Tuesday, February 07, 2023

New Zealanders fighting

 The 18th Battalion was very hard-pressed. The company on the right was over-powered. The centr company was taking fire from all sides. The battalion commander was carrying his rifle with the bayonette fixed. He yelled "no surrender". With men from his headquarters, he tried to restore the line, but the Germans were too strong for them. 

Brigidier Inglis tried to help by sending two 20th Battalion companies. Howard Kippenberger commanded soldiers in the "forward area". He ordered them to head to the ridge held by the composite battalion. The composite battalion was just about destroyed, but the new men succeeded in stopping the enemy forward movement. 2nd Lt. Upham showed great courage. The Germans were now pushing forward along the Prison-Galatas Road. Kippenberger later wrote that the situation seemed critical. There were now men retreating past Kippenberger. Kippenberger sent his brigade major to tell Inglis that he needed help. Wounded were transported by truck to the Advanced Dressing Station. The situation deteriorated further when men abandoned the Wheat Hill without orders.

This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

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