The German effort from 13 April 1941

 On 13 April, the German objective was the Servia Pass. They wanted to cut through Grevena outflank the Aliakmon position "from the west". You had the 9th Armored Division moved through Kozani and patrol-sized units had crossed the Aliakmon river. That had happened as early as 14 April. 

The German assessment was that the 6th and 7th Australian Divisions and the New Zealand Division were "in full retreat", along with the 2nd British Armoured Division. They saw the British movements as being "withdrawal moves". 

The 11th German Infantry Regiment staged an attack at Servia. Their losses were limited to "36 killed, 72 wounded, and 190 missing". It was the Adolf Hitler Division that had arrived at the "Kastoria-Grevena" road. They had blocked the supply line for the Greek army that was pulling out of Albania.

The German 73rd Division was sent to protect the "40 Corps flank". The Germans thought that the Greek army was still fighting well. In fact, though, the Greek army commander had abandoned his troops. 

The German mountain corps that had been at Salonika on 9 April were to attack Edessa Pass, but the situation was fluid and in fact the attack was unnecessary. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Withdrawal under extreme duress

The order to withdraw came by 5pm on 15 April 1941. The engineers had managed to build a timber trestle bridge. One group was also ordered to build a road to the bridge. The bridge was completed by 10pm. By the time the bridge was completed, the men of the 19th Brigade were assembling "on the opposite bank". They found out that the bridge could not support vehicles. 

The men had to make the vehicles unusable and then abandoned them as well as their artillery. The machine gunners were able to carry their guns across the river. The 26th New Zealand Battalion were the rearguard. They held until the Australians were able to cross. 

There was a missing company which seems to have never arrived. The Greeks were being hard-pressed by the Germans. They were in the passes to the north of the river. The supporting anti-tank guns were within some 200 yards of the Germans. The British armored brigade was located in the Grevena Pass. 

The road was packed with Yugoslav and Greek vehicles and men as well as horses and ox transport. They fully expected to be bombed and strafed by German aircraft. 

There was a British liaison team that included an officer who spoke fluent Greek. There seemed to be many unarmed Greek troops loitering in the area.  

By about 6pm on 15 April, the German column had come to the Kastoia-Grevena road. That apparently had cut off the Greek army that was now withdrawing along the tracks to the Pindus mountains. The Greek general approved of the British withdrawal to Thermopylae.The Greek general apparently did not realize that the British were then withdrawing. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The German advance continues

 The German attacks were costly to the Germans. Besides the 147 "unwounded officers and men, some 30 or 40 men from the 9th Armored Division where taken. These were all wounded men. The Germans seem to have had 400 casualties. The cost to the New Zealand Division were only 8 men. The New Zealand men were in good positions, well dug in. The attacks were all frontal assaults. The attackers lacked air or artillery support.

Some of the Germans had passed the forward New Zealand positions prior to being recognized. The Germans continues to push against the New Zealanders. The Germans used Servia as an assembly point. Because of that, Servia was kept under constant fire. A New Zealand  unit ended up being almost surrounded by the Germans. The Germans were using the escarpment as cover.

One New Zealand platoon pulled back, higher up on the slope. Two platoons from the 19th New Zealand Brigade launched an attack and caused a German patrol of some 40 men to withdraw from their position "below Prosillion village". 

During the afternoon of 15 April, General Blamey told General Mackay that he needed to reposition the 19th Australian Brigade on the other side of the Aliakmon River. It was late in the day and there was no bridge in place to cross the river. At this time, communications were proving to be unreliable. 

The 26th New Zealand  Battalion had dealt with the issue of the river using an improvised ferry using folding boats. Engineers were ordered to build a timber bridge. It took a very long time to construct and water was rushing past in the river. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long,.

The Germans on the move

 By 2pm on 4 April, the leading German vehicles approached Petrana. That was about six miles north of the Aliakmon. As it was getting dark, the German guns started firing to get the range. 

By about midnight, the German guns were shelliing steadily. They were targetting  the ANZAC positions. 

By 8pm, they could see the headlights of German vehicles moving west towards Gervena. This was an area of hills through which the British armored brigade had moved. 

During the night of 14 April, the New Zealand brigade moved the 20th Battalion on the left to be in touch wsith the Australian 19th Brigade. This was north of the Aliakmon River. Now the three New Zealand battalions were nominally holding 15,700 yards, but that was only an illusion because 9,500 yards were along a steep escarpment that was close to impassible. The New Zealanders only watched the area with patrols.

