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 in 1941.

As the main Australian contingent retreated from the German forces towards the south of Greece, a holding action was determined to be conducted to delay the pursuing German forces at Tempe Gorge, a site deemed suitable for the defence. The force for this action was dubbed "Anzac Force". It was relatively small, consisting of the Australian 16th Brigade, 2nd Australian Imperial Force, fighting alongside New Zealand forces consisting of the 21st Battalion, the 26th Battery of the 4th Field Regiment and L Troop of 7th Anti Tank Regiment. 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 NZ force had artillery pieces, including 25 pounders, but were short of ammunition. The Boys anti-tank rifles were said to be useless, and the Bren Gun Carriers were long due for replacement. 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.

On 18 April, the 6th Geberg Panzer 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 and allow his force to protect the main force's withdrawal.

The Anzac force lined up against the expected German crossing points. Companies were positioned rather thinly, with 1000 yards between each. The Australian 2/2nd Battalion was to support Allen's HQ. It was in the most vital defence position, across from Gonnos from where the German forces would attack. The New Zealand 21st Battalion formed up on the right, and destroyed a bridge so as to prevent its use by the Germans. The 21st however, had suffered substantial losses at Platamos, and was low on rounds for its artillery.

German units led by Lieutenant-Colonel Hermann Balck attacked the NZ 21st. Balck had previously pushed back the 21st some days earlier at Platamos, they had been surprised at the appearance of German Stug assault gun vehicles. At Platamos, the German Stugs had travelled terrain the ANZACs had assumed was not traversable by German vehicles, based on their knowledge of the abilities of the British tanks (which were not as capable in rough terrain).

The New Zealand 21st Battalion could not hold against Balcks's units, and was nearly overrun, retreating into the hills. At this point, some German tanks crossed the Pinios river which the 21st had been guarding. This left the 2/2nd as the only unit on the field, who continued the battle. A unit of Bren Gun Carriers attempted to push back German troops crossing the river, but failed with losses of some of the carriers. Mortars were initially out of range of the German troops, but were purposely (and dangerously) overloaded with charge to give them greater range. Despite desperate holding actions, by 5:30 pm on the 18th, the battle had turned to chaos and the 2/2nd disintegrated under the German attacks.

By 6:45 pm orders were issued to those companies that could be contacted, that they should withdraw. The Anzac forces had been badly depleted from the German attacks, but had managed to hold their ground for the day, allowing the main forces to escape through Larissa.