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To Greece

The Germans enter Larisa, 19 April

The Germans enter Larisa, 19 April

By then the enemy had occupied Larisa. On the morning after the fighting the German commander at the railway crossing had been told by a civilian that the town was clear of British troops. Quickly sending out patrols, he had begun to move his company southwards along the highway. The advanced guard of 3 Panzer Regiment had then appeared and before midday infantry and tanks had entered the town together. ‘As in France trucks in convoy stood on the road and in bushes. All round were guns and A Tk guns, shell shattered or manned only by corpses, and among them Bren carriers and two tanks.’2 This may be exaggerated, but the earthquake3 early in the year and the successive air raids in April had certainly left a badly damaged Larisa. Nevertheless, there was still much that could have been destroyed, for the Germans were delighted to find supplies of petrol, stores of all kinds and an airfield immediately available for all types of aircraft.

2 Report by 3 Panzer Regiment.

3 On 28 February 1941.