Battle of Vevi
Part of World War II
Members of the Australian 2/1st Anti-Tank Regiment resting, soon after their withdrawal from the Vevi area.
Date 11 April–12 April 1941 Location Vevi, Greece Result German victory
Combatants
Australia United Kingdom New Zealand Greece	Germany
Commanders
Iven Mackay (operational); George Vasey (infantry)	Fritz Witt
Strength
About 2,000 personnel, including some artillery support	About 1,500 personnel, including artillery support and some tanks (see below)
Casualties
Australian: about 25 dead N.Z.: about 12 dead; U.K.: unknown 480 British Commonwealth troops taken prisoner.[1]	37 dead, 95 wounded, two taken prisoner[2]

The Battle of Vevi (or Veve), in Greece, also known as the Battle of the Klidi Pass, was part of the Greek campaign of World War II. It took place on April 11-12, 1941. Allied troops fought forces from Nazi Germany. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... Vevi, rarely Veve (Greek Βεύη, Macedonian Баница - Banitsa) is a village located in Greek Macedonia (Northern Greece). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece_(1828-1978). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay CMG, KBE, DSO, VD (7 April 1882 - 30 September 1966) was an Australian Army Lieutenant General who served in World War I and World War II. // Early life and career Iven Giffard Mackay was born on 7 April 1882 in the town of Grafton... Major General George Alan Vasey, CB, CBE, DSO (29 March 1895 - 05 March 1945) was an Australian Army Divisional Commander during World War II. Vasey is argued to be the best divisional commander that has ever been produced by Australia. ... Fritz Witt as an SS-Obersturmbannführer, 1942 Fritz Witt (1908 - 1944) was a German Waffen-SS officer who served with the 1. ... Combatants Germany, Italy, Bulgaria Greece, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand Commanders Wilhelm List, Maximilian von Weichs Alexander Papagos, Henry Maitland Wilson, Thomas Blamey Strength Germany: 680,000 men,[1] 1200 tanks, 700 aircraft, Italy: 529,000 men Greece: 350,000 men, British Commonwealth: 58,000 men Casualties Italy: 13,755... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... The group of countries known as the Allies of World War II consisted of those nations opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Background

German forces invaded Greece through Bulgaria and Yugoslavia in the first week of April 1941. It was intended that British Commonwealth forces would hold the Germans in northern Greece, until Greek forces had returned from Yugoslavia and Albania, and a new defensive line between Mount Olympus and the Aliakmon River.^{[3] [4]} Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all South Slavic languages, Југославија in Serbian and Macedonian Cyrillic) is a term used for the three separate political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ... Mytikas Summit, Mt Olympus Mount Olympus (also transliterated as Mount Ólympos, and on modern maps, Óros Ólimbos) is the highest mountain in Greece, at 2,919 (according to new measurements [1]) meters high and one of the highest, in real absolute altitude from base to top, of Europe since its... The Aliákmon (Greek: Αλιάκμων, in Bulgarian: Бистрица, Bistritsa) is the longest river in Greece, with a total length of 322 km (200 miles). ...

On the morning of April 10, the German XL Panzer Corps advanced from Monastir to seize the Greek city of Florina, 13 km (8 mi) south of the Yugoslav border, utilising the Monastir Valley (or "Monastir Gap"). The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler brigade advanced further south and occupied the town of Vevi on April 11. The Allies decided to attempt a delaying action at the Klidi (or Klidhi) Pass just south of Vevi. April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... City motto : Битола, бабам Битола (Bitola, babam Bitola) Coordinates Municipality : Bitola municipality Elevation 576 m Population 95 385 Time zone  - Standard  - Summer (DST) CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) Founded Area code +389 047 Postal code 7000 Car plates BT Official Website www. ... Florina (Greek: Φλώρινα; Bulgarian: Лерин/Lerin) is a town in Greece. ... The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (Lifeguard Standarte of the SS Adolf Hitler) was a Waffen SS guard and combat formation which saw action on both the Eastern and Western fronts during the Second World War. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ...

