Evening star., 1941-04-22
Indicate Stand
May Be Made at
ThermopyIoe
BF fbe Associated Press.

of Athens, and indicated they might
make stand against the Germans
at or near Thermopylae Pass, where
Spartan King Leonidas put up a
heroic defense before the Persian
legions of Xerxes in 480 BIC.
The British command announced
that imperial forces had occupied
the shortened line south of Lamia, a
town on the lower side of the Othrys
Mountains and on the northern edge
of a narrow plain.
Thermopylae Pass threads through
the Lokris Mountains, whose forbid
ding peaks rise to the south and
command the jagged Greek coast.
The pass ranges in width from IL
to 8 miles. Literally, Thermopylae
means 'the hot gates"
Some strategistS hold that it is the
only route through which an army
can invade lower Greece.
Reach New Positions.
The Allies were declared to have
reached their new positions. their
line still intact despite repeated Nazi
lunges and heavy Stuka assaults.
The British air command which
said the total of German planes shot
down over the Athens area Sunday
was %, as against seven for the
r. A. F.
"Outnumbered during a series of
heavy attacks on Greek and British
airdromes, ports and troops" COM
munique said, Hurricanes drove the
LuftWaffe back time and again"
Many dive bombers and fighters
of the German air force preferred
machine-gunning civilians in the
streets and Greek villages to facing
up to the r. A. F. fighters"
Athenians aWoke this morning to
the sound of screaming afraid
sirens, anti-aircraft fire and the
crunch of bombs in the distance as
a swarm of 80 Luftwaffe Stukas
pounced repeatedly on nearby tar
gets.
Air Filled With Shells.
Clouds of dust and smoke rose
from the ancient Attic hills back of
the capital where bombs were
dropped. The air Immediately over
the city was filled with bursting
anti-aircraft shells aimed at the
high-fying Nazis.
On the war front, bitter fighting
was in progress along the length Of
the newly established allied line.
Fiercely fought delaying action
by British and Greek rear guard
forces was credited with holding
back the onrush of axis forces while
the new line was manned, pre-
venting any reak-through and saw
ing defense forces from being out
fanked.
Three NaZi Penetrations.
An Associated Press correspond
ent with the British forces on the
eastern wing of the line said in
dispatch last night the withdrawal
had been neceSsitated by three Nazi
penetrationS of the old defenses-
through Geneva Pass, south of
Servia, and along the coast east
of Mount Olympus-which sent
panzer divisions streaming SOUTH
ward onto the plains past Trikkala
and Larisa.
The Greek withdrawal farther
west, carried out to MAINTAIN con-
tact, was reported completed by a
high command communique today
which said 1.-The withdrawal move
ment of our troops to new positions
of resistance has been fully success
full"
A Greek spokesman indicated the
new line already had withStood at
tack by advance columns.
PiraeuS Is Attacked.
Piraeus, port of Athens, was said
to have been attacked many times
yesterday. Last night, curfew was
imposed in Athens, requiring all per-
sons to be off streets from 9 pm. to
am. except by special permit.
(The German radio in a broad
cast heard in New York last night
by G. B. S. said state of siege
has been declared in Athens.
After manifestations in the cap
ital in favor of peace" the broad
cast added, "some British diplo-
mats fled from Athens to Egypt.")
Homes were destroyed and there
were civilian casualties in raids on
Attika and in the region of ElevSis,
west of Athens, the Greeks an
nounced. Bombs fell, too, on the
islands of Crete and Corfu, at the
ports of Yaltra, Preveza and Zak-
haios, and at Agrinion, Atalante,
Tanagra. Kalamata, Megara, Meso-
longion and Thevai.
In Mesolongion Harbor, a commu-
nique said, German aircraft sank
the hospital ship Hesperos, with doc
tors and nurses among the casual
ties, and started a fire aboard the
hospital ship Hellenis, carrying
wounded. Two persons were re-
ported burned to death.