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The Andrew Etherington site is still running a day behind. I will post yesterday’s entry now, in case you want to go back and catch up.

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 603 April 25, 1941. ANZAC Day

Greece. Allied rearguard forces from Thermopylae cover 100 miles in 12 hours and reach Athens at noon, met by cheering Greek crowds throwing flowers in gratitude for the Allied effort. However, British Legation and other foreign diplomats prepare to leave by burning confidential papers. Allied evacuation (Operation Demon) continues but only 5500 troops leave from beaches South of Athens after troopship Pennland is bombed and badly damaged (4 crew lost, 347 rescued by destroyer HMS Griffin). Luftwaffe reconnaissance identifies the evacuation beaches but British will change the embarkation points using Ultra intercepts. German bombers again focus on shipping routes, sinking 6 merchant ships and a yacht. 6 Greek destroyers and 5 submarines survive to fight another day, escaping to Alexandria, Egypt. Seeing that mainland Greece is being evacuated, Hitler orders the invasion of Crete (Operation Merkur, Führer Directive 28).

North Africa. Frustrated by the lack of progress at Tobruk, Rommel resumes the offensive along the Libyan/Egyptian border. German troops attack British patrols around Fort Capuzzo. British withdraw to prepared defenses where the desert plain drops towards the coast through Halfaya Pass. With only 13 RAF Hurricanes left to defend Egypt, the last 2 fighters are withdrawn from Tobruk leaving only Westland Lysanders to do artillery spotting. Luftwaffe will control the skies over Tobruk. British submarine HMS Upholder sinks Italian SS Antonietta Lauro off the Tunisian island of Kerkenah.

At 00.38 AM, 200 miles Southwest of Cape Verde islands off the West coast of Africa, U-103 sinks Norwegian SS Polyana (all 25 hands lost). Off the East coast of Africa, North of the Seychelles, German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin shells British SS Empire Light without warning. 70 crew are taken prisoner and Empire Light is scuttled.

At the Corinth Canal on April 25 German paratroopers were tasked with seizing the bridge that spanned the deep ship canal dividing the North and South Peloponnese.

The Corinth bridge area was obviously a most vulnerable spot but by now it was guarded by only three tanks and a few Australian infantry. (There was a large number of Greek soldiers there, too, but for them the war was over.)

A few hours after General Wilson and his staff crossed the 150foot- high bridge over the Corinth canal, a heavy air attack knocked out every anti-aircraft gun, and this was immediately followed by low-flying Junkers 52s in groups of three; soon the sky was dotted with coloured parachutes.

Then, while a thousand paratroops dropped, gliders crash-landed near the bridge, men jumped out, overwhelmed the pickets, and raced to clear the explosives.

Moments later the charges exploded, killing them all, and dropping (part of) the bridge neatly into the canal. Controversy still exists as to what caused the explosion. Two British officers were firing their rifles at the charges when they exploded, and they certainly believed that they were responsible, but only wet guncotton was in a position to be hit by a bullet, and experts say that this could not be detonated in such a manner. The Germans believed that either the explosives went off as they were being hurriedly dismantled, or that some TNT was set off by a shell splinter- but there were no guns firing at the time. Unless other evidence comes to light, therefore, the most likely explanation is that the two officers did indeed cause the explosion.

South of the canal, overwhelming numbers soon told, and the few remaining defenders put out of action-but not before they had killed or wounded 285 of II Parachute Regiment. It was nevertheless a brilliant German victory and they drove triumphantly into Corinth on April 26, escorted by a captured tank, where a Greek-speaking German officer relieved the mayor of his responsibilities.

All over Greece similar scenes were taking place: tanks and carriers full of dusty, grimy soldiers clanked into apparently deserted towns. Within two or three hours the soldiers would be clean and smart, and at local shops, with leaflets in Greek, they explained the number of drachmae to a reichsmark, and bought food and souvenirs. Slowly the Greeks came out of the houses and walked up and down, staring at their conquerors. Within a few days everyone knew about reichsmarks, and business was brisk.

It didn't, after all, seem so bad.

The Marshall Cavendish History Of The Second World War -Gallant Failure

by Peter Elstob