In more action on 9 April 1941, British armored cars drove north. When they were about five miles north of Monastir, they saw German armored forces gathering on the north side of the River Crna. The bridge had been blown recently. When the Germans had not advanced to Monastir by 4:50pm, it was obvious that there was no way for the German armor to advance to Monastir quickly. That was a sign that Mackay's group was safe for the moment. 

Mackay and his senior staff officer met with the Greek general Karassos. They met for some three hours, but General Mackay thought that they had not accomplished much. They agreed to increase British anti-tank guns in support of the Greeks. It was later on 9 April that the 1st Armoured Brigade as well as two battalions of the 19th Australian Brigade had arrived and moved into position. The Dodecanese regiment was to their right. The Australian 2/8th  Battalion was in position to the left. The 1/Rangers were sitting, blocking the road. The Australian 2/4th Battalion was "on the hills to the west". The battalions had driven all night to get into position. The roads were described as being "greasy". Once they arrived, the infantry were "forced to make long marches to get into position". The men were out in the snow with no protection from the elements. During the morning of 10 April, the men had to move again to be in position at Vevi. 

At Vevi, the terrain changes. The Monastir valley narrows at Vevi. West of Vevi, there are steep hills some 3,000 feet high. To the east are two lakes that block an advance "over the foothills". The pass at Vevi varied in width between "100 and 500 yards". The path is demarked by "steep, rocky hills". It was potentially a strong defensive position. The problem was that on the sides, you would have to stretch out platoons with a lot of space in between. There would be gaps that would have to be patrolled. There were not tracks to follow, so that they men were forced to carry equipment and weapons. There was no way to move men quickly from one part of the front to another. The center was where the artillery was sited and it helped to counteract the lack of infantry. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The British in Greece on 9 April 1941

 General Wilson decided on the morning of 9 April 1941 to order a withdrawal to the defensive line at the Aliakmon River. When Wilson returned to his headquarters, he learned from Brigadier Galloway that General Papagos had approved the planned withdrawal. General Papagos then issued orders to the Greeks to withdraw from Albania and Central Macedonia. General Papagos wanted to meet with General Wilson on 11 April. The Greeks would remove all the supplies from Koritza. He hoped that the Greek withdrawal could be hidden behind a British defense at Kleidi. Two passes would be held by Greek divisions, while the Greek cavalry division would hold the Pisoderion pass. 

General Wilson referred to a "rear defensive line". This included the Olympus "defiles via Servia to the escarpment". They needed to hold "Vevi" to give the Greeks time to move their divisions. There would be three parts to the Aliakmon line. General Blamey would command the right part. His forces included "the New Zealand Division, the 16th Australian Brigade and part of the 12th Greek Division". General Mackay's force was the north part of the line. He now had the entire 1st Armoured Brigade under his command". Blamey now was responsible for holding in the Veria area until the 20th Greek Division and Mackay's force had arrived. Wilson ordered that the Greek divisions would surrender their vehicles and would be dependent on pack animals. He ordered the British forces to help supply the Greek needs. 

It was during 9 April that the New Zealand Division began to shift its forces. The 21st Battalion now was located at the Platamon tunnel "in a narrow pass between Olympus and the sea". The 6th Brigade received orders to "withdraw into reserve". The New Zealand Division headquarters would move to Dolikhe. The 4th New Zealand Brigade arrived at Servia late on 9 April. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Sorting out the British command structure in April 1941 in Greece

 <p>General Mackay had heard that the 1st Armoured Brigade was to move to Amindaion "before dawn". General Mackay might well have expected that the 1st Armoured Brigade would fall under his command. The General put Brigadier Vasey in charge of defending the Gap. He would get the 1/Rangers, 2/1st Australian Anti-Tank Regiment, and the New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion. The rest of the 1st Armoured Brigade would be held in reserve. He had a brigadier, Brigadier Herring, who was in charge of all artillery, several field regiments and the medium regiment. General Mackay's force was short of infantry, but strong in artillery, where the Germans might well be short. Mackay had a problem, that he and his staff lacked an interpreter. When I spoke with the Greek commander of the 12th Greek Division, they were forced to communicate in French, which did not go particularly well. 