Early on 15 April, before dawn, forward posts from the New Zealanders saw men "straggling along the road, looking like Greeks, but they were Germans. The Germans were eventually fired upon. By 5:45pm, a German attack was turned back. Some of the Germans waved white handkerchiefs, asking to surrender. The New Zealanders eventually took 147 infantry as prisoners. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The Germans on the move to the south on 14 April 1941

 British artillery observers looking down above the Aliakmon River on 14 April 1941 could see German vehicles moving south. The observers were about 2,000 feet above the river. 

During 13 and 14 April, they had seen German fighters and dive bombers flying at low level and attacked the defensive positions in the pass. The only anti-aircraft guns were four Yugoslav Skoda guns and "four Greek guns". The Greek guns were positioned near the main road. 

The New Zealand troops didn't like seeing the German dive bombers diving, dropping their bombs, and climbing back up. The dive bombers attacked the guns and also tried to crater the road. 

They expected that the bombing attack was happening just before the Germans moving south from Kozani staged an attack. A feature of the bombing was that some of the dive bombers were fitted wth a noise-making device that was intended to disturb the men being bombed. 

By 2pm on 14 April, the Germans had passed Petrana. That was about six miles south from the Aliakmon River. 

By the time dark fell, the German guns started firing ranging shots. By about midnight, they started shelling the "ANZAC positions". By 8pm, they could see the headlights of German vehicles on the move. They were moving west into the hills in the direction of Grevena. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

An attack on the Servia Pass

 "To the left", the attack on the men defending the Servia Pass had started. The 4th New Zealand Brigade was between Kastania and Prosilion. This was an area with very steep slopes. This lay beyond "a very steep escarpment". Below the escarpment, the land sloped down to the river. The river was probably from two to four miles away. The elevation at the river was about two thousand feet lower. 

The escarpment had a gap in it. The gap was about 500 yards wide. The main road passed through the gap in the escarpment. The New Zealanders "were located on the south side of the gap."

The New Zealand battalions "had been digging in since dawn on 11 April". You would find the 18th New Zealand Battalion was sitting "north of Lava". The 19th New Zealand Battalion was "on a front astride the pass". 

The 19th and 20th New Zealand Battalions each had "two platoons of the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion". One of these was sitting forward with the infantry "in the pass itself". 

By "15 April, there was more artillery available, such as from the 7th Medium Regiment and the 64th Medium Regiment. There was also the 6th New Zealand Field Regiment." This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Sytia" by Gavin Long.

The next big move in Greece for the 16th Brigade

 The next move for the 16th Australian Brigade was to move to Thermopylae. They were out of touch by phone with the headquarters. They had to rely on messengers carrying notes along "bridal paths" that were along the slopes of Mount Olympus. A lieutenant from the brigadier's staff road a pony to carry the message to the 2/2nd Battalion. 

The 2/2nd Battalion was to move first in the new plan. They also had a note to pass on to the 2/3rd Battalion. They would travel out to the south end of the pass. With companies spread out, and with the difficult terrain, moving the companies together was a slow and difficult job. 

By 2am on 16 April, the battalion had begun to march out. The officer from headquarters had not been able to even find the 2/1st Battalion. The terrain was difficult and snow-covered. 

By early on  16 April, the 2/1st Battalion commander found out that they should have pulled out the night before. 

Much farther to the left, the Germans had staged an attack on the Servia Pass. The defenders were the 4th New Zealand Brigade. The troops were positioned on a steep slope, which lay below a much steeper escarpment. 

A river was located some two to four miles away and 2,000 feet lower. "At Prosilion" the primary road rose through a gap in the escarpment. The gap was about five hundred yards wide. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

More of the 16th Australian Brigade operations from 15 April 1941

 It was about 9am on 15 April that the Australian 2/1st Battalion at reached Moshkokori. Another battalion, the 2/3rd followed. At dawn on 15 April, officers from Allen's headquarters brought new orders for the 2/1st. They were told to climb up some  five or six miles to the right side of the brigade position. Greek villagers informed Australian sappers that the Germans had crossed the river behind them. 

The current situation had left the Australians very tired and without food. When they had left the Veria Pass on 12 April, they had brought a small amount of that they had. By 7am on 15 April, the men looked at what food they had left, trying to decide what to eat. 

The men made a joke that they were eating a dogs food. They were eating mush and boiled biscuits using snow. 

The 2/1st had arrived at their new position by 9am on 15 April. They were high up, at some 5.500 feet above sea level. The ground was treacherous, as it was lined with ravines. To make things worse, there was now two feet of snow on the ground.

