19 April 1941

The commanders in London had decided to withdraw the force in Greece. The Greek government actually agreed that would be the best thing to do. The only dissenters were the commander in Greece. General Wavell had arrived in Athens on 19 April 1941 to meet with General Wilson and other commanders. General Wilson was overoptimistic in thinking that the troops could hold the Thermopylae line for an extended period. They met with the Greek king and General Papagos, and General Papagos suggested that the Greek army was in dire straights. They had a message from Churchill that he did not want the force to withdraw without Greek concurrence. Independently, the rogue Greek army commander met with the Germans to surrender. The die was cast and the British would have done best by heading for a withdrawal. This is based on Vol.II of the Australian Official History.