A mixed Australian-British-New Zealand-Greek formation, known as Mackay Force, held was assembled hastily. Its task, in the words of the British Commonwealth commander in Greece, General Henry Maitland Wilson, was to "....stop a Blitzkrieg down the Florina Valley."^[5] The force was named after its leader, the Australian Maj. Gen. Iven Mackay. Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson of Libya (5 September 1881 - 31 December 1964), better known as Jumbo Wilson was a senior British General during World War II. He saw active service in the Boer War and the First World War. ... One of the defining characteristics of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is close co-operation between infantry and tanks. ... Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay CMG, KBE, DSO, VD (7 April 1882 - 30 September 1966) was an Australian Army Lieutenant General who served in World War I and World War II. // Early life and career Iven Giffard Mackay was born on 7 April 1882 in the town of Grafton...

The Australians and New Zealanders were tired after a long and sudden journey from North Africa, and were not prepared for a European winter, which was lingering in the Greek mountains.^[6]  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ...

Forces

The Allied units occupying the Klidi Pass itself were predominantly from Brig. George Vasey's Australian 19th Infantry Brigade and included the 2/4th (minus one company) and 2/8th Battalions (but not the Brigade's 2/11th Battalion) and the British 9th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (also known as the 1st Rangers). The infantry were supported by parts of the New Zealand 27th (Machine Gun) Battalion, the Australian 2/1st Anti-Tank Regiment, the British 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery and other smaller elements of Australian and British artillery units. The other components of Mackay Force were in flanking positions some distance from the pass. Major General George Alan Vasey, CB, CBE, DSO (29 March 1895 - 05 March 1945) was an Australian Army Divisional Commander during World War II. Vasey is argued to be the best divisional commander that has ever been produced by Australia. ... The most well-known 6th Division in the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) during World War II. (The 6th Division name was previously used for a short-lived World War I unit, formed from First Australian Imperial Force troops in England, in... The 2/4th Australian Infantry Battalion was a battalion of the 6th Australian Division raised as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force for World War II. It was raised Victoria Barracks, New South Wales on 3 November 1939. ... The 2/8th Australian Infantry Battalion was a battalion of the 6th Australian Division raised as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force for World War II. It was raised at Puckapunyal, Victoria on 15 April 1940. ... The 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion was a battalion of the 6th Australian Division raised as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force for World War II. It was raised at Northam, Western Australia mber 1939. ... The Kings Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army formation. ... The New Zealand 2nd Division was that countrys major land formation during much of World War II. Commanded for much of its existence by Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Freyberg. ... The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) is a corps in the British Army. ...

Kampfgruppe Witt, an SS battle group under Sturmbannführer Fritz Witt, was the German formation which assaulted the pass. KG Witt was comprised of an infantry battalion, two light machine gun platoons, a heavy machine gun platoon, three anti-tank platoons, two engineer platoons, a light field howitzer troop and an 88mm Flak platoon.^[7] The Kampfgruppe was a common combat formation used by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. ... The carrier battle group (CVBG or CARBATGRU) or carrier strike group (CVSG) is a fleet of ships in support of an aircraft carrier. ... Sturmbannführer Collar Patch Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which was used by both the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS). ... Fritz Witt as an SS-Obersturmbannführer, 1942 Fritz Witt (1908 - 1944) was a German Waffen-SS officer who served with the 1. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... Loading a WW1 British 15 in (381 mm) howitzer A howitzer or hauwitzer is a type of field artillery. ... German 88 mm guns were used in anti-aircraft and anti-tank roles. ... FLAK was a punk rock side project of members of the band Machinae Supremacy in 2001. ...

The battle

The Commonwealth forces found that the Klidi Pass was between 100 and 500 metres wide, a winding defile, with steep, rocky and treeless sides up to 1,000 metres high.^[8] Grand Canyon, Arizona A canyon, or gorge, is a valley walled by cliffs. ...

On April 11, Vasey's three battalions were spread across a 16 km (ten mile) wide front: the 2/8th Battalion on the east, the 1st Rangers in the centre and the 2/4th Battalion on the hills to the west.^[9] New Zealand machine gunners were distributed among the infantry.

Conditions at the top of the pass were "bitterly cold", with rain turning into snowstorms, hindering the ability of the Allied infantry to sleep.^[10]

The Waffen SS began a series of probing attacks on the afternoon of April 11. They also approached along the main road, as an Australian artillery officer wrote:

In all his insolence [the German commander sent] trucks down the main road ... to within 3000 yards of our infantry, and proceeded to debus [i.e. disembark]. At first I could not believe it was an enemy, all had been so still and quiet. Then came some sense. My orders flew over the wire and the first rounds screamed through the air... A few furious moments and back went the Hun [i.e. Germans], but five trucks stayed in the road as silent witness that my Troop could shoot.^[11]

Other, more prolonged skirmishes were directed at the positions of the 2/8th Battalion. These became became more aggressive as night closed in. In the words of the Australian War Memorial: "[d]espite being strung out and exhausted from a long march to the position and bitterly cold weather, the 2/8th managed to fend them off."^[12] A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. ...

