McGaffin received orders early in the afternoon to go to D beach. The company was delayed at the start by attacking aircraft, but drove through Athens and reached its bivouac area two miles from Porto Rafti about midnight. In the city ‘the reception was tremendous and it was an occasion I shall never forget,’ says Dickinson. ‘The Greeks knew we were deserting them and knew what was in store for them, yet they cheered and thanked us as we went.’

The men were concealed in the olive groves all next day, and destroyed their vehicles and surplus gear. Each man not carrying part of a gun was told to take two belts of ammunition, which he draped about his body. Late in the evening they made their way to the embarkation point, where an Australian naval officer told them to dump their guns and ammunition, but they had no intention of abandoning the weapons at this stage, and after an argument took them on board the Salween. There ‘we had the most welcome reception of all. Waiting for us was a feed of stew, fresh bread and hot cocoa.’

The battalion (less 4 Company, two platoons of 1 Company, and the reinforced Anti-Aircraft Platoon) sailed for Egypt on the Salween. The Vickers were manned in an ack-ack role during five air-raid alarms on the 27th and another next day; whenever the raiders appeared they ‘went into action from all directions and I know the ship's funnel got a few holes,’ says Dickinson. ‘By this time the gunners were so fed up with the Hun they just put their sights on the plane and swung the gun from start to finish.’ Although bombs were dropped and one ship had a near miss, the convoy reached Alexandria unscathed early on the 29th.

Meanwhile 4 Company, after withdrawing from the Thermopylae line with 5 Brigade on the night of 22–23 April, was given another rearguard task.

The company did not leave Thermopylae without loss. Its vehicles were held at the brigade dispersal area until dark, but a German plane, out later than usual, strafed them as they were going forward to pick up the platoons, putting a truck out of action and killing the driver (Private Ramage

Pte P. J. Ramage; born NZ 30 Nov 1902; labourer; killed in action 22 Apr 1941.

The company bivouacked at 3 a.m. at Ay Konstandinos, and later in the morning received orders making it part of a divi- sional rearguard commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Clifton.

Brig G. H. Clifton, DSO and 2 bars, MC, m.i.d.; Porangahau; born Greenmeadows, 18 Sep 1898; Regular soldier; served North-West Frontier (MC Waziristan); CRE 2 NZ Div 1940–41; CE 30 Corps 1941–42; comd 6 Bde Feb–Sep 1942; p.w. 4 Sep 1942; escaped, Germany, Mar 1945; NZ MLO, London, 1949–52; Commandant, Northern Military District, Mar 1952–Sep 1953.

Sixth Brigade was late in reaching the rearguard that night, but the transport, after streaming back head-to-tail, began to thin out at midnight. The machine guns were then taken back to their trucks, and the road demolitions were blown shortly before 2 a.m.

White led part of the rearguard back to the road junction south-west of Atalandi, where an Australian picket reported that all the Australians from Brallos Pass had gone through and had last made contact with the enemy 20 miles back. Clifton's force now became the Anzac Corps rearguard. White's group waited fifty minutes at the road junction, as planned, until orders came by wireless from the main group to continue towards Thebes. A halt was made near that town while Clifton ascertained the next move. The convoy got away again in daylight and passed through 4 Brigade, which was dug in and awaiting the enemy at Kriekouki, before stopping to rest among the trees south of Mazi.

White now learned that his company was under the command of Divisional Cavalry as part of a force covering the embarkation from beaches north of Athens. The company kept under cover until the air activity ceased for the day and as darkness fell set off for Tatoion (about 12 miles north of Athens), which was reached at 1.30 a.m. on the 26th. A reconnaissance was made for gun positions, but the machine-gunners did not occupy them because Divisional Cavalry patrols would give them sufficient warning to do so if necessary. Sergeant Bradshaw was sent off at midday with a section from 11 Platoon as a road block. His orders were: ‘If attacked defend position to death. If no attack before midnight, return to main rearguard.’ The section returned without having been in action.

