Australian Military History

With the initial attack halted, the men of the 5th Australian Division set about holding onto what they had managed to take. But confusion and lack of communication meant that the commanders back from the fighting didn't fully understand the situation. In ignorance of the true situation further attacks were ordered, then cancelled. But the battered 15th Brigade didn't get notified of the cancellation until it was too late.

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After the evacuation of Greece, New Zealand, British and Australian troops prepared to defend the airfields of Crete. The Australians concentrated on the central area of the island, with the 2/1st and 2/11th Battalions responsible for the defence of the airfield at Retimo. When German paratroopers began to fall from the sky on the 20th May 1941, it signaled the beginning of several days of hard, bitter fighting as the Allied forces attempted to deprive Germany of yet another conquest.

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As the fighting at Pinios Gorge was reaching its peak, the majority of W Force moved back through Larissa heading for the next defensive position on the Thermopylae - Brallos Pass Line. Initially, this line was where the Allied Forces planned to halt the German advance through Greece, however the situation soon changed and the stand along this line was now responsible for delaying the German advance long enough for W Force to be evacuated from Greece. Fail and the entire force would be captured and any further attempt to stop the Germans in this theatre would be lost.

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With the Germans pushing through the Metaxas Line, their invasion of Greece gained momentum as they pushed south. The British, Australian and New Zealand troops of W Force were falling back to their next defensive line, but with the Germans hot on their heels, a delaying action was needed. The junction town of Larisa was vital for the retiring troops and a German thrust on the eastern flank, aimed through Pinios Gorge, threatened the town and W Force's withdrawal. They had to be held for two days if the Allies were to have any chance.

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As the defence lawyer for Morant, Handcock and Whitton during the Boer War, the story of Major Thomas is often overshadowed by events of the Courts Marshall. As a prominent figure in the small rural town of Tenterfield, Thomas raised a contingent of mounted troops for service in South Africa and saw action on many battlefields, including The Siege of Elands River. The result of his service and the outcome of the Morant trial left Thomas a broken man, largely shunned by the community who once lauded him.

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