REARGUARD ACTION

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 139, 14 May 1941, Page 9

REARGUARD ACTION

NEW ZEALANDERS’ FEAT.

COUNTERING NAZI DASH

(From the OlLiciul War Correspondent

with the N.Z.E.E.) GAIKO, May 9. April BO. —In a dramatic night dash between a largo ioriiiation or parachute troops and the advance- guard of the main enemy drive a veteran New Zealand infantry brigade, forming tlie bulk of a composite Anzae group, evacuated the lust British stronghold, on the road to Athens, after filling brilliantly another difficult rearguard role. It successfully covered the withdrawal of the remaining Anzae formations and the New Zealand force as a whole, and to-day it stands remarkably intact despite all the' wiles and the violence used by the enemy on land and in the air in an attempt to make a shambles of the retirement.

W ith tile southern exit menaced by parachute troops, who landed in numbers probably exceeding 1000 on a bottleneck near the Corinth Canal, and with armoured mechanised forces closing upon Athens, this New Zealand lormatiou turned to the sea ior escape. While the Wellington and South Island troops engaged the parachutists in fierce guerrilla clashes along the Athens-Coriiith road, we '-pod down from mountain positions south of Thebes and through Athens to the coayt a few hours ahead of the German tVmk columns.

There, after the artillery had Hung disturbing parting, shots at the enemy, the Koval Navy took ns into its magical care and whisked us without mishap to a safer haven still on Greek soil. The rest of thq New Zealand and other British forces were meanwhile well clear of the rapidly forming cordon round Athens, for we who squeezed through the sole remaining loophole were the last to face and delay the German drive. STKUCIv BACK HAKI).

The most recent of my dispatches likely to Jiavu reached New Zealand have told of the withdrawal from the Olympus Passes behind magnificent delayed actions fought by the _ Ajizaes under ceaseless air attacks. That unforgettable move took us through Larissa and Lamia to the histone Thermopylae Puss, which is a narrow coastal strip between the cliffs and the waters of Maliakos Gulf. There the Anzacs turned again to hold the enemy while the withdrawal continued in the rear, and on the eve of the twenty-seventh Anzae Day the New Zealanders once more struck back hard at the Germans in highly successful delaying action. The encounter was particularly noteworthy tor the brilliant artillery work, since 24 tanks were blasted out of action 'by our gunners.

Using dive-bombers as artillery weapons, the Germans made a violent attempt early in the afternoon to break the defensive line established by a comparatively small composite force. An air attack was followed almost immediately by a tank advance which was quickly driven back. Toward dusk the enemy repeated the formula exactly, except that it pushed the tanks forward in a more determined fashion. They' ran into terrilic artillery fire, and the accurate | ranging of our guns wrought havoc among them. The fina 1 phase of the battle was the advance of motorised troops, who were littering into our infantry positions, and they were repulsed with considerable casualties. The end of the engagement almost coincided with the previously iixed time for the evacuation of these positions, and as J watched the troops go by after the battle one called out cheerily: ‘‘Sorry il late, but had a little business to clean up lirst.” Meantime tins New Zealand brigade, supported by Australian gunners, 101 l back under cover of night to the Thebes area straddling the road through the mountain pass only BO miles irom Athens, ready to prevent the Germans overtaking the tail of the withdrawing British forces. The delicate nature of the task cannot he overstated, ior not only was the loree required to hold last for .’SG hours alter the last troops had passed through it, but it also had then to retire itself, providing its own cover for this oj>eration. Most of those ;)(i hours were spent in the most extraordinary eat-anti-mouse game ever played. Our force was the mouse, but figuratively speaking it had the cat on the end of the string. So skilfully were positions concealed and so carefully movements shielded that the size and location oi the force remained a complete puzzle to the Germans. We spent Anzae Day lying low. while reconnaissance planes, | bombers, and lighters skimmed oOft above the road hedge and hopped over the hills in vain efforts to nose out our positions or draw betraying fire. However sorely tempted, our men answered tli'jir inquisitiveness and erratic machine-gunning only with stolid, mystifying silence. SURPRISE FOR ENEMY.

Next morning reports of an enemy land movement ahead of our lino tum-

bled in one after another. A motor patrol nosing cautiously forward was followed by the appearance of 40 mixed vehicles and the crack of field guns broke our silence as the Australians blew seven from the road and sent the remainder scuttling back out of range. The setback surprised the enemy into Jresh but still unsuccessful air activity, and the gunners added a tank to the • score and the machine-gunners drove oil' two infantry patrols before the day was out. With our guns booming across the pass till a late hour we left the enemy halted and guessing while our vehicles streamed back over the hills and through the heart of darkened and silent Athens, whose streets were to sec the field grey German uniforms a few hours later. With their backs to the sea the New Zealanders once more laced the enemy when daylight brought intense strafing and bombing attacks and 100 armoured vehicles were sighted massing in a village a few miles inland. Their readiness to meet this double menace was expressed by shooting down one plane and scattering tanks with artillery fire. The day wore on as one of the tensest we had known. Every man was stripped of his personal equipment to the barest essentials, tearing up blankets and surplus clothing while demolition parties smashed vehicles and heavy stores beyond recovery. Darkness fell with victory lor us in this thrilling race against time. Scows and launches ferried us alongside swift warships now. The tension snapped as we clambered aboard. In the firm grip of hands that helped us over the rail and in friendly English voices directing us below to hot tea and places to sleep we knew the enemy had l>een cheated of a last real chance to block our wav to escape.