After spending a quiet day 4 Company piled onto the few remaining trucks about 8.30 p.m. and set off for the beach at Rafina. The company became divided on the way and White tried to collect it together at the point where the last vehicles were destroyed, but was told by the embarkation officers: ‘All unit organisation wiped out. Do exactly as we say.’

Groups of men from many units were shepherded silently down to the beach. When told to throw away their Vickers and tripods—‘personal weapons only’—the machine-gunners stepped out of the ranks, hurriedly rearranged their loads, dumped the tripods, and hid the guns and some belts of ammunition under their greatcoats. They then made their second approach, but not all of them got away that night. In the end, however, the eleven serviceable guns of 4 Company were salvaged; four were taken to Egypt and the remainder to Crete.

Major White, Captain Tong, Lieutenant Snedden and some sixty machine-gunners, most of them from 4 Company, were taken by landing craft to the Glengyle in the early hours of the 27th. They soon produced their Vickers, lashed them to the rails and manned them for action. At midday the ship was attacked by dive-bombers, and a near miss that lifted the bow violently out of the water damaged some plates and started a leak. The raiders were met by a tremendous volume of fire from the Vickers, anti-tank rifles, Brens and rifles, and the ship's own armament. There were no further attacks and the Glengyle reached Alexandria in the early morning of the 29th.

Half of 11 Platoon, most of 10 Platoon, and others had been left at Rafina. ‘We returned unhappily to the hills,’ says Bradshaw, but next evening (the 27th) it was ‘Down to the beach again … embarked on destroyer (HMS Havock) … had to dump tripods, but stuck to guns amid protests by Navy.’ Next morning they arrived in Crete.

After leaving the Molos area on the night of 22–23 April 4 Brigade Group had occupied a position on a ridge between Kriekouki and Mazi, south of Thebes on the road to Athens, to cover the withdrawal of the other British forces to the beaches from which they embarked. This covering position was astride the road through a gorge in the ridge which rises abruptly 2000 to 3000 feet above the plain south of Kriekouki. The three New Zealand battalions (18th, 19th and 20th) were supported by seventeen Australian 25-pounders, seven Breda anti-aircraft guns of the Royal Horse Artillery, seven Australian anti-tank guns, some Australian engineers, and an Australian machine-gun company; 1 NZ MG Company (less 2 Platoon) was in a valley on the Athens side of the pass. ‘The valley was only about half a mile to mile wide and cultivated,’ writes Sergeant-Major Johnstone.

WO II L. B. Johnstone, m.i.d.; Dunedin; born Dunedin, 11 Sep 1909; electrical engineer; wounded May 1941.

Early on the 25th the last of Anzac Corps—6 New Zealand Brigade, 19 Australian Brigade and Colonel Clifton's rearguard (including 4 Company)—retired through 4 Brigade's positions. Orders were received in the afternoon, however, that 4 Brigade was to postpone its withdrawal twenty-four hours to the following night (the 26–27th). Detachments were sent out to protect both flanks and deal with paratroops. One detachment, including 1 Platoon, four Bren carriers, an infantry platoon from 19 Battalion and one anti-tank gun, went to a road junction, where it covered the road through Megara from the Corinth Canal.

‘We were told to hold the road at all costs,’ says Second-Lieutenant MacDonald. ‘It was not a pleasant task getting to our positions—planes were skimming over and we were well bombed and strafed. It seemed like a death warrant with the stuff that was flying about when moving in daylight on that road. Dived so often into the prickly-pear on the side of the road that I arrived a mass of blood. A very windy trip.

‘Reached our destination in the dark and the Greeks said that the Huns were just down the road. Had 4 MGs and 4 Bren Carrs—put two MGs on road side and two on the rly line two hundred yards away—three Bren Carrs dug in.’

Fourth Brigade Group, still undetected, heard explosions in Thebes on the morning of the 26th, and about 11 a.m. a column of a hundred vehicles, closely spaced and with motor cycles and a light tank some fifty yards ahead, approached along the road. They continued in this formation, the vehicles jammed almost tailboard to radiator, until the leading motor cycles were only 2000 yards away and the rear of the column was within range of the Australian artillery. The guns opened fire and the Germans were seen to scatter and then board their trucks again and drive back to Thebes, leaving eight vehicles on the road.

