To Greece
1 Armoured Brigade Group, including New Zealand units, withdraws from Grevena, night 14–15 April
1 Armoured Brigade Group, including New Zealand units, withdraws from Grevena, night 14–15 April
In the Grevena area the situation had naturally become more tense. On 14 April, after their withdrawal from Vevi and Ptolemais, D Company 1 Rangers and 3 Royal Tank Regiment, now only one squadron strong, were screening the approaches from the north; B Company 1 Rangers and B Battery 102 Anti-Tank Regiment were supporting the Greeks to the east in Siatista Pass; the rest of the brigade group, including 27 New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion (less two companies) and the two troops from New Zealand Divisional Cavalry Regiment, were immediately south of Grevena.
1 Atchison, Divisional Cavalry.
The brigade had been led to expect another stubborn rearguard action, but as the hours passed Brigadier Charrington decided that the retreat of the Greeks from the passes to the north and the German attack upon Servia Pass1 forced him to order an early withdrawal. The detachments supporting the Greeks in Siatista Pass were therefore withdrawn and that night the units, when ready, joined the line of traffic slowly moving south. Thus, when the Divisional Cavalry troops returned about midnight, the brigade was on its way to positions south of the Venetikos River.
The defence plans of W Force had in their turn to be adjusted to meet this threat from the west. An early air report that morning, 14 April, had certainly mentioned enemy vehicles moving westwards from Klisoura, but the strength of the supporting columns had not suggested that the main thrust was to be made in that direction. With the heaviest volume of traffic on the road from Kozani towards Servia Pass, there had been more reason to think that there would be a drive directly southwards rather than an encirclement of the western flank.
Nevertheless, General Wilson had always expected Marshal List to order an encircling movement through Grevena or, if his column advanced still deeper into the Epirus, a still wider move from Ioannina through Metsovon and across the Pindhos Mountains to Kalabaka. To meet this threat, a brief survey of the eastern approaches had already been made by Brigadier S. Savige of 17 Australian Brigade,2 who had arrived in Greece some days ahead of his battalions and had been sent to reconnoitre these possible lines of advance. On his return to Headquarters Anzac Corps on 14 April the question of a defence line was then discussed, Brigadier A. Galloway, General Wilson's BGS, pressing for the despatch of 17 Brigade to Kalabaka. The decision was made for them when it was reported that the Germans, having driven 20 Greek Division from the Klisoura Pass, were moving to cut the line of withdrawal of the Western Macedonian Army.
1 See Chapter 13.
2 2/5, 2/6, 2/7 Battalions; 2/11 Battalion of 19 Australian Brigade.
1 See pp. 170–1. On 9 April they had left 1 Armoured Brigade, crossed the Aliakmon River, joined 2 NZ Divisional Cavalry and eventually were sent back to Larisa.