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Post by felix on Jun 3, 2015 12:45:01 GMT 10
Blue Orchids
In April 1940 Australian, British and New Zealand forces were embroiled in the failed Greece/Crete campaign. For the Australians it was somewhat ironic that they were involved in another failed British campaign exactly 25 years after the fiasco at Gallipoli in the First World War (the 25th April being Australia's memorial day for those who served and payed the ultimate price in war). The allied forces were outnumbered ten to one and the Greek army was in poor shape. Towards the end, on 24 April, Menzies (then Australian Prime Minister) was worried and uneasy "as to whether our forces in Greece .... would be given sufficient protection from the air". For more than any other factor, German air power was decisive. The last Hurricane in Greece was shot down almost as Menzies' telegram was being considered for London. As for the allied soldiers, they had a bitter nickname for their aviation comrades - the Blue Orchids, because it was as "Rare as f@*%ing Blue Orchids that they appeared over the battlefield!"
Interestingly, the RAAF, whether knowingly or not appropriated this as their nickname. However, they have another story behind the phrase.
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Post by vonsplatt on Jul 4, 2015 11:36:21 GMT 10
The Germans had an intelligence coup, that enabled them to sink the aircraft intended for this campaign, while on board ship. At the time the British thought they had been unlucky. My father was there with the New Zealand infantry. He drove an Australian truck to the coast during the retreat. When they were told to surrender, he did not like the idea and lefty Greece with 5 others in a rowboat. They were picked up at night by a British warship, after they signalled it, with some trepidation, in case it was the wrong side. For the next two weeks he was in Alexandria in the daytime and ashore in Greece at night, bringing troops to the boats. The ships could not be around Greece in daylight, because of the air threat. Dad once mentioned that the most horrible thing was the German planes. Because of the mountains they could not hear the planes approaching. They would just be there and shooting. I know his platoon had a fracas with some German Bicycle machine gunners. Dad mentioned a German machine gunner in a church steeple, one night that gave up machine gunning courtesy of a NZ deer stalkers .303 bullet. He thought he would have been killed if he missed. Dad used to preface Churchill with ,"that bastard."
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