page_title: Leslie Andrew
section_title: Battle of Crete
hierarchical_section_title: Leslie Andrew / Second World War / Battle of Crete
caption_attribution_description: English: Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Andrew, VC, with Brigadier Hargest and General Freyberg at Helwan, Egypt, 22 July 1941. New Zealand. Department of Internal Affairs. War History Branch :Photographs relating to World War 1914-1918, World War 1939-1945, occupation of Japan, Korean War, and Malayan Emergency. Ref: DA-13918-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22343464 The creator of this work was most likely an official photographer of the NZ Military Forces and thus copyright in this work probably rests or rested with the Crown. The Crown has released this work under the CC-BY 3.0 unported license. Refer to source website for details: http://natlib.govt.nz/about-this-site/copyright-and-privacy. This work's copyright expired 50 years after creation in New Zealand and probably also in countries following the rule of the shorter term.
context_page_description: Brigadier Leslie Wilton Andrew, VC, DSO was a senior officer in the New Zealand Military Forces and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British Commonwealth for gallantry "in the face of the enemy". He received the decoration for his actions during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.
  Andrew joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force as a private in 1915, having gained military experience while serving with the Territorial Force. He saw action on the Western Front from September 1916 to early 1918, and ended the war as an officer in England. He remained in the military after the cessation of hostilities, and joined the New Zealand Staff Corps. He held staff and administrative positions in New Zealand and, while on an officer exchange program, British India.
  Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Andrew was appointed commander of the 22nd Battalion, which he led during the Battles of Greece and Crete as well as the early part of the North African Campaign. For a short period in late 1941 he commanded an infantry brigade of the 2nd New Zealand Division, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership.
context_section_description: Evacuated to Crete on 25 April 1941, the 5th Brigade was tasked with the defence of the Maleme airfield. At this stage, 22nd Battalion was regarded as the best of the battalions of the brigade so Andrew was ordered to hold the strategically important Point 107, the dominant hill overlooking the airfield. Forced to disperse the companies of his battalion widely to cover his positions, he closely oversaw the defensive arrangements and ensured sufficient ammunition for his men.
  On 20 May 1941, the opening day of the Battle of Crete, 22nd Battalion was heavily bombed and strafed, and Andrew was lightly wounded. In the battalion's war diary he noted the bombing was worse than the artillery barrages of Passchendaele and the Somme. German paratroopers began landing in the area, including near his headquarters, and fighting took place at close quarters. Andrew soon lost communications with his forward companies but these were able to drive off the German attackers and hold their positions. The lack of contact with the companies to his front was a concern to Andrew as was the increasing presence of Germans to his rear. He requested support from the adjacent 23rd Battalion but this was refused by his brigade commander, Brigadier James Hargest. Andrew used his battalion reserve to mount a counterattack with the help of two Matilda tanks but this failed. Following this, he advised Hargest that he may have to withdraw from Point 107; "If you must you must" was the reply. Accordingly Andrew withdrew the remaining units that he was able to contact. As it happened, most of his forward companies remained intact and, after finding they had been abandoned, were able to withdraw from Point 107.
  The withdrawal to the positions of the 21st and 23rd Battalions came as a major surprise to Hargest, but instead of ordering an immediate counterattack, he directed Andrew take overall command of the defences of 5th Brigade and conceded the airfield was lost. Once senior commanders became aware of the situation, they ordered that it be rectified. Despite a counterattack to recapture the airfield mounted in the evening of 21 May and into the next morning, Maleme airfield remained in the hands of the Germans. This was a significant factor in the German forces becoming established on Crete as it enabled much needed reinforcements to be landed by aircraft. Andrew and the surviving elements of his battalion were withdrawn from the area to Sphakia and, after acting as a defensive cordon, evacuated from Crete.
caption: Lieutenant Colonel Andrew (left) with Major General Bernard Freyberg (right), Egypt, July 1941
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