In more action on 9 April 1941, British armored cars drove north. When they were about five miles north of Monastir, they saw German armored forces gathering on the north side of the River Crna. The bridge had been blown recently. When the Germans had not advanced to Monastir by 4:50pm, it was obvious that there was no way for the German armor to advance to Monastir quickly. That was a sign that Mackay's group was safe for the moment. 

Mackay and his senior staff officer met with the Greek general Karassos. They met for some three hours, but General Mackay thought that they had not accomplished much. They agreed to increase British anti-tank guns in support of the Greeks. It was later on 9 April that the 1st Armoured Brigade as well as two battalions of the 19th Australian Brigade had arrived and moved into position. The Dodecanese regiment was to their right. The Australian 2/8th  Battalion was in position to the left. The 1/Rangers were sitting, blocking the road. The Australian 2/4th Battalion was "on the hills to the west". The battalions had driven all night to get into position. The roads were described as being "greasy". Once they arrived, the infantry were "forced to make long marches to get into position". The men were out in the snow with no protection from the elements. During the morning of 10 April, the men had to move again to be in position at Vevi. 

At Vevi, the terrain changes. The Monastir valley narrows at Vevi. West of Vevi, there are steep hills some 3,000 feet high. To the east are two lakes that block an advance "over the foothills". The pass at Vevi varied in width between "100 and 500 yards". The path is demarked by "steep, rocky hills". It was potentially a strong defensive position. The problem was that on the sides, you would have to stretch out platoons with a lot of space in between. There would be gaps that would have to be patrolled. There were not tracks to follow, so that they men were forced to carry equipment and weapons. There was no way to move men quickly from one part of the front to another. The center was where the artillery was sited and it helped to counteract the lack of infantry. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.