Tuesday, December 08, 2020

In the Florina Valley on 11 April 1941

 On 11 April 1941, in the Florina Valley, the weather was fine, but the weather "on the heights" was not so fine. The men "on the heights" were getting snow on them. With the mist, the men were wet and cold. The snow and mist greatly reduced visibility. The men of the 2/8th Battalion were in bad shape. They had been made to march all day and only reached their position "at dusk". The men were "asked to link up with the Rangers". That left them in "exposed positions on the forward slopes". When they had tried to dig in, they found that the ground was too rocky to dig. They "could only dig shallow trenches". soon, they heard German patrols calling, trying to get men to show themselves. Before they realized who was calling, some Australians, New Zealand machine gunners, and Rangers were captured. They had encounters with the German patrols all night and that interrupted their sleep. At dawn, there was no sign of the Germans. At 3pm, one Ranger company had been pulled back on the right of the Rangers. 

After a awhile in the morning, they saw German tanks. Another German tank was mined in front of the Rangers. British field artillery opened up on German infantry that were unloaded near Vevi. They could also see German infantry "digging in along the road to Kelli". This si based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long. 

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