The situation got worse on 9 April when  the Greek army in eastern Macedonia surrendered. The campaign in Eastern Macedonia only lasted for four days. The Germans had moved through Yugoslavia and went around a strong line. The Greek commander lacked the strength to act against the armored force that "outflanked his organization". By the Greeks trying to hold Salonika, they paid by losing four of six divisions.

General Wilson ordered a withdrawal to the Aliakmon line. This happened on 9 April. Wilson met on 10 April with General Mackay and the Greek commander of the Central Macedonian Army. They heard that the Greek General Papagos had approved the withdrawal. A famous man, Brigadier Galloway, was a member of Wilson's staff. General Papagos wanted to meet with General Wilson at Pharsala on 11 April. They learned that General Papagos had ordered a withdrawal by stages. There was apparently a third line of defense. They were apparently going to give up territory in Albania and Macedonia. "In an instruction from 9 April", General Wilson had "defined a rear defensive line". They would "offer a protracted defense". This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.

The command situation in Greece in April 1941

 The British command organization in Greece had become rather problematic. The Australian general Blamey was now a corps commander with his headquarters at Gerania. He commanded the New Zealand Division, the Australian division, and the 12th Greek Division. The Central Macedonian Army had a Greek commander. General Mackay now reported directly to General Wilson. Wilson had an advanced headquarters near  Blamey's. Wilson also had a rear headquarters in Athens. The independent British air commander had a headquarters in Athens, as well. Athens also had a British independent naval staff. For some reason, there was also a British Military Mission in Athens. 

Your ordinary British army officer generally thought that Wilson should have been "supreme commander of British forces in Greece". Apparently, they thought that the air officer should have been Wilson's deputy. They also thought that Wilson should have stayed in Athens for easy communication with the British ambassador and the commanders of the various organizations. There should not have been any British Military Mission and "the Military Attache should have been part of Wilson's staff". You would then have Blamey's corps headquarters command "all British and Greek troops in the Aliakmon position". The British had "public school knowledge of French". That and an interpreter should have been adequate for communications with the Greeks. The Australian General Mackay arrived at Sotir, at Lee's headquarters, shortly before midnight on 8 April. He was to command the Vevi Gap position, which conveniently enough had no infantry in place. The Australian brigadier Vasey, who commanded the 19th Brigade, but his battalions were absent. One was moving forward still, and another was near Veria. The third had not arrived in Greece, yet. All that Lee had under his "command were the 64th Medium Regiment, the 2/1st Australian Anti-Tank Regiment", and "the New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion". It seemed possible that Lee might add the 1st Armoured Brigade to his group of units. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Response to the German advance into Greece and Yugoslavia

 8 April 1941 saw the Greek army in Albania resume an attack. The Yugoslav army also attacked, but without much success. The Greek commander ordered the attack to stop, because of the concern about what was happening in southern Yugoslavia. General Papagos was concerned that a German advance into the Monastir Gap would pose a threat to the rear of the Greek "Western Macedonian Army" in Albania. It might even threaten General Wilson's army in the rear. General Papagos ordered the troops in the mountains "north of the Edessa Pass" to move to Lake Vegorritis. That would put them close to the British. The left of the British army could be linked to the right side of the Western Macedonian Army. The Greek Cavalry Division would be the link. The Greek Commander was trying to send orders to the British commanded by General Wilson, but Wilson "made his own plans and issued his own orders".

As early as 11am on 8 April, Wilson held a meeting at Blamey's headquarters. He planned to assemble a force to try and stop the German "blitz" "down the Florina Gap". The Australian General Mackay would command the new force. He would be "directly under Wilson's command". At the beginning, he would have the Australian 19th Brigade (of two battalions), the 2/3rd Field Regiment, a detachment that included the 3rd RTR, 27th New Zealand MG Battalion, the 2nd RHA, the 64th Medium Regiment, and the 2/1st Australian Anti-Tank Regiment. The Australian historian thought it was inadequate force to try and stop the main German attack.

In this meeting, they decided that the 6th Australian Division needed to not to replace the 12th Greek Division at Veria. They would treat the Olympus-Vermion-Amindaion as simply a rear-guard position. Blamey would command the New Zealand Division, the 16th Australian Brigade, and the 12th Greek Division. They would go ahead and send the 4th New Zealand Brigade "to the Servia Pass". The New Zealand Division would keep their strength south of Katerini. They 6th New Zealand Brigade would "withdraw through the 5th New Zealand Brigade in the Olympus Pass". This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.

