Evening star., 1941-04-18

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night fell. to German gains already
reported.
Your correspondent has been see
ing all of Britain's variegated forces
including Australians, New Zea-
landers and Cypriotes as we'll as
Englishmen-who have been stand
ing up to the persistent German at
tacks and resisting them with the
utmost gallantry.
The Greeks, relatively inadequate
ly equipped to meet German dive
bombing, have stood with all forti-
tude such attacks as recounted by
the wounded man with whom your
correspondent travelled this after
noon by truck.
u planes at single time and aft
erward was machine-gunned along
the road he said.
Describes Orderly Retirement.
Upon lonely country road the
British major of tank corps, with
his black-beretted men around him,
told of the orderly retirement from
Monastir Gap and the bitter battle
between German medium tanks and
British cruising tanks near Grevena
We found our guns and personnel
superior to theirs and our armament
at least equal. Had we been evenly
matched instead of vastly outnum-
bered, we should have pierced their
lines. AS it was we held the line
hours longer than required by our
staff command"
Describing the effect of the Ger
man air armada upon the tank fleet,
the freckled major said:
Having covered the rectification
of our line, ordered by headquarters,
We have saved our trained personnel,
virtually intact, besides putting more
than our share of German tanks out
Of commission"
Having Travelled today over most
of the chief lines of communication
on the battlefront, the writer can
testify that transport is moving
smoothly and in many cases causing
losses to intemperate low-flying
Messerschmitts.
Larisa Ghost City.
On Tuesday afternoon your corre-
spondent lay fiat in field watching
the Germans dive-bomb Larisa.
Three German planes dove sue
cessively, not directly but at long
angles, and the third machine
gunned the streets leading to the
town. Small Bren guns were sue
cessful in downing five of these
planes today.
Some towns have had repeated
alarms without being bombed, but
Larisa is today virtually an aban-
doned, whost city, whence all but
handful of the once busy populace
have fed. Hundreds of the brown
walled houses already had been
smashed by the earthquake, and
bomb holes line many streets. Yet,
mans have failed in their attempts
to break communications.
Traffic proceeds along even the
exposed highways going both to and
from the front. Greek wagons
drawn by mules move beside power
full British trucks still bearing
Egyptian licenses. Through the
fields alongside march the shepherd
and cowherd soldiers driving their
f1ocks, while the shepherds of the
British conveys are mud-spattered
motorcyclists.
German prisoners include giant
S. S. man, captured near the town
of Servia by the Australians. The
prisoner was placed under the guard
of Palestinian Jew. BY a freak
he was captured not only with all
his papers, but also in possession
of credentials which revealed that
he had the title "blitzman." All
his papers bore jagged, symbol
ical shaft OF lightning and even his
typewriter bore that insignia.
In an attempt to break the Brit
ish lines the Germans used a device
previously untried on the Greek
front, unison bombing. The larg-
est possible air force was concen-
trated over the lines held by a crack
British regiment and, at a signal
from the leader, all the planes stimuli
taneouSly released their full loads.
Even against such attacks the
British have held stubbornly. One
captain said:
II was completely buried in the
earth twice, but am still here"
Low Ceiling Hampers NaZiS.
For the past two days misty clouds
have covered mountains like Olym-
pus which have witnessed the sever
est fighting. while rain has fallen
intermittently in the valleys. The
ceiling has been too low for the
German aircraft to explore the hid
ing places of the British-Greek
forces and full advantage of these
fortunate circumstances has been
taken by both commanders.
Whatever the rumors from else
where may say, your correspondent
can testify that the Greek and Brit
iSh soldiers feel more closely bound,
if anything, by their present trials.
Frequently one sees Greeks, en- route
from base points, riding British army
lorries and although the language
barrier is naturally operative, COM
radeship among the rank and file
has been, if anything, sealed by the
British meeting of problems of de-
fense familiar to the Greeks for
months, though in less aggravated
form.
The Greeks obey the mud-spat-
tered British motorcyclists guiding
the columns as though they we're
their own and the British are de-
Tending Greece as though it were
England.