Battle of Tempe Gorge

The Battle of Tempe Gorge, also known as the Battle of Pinios Gorge, was a rearguard action fought by Australian and New Zealand troops during the German invasion of Greece on 18 April 1941.^[2] The battle was fought amidst the advance of German forces through central Greece, and saw a brigade-sized element dubbed "Anzac Force" fight a delaying action against elements of two German divisions,^[3] supported by armoured forces. During a day of hard fighting, the defending Anzacs suffered heavy casualties and were forced back from the gorge, but their stand allowed other Allied forces to withdraw through Larissa, and afterwards a new defensive position was established around Thermopylae.

As the main Allied contingent retreated from German forces towards the south of Greece, a holding action was determined to be needed to delay the pursuing Germans at Tempe Gorge, a site deemed suitable for the defence. The force allocated for this action was dubbed "Anzac Force". It was relatively small, consisting of two 2nd Australian Imperial Force battalions from the Australian 16th Brigade– the 2/2nd and 2/3rd– fighting alongside New Zealand forces consisting of the 21st Battalion, the 26th Battery of the 4th Field Regiment and L Troop of the 7th Anti-Tank Regiment.^[4]

Some of the units had seen action recently in Libya against the Italians, before being hastily transported to Greece to help against the German invasion. Anzac Force was commanded by Brigadier Arthur Samuel Allen. The Australian units were armed with mortars, small arms and anti tank rifles, while the New Zealand force had artillery pieces, including 25 pounders, but were short of ammunition. The Boys anti-tank rifles were largely ineffective, and the Bren Gun Carriers were due for replacement.^[5] At that time, there was almost no British armour in Greece, many tanks having been destroyed by Waffen SS tanks at the Battle of Vevi on 13 April.^[6]

On 18 April, the German 6th Mountain Division, commanded by General Ferdinand Schörner, lined up on the other side of the Pinios River, from the Anzac Force. The river was fordable at this point. The German aim was to attack the choke point at Larissa, where the main body of Anzacs were funnelling through, and cut off their retreat. Allen's aim was to hold the area with his unit to protect the main force's withdrawal.^[6]

The Anzac force lined up against the expected German crossing points. Companies were positioned rather thinly, with 1,000 yards (910 m) between each. The Australian 2/2nd Battalion was to support Allen's headquarters. It was at the most vital defence position, in the centre of the line, across from Gonnoi, from where the German forces would attack. The New Zealand 21st Battalion formed up on the right,^[7] and destroyed a bridge to prevent its use by the Germans. The 21st, however, had suffered earlier losses at Platamon and had lost much of its equipment.^[8] Two companies from the Australian 2/3rd Battalion were positioned on the left.^[7]

The attack began just after 7:00 am with an attack from Gonnos towards the 2/2nd Battalion;^[7] later, around noon, German units led by Lieutenant-ColonelHermann Balck attacked the NZ 21st Battalion. Balck had previously pushed back the 21st some days earlier at Platamon where they had been surprised by the appearance of German vehicles due to the terrain.^[9][10]

El 21.er Batallón de Nueva Zelanda no pudo resistir a las unidades de Balcks y estuvo a punto de ser aniquilado, retirándose a las colinas. En ese momento, algunos tanques alemanes cruzaron el río Pinios, que el 21.er Batallón había estado custodiando. Esto dejó al 2/2.º Batallón como la única unidad en el campo de batalla para continuar el combate. Una unidad de vehículos blindados Bren intentó repeler a las tropas alemanas que cruzaban el río, pero fracasó, perdiendo algunos de los vehículos. Los morteros estaban inicialmente fuera del alcance de las tropas alemanas, pero fueron sobrecargados deliberadamente (y peligrosamente) para aumentar su alcance. A pesar de los desesperados intentos de resistencia, a las 17:30  la batalla se había convertido en un caos y el 2/2.º Batallón se desintegró bajo los ataques alemanes. ^{[ 4 ]}

A las 18:45  , se dieron órdenes a las compañías con las que se podía contactar para que se retiraran. Las fuerzas Anzac habían sido diezmadas por los ataques alemanes, pero habían logrado mantener sus posiciones durante el día, permitiendo que las fuerzas principales escaparan a través de Larissa. Los australianos y neozelandeses se movieron durante toda la noche, con algunos elementos combatiendo que retrasaban aún más las acciones mientras se retiraban, y al amanecer del 19 de abril ocuparon una nueva posición defensiva alrededor de las Termópilas. Las bajas de la 16.ª Brigada durante la batalla fueron de alrededor de 80 muertos o heridos y 120 prisioneros. ^{[ 7 ]} El 21.er Batallón de Nueva Zelanda perdió cuatro muertos o heridos. ^{[ 11 ]} Las bajas alemanas fueron de alrededor de 140 muertos o heridos. ^{[ 12 ]} Como resultado de la batalla, el 2.º Batallón/2.º Batallón se disolvió en gran medida y no volvió a combatir como una unidad completa hasta después del final de los combates en Grecia. ^{[ 13 ]}

Citas

Bibliografía

• Cody, Joseph (1953). 21 Batallón . Historia oficial de Nueva Zelanda en la Segunda Guerra Mundial 1939–45 . Wellington, Nueva Zelanda: Historical Publications Branch. OCLC 11136356 . 
• Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1998). Donde lucharon los australianos: La enciclopedia de las batallas de Australia . St Leonards, Nueva Gales del Sur: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-611-2.
• Loughnan, RJM (1963). Caballería Divisional . Historia Oficial de Nueva Zelanda en la Segunda Guerra Mundial 1939–1945. Wellington: Historical Publications Branch.
• Stockings, Craig (2009). "La batalla de Pinios Gorge" (PDF) . Australian Army Journal . VIII (3): 141–168 . Archivado del original (PDF) el 12 de febrero de 2014. Recuperado el 13 de septiembre de 2014 .
• Stockings, Craig; Hancock, Eleanor (2013). La esvástica sobre la Acrópolis: una reinterpretación de la invasión nazi de Grecia en la Segunda Guerra Mundial . BRILL. ISBN 9789004254596.

• Green, Olwyn (2010). El nombre sigue siendo Charlie (2.ª  ed. revisada). Publicaciones de Historia Militar Australiana. ISBN 978-0980567434.

39°52′37″N 22°33′58″E / 39.87694°N 22.56611°E / 39.87694; 22.56611