th Hussars and 3rd RTR were involved in the rearguard on the morning of 13 April 1941. The 27th NZ MG battalion was on their left. The Germans had pushed into the Rangers, although the Rangers were supported by tanks and artillery fire. They hoped to hold the Germans long enough for the Greek 12th Division to withdraw. The Rangers were still holding in the afternoon and were backed by anti-tank guns. Some thirty German tanks turned the British left flank and were driving towards the armoured brigade headquarters. As night drew on, the remnants of the armoured brigade were forced to withdraw on Grevena. The 1st Armoured Brigade had ceased to exist as a fighting force, although they had inflicted losses on the advancing German armour. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Australian Official History.