ENEMY TRIBUTE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 April 1941, Page 5

ENEMY TRIBUTE

PAID TO NEW ZEALAND TROOPS HEROIC DEFENCE OF MOUNTAIN GAP. DIVE-BOMBERS HARASS WITHDRAWAL. (By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright.) LONDON, April 22. The German Press pays tributes to the heroism of the New Zealanders who defended the gap between Mount Olympus and the Aegean Sea on April 16, says the Berlin correspondent of the British United Press. It says that for 40 hours this narrow valley, six miles long, was fiercely defended by New Zealanders, whose well-aimed artillery and machine-gun fire brought to a standstill the German

advance. The New Zealanders’ machinegun nests had to be taken one after ther. German motor-cycle troops tried to rush the gap, but were forced back. Finally, tanks, making a frontal attack, pierced the New Zealand positions, but several tanks were blown up by land mines, before the New Zealanders withdrew. The Germans 'had good reasons for their tribute to the stubborn resistance of the Anzacs and, British troops, states a special correspondent after a tour of the shortened British line in Greece. The Germans progressed at sickening sacrifice of human life, a sacrifice which was not without protest, since many Prussians had been shot in the back by Austrians. An Australian said that during the German attempt to ford the River Larissa, German officers kept driving infantry into the path of Bren-gun fire until the river was running red. Here, as elsewhere, the Germans were mown down in swathes. A New Zealander who was interviewed on the beach of the Aegean Sea said that the anti-tank batteries held their fire until the advancing tanks were within 1200 yards and then knocked them but one after another. Dive-bombers at first harassed the British withdrawal, but later the weather forced the bombers to abandon the attack. The Athens correspondent of “The Times” say that all units agree that the Germans have had a tremendous advantage by possessing the support of overwhelming numbers of aircraft. While withdrawing across the Larissa Plain to the Domoko Plateau, our troops were able to use only one road, and the German bombers concentrated upon it. ■ The position was similar on the roads further back. A correspondent who watched the withdrawal over the last two days said, “There were always a couple of Dorniers or Heinkels in sight, and bombs continually crashed down on roads used by our transport. “I saw only two British planes all the time. The crux of the matter is that our troops must have more planes if they are to do themselves justice.” HOSPITAL SHIP ATTACKED BY NAZI BOMBERS. RAID ON ATHENS SUBURB DENIED. ißy Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) LONDON, April 22. The Greek Ministry of Public Security in a communique states that the Germans bombed the hospital ship Polykos in the Gulf of Corinth without damage, and also bombed and machine-gunned large and small ships in various ports, causing damage and casualties. Italian aircraft bombed rural districts in Cephalonia and Corfu, and machine-gunned villages, killing one person. Two enemy planes were shot down. In reply to an Athens communique today announcing that the Luftwaffe bombed a suburb of Athens, the Germans insist they have not dropped a single bomb or fired a single shot on Athens. MACEDONIAN ARMIES REPORTED CAPITULATION. (Received This Day. 10.0 a.m.) ATHENS. April 23. The Macedonian armies laid down their arms at 9.40 o’clock last night. A Greek military mission informed an Italian commander of the fact, and formalities were carried out in agreement with the German High Command. Official circles in London have no confirmation of this news, but say they cannot exclude the possibility that a number of Greek forces found further hostilities impossible. FOILED BY ANZACS NAZI ENCIRCLING MOVE. (Received This Day. 10.0 a.m.) ZURICH. April 23. A message from Berlin states that leading German war correspondents on the Greek front reported that the Anzac troops have defended the mountain lines so stubbornly that the German strategic manoeuvres to reach an encirclement have failed.

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