Thursday, April 01, 2021

The tasking for the 17th Brigade (Australian)

 The 17th Brigade was actually a collection of units and troops. One order said that they would be sitting at the junction where the Pindus and Grevena roads joined. Brigadier Savige committed to holding an area near the road junction. He would also be ready to move north to support the armored brigade. He would have four battalions and some artilley. 

They would eventually receive 7 cruiser tanks from the 3rd RTR (Robert Crisp's unit). They expected to have the 2/5th and 2/11th battalions that were expected to arrive by rail. 

They would expect to have the tanks, some medium artillery,  and some other artillery units. Savige did not finally receive the written order behind all the movements until early on 15 April. 

Savige only got the order when Lt-Col.Garrett arrived from Blamey's headquarters. Wilson got reports early in the day on 14 April. Greek divisions were said to be spotted on the left, including the Cavalry Division. 

They soon learned that the Germans had taken Kilsoura Pass. This was a threat to the Greeks, including the 9th, 10th, and 13th Divisions. These were part of the Western Macedonian Army.

Generals Wilson and Blamey agreed that the Greeks in the north seemed to be disintegrating. One interesting point was that the RAF had been tracking the Germans and hitting them hard. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.




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