From 8 April 1941 in Greece

 <p>There was a mix of rain and snow on 8 April 1941. That meant that there was very little British air reconnaissance. Still, in the Greek and British headquarters, news came in  about the German advance into Yugoslavia. A British patrol that had moved north from Monastir reported back that the "southern Yugoslav army had collapsed". The report was that "both Veles and Skoplje had surrendered". The story was that three Yugoslav divisions had surrendered. They said that "fugitive yugoslav staff officers were collecting at Florina". The patrol brought back three Yugoslav tanks and four anti-aircraft guns. German armor was pushing through the Doiran Gap, pushing back  the 19th Division and were nearing Kilkis. The Greek commander asked that the 1st Armoured Brigade help in the Doiran Gap. The historian notes that it was too late for such actions. When the 4th Hussars saw German tanks, that triggered pre-planned demolitions. They included the rail bridge, a road bridge over a river, they pulled back to Kozani. Men from the Canadian Kent Corps Troops destroyed the oil stored at Salonika. This was included in the secret plan that was followed. After the 4th Hussars pulled out, the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry blew up the bridges over the Aliakmon river. The 6th New Zealand Brigade blew up the bridges in its area.

The Eastern Macedonian Army was still holding "from the Struma eastward". There was this German column that was moving south in the Axios valley. They reached Kilkis during the night of 8 April. The 19th Greek Division (very weak) was pushed away so that there was nothing between the Germans and Salonika. During the night of 8 April, the Greek commander of the Eastern Macedonian Army sent an envoy to the Germans and proposed an armistice. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.

Disturbing information on 7 April 1941

 <p>At Greek Army Headquarters, they heard that German forces in Yugoslavia were driving south in the direction of the Doiran Gap. That would put the Germans on the Greek flank, heading south to Salonika. The Greek 19th Division received a small reinforcement and to cover a larger area towards Axios. The leading German units had reached Doiran "by the evening of 7 April". At that time, a Greek offensive in Albania started, but did not have much success. There had been a Yugoslav division that was supposed to have "cooperated" but didn't. The commander said that "he would be ready the next day".</p>

<p>General Wilson now had the 19th Australian Brigade under command. The plan had been to put it to the left of the 16th Brigade, but ordered the 19th Australian Brigade to Kozani, with several possible assignments. At this point, the 16th Brigade began to move into the Veria Pass. The Australians were to dig in "above the snow line". This was a bit of a change from  Cyrenaica. The brigade was on a peak, some three thousand feet above sea level. There were other mountain peaks in sight above their position.The Australians on the heights had to borrow donkeys from the Greeks to carry their possessions up the slopes. From 8 April and beyond, the Australians saw falling snow. Sometimes in the morning, the men saw fog that didn't clear until after ten am. The Australians could see in the distance battles being fought "in the mountains of Yugoslavia". The Australians only had a few tents and they lacked interpreters to help them communicate with their allies. The Australians were surprised at the Greek equipment and how primitive it was. One Greek company only had one automatic weapon, but did have piles of stones to push down on the Germans. The rain and snow on 8 April pretty much made air reconnaissance impossible. Wilson's army had just a small amount of information about events happening. They heard that "the southern Yugoslav army had collapsed". Canadian commandos destroyed oil stocks at Salonika. British mobile forces blew up bridges. The 6th New Zealand Brigade also blew up bridges in their area. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

The German attack in the balkans

 <p>The German attack started on 6 April 1941, early in the morning. While the Australian general Blamey considered the situation in Greece to be critical, General Wavell was thinking about North Africa, not Greece. The German 12th Army were what moved into Greece and Yugoslavia. It was the Yugoslavian army and Greek units on the Bulgarian border that were hit by the Germans. There were two fortresses that were being held in Thrace by the Greeks, apparently for political reasons. The Eastern Macedonian army was holding the Doiran-Nestos line. The Greeks surprisingly held the forts on 6 April. 7 April still saw the forts holding out. It turned out that Nimphaea fell late on 7 April, after an attack using flame throwers. Enkhinos continued to hold. The forts protected the Nestos brigade. The 7th Greek Division was holding out on 6 April. On the 6th and 7th of April, most Greek forts held out against attack. German mountain troops would prove to be tough fighters in Greece and Crete. German mountain troops advanced north of Salonika. The Greek 19th Division was ordered to this area. By the end of the day, there was a gap between the 19th Division and the 18th. There had been an agreement between the Greeks and Yugoslavs to attack in Albania, but the Greeks were not ready. </p>

