Monday, October 21, 2013

On the left end of the position at Retimo air field on 22 May 1941

Sandover's battalion, the 2/11th, benefited a number of times from Sandover's ability to read and speak German. On 22 May 1941, Captain Honner was able to call in German bombers to hit the village of Perivolia that was occupied by German paratroops. During the precious night, the Germans that had been in the rear of the battalion withdrew. In the afternoon, Captain Honner's company was able to advance and capture some of the houses that had been held by Germans. The company stopped at the point where the land slowed down and would have exposed the men to German fire. Perivolia was a strong position due to the many stone buildings, including the church and walled yard for the Church of St. George. Captain Jackson's company of the 2/11th was to advance in support of Honner's company. Honner was concerned that they might accidentally encounter Greek forces again in the night. He decided that the two companies would stand where they were and dig in. During the night, they heard gunfire and other noise from near Perivolia. The Greeks had apparently attacked, taken some prisoners, and then had withdrawn. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Australian Official History.

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