The Australians expected to see German mountain troops. The area was remote and there were only mule paths. They had expected to see New Zealand troops "on the right". In fact, the New Zealanders were six miles away towards the north east. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Events from 14 April onwards

 There was a plan to move the 6th New Zealand Brigade into position on the left of the 5th New Zealand Brigade. During the night, the New Zealanders could hear many German vehicles moving with their lights on, bringing infantry "forward". 

At about 11pm, some German motorcyclists drove up and were fired don by machine guns. The next morning, they found five motorcyclists in the road. 

All day long on 15 April, German tanks and other vehicles were moving towards the front. One thing they were doing was to try and get past the demolitions. 

British artllery fired on the Germans. By 4:30pm, they started to see German artillery returning fire. 

The 16th Australian Brigade was to be in position between the 4th and 6th New Zealand Brigades. Late on 13 April, the brigade rear crossed the Aliakmon River. 

With the moon out, two battalions climbed up the Moshkhokori. Early on April 15, got orders to climb five or six miles to the right side of the brigade front. The next morning, the men heard that the Germans had crossed the river behind them. 

That morning, the 2/3rd Battalion had arrived at Moshkhokori. The men were tired and now were without food. It was by 9am on 15 April that the 2/1st Battalion arrived at their new position. This is base on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The situation in Greece from 13 to 15 April 1941

 Back on 13 April, "the Greek army was holding the Pisoderion and Klisoura Passes".  During the night of 13-14 April, the Western Macedonian Army was able to withdraw "to the Venetikos position". The "Epirus Army" withdrawal started during the night. By noon on 14 April, "the 20th Greek Division was driven from the Klisoura Pass". The remains of the 20th Division was ordered to block "the Grevena Road further south". During the rest of the day and during the night of 14-15 April, "the 9th, 10th, and 13rh Greek Divisions were able to withdraw. 

It seems that on the 15th, "the 11th Greek Division was ordered to the Metsovon Pass and in fact moved into that position".

During 14 April, "the Germans were checking the ANZAC Corps positions on the Aliakmon line". By that time, the New Zealand Division was holding passes on "either side of the Olympus Pass". New Zealand engineers were tasked with destroying the "tunnel and road at Platamon". They made the attempt to demolish on 14 April, but the demolition failed. They attempted another demolition, which although it was better, it still did not complete the demolition. 

The engineers laid an anti-tank minefield "over the saddle". 

The 5th New Zealand Brigade wqs at the Olympus Pass. They had a field regiment and anti-tank guns there to support them. Some Germans had made a reconnaissance, but then left. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Plans for the withdrawal

 One piece was that the troops protecting the coast "east of Olympus" were supposed to withdraw during the night of 18 to 19 April. The 1st Armoured Brigade was going to "cover the final withdrawal across Thessaly". 

The New Zealand Division would get to use the coast road. They would travel from Volos to Lamia. 

The 6th Australian Division and the 1st Armoured Brigade would take the main road via Pharsala. 

The plan was for marching soldiers to be carried on "motor transport". 

The planners in Athens were moving ahead quite quickly. As early as 13 April, they had told Admiral Cunningham that "the evacuation of Greece was imminent". 

The next day, General Wavell's staff had made a plan for "embarking the entire British force".

One factor affecting the withdrawal was that the Germans had now control of the air "in the forward areas". On the 15th, the Germans staged an air raid that destroyed ten Blenheim bombers on the ground. This had happened in the Larisa area. 

The Germans also bombed Blamey's headquarters. The aircraft had been moved after the attack so that they were no longer available to provide support to the ground forces. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The first moves in the withdrawal from Greece

 It turns out that the 19th Australian Brigade would be driven to Domokos. They would then become part of the force commanded by Brigadier Lee. We saw that the 6th New Zealand Brigade was to be the first rearguard. At thsi point, a second rearguard was gathered. They were to cover the withdrawal to the new line.

The 16th Australian Brigade was the left flank guard. They had to walk to the main road, where they would be mounted on vehicles. They were to be driven to Zarkos. 

The aim of the first moves was to bring the 6th Australian Division brigades "behind the passes by 8am on 16 April." The second phase would have General Freyberg command for both the front and withdrawal. 

One component would see a withdrawal through the 5th New Zealand Brigade Group "from the Olympus Pass". There would also be a withdrawal through the 4th New Zealand Brigade "from Servia". This would be during the night of 17th-18th April. The caviat was given: "subject to ability to disengage". The Australians of Savige Force would "withdraw through the left flank guard". The 16th Australian Brigade was the "left flank guard". This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Leading up to the withdrawal from Greece

 With the command of the withdrawal being given to the ANZAC Corps commander, the W Group "Advance Headquarters" would be sent "south of Larisa". Demolitions to slow the German advance were given a priority. 