<p>When General Blamey heard of the German attack, he asked for the New Zealand Division to move to the Olympus passes. It turned out that Wilson disagreed with the plan. Wilson wanted the New Zealand division to cover Katerini. Wilson did order Freyberg to send troops to the passes, dividing his division. The German air force inflicted extensive damage at the Pireaeus. A freighter with TNT exploded and inflicted considerable damage. The port took heavy damage and was out of service for two days. During the afternoon of 7 April, they received the news of German armored forces moving south "towards the Doiran Gap". They might well move so quickly as to take Salonika.</p>

<p>The Australian 16th Brigade "was moving forward". They were described as "perched" on the mountain. On 8 April, snow fell "on the mountains" and it "rained in the valleys". The Australians had to use captured Italian telephone equipment for communications. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

The British situation in early April 1941 in Greece

 <p>An interesting situation involved General Wilson's communications. General Wilson mainted a headquarters in Athens and another in "a village in Thessaly". That complicated his communications, although he had "an independent signal squadron equipped with the best available equipment". They had a station located "with the Greek command in Salonika". They had another station with the Greek general Kotulas's headquarters. They had another one ready to "join the Yugoslav army".</p>

<p>5 April saw just two brigades, the New Zealand 4th and 6th Brigades, in a line near "the northern foothills of Olympus". The third brigade, the 5th, was sitting "stride the Olympus pass". They were holding a 15,000 yard front at an elevation of three thousand feet. On their left was the 16th Australian Brigade. The Australians had been in the Servia Pass for 11 days. The plan for for the Australians to move forward the next day. They were to occupy the Veria Pass. The allied staff expected that the Germans would be able to attack with 23 to 25 divisions.</p>

<p>One surprise showed that the 7th Australian Division would not be going to Greece. In the March to April timeframe, the Germans took El Agheila and then Agedabia. General Wavell had ordered the 18th Australian Brigade to Tobruk. That left the 2nd Armoured Division remnants and the 9th Australian Division moving eastward under pressure. The Australian General Blamey sent a message complaining to General Wavell, saying that Libya was not important, but the situation in Greece would be in trouble if the force were not built up sufficiently. General Wavell thought that the 7th Australian Division had to stay in Libya. At the point where Blamey learned that the 7th Australian Division would stay in Libya, he learned that the German attack into Greece and Yugoslavia had started. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

The Australians move into Greece in early April 1941

 <p>General Mackay was the 6th Australian Division commander. The Australian 16th Brigade was the only Australian unit that was forward. The 19th Brigade had two battalions in the process of moving forward. The third brigade, the 17th, was still in Alexandria, not having sailed yet. The British had the problem that there was not much shipping available. That slowed the 6th Australian Division move to Greece. The lack of shipping meant that the British had to resort to using cruisers to transport Australian troops. One convoy was delayed by storms. The next was delayed by the Battle of Cape Matapan.</p>

<p>The individual Australian units were well-equipped, but Wilson's army was short of armor and aircraft. The British had some eighty aircraft in Greece, but they were expected to face some 800 German aircraft at the invasion. The Italians had some three hundred aircraft either operating over Albania, or else based there. The British had one "army cooperation squadron, having but one Hurricane fighter and the rest were Lysanders. They were not suitable for employment in the face of strong enemy air power.</p>

<p>The British would probably have to defend 100 miles and only had one medium regiment to support that defense. The Australians lacked their cavalry regiment and other "technical units". This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

General Wilson's plans that differed from what Generals Blamey and Freyberg wanted

 <p>Apparently on 5 April 1941, General Blamey had "opened his headquarters at Gerania, a poky village just off the main road on high ground south of the Servia pass." Two Greek divisions were deployed "in the Vermion mountains north of Veria".</p>

