Parliament House Canberra ACT 2602
Telephone 02 6277 7820 Facsimile 02 6273 4140
The Hon Alan Griffin MP
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
VA041
Monday, 25 May 2009
68 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP FORGED IN BATTLE
The long friendship between Australia and Greece, strengthened by shared adversity during the
Second World War, was honoured today at a ceremony at the Australian Hellenic Memorial on
Anzac Parade in Canberra.
Speaking at a service marking the 68th anniversary of the Battle of Crete in 1941, Minister for
Veterans Affairs, Alan Griffin, said the comradeship forged during the war marked the beginning
of a friendship that created an enduring bond between the two nations.
“While the Battles of Greece and Crete in April-May 1941 involved more than 17,000
Australians, of whom some 600 died, 1000 were wounded and more than 5100 were taken
prisoner,” Mr Griffin said.
When the German army invaded Greece in April 1941, it quickly pushed the Allied forces south,
eventually forcing a withdrawal to Crete.
On Crete, the Australians from the 6th Division and other Allies faced one of the first large-scale
airborne invasions in the history of warfare. They fought valiantly to defend the airfields at
Maleme, Rethymno and Heraklion, as well as many other sites. After 12 days of fighting the
Germans prevailed on Crete, taking prisoner many soldiers who had not had time to evacuate.
Some 6500 Australians were involved in the Battle of Crete and communities on Crete suffered
enormous losses during the fighting and in the subsequent occupation of their homeland.
Mr Griffin said Australian soldiers who were unable to be evacuated from Crete but who had
avoided capture escaped into the hills from where many helped with resistance