About midday came the expected air attack, the rearguard position having now been revealed. ‘In a few minutes over came the recce planes and they flew close to the ground seeking our whereabouts,’ writes Johnstone. ‘Soon they were followed by a number of Dorniers and in about an hour there were over a hundred planes [including Messerschmitts] in the air. Some of them flew that low that we were looking on top of the pilots. But still not a move by our chaps and the Jerries could not find the Aussies' guns, they had been as well camouflaged as our positions … the bombers started dropping a few bombs about 2000 to 3000 yards behind our positions hoping to find the position of the guns. At this time the Jerries have brought up another column of trucks and tanks and had reached the position that the previous one had … the whole twelve guns opened up again and repeated the damage they had previously done … soon the planes were over again…. This time they bombed and machine gunned the place that they had done before, with of course the same results, absolutely no damage at all…. It was a grand sight to see countless bombs falling on to an uninhabited and defenceless bit of ground…. Now the guns are silent again and the enemy planes begin to get fewer and fewer until there are only about 20 left. The time is now 3 o'clock and the sun shines down (on this side of the hill) on smoking trees and a torn and blistered hillside, some cautious movement is noticed near the concealed guns as more ammo. is brought up, (on the other side) on smoking and burning trucks and tanks, dashing ambulances and frantic repair gangs seeking a way through the tangled wreck. Afar on the edge of the swampy plain tanks can be seen exploring a way round the swamps. Motor cyclists are dashing hither and thither trying, I suppose, to reorganise the wrecked column.’

German artillery went into action and a gun duel continued all afternoon. Infantry moving towards the left flank were dispersed by machine-gun fire. Johnstone took out a patrol to see that the enemy did not infiltrate through a gap in the hills on the right flank, but saw nothing there.

Disturbing reports were received early in the afternoon that German paratroops had landed on the road between Megara and Corinth, and that the bridge over the Corinth Canal had been destroyed. If true, these reports posed an awkward problem, for 4 Brigade Group had been ordered to retire over the canal that night. Confirmation was received about 6 p.m. that paratroops were on the Corinth road, but there was no definite news that the bridge had been destroyed.

The Germans dropped a paratroop force astride the Corinth Canal on the morning of 26 Apr. They occupied the bridge, and shortly afterwards it was blown up.

As darkness fell the artillery began to pack up, but the guns still fired when no planes were directly overhead. When it was completely dark 1 Company's drivers brought their trucks out from their hiding places and lined them up close together in column. In silence every man went about his task, packing on the machine guns and stores that were to be taken; other gear, including blankets, was buried. Captain Purcell returned from a visit to Athens with a supply of petrol and some bread.

The brigade group began to withdraw at nine o'clock and was soon speeding up to 30 miles an hour with lights on along the roads to Porto Rafti. Demolitions were blown by the Australian engineers under the direction of the officer commanding the rearguard, Lieutenant-Colonel Kippenberger.

Maj-Gen Sir Howard Kippenberger, KBE, CB, DSO and bar, ED, m.i.d., Legion of Merit (US); born Ladbrooks, 28 Jan 1897; barrister and solicitor; 1 NZEF 1916–17; CO 20 Bn Sep 1939–Apr 1941, Jun–Dec 1941; comd 10 Bde, Crete, May 1941; 5 Bde Jan 1942–Jun 1943, Nov 1943–Feb 1944; GOC 2 NZ Div 30 Apr–14 May 1943 and 9 Feb–2 Mar 1944; Prisoner of War Reception Group (UK) 1944–45; twice wounded; Editor-in-Chief, NZ War Histories, 1946–57; died Wellington, 5 May 1957.

The brigade group passed through a sleeping Athens, and some miles beyond dispersed all guns, vehicles and equipment under the olive trees. The units were spread along about 15 miles of the road and, as the enemy was known to be approaching Athens,

The Germans occupied Athens that morning (27 Apr).