<p>General Wilson had his own plans for how his army should be postioned. He called his army "W Group". He wanted to have the New Zealand Division north-east of Servia. A Greek regiment would be located in the Pieria mountains. An Australian brigade would be hold the Veria pass. The other Australian brigades would be at Kozani and Servia. The 16th Australian Brigade was where Wilson wanted it to be. The New Zealand brigades were all located "forward". The 6th New Zealand Brigade had taken over from the "little 19th Greek division". The 4th New Zealand Brigade was on the left, and "the 5th went into reserve at the Olympus Pass." The road went through the pass and "joined the main road near Elasson. The New Zealand cavalry was sitting on the the "line of the Aliakmon river". </p>

<p>The Greek General Kotulas told General Wilson that he would like to see the Australians take over the Veria Pass, so that the Greek 12th Division could sit on the left of the Australians. The Greeks would be in very rough country that would need pack animals to supply. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

Plans in Greece

 General Wilson wanted General Blamey to establish his headquarters at Gerania and take command of the New Zealand Division plus other troops at the Veria Pass. They got a surprise after this meeting, because Wilson's chief of staff informed Blamey and Freyberg that Freyberg could "be sure of the passes on either side of Mount Olympus", but that General Wilson didn't believe that the New Zealand division would be attacked while the forces in the north would be. It almost seems like Galloway had gotten involved in the process. Freyberg was expecting an order to pull back to the passes. That deviation pretty much blew apart what Blamey and Freyberg had planned. Issues that only Wilson knew about, involving the Greek army and Yugoslavia are thought to have been involved with what Wilson had done, circumventing Blamey and Freyberg. They might have to advance to support Yugoslavia. There was also the concern about the railroads needed to carry supplies for the Greek army.</p>

<p>Wilson and Galloway were thinking about what they might want to do if the Gemans cut through "southern Yugoslavia" and turn the Monastir Gap, catching the Greek and British in the rear. The 1st Armoured Brigade had been told look for a way to "withdraw through the Edessa Pass into the Florina Valley". The 3rd RTR (Robert Crisp's unit) "should remain at Amindaion in the lake area." "At the end of March there other units there. By 5 April General Wilson "took command of Allied forces in Central Macedonia". General Blamey took command of  "British troops from the sea to the Veria Pass". This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

More about General Blamey in Greece

 While General Blamey did not arrive in Greece until 19 March, at least some of his staff had been in Greece since 7 March. His senior officer was impressed that trying to hold onto the open country was a bad idea. He thought that they should concentrate on defending the mountain passes. General Blamey decided to go look the land himself. On 22 March, Blamey and his "chief staff officer" drove north. They visited the Greek corps commander and two Greek divisions, as well as the New Zealand Division. General Blamey was most concerned about the possibility of the Germans driving "across the rear of the defenders position". General Blamey visited the New Zealand division. That is when Freyberg told him that his division was assigned a front that spanned 25,000 yards and he held it with but two brigades. Even when the third brigade arrived, and their anti-tank artillery, they would be hard pressed to defend their assigned front. The third brigade was also going to "go into corps reserve behind Veria pass". </p>

<p>General Freyberg told Blamey that they couldn't realistically defend his assigned front. What they should do is to pull back to the Olympus passes. When Blamey returned to Athens, he met with General Wilson, who agreed that the New Zealand Division should be employed "digging and wiring defenses in the Olympus passes. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

General Blamey gets involved in Greece

 <p>The Greek commander wanted to defend a line that would protect Salonika. On the British side, General Wilson did not want to defend that line. He did send his armored brigade forward "between the Axios and the Aliakmon line". He ordered the New Zealand Division to "take over the coastal sector to allow the Greek 19th Division to move forward". Losing the Greek 19th Division made the New Zealand Division defense more difficult. The New Zealand Division now had to defend. "some 25,000 yards".</p>

<p>General Blamey only arrived in Greece on 19 March. He did have staff in Greece since 7 March. They were concerned about trying to hold "open country" instead of the mountain passes. General Blamey recognized the danger of a German advance through Yugoslavia into the Allied rear. The Australians thought that the Greek officers had little confidence and were not knowledgable about the issues. The Australians thought that the Greeks would make a good fight of it, but were hampered by lack of transport. The Australians also thought that they would have to support the Greeks with artillery, since the Greeks were ill-equipped with artillery.</p>

