The situation for the Australians was getting very tense. The Germans were advancing on Hill 1001. Communication was now only possible by using runners. The men from Hill 1001 were led out. They kept to the west to stay away from the Germans who were moving south near the road. Lieutenant Copland "marched his men down the hill to Xinon Neron, four miles away". Major Barham waited for New Zealand machine gunners to move out.
The Australians had not all heard to keep west of the road, so Major Barham's group encountered German motorcyclists. who they fought. Australians walked, unknowing, into a German position and were captured. There were some 70 Australians captured at this spot.
One good thing was that the Australians had held long enough. During the night, "only 250 men from the 2/8th Battalion had arrived at Rodona. Of these, "many had no weapons".
One good thing was that the artillery had been able to keep fighting until the enemy had closed. Communications had been an issue that caused trouble. The men had needed to be ordered to withdraw sooner and to stay to the west of the road.
By the time they arrived in the south, there were only some fifty men with "arms". The 2/8th Battalion had arrived in the south having lost all organization. They mentioned that the commanding officer was "completely exhausted". The Australian historian thought that the 2/8th Battalion, given their circumstances, had performed well.
The Australians had been tasked to cover the 20th and 12th Greek divisions while they withdrew. The Greeks did not recognize that in fact they had been covered by the Australians. General Mackay's force "had eld the Vevi Pass until after dark on 12 April. The Australians were supposed to hold Sotir, a rearguard position. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.
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