Evening star., 1941-04-24
Handful Of British
Repeating Historic
Defense
Imperial Force Digs In
To Hold Off Nozi Planes,
Tanks and Infantry
By GEORGE WELLER,

Chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent.
ATHENS, April % CDelayed -
Fighting a stout delaying action in
what is admittedly forlorn cause
the defense of Greece's sacred city
against the Germans-a handful Of
British imperial troops are trying to
hold the mountain defenses above
Thermopylae and the pass itself,
against German attacks from Lamla.
the ravaged city on the opposite side
of the marshy plain.
There, between mountain foothills
and the sea. Leonidas' 300 Spartans
died under a showering of Persian
javelinS, and today, calm stubborn
men whom your correspondent saw
digging themselves in two days ago
are meeting the combined attacks of
German dive bombers, tanks and in
fantry.
The sea now is Shrunken, widening
the passable area along the Euvoian
Gulf to about 300 yards. instead of
an equivalent number OF feet. To-
ward this slender line. scores OF
trucks filled with men moved past
the writer for hours, Monday morn
ing. while the stars paled. Few of
these men spoke: they understood
that their mission was to hold the
line as long as possible-and with
little or no aviation to help them.
Mountain Highway Blasted.
Last week. when hope was still
held that the Pindus-Olympus line,
north of Larisa would hold. the
writer slept in deserted farmhouse
beside the warm sulphur springs
which. emerging from the noun
tain, give the pass its name. At
that time it was thought that the
Germans would be stopped north OF
Lamia. at the mountain stronghold
of Domokos, but, since the latters
high plateau could not be used for
artillery because requisite aviation
protection was unavailable, further
retirement to the Thermopylae line
became necessary.
Modern engineering has produced
an alternative to the passage,
through the deflle between the
mountains and the sea. in a Serpen-
tine highway climbing the noun
tainside behind Thermopylae, but
the Austrian troops who handled the
capture of Mount olympus no longer
have the road to help them.
Your correspondents car, passing
down the mountain on Sunday, was
almost the last to traverse It's hair
pin zigzags because British demoli-
ton experts blew up the saliant
culverts the same afternoon.
Like the highway across the
Thessalian plain from LariSa. lit
tered with scores of skeleton trucks,
victims of Nazi strafng, the serpen-
tine is garniShed with vehicles which
lost their footing during the retreat
and are now offering shelter for
prolonged battle snipers. But, by
the same token, even should the
British fight their way forward into
the Lamian plain, they could not
hold the latter long because the lines
of communications from the serpen-
tine downward is cut off.
Successors of SpartanS.
Thus the troops are literal sue
cessors of their Spartan heritage,
fighting along the seaside corridor
in order to protect their comrades
far behind them at Thebes, Athens
and in Southern Greece. Their
action is twice as important because
it also permits King George to
establish his government safely on
the Island of Crete while German
planes dominate every highway in
Northern Greece. except the actual
boulevards of downtown Athens,
which remain unbombed.
During this terrific travail of
Greek British friendship, even neu-
trail observers are deeply moved at
the trust and esteem with which
this sad stage of collaboration is
closing. Contrary to German claims,
the attachment of the two countries
remains unshaken. 1t would be un-
necessary for the correspondent to
say this if it were untrue, since there
is British military censorship in
AJnenS, OUT, IN Ine WORDS OF nlSn
British officer:
The. Greeks have been superbly
cooperative. and especially now.
When we ask something from them,
they always find a way to do it."
German planes caused the same
series of alerts today as they did
yesterday, but Piraeus was left un-
touched, the attackers concentrating
upon the airfields where British
planes were based.
Only two members of the British
American newspaper colony now re-
main in Athens, this writer and the
Associated Press correspondent,
Wesley Gallagher.
(copyrisht, 1e41, Chicago Daily News, fne.s