<p>General Blamey visited General Freyberg on 23 March. Blamey told Freyberg that the Australians were going to try to hold 25,000 yards with two brigades, "one field artillery regiment and no anti-tank guns." This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

The move into position in Greece

 <p>From March to April 1941, the New Zealand and Australian soldiers were moved into position. By 27 March, the 16th Australian Brigade Group was on the grass at the Servia Pass, with Mount Olympus to the east. The Greek people were probably impressed that a larger army had moved into place, when in actuality, the army was not that large. The New Zealand Division was positioned "east and north of Olympus". They were almost all in place by 1 April. by 3 April, more Australian units arrived. They included "three Australian artillery regiments and two more infantry battalions". By 4 and 5 April, the British forces in Greece included the "1st Armoured Brigade, the New Zealand Division", and most of the 6th Australian Division.</p>

<p>General Wilson had his headquarters  located in the Acropolis Hotel. General Papagos informed him that three Greek divisions would be guarding the "three main passes until the British arrived." At the point where the British arrived, two Greek divisions would "sidestep to the left". The New Zealand Division and the 19th Greek Division would be on the coast. The Australian division "would guard the Veria Pass". Two Greek divisions would sit on the Vermion Ridge. General Freyberg arrived in Greece on 7 March. After visiting the Greek divisions, he "was left with mixed feelings. After seeing the Greeks, Freyberg sent two of his brigades to the left and the right. This is based on the acccount in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

The "British" soldiers moved north as they arrived in Greece

 <p>The "British soldiers" (often New Zealand and Australian) were moved north as they arrived in Greece. The majority were transported by rail, but many were also driven north in truck convoys by road. The Greek people really were happy to see the men. They were cheered and given flowers by little girls. Greeks made the thumbs-up sign to the men as they saw them. The time was "early spring", so the country was very beautiful. In the portion of Greece that was Attica, the hills were covered by pine trees. In the north, that was Thessaly, the men saw fruit trees in blossom. The men could also see the mountains with Parnassus and Olympus. The mountains were topped by snow. In some places, the men were still plowing fields and women sowed seed. They could see "old woman hoeing the fields". There were also little girls driving donkeys that "were laden with brushwood for fires". The sheep and goats were herded by small boys that had cloaks over their shoulders. The sheep and goats all had copper bells "at their necks". One writer noted that the peasants still lived as they had for the last few thousand years. The soldiers still traveled past the same villages and passes. One convoy, on its second day, stopped "by a wide shallow stream" that allowed the men to bathe. They noted that it was the first for many in weeks. The shepherds rested and watched.</p>

<p>The 16th Australian Brigade Group setup on the "grassy slopes of the Servia Pass". Mount Olympus rose up to the east. The Aliakmon River lay to the north. There were more men arriving at Piraeus "every few days". More convoys left the Piraeus to drive to the north. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

Australians arrive at the Piraeus

 <p>Australians from New South Wales were surprised by the scenary. There was "the hard light", there were "steep hills" with "grey-green trees", "and clear water". The place seemed quite like an Australian port. The Piraeus even had clear water. The Greeks were very friendly and cheered the Australians as they drove to "Daphni". The Greeks threw bouquets of flowers into the trucks that the Ausralians traveled in. The Australians were among a friendly people and a country that "was green and pleasant" as their own land  Australia.</p>

<p>The reaction of the Greeks to the arrival of Australians validates the argument for sending troops in to resist the German attack that was expected. In the desert, they hda "eyes, ears, and noses full of sand". In Greece, there was "the pure, crisp air, and the smell of flowers. The Australians enjoyed being at Daphni, with "natural gardens full of shrubs and flowers". The Australians could see familiar-looking people who "dressed as we had dressed before the war". By standing on the hillside, they could see Athens "in the valley below". Some of the men were given leave in Athens, and they learned that they found the Greeks "worth fighting for" and by their side. You did not see any Greek soldiers at the 'cabarets and bars". The men of the Greek headquarters in Athens only sampled coffee. There were "no beggars or touts" the way there were in Cairo. The men ended up being transported north in packed railway cars. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

