An Obligation Fulfilled MTO (id:#57592)

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Ptolemais, Greece 1941-04-14 (9 others)

Overview:

In March 1941, Great Britain fulfilled her commitment to Greece; the first Commonwealth forces landed on the mainland to repel the imminent German invasion. 100,000 men were promised, but by April 6th, the day of the invasion, barely 30,000 had arrived. The defense was gallant, but futile. Flushed with victory in Poland, France, the Low Countries and now Yugoslavia, and with the Greek Army tired and out of position from its fight with Italy, the Panzers could not be stopped. The defense turned into retreat, with the pass at Thermopylae being the goal, the place for a prolonged stand. Thermopylae was 160 km behind the front, so a series of rearguard positions were created. One of these was at Ptolemais. The exhausted men of the 4th Northumberland Hussars were assigned this position, along with supporting armor and artillery. There they dug in, sighted their guns, and waited.

Defender: British (3rd Royal Tank Regiment, 4th Northumberland Hussars and the Royal Horse Artillery)  

Errata (source)