The four groups that were to "cover the withdrawal" were the 1st Armoured Brigade, now under Blamey's command, Savige Force, the 6th New Zealand Brigade, and the 19th Australian Brigade. The 1st Armoured Brigade would be near Grevena and Kalabaka. Savige Force would also be near Kalabaka. The 6th New Zealand Brigade would be near Tirnavos. The 19th Australian Brigade would be near Pharsala. 

Given his instructions, General Blamey issued orders in great detail for the planned withdrawal. He planned for two phases. The first phase started in the rew hours left of 15 April. 

The 6th New Zealand Brigade would form "the first rearguard:". They had been in the Olympus Pass, They would now move to a "line covering the two roads between Tirnavos and Elasson". They would be supported by the 2/3rd Australian Field Regiment. The 19th Brigade would be sent in vehicles to Domokos, south fo "south of Pharsala". An informal group commanded by Brigadier Lee would form a "second rear guard". They were to provide cover to the move to the new line. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

15 April 1941

The British decided to make the withdrawal as quickly as they could, starting at 15 April 1941. The British units were well-equipped with vehicles, so they could move rather quickly. General Wilson told the ANZAC corps to keep the Greeks from traveling routes that would slow the British movement. They could see that the Germans were massing forces "on the lower ground forward of the three main passes". The Greeks were able to still hold two the three passes that were near the Grevena road. 

The Central Macedonia Army was retreating along the Grevena road. The Central Macedonia Army and the Epirus Army were still being allowed to withdraw. The German air force was attacking both the Greek and British formations, though, on the Grevena road. 

 The British were now seriously considering a withdrawal to the coast so that their troops could be picked up by ships and carried to Crete or Egypt. It was unclear just how long the British and ANZAC Corps could have held on the "Aliakmon and Venetikos" lines.

As it was, the British withdrawal started just in time to have a chance of success. The order was given at 9:30am on 15 April 1941. The responsibility for the command was given to General Blamey. That shows just how much confidence that the British had in General Blamey, thanks to how well he had done up that point.  This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Consequences of abandoning the Greek army

 By moving to the new line at Thermopylae, they would be ceding Greece to the north to the Germans. They would still hold a peninsula that was some 35 miles wide. This was between Lamia and Athens. They would lack the ability to cooperate with the main Greek army. The Germans would have the ability to base their fighter aircraft within range of Athens. 

Of course, the British were well-equipped with vehicles, unlike the Greeks. The Greeks would be forced to march for weeks to move so far. 

General Wilson ordered the British to move against the Greeks to keep them from getting in the way of British movement. He was ordering the Anzac Corps to keep the Greeks out of the way. 

When the order was given, the Anzac Corps was not in combat with the Germans. German aircraft were now attacking Greek and British forces along the Grevena road. 

The situation was strange, in that there were secret plans by the British to withdraw from Greece. Wilson's orders were given early on 15 April. The British could not afford to wait to begin withdrawing. 

Demolitions by the British were planned to try and slow the German advance. The British had four forces ready to provide cover for a withdrawal. They were the 1st Armoured Brigade, Savige Force, the 6th New Zealand Brigade, and the 19th Australian Brigade. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Withdrawal to the Thermopylae line on 13 April 1941

 General Wilson decided on 13 April 1941 that the British would not rely upon the Greek army for anything. Wilson checked with General Blamey and then decided to "withdraw to the Thermopylae line". The German air power was now very much in evidence. The Germans bombed a town and that did away with the civilian government along with theh police and telegraph. The railroads were also showing the influence of German bombing. 

The British air power in Greece was now showing the effects of the German attacks. The British air force in Greece was losing its effectiveness. They faced losses in the air and on air fields.

Reports now suggested that the Greeks on the left were losing effectiveness. The British now worried that the Germans might push south along the Pindus towards Grevena and Yannina. 

The British heard that Greeks from Albania did not want to join the line being formed and instead were heading for Athens.The British were thinking of heading for Thermopylae where they could hold a position that didn't need Greek support. Thermopylae was about one hundred miles south. 

The proposed new line would include the Thermopylae, Brallos, and and Delphi passes. The plan had problems. One being that the Germans would be able to position air power within range of Athens. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The tasking for the 17th Brigade (Australian)

 The 17th Brigade was actually a collection of units and troops. One order said that they would be sitting at the junction where the Pindus and Grevena roads joined. Brigadier Savige committed to holding an area near the road junction. He would also be ready to move north to support the armored brigade. He would have four battalions and some artilley. 

