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Battlefield
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Clear skies greeted us as we awoke from our good night's sleep. On the move again today, further north to the town of Florina and also into the area of the first contact with the German Forces that were coming out of Yugoslavia. On our way we crossed the main tributary of the Aliakman River. The river was not as high as previous visits but that could be due that they had a milder winter than previous years, but on the face of it you would say that they must have had a severe winter as there was still much snow on the surrounding perks.
We pushed on and arrived at Xion Nero at 1200 to be met at the memorial to the 6th Division by soldiers from the Artillery Unit that is posted to Florina. The Regiment has as part of its charter while posted to the area, the responsibility to maintain all the Memorial in the District and a good job they do. We conducted a small Service there and after the Ode, Poppies were laid on the Memorial by David, Peter, Christopher, John, Wilson and 2 Greek Officers. The Last Post and Reveille completed the Service. We thanked the Officers and said our goodbyes.
Next stop was in the centre of the Village of Vevi at the Memorial in the village dedicated the men of the 2/4th Battalion and 6th Division who had fought there. We conducted a small Service there and Wilson, Lesley and Elena jointly laid a wreath of Remembrance for those lost in this first action against the German Army. The leader of the Community of Vevi was in attendance and joined our Service. Lunch then called and we headed into Florina and Elena had booked a nice restaurant located in the really old part of the town which is adjacent to the river that runs through the town.
Following lunch, we headed out to the battle site, we went up to a vantage point overlooking the village and discussed the actions that were taking place on 11th and 12th April 1941.Following that discussion, we went back to the start of the Pass and discussed the layout of the units there and the tactical problem created when the Rangers Battalion withdrew.
I spoke to a Policeman there who had shown interest in us being there but after taking him through the actions of 12 April 1941, he was most appreciative and thanked me. Another friend was found. Tomorrow we will head further north to the border post at Niki.
Graham Fleeton.
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© Battlefield History Tours ABN 74107857705, PO Box 201, Northmead NSW 2152, AUSTRALIA, Phone: 1300 450 436 or +61 412 399 693
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