From Churchill's perspective, he wanted to concentrate on winning in Libya as the highest priority. A withdrawal from Greece seemed unavoidable. General Wavell wanted to hold the line at Thermopylae as long as possible. Wavell saw this as a way to buy time for defending Crete and Egypt.
The lower-level commanders in Greece were not aware of these discussions. But the weather in Greece on 18 April was good. It was described as "clear and fine". The Pinios Gorge was seen as the obvious "danger spot". They could see German soldiers descending from Gonnos towards the river. The men on the spot recognized that the Germans were a "good artillery target". They did not have any artillery observers in place yet. A company commander from the 2/2nd Battalion, Captain Hendry, used a telephone to call for artillery fire.
A carrier force was sent out to meet some German soldiers, although this move drew German mortar fire. Australian Bren gun fire was able to stop the mortar fire. They were able to retrieve their wounded men and pull back the carriers so that they were sheltered. An Australian platoon was now guarding the this flank.
By 11am, Captain Hendry was able to communicate with a company from the 2/3rd Battalion. Because trucks had gone astray, the company was low in strength, initially. Their strength gradually grew as the afternoon progressed.
The Australians fired on some Germans and "wiped them out". There was German activity in front of the 21st New Zealand company until by "midday", there was an attack happening. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.
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