Dominion Troops Found Crete Like Homeland

Northern Advocate, 27 May 1941, Page 5

Dominion Troops Found Crete Like Homeland

(N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) CAIRO, May 26. Crete is a country where the war nrmst be fought according to guerilla tactics, where the rifle and machinegun will be used more than the heavy guns of the Greek campaign, where riflemen come into their own in a type of warfare that will be entirely different from the rearguard action fought against the mechanised German advance in Greece.

These impressions are gained by New Zealand soldiers seasoned under fire in Greece, who have been in Crete and who are now in base camp hospitals in Egypt. Very like New Zealand in many respects, is the description these men give of the island, where the German parachute tactics are receiving a thorough testing against British, Australian, New Zealand and Greek troops, who meet every move they make. Peasants’ Warm Welcome

Crete is a very hilly country, wooded in parts, but devoted mainly to vineyards and fruit orchards. There is quite a large peasant population, and several substantial villages. The New Zealanders found the people of Crete very much like those of Greece, and without exception they voice appreciation of the kindness of the peasants’ welcome which has been given to all Imperial soldiers. Although many peasants are very poor, there was little they did not do to show their friendship and trust towards the men who are defending their island while it is daily—almost continuously—a target for Nazi air raiders, and while the Hun is doing his utmost to gain a fooling with parachutists. A soldier who is convalescing in a New Zealand hospital in Egypt spent a week 1 in hospital in Crete after being slightly wounded in Greece. His first hospital was at Athens and later he was taken to one of the embarkation beaches, where about 2000 walking wounded sheltered under the trees near the beach for three days before they were taken off. Nazi reconnaissance planes were overhead frequently, and the soldiers considered it a miracle they were not spotted and machine-gunned.

Hottest Few Hours They embarked in a British merchantman and were subjected to enemy bombing all the way to Crete. The trip was described as the hottest few hours the soldiers have ever spent. There were six separate raids in four hours.

No direct hits were scored, although many bombs landed very close to the ship and several soldiers were hit with shrapnel. The ship was machinegunned. but the soldier said he did not think anyone had been hit. ‘They even had another pop at us as we were entering the harbour at Crete,” he added. While he was in hospital in Crete he was close to the Malemi Aerodrome, which the Germans later held as their first base in the parachute troop operations. Bombers Every Day During the week he spent there he saw Nazi bombers come over every day. In one day he saw five enemy planes brought down by ground fire, and on other occasions he saw Royal Air Force fighters despatch several enemy machines, sending them down into the sea. The Royal Air Force was very active during this period and the highest praise was expressed for the men who manned the anti-aircraft guns. They stuck to their posts and kept hammering at the enemy planes despite heavy bombing and machinegunning. The hospital was close' to the beach and troops innured to air raids enjoyed swimming in the waters of the Mediterranean. The people were very kind to the soldiers, giving them fruit and doing their washing for them.

Over Yugoslav Border There is another young New Zealand soldier in the same hospital in Egypt who has been over the Yugoslav border and who, in one of the first armoured cars to contact thp Germans, had a narrow escape. He talked but little of being orte of the first New Zealanders to meet the Hun on land in a divisional cavalry unit. He was with a patty who were covering engineers during operations when, without warning, German tanks and armoured cars and infantry appeared round a bend

“Things were pretty solid for a while,” the soldier said, “but we drove him back.” On this occasion the soldier, after being in the fight all the way through Greece, spent some time in Crete, whichvhe described as reminding him of parts of New Zealand. While he was there the Germans had not made any attempt to land parachute troops, although their planes were over with loads of bombs evet-y day. __