May 2.
1 am now able 10 tell how the British Empire Forces in Greece were snatched to safety at the last minute from the very feet of the Germar juggernaut, writes Reuters special correspondent, Superhuman efforts by the Navy with the aid of the RAF. enabled the evacuation to be carried out with the highest possible success. Troops who had tramped miles across mountains to reach their. embarkation points were picked up by naval craft, merchantmen and dying boats at beaches all along the Eastern shores of Greece.
From Chalkis on the island o? Euboea to the Peloponnesus the ships sailed in to take off their loads dead on time and according to plan.
I was evacuated with a large force from a small port in the Peloponnosus where I was spending a nightmare 24 hours lying under olive trees in a corn field, We were subjected to continuous bombing and maching-gunning by Nazi planes. Many of my comrades had also been through Dunkirk. 1 had left Athens at night with a con-yoy of lorries under sealed onders; As we moved towards Corinth in a ghost-like: procession T realized' that full-scale withdrawal was under Way. e bred We a mile. kong column or British infantry marching in an exhausted state to their assembly point on the coast. More lorries and trucks joined the convoy moving southwards in a giant, snakelike line, In the grey light of dawn we passed. through Burgos where many British trucks had been left burning by the roadside as a result of German machine: gunning.
We swept on to a small port where we were to be picked up. Three ships lay sunk in the harbour. Tue ammunition dump was. blazing furiously.
How 2,000 Australian troops were rescued after a Dutch. merchantman which had picked them up at a small Peloponnese: port was bombed and sunk, has been 1014 by yawn Dutch officer, Enemy bombers attacked the mer-cannan a few hours from the port. Escorting destroyers shot down three planes, but the rest resumed the attack later and the ship was set afire.
Although the vessel was listing heavily, the Australians fired at the attackers with machine-guns until a destroyer reached alongside and took off 1,000 of- them. The remainder continued firing until they slid' down roped to a second destroyer.
All the Australians and the crew got safely away: with their rifles, bren guns and ammunition: The merchantman sank an hour-and-aquarter later. The Australians warmly praised the conduct of the Dutch seamen, The story is being, told of how advanced Australien detachments at Greyena in the attack on the Mon astir Gap were deceived by the Germans coming over dressed as Greek soldiers. Before they knew what was happening they were surrounded.
This was told to Reuter by a grey-haired Brigadier.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.