Honner decided that they could not afford to wait, even though he expected to lose men. Honner sent a section of nine men to a low stone wall, about 50 yards forward. The wall surrounded a well. The wall was about 25 yards from the Germans. They had a Bren gun to cover the larger attack across an open area. The section men moved along a hedge towards the wall. The leader was shot right before reaching the wall. The man with the Bren gun was also shot. When a man carrying the Bren gun was shot, another man would pick it up. The last man with the Bren gun was shot short of the wall. A strecher bearer went out and went to the first man shot. that man was dead and the stretcher bearer thought that they were all probably dead. The stretcher bearer stayed low and waited to be rescued, which was about an hour later. Honner's men then were going to try "the other side". Lt. Bayly led a group forward along a dich leading to the main ditch. Everone but Bayly in the front group was hit by fire. Capt. Gook's runner "was also hit". He told them that Roberts and his men were lying low at he end of the ditch. There were snipers in houses. It seemed to be too difficult to leave the ditch, but if they stayed there, they could wait indefinitely.
This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long
No comments:
Post a Comment