Monday, May 13, 2013

The 2/7th Battalion on 21 and 22 May 1941 on Crete

The 2/7th Battalion commander was Lt-Colonel Walker. Early on 21 May 1941, his commander, Brigadier Vasey informed Lt-Colonel Walker that they were not to do the planned attack to clear the road to Maleme. Brigaider Vasey thought that they would be part of a counter-attack at Maleme, instead. Brigadier Vasey and Lt-Colonel Walker, with his Intelligence Officer, attended a New Zealand meeting where they heard what the actual plan was for the evening. The 2/7th was expected to move 18 miles in the night to relieve another battalion and they would be out of communication during the trip. The 2/7th Battalion did not have their own vehicles, so they would be carried in someone else's transport. The New Zealand Brigadier Inglis and Lt-Colonel Walker drove forward to see the position into which the 2/7th would be moving. When Walker expressed his doubts about the plan, Brigidier Inglis informed him that a "well-trained" battalion could carry out the operation in an hour. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Australian Official History.

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