General Blamey gets involved in Greece

 <p>The Greek commander wanted to defend a line that would protect Salonika. On the British side, General Wilson did not want to defend that line. He did send his armored brigade forward "between the Axios and the Aliakmon line". He ordered the New Zealand Division to "take over the coastal sector to allow the Greek 19th Division to move forward". Losing the Greek 19th Division made the New Zealand Division defense more difficult. The New Zealand Division now had to defend. "some 25,000 yards".</p>

<p>General Blamey only arrived in Greece on 19 March. He did have staff in Greece since 7 March. They were concerned about trying to hold "open country" instead of the mountain passes. General Blamey recognized the danger of a German advance through Yugoslavia into the Allied rear. The Australians thought that the Greek officers had little confidence and were not knowledgable about the issues. The Australians thought that the Greeks would make a good fight of it, but were hampered by lack of transport. The Australians also thought that they would have to support the Greeks with artillery, since the Greeks were ill-equipped with artillery.</p>

<p>General Blamey visited General Freyberg on 23 March. Blamey told Freyberg that the Australians were going to try to hold 25,000 yards with two brigades, "one field artillery regiment and no anti-tank guns." This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>