On the morning of April 12, snow lay over 30 cm (one foot) deep on the hillsides.^[13] By dawn, many of the Australians and New Zealanders stationed in the heights were suffering from frostbite and were unable to operate their weapons effectively.^[14] However, orders had now been issued for an orderly withdrawal to the Aliakmon line, to begin that evening.

The main German assaults were launched at 8.30 am. They struck strongly in the 2/8th's sector, near where it adjoined the 1st Rangers.^[15] The SS — supported by intense machine gun and mortar fire — succeeded in overrunning one Australian platoon.^[16] The 1st Rangers — believing that the 2/8th was retreating — withdrew in the centre. This opened the pass itself to the Germans, created a gap between the 2/4th and 2/8th Battalions, severed communications between Vasey and the 2/8th and left Australian anti-tank guns without infantry protection.^[17] The two 2/8th companies on the western flank were then forced to retreat up the slopes. ^[18] However, in the words of Australian official historian Gavin Long: Platoon is a term from military science. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...

At 2 p.m ... Lieut-Colonel [John] Mitchell of the 2/8th ... ordered a counter-attack which regained some vital ground on top of the ridge... After six hours of intermittent fighting in the pass and on the slopes to the east, the 2/8th still held the heights though their left had been mauled; the Rangers, however, were rallying astride the road about two miles to the rear, but five of the six supporting guns of the 2/1st Anti-Tank Regiment had been left without protection and abandoned. Thus the ridge held by the 2/8th formed a deep salient.^[19]

According to Long, Vasey was informed of the Rangers' withdrawal by officers from other units, but refused to believe it.^[20] In military terms, a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. ...

By 4 pm, the Greek Dodecanese Regiment, to the east of the Australian positions, had completed a withdrawal planned by the Allied high command. This left the 2/8th exposed on two flanks, and it was soon coming under machine gun fire from the east. According to an official Australian account, Vasey "...realised his men were not going to be able to stage an orderly withdrawal. At 5.00 pm he telephoned the commanding officer of the 2/4th Battalion ... with the code phrase indicating that a pull-out was now vital — "the roof is leaking."^[21] At 5.30 pm, German tanks arrived in force along the whole 2/8th sector, effectively sealing the Allies' defeat at Vevi. The battalion was forced into a chaotic retreat, with component units being separated and officers ordering the abandonment even of light weapons, to speed their withdrawal.

Losses among the Australian infantry would have been much worse it were not for the 2/1st Anti-Tank Regiment and the Royal Horse Artillery standing their ground in the centre, until the Germans were only 400 metres away.^[22]

Aftermath

The 2/8th Battalion was effectively destroyed as a fighting force for the rest of the Greek campaign. According to some accounts, at its fallback position of Rodona, the battalion could muster only 250 men, of whom only 50 had weapons.^[23] Although the 2/4th Battalion had been spared the brunt of the German assault at Vevi, it had 70 personnel taken prisoner at a German roadblock during its retreat to Sotir.^[24]

The Germans claimed 480 "English" prisoners at Vevi for the loss of 37 dead, 95 wounded and two taken prisoner.^[25] For Witt, the victory was overshadowed by the death of his brother in the battle.

In spite of its defeat and losses, Mackay Force succeeded in gaining two days for the retreat and regrouping of the Allied forces.^[26]

See also

• Operation Marita (German plan for the invasion of Greece.)

During World War II, Operation Marita was the German invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941. ...

Footnotes

External links

• Gavin Long, 1953, Official Histories — Second World War Volume II – Greece, Crete and Syria (1st ed.), Canberra: Australian War Memorial

• Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs, 2001, "The roof is leaking Vevi and Sotir 9–14 April 1941"

• Australian War Memorial, no date, "Battle of Vevi (Veve) 09 April 1941 - 12 April 1941"

• Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs, no date, "Archive No. 2336" "Name: William Robertson" (transcript of an interview with a veteran of Vevi)