MEMORY OF ANZAC

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 127, Issue 127, 9 July 1941, Page 3

MEMORY OF ANZAC

THE GREEK RETREAT BRIGADIER'S IMPRESSIONS "During the retreat in Greece there were many days when I could not see the way out, but the expression 'when one door closes another opens' proved itself true," writes Brigadier J. Hargcst, D.S.G., M.C., V.D., in a letter from Crete to a friend in Invercargill. "All the way down I was glad to be there to see and assist in the most difficult situation in war—a retreat. "By a sitrange coincidence, too, on the morning whsn ayo finally embarked in the darkness and Hooked up at the black hills, we remembered it was Anzac Day. Twenty-»six years ago it was almost the same, not many miles away. "A Desperate Affair." "The whole show was a resperate affair. From the moment we got into position and the Hun camei on, we were for it. Outnumbered tten to one, with feAV aeroplanes and no tanks, we met one of the best-equip-ped armies the world has: ever seen. My brigade with a field regiment in close support, held the great Pass for days against two divisions of the enemy with what appeared to be countless tanks. We punished them terribly and were still holding when the orders came to go. The Greeks in the west had given up and our flanks weire in the air. "When I did go eventually the Hun was through all of my' battalions, as we were ?o thin on the ground; but we closcd up and chucked him out r.nd went back with all our wounded and our guns. The other parts of the division were having as tough a time l fuither west, and we had to hold one more day 10 miles further back. There we had a second revenge and were able to take a good tbll with our guns over open sights.. We stoo.l ngain for several days, half-way to Athens and then had to go; lhat'v where we dumped our kits. Men Never Lost Heart. "We carried out a retreat of a little over 300' miles, and when eventually we embariicd on the ship"i our ranks were quite unbroken and we carried our mortars, Bren guns, rifles, and each man 100 rounds ot small arms ammunition, each Bren 250 and each mortar its share. "It was a hard show, and. for nine tlavs I neved slept except in the cai' or on the ground beside the telephone, but I was still fit when we got here and went straight to work. The men were remarkable in their steadiness and their sipirits and never once lost heart, and the Maoris who were in my brigade wero splendid."