Arriving in Greece

 <p>As we mentioned, the 1st Armoured Brigade and "half of the New Zealand Division had already arrived in Greece. The 16th Australian Brigade was the next to arrive. They arrived between 19 March and 22 March. The Australians had just been at Tobruk as the first group of men from Lustre Force had arrived at the Piraeus. The Australian 19th Brigade at this time was at Tocra. This was a location in the western part of Cyrenaica. The Australian 17th Brigade had been sitting west of Agedabia. The first move by the 16th Brigade was to travel to Mersa Matruh. It was at Mersa Matruh that they were given Thompson Submachine guns (a favorite weapon in America, both by police and gangsters. After leaving Mesa Matruh, they traveled to a favorite camp at Amiriya. They gave the men a short leave in Alexandria, which they appreciated greatly. During the night of 17 March, many men were still in Alexandria, when the word was known that were to leave on ships early in the morning. The British cruiser Gloucester carried the 2/3rd Battalion. The brigade headquarters and another two battalions were carried on merchantmen. The Gloucester travelled at high speed, leaving the merchant ships in their wake. They came to the Piraeus by 19 March. There were Italian aircraft in the Dodecanese Islands. Italian dive bombers attacked the merchant ships on 21 March. The Australians fired  on the divebombes with Bren guns and captured Italian Breda light anti-aircraft guns. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

The British move into Greece

 <p>It seems that the only port available to carry the British into Greece and to sustain them was the Piraeus port associated with Athens. The Piraeus could handle unloading some "3,000 tons of cargo" per day. That was enough to supply the size of British force that was planned. They had given up any hope of keeping "Salonika; and Volos the only other port that could have supplied the British force" was limited to ships of 6,000 tons or less. There was one other small port, Stilis. But the Greeks wanted to keep it as a place to put rolling stock withdrawn from Macedonia.</p> 

<p>General Wilson's "senior administrative officer" had traveled to Athens on 23 February 1941, He would have but one port and only limited rail service and roads. Of course, the rail lines were in use by the Greeks to supply their force in Albania. The British were unable to have any local labor, transport, or supplies. One of the first steps to take was to send what supplies were in Athens to Larisa. As soldiers arrived in Athens, they would also be sent forward to Larisa. They would attempt to create supply dumps at seven locations. They fully expected that rail traffic was vulnerable to German air attack. "By the end of the first week in April" they had succeeded in creating the supply dumps that were planned.</p>

<p>18th March 1941 saw the 1st Armoured Brigade and "about half of the New Zealand Division" arrive in Greece. Over the period of 19 to 22 March, "the 16th Australian Brigade" had been transported to Greece. Very recently, the 16h Australian Brigade had been located in Tobruk. Before traveling to Greece, the battalions of the 16th Brigade were issued Thompson submachine guns. The men of the 16th Brigade had been turned loose in Alexandria. When it was decided to ship them out immediately, they had to be rounded up, without being able to have any secrecy. This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>

The German attack in Greece

 <p>As the German attack was about to happen, General Wilson was asking his staff to look at the options for lines of withdrawal. Plans existed at this point for evacuating the British force from Greece. The Australian General Blamey expected that they would face "over-whelming German forces". Given General Blamey's lack of background, he performed better than you might have expected.</p>

<p>General Wilson was focused on Greece that lay east of the Pindus mountains and "west of Salonika". There was one railway that connected the area with Athens. On Thessaly, the line went through a pass "between Mount Olympus and the sea". It then crossed the Aliakmon river. Past the river, the line branched. One branch went to Salonika. The other branch ended up in Yugoslavia. Another line connected Salonika with Yugoslavia "through the Doiran gap". There was one main road that connected Athens with Macedonia. The road lay west of Mount Olympus then ran to Yugoslavia "through the Monastir Gap".</p>

<p>The Athens-Florina road was not good, although it was the best Greek road. The road was largely asphalt, although some was "macadam". The road often was reduced to one lane. The rail line that connected Athens to Salonika was one track of "standard gauge". A branch line to Volos "was only a meter wide" Greece had but "1, 353 .miles of rail line. They were short of "rolling stock." This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.</p>