The ship participated in Operation Excess in January 1941, during which she escorted a convoy and then escorted the battleship from Souda Bay, Crete, to Alexandria. In late February, the ship evacuated British commandos from the island of Kastelorizo, off the coast of Turkey, in the Italian Dodecanese. The commandos had defeated the small garrison in Operation Abstention, but the Italians were able to land troops on the island over the next several days and overwhelm the British forces. During the Battle of Cape Matapan on 28/29 March, "Hasty" escorted the four light cruisers of Force B, but was not seriously engaged during the battle. On 15 April the ship and the light cruiser bombarded Italian positions between Bardia and Fort Capuzzo. In mid-April she escorted the fast transport and three battleships from Alexandria to Malta, before going on to escort the battleships as they bombarded Tripoli on 20 April. After refuelling in Alexandria on 23 April, "Hasty" sailed for Greece to begin evacuating British and Australian troops from the beaches. On 8 May, the ship again escorted the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they covered another convoy from Alexandria to Malta. "Hasty" escorted the light cruisers and as they intercepted a German convoy attempting to land troops on Crete during the night of 21/22 May. The ship evacuated British and Commonwealth troops from Crete in late May.