Evening star., 1941-04-23

bomb craters in the roads them
selves.
Hour after hour, day and night
the Germans are using every con-
ceivable plane, from the latest
fighters to the Oldest bombers,
bombing and nachine-gunning
and trying to pound transports
off the roads. but succeeding sur
prisingly little. II is the thick
est strahng I have been in since
l was in Norway last April,
All along the way along the route
to the front there is evidence OF
German planes brought down. One
Junkers came over late yesterday
afternoon and few within a few
feet of the ground and 25-pounder
opened up on it. A direct hit blew
the plan to pieces in mid-alr. An
other plane was still smouldering
when 1 reached it. 1t was a Helnkel
strafer shot down by an Australian
with a Bren gun in one burst OF fire.
1t is all very ruthless and quick
ending
All the way along the line the
Australian artillery has done to the
front-line Germans what 10 times
greater numbers in German bomb
ing planes have done to the Aus
tralian lines. These units of artil-
lery have formed the main stay OF
the Australian columns moving up
or withdrawing. They have been
pulled, pushed, rolled and carried
over these mountains like machine
guns. Now SCARED and with few
correcting degrees added to the ele-
vation scale, they are still as good
and tough as ever and operating as
before.
Withdrawal a Feat.
The actual withdrawal was an in
dividual piece of Australian staff
work and very neat. The first move
was made by Australian brigades
on the east and west fianks. These
withdrew while the center New zea-
land brigade covered them. Then
the New Zealanders withdrew to a
level with the east and west f1anks.
One Australian brigade then held
position while the other Australian
brigade and the New Zealand brigade
drew back to their present positions.
Then the last brigade followed them.
They we're just coming in when l
was at the advance sectors.
During ali the time we withdrew,
there had to be sapper work going
on between us and the Germans.
Blowing up bridges is a nice Aus
tralian speciality, but it is dangerous
because there is only the bridge be-
tween the Australians and the on
coming advance Nazi units.
Only one Anzac battalion got cut
off in the German advance. This
was out on the west flank. They
were withdrawing toward Larisa
when told that the Germans were
already there. They retraced their
steps to the northeast along the
Peneios River. Then they came
southwark across an 5000 -foot-high
KissavoS Mountain. They are still
filtering in now, tired and little
bedraggled, but they did a remark
able job.
Many Similar Stones.
The last of the units coming south
on the main road from Grevena
found a bombed bridge north of
Larisa. They had to retrace their
steps miles northward in the face
of the oncoming Germans, then
forded a river, covered by six Eng
lish tanks, and got all their trans
port and material back without loss.
There are hundred individual
unit stories like these. The unit I
came back with was a field and
ambulance advance section. The
ambulance had made its first trip
with wounded men and then came
back for hospital equipment. Almost
the last unit out before the Ger
mans came on, 1t kept just ahead of
the infantry holding the Nazis off.
And now the new positions in the
mountains are preparing to hold
the Germans of again. The days
are too sunny. We hunt all the time
for a tiny cloud in the sky for
rain, when the German planes can
not bomb. The weather is all q
matter of luck. I suppose. Right
now we seem to be out of luck.