 The brigade was strafed by German aircraft on the morning of 21 May. The 19th Battalion (supported by C Squadron and light tanks from the 3rd Hussars) assaulted Cemetery Hill, where two German machine guns threatened A and C Squadrons and part of the battalion. Although the Germans were driven off, the battalion could not hold under heavy mortar fire and withdrew; Cemetery Hill became a no man's land. On 25 May, heavy German attacks drove British forces from Wheat Hill and exposed the centre of the 18th Battalion, which withdrew through Galatas. The right flank of Div Cav and the Petrol Company, acting as infantry, was exposed and the 23rd Battalion counter-attacked and retook Galatas at dusk, withdrawing during the night. That night Div Cav retreated to Church Hill, behind the 19th Battalion. At 01: 00 on 26 May the regiment joined remnants of the 21st Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Allen on the main coast road between Chania and Galatas on Hellfire Hill.
