When the 2nd New Zealand Division was sent to Greece, as one of a number of Allied units dispatched to support the country in early March 1941 in anticipation of an invasion by Germany, McIntyre was ordered to remain in Egypt. Following the disastrous Allied campaign in Greece, the division was evacuated to Crete. He petitioned Freyberg for permission to be sent there, was successful, and arrived in Crete on 14 May. His first task was to paint a portrait of the King of Greece, who had been evacuated to the island. McIntyre was present during the airborne invasion of 20 May and it was at this time that he began to establish his methods for capturing events as they unfolded before him. He would work relatively close to the frontlines, executing sketches from which he would later work up paintings. In doing so, he moved away from his avant-garde influenced style and developed a romantic realism in his work.