They would eventually receive 7 cruiser tanks from the 3rd RTR (Robert Crisp's unit). They expected to have the 2/5th and 2/11th battalions that were expected to arrive by rail. 

They would expect to have the tanks, some medium artillery,  and some other artillery units. Savige did not finally receive the written order behind all the movements until early on 15 April. 

Savige only got the order when Lt-Col.Garrett arrived from Blamey's headquarters. Wilson got reports early in the day on 14 April. Greek divisions were said to be spotted on the left, including the Cavalry Division. 

They soon learned that the Germans had taken Kilsoura Pass. This was a threat to the Greeks, including the 9th, 10th, and 13th Divisions. These were part of the Western Macedonian Army.

Generals Wilson and Blamey agreed that the Greeks in the north seemed to be disintegrating. One interesting point was that the RAF had been tracking the Germans and hitting them hard. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The 17th (Australian) Brigade

 The 17th Brigade was given orders in writing that would be quite challenging. Brigadier Savige had arrived at General Blamey's headquarters as early as 13 April 1941. The 17th Brigade headquarters had arrived at Larisa on 11 April. We know already that when Savige arrived at Blamey's headquarters, General Wilson was there. He apparently ordered Savige to do some reconnaissance work. He was supposed to take the road from Larisa to Kalabuka. It would be to take the road that lead to the rear of the Epirus Army. He was also to check the Kalabuka-Grevena road. This happened to be the road that the 1st Armoured Brigade was taking while withdrawing. That was also true for the Western Macedonian Army. 

Brigadier Savige set off with his liaison officer. The drove from Larisa to Kalabuka and never saw any Greek troops. From there, they drove to Pindus to a point that was said to be above the snow line. It was said that from there, they could see the Adriatic. By the time they had driven back to Kalabuka, the town was filled with Greek troops. 

By 14 April, General Blamey had asked Brigadier Savige to return to his headquarters. He found Brigadier Galloway there doing Wilson's work by wanting the 17th Brigade to go to Kalabuka. While talking, word arrived that the Germans had broken the line on the left side. Blamey accordingly sent the 17th Brigade to hold a line that included Kalabuka. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The British misperception of the Greeks

 It seems that the British problem originated with General Wilson, Churchill's buddy. Wilson commanded in Greece because he was Churchill's friend, or at least seemed like one. The Greeks gave the impression of being second-class soldiers. They were inherently disorganized, or at least gave that impression to Wilson. The Greeks walked along the sides of roads in small groups. They wore uniforms that were rather "dingy" as the British said. 

The Greeks were not equipped with nice vehicles, but rather used whatever they could find, such as donkeys and farm carts. What vehicles they had were rather unimpressive. 

Wilson was now concerned that the Germans might move quickly south "along the Gravenna road" and "reach Larisa" a "bottleneck" and cut the British off from Athens. Wilson reacted by ordering the newly arrived 17th Brigade to try and protect this area, so that the British were not cut off from Athens. 

Interestingly enough, Brigadier Savige, who commanded the 17th Brigade, reached General Blamey's headquarters. Savige was hoping to receive some orders from Blamey. Savige had a headquarters, as well, and had reached Larisa by 11 April. He had his three battalions along with the extra battalion, the 2/11th, which was still located in Athens. 

It happened that when Savige had arrived at Blamey's headquarters, he ran into Wilson there. Savige was told to do some reconnaissance the road that went from Larisa to Kalabaka. There was a road that went towards that Greek Epirus Army.  This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

What would disturb General Wilson 13 April 1941?

 So what would cause General Wilson to be worried on 13 April 1941? There was a road at Grevena that Wilson wanted to be able to use for the 1st Armoured Brigade to withdraw. Word was, however, that the road was jammed with slow-moving Greek troops. They were described as "plodding south". What they thought that they had heard was that the 12th and 20th Greek divisions "had disintegrated" while trying to move to the Siatista and Klisoura passes. They had heard, though, that the Greek Cavalry Division was "well-established in the Pisoderion pass" in the north. 

General Wilson complained that the "Greek Central Macedonian Army" had failed in the process of executing the withdrawal. He also complained that the Greek 12th and 20th Divisions had never been able regain control over their men after they left the "Vermion positions". The disorganized divisions were now simply intent on reaching Athens.

The Australian historian commented that he expected that the Greek divisions were not really disorganized and that was simply a mistaken impression by the British based on the poor equipment and their appearance on the road. The historian also thought that what they were concerned about were service troops walking alongside the roads and not actually combat units.  This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.