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THREE weeks to the day after beginning his attacks on Greece and Jugo-Slavia Hitler yesterday raised his swastika on the Acropolis, symbol of ancient Greek glory.
Berlin claimed with rolls of drums and fanfares of radio trumpets that Nazi tanks had entered this city so heroically defended by the modern heroes of Greece, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
The thin line of Imperial troops who, according to Athens radio, were fighting desperately to give their comrades time to "slip away," were brushed aside by the mechanised hordes.
Athens is undamaged, the Nazis say.
Greek citizens stayed in their houses as the enemy entered or watched them in silence, but the German Fifth Columnists who had been locked up for three weeks in the German legation, came out to cheer and pose as heroes.
No Escape Against "odds worse than Dunkirk," says one message, the British fought a slow delaying retreat with fabulous courage. Greek infantry, with no chance of escaping from the country, fought to cover the British flank. But for this heroism it might have been impossible to evacuate more than a small fraction of the Australian, New Zealand, and British troops unless a long rearguard action could be staged in Peloponnesus. A large amount of mechanised equipment, guns, munitions and stores may have to be written off as a loss. The R.A.F. rallied repeatedly against the Luftwaffe's superiority. The tired and sleepless R.A.F. men took toll of the swarming enemy. Small formations of R.A.F. bombers damaged but could not break the lengthening Nazi supply line. Tanks Charge A fleet of thirty-seven-ton German tanks lumbering through mountain defiles previously believed impassable to heavy vehicles charged the light British tanks. The German communiqué says that "in a bold attack from the air parachute troops on Saturday captured the Isthmus of Corinth and the city itself." Hitler, determined to reinstate his elite corps, the Adolf Hitler bodyguard, who were badly mauled by the British in the first week of the attack and reorganised, gave them the honour of crossing the narrow Gulf of Corinth and occupying Patras, in the Peloponnesus. The Germans say that after the taking of Corinth "a number of British were taken prisoners, the rest retreated southward." Claims to have damaged or sunk quantities of shipping in Greek waters followed the other Nazi boasts. "Cruiser Sunk" A special German war communiqué said: "During the pursuit of the British Expeditionary Force , fleeing from Greece, an enemy cruiser was sunk and two more cruisers damaged. A merchant ship of 5,000 tons has been destroyed and ten other merchant ships, of a total tonnage of 75,000 damaged." Before the German occupation Athens announced that M. Tsouderos, Greek Premier, would act as War Minister with the Government in Crete. General Papagos, the War Minister, who had led his nation to such magnificent victories against the Italians in Albania, retired at his own request.
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