Jeffrey Plowman - Greece 1941: The Death Throes of Blitzkrieg

The Death Throes of Blitzkrieg

Jeffrey Plowman

First published in Great Britain in 2018 by

PEN & SWORD MILITARY

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Copyright Jeffrey Plowman

ISBN 9781526730251

eISBN 9781526730268

Mobi ISBN 9781526730275

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I am very grateful for the assistance I have received from the many people who have helped me during the preparation of this book, including those who have loaned me books, supplied me with photographs and made available personal stories. I am also grateful to the people who manage the Missing-Lynx website ( http://www.missing-lynx.com/ ), in particular Tom Cockle who hosts the Axis WWII forum, to the people who manage the Axis History Forum ( http://forum.axishistory.com/ ) and to all those who have contributed to discussions relevant to the Greek campaign over the years.

In New Zealand: the veterans Murray Loughnan and Harry Spence; Kate Foster and the late Jean Garner for allowing me to join their interviews with Frank White; Ian Collins, Charlie Grainger (via Phil Deed) Frank Horton and Frank Keyes for photographs; Douglas White for photographs from his father, the late Sir John Whites collection; Peter Mossong for access to his photographs; Dr Aaron Fox for critiquing the manuscript and supplying additional materials from his own researches; Tony Ormandy and Peter Scott for German unit histories; Sam Robinson for Hugh Robinsons citation for the Military Cross; Perry Rowe for our many helpful discussions on the campaign; Susan Knight for German translations; Carolyn Carr and Katrina Willougby from the New Zealand Defence Library for the loan of Australian official histories; Heather Mathie from the Alexander Turnbull for photographs; Professor Glyn Harper of Massey University for his editorial assistance. I am particularly grateful to Terry Brown for sourcing material from Archives New Zealand in Wellington, for editorial assistance twice in the early stages of the preparation of the manuscript and for other helpful discussions.

I am also grateful to the help received from sources overseas. Australia: Shane Lovell for accessing files at the Australian War Memorial; Mark McKenzie, Michael Smythe, Larry te Keoti and Doug Sawyer for photographs; the Australian War Memorial for photographs and unit diaries. Greece: Aris Kosionidis for access to his photographs and helping to identify the location of others. England: Lee Archer for photographs; Peter Brown for providing files from the National Archives in England and sourcing material from Harold Charrintons Archives; for help from the Liddell-Hart Military Archive, Kings College, London; Richard Carstens, who made available Jack Elliotts accounts of his time in Greece, through his Our War project; James Payne of the Through Their Eyes Military Photo Archives for Gunter Geukes photos; Jonathon Holt of the Tank Museum Bovington for photocopies from the history of 5. Panzer-Division. The Netherlands: Karel Magry for locating photographs in the Bundesarchiv, for information on the correct names of German units and locating information on British officers who served in Greece. Germany: Bojan Dimitrijevic from Belgrade, Serbia for the photograph from the Croatia History Museum; Heiner F. Duske for information from Karl-Heinz Gollas book; the Bundesarchiv for photographs; Henning Koehn for German translations. USA: Bob Gregory for making available photographs from his collection.

I am also grateful to my family, Yvonne, Catie and Matthew for their support.

9 April 1941 Initial moves by W Force to deal with the threat from the Monastir Gap

1014 April 1941 The retreat of the ANZAC Corps to the new Alikmon Line

1516 April 1941 The German attack falls on the Alikmon Line

17 April 1941 The start of the withdrawal of the Anzacs to the Thermopylae Line

18 April 1941 The critical day

18 April 1941 The Pineios Gorge attack

2429 April 1941 The evacuations from Greece

Italian infantry on the move into Epirus after their invasion on 28 October 1940.

A German light flak unit in Giurgui, Romania guards the pontoon bridge over the Danube.

On the evening of 10 April 14. Panzer-Division entered Zagreb to a warm welcome from its Croatian inhabitants.

New Zealand troops disembarking at Pirus..

A Fairey Fulmar aircraft flies over the British fleet in the Ionian sea off Matapan.

From left to right: General Sir Thomas Blamey, Lieutenant General Henry Maitland (Jumbo) Wilson, General Sir Bernard Freyberg VC.

The carrier platoon from 25 NZ Battalion rode on railway flat cars on their way north to Katerini.

The SS Clan Fraser , which was carrying a load of explosives, is hit by a bomb, only to blow up later that night.

Locals look on as a PzKpfw III Ausf H passes the Hamza Bey mosque.

German troops inspect some Universal Carrier Mk Is and a Light Tank IIIB Dutchman from 19 Greek Motorised Division at Stavros.

Greek civilians working on an anti-tank ditch along the Alikmon Line.

German infantry on the move through a mountain pass in Greece.

Troops from 2/2 Australian Battalion crossing the Alikmon River by ferry on 13 April after pulling out of the Veria Pass.

On 13 April the Australians in Servia found themselves having to contend with an endless procession of Greek soldiers and their carts carrying their equipment, which added greatly to the road congestion.

A German supply column crosses the Alikmon River north-east of Lipsista over a bridge repaired by engineers from Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.

B Squadron, 3 Royal Tanks were forced to abandon this and another tank in Kozani on the night of 13/14 April.

The railway bridge over the Alikmon River after it was demolished by 2 New Zealand Divisional Cavalry Regiment.

A10 Cruiser tank under the command of Lieutenant Robert Crisp from 3 Royal Tanks.

A mixed patrol of SdKfz 231 8-rad armoured cars and motorcyclists from Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler on the road in Greece.

One of the highest 25-pounders in Olympus Pass.

New Zealand transport in the vicinity of Mount Olympus.