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Bernard Freyberg
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1941
April
24
The evacuation from Greece
On the night of 24–25 April 1941 the Royal Navy began lifting the British corps off Greek beaches. By 1 May some 50,000 men had left, without heavy equipment.
25
The Battle of Thermopylae (1941)
On 24 April 1941 New Zealanders at Molos and Australians on the Brallos Pass held the Germans all day, then withdrew at night to the evacuation ports.
May
20
Key event
The airborne invasion of Crete
On 20 May 1941 Germany struck at Crete from the air. Paratroopers suffered huge losses, but at night the New Zealanders gave up the hill above Maleme airfield.
28
The evacuation from Crete
On 28 May 1941 the Royal Navy began taking the defeated garrison off Crete. By 1 June it had lifted some 17,000 men, losing ships and almost 2,000 sailors.
October
21
Before Operation Crusader
In autumn 1941 the British readied the Eighth Army in Egypt to relieve Tobruk. New Zealanders trained in the desert; Fort Capuzzo was still held by the Axis.
November
24
Rommel’s dash to the wire
On 24 November 1941 Rommel drove his tanks to the Egyptian frontier, spreading panic behind the Eighth Army. Meanwhile the New Zealanders reached Tobruk.
1942
June
28
The Battle of Mersa Matruh
On 26–29 June 1942 Rommel routed the badly co-ordinated Eighth Army at Mersa Matruh. The New Zealanders broke out, and the port fell on the morning of 29 June.
November
01
Operation Supercharge
On the night of 1/2 November 1942 the Eighth Army struck at Tel el Aqqaqir. The charge of the 9th Armoured Brigade and a tank battle broke the Afrika Korps.
1943
March
26
Breaking the Mareth Line
On 26 March 1943 the New Zealanders and 1st Armoured Division, backed by aircraft, broke through at the Tebaga Gap. Messe’s army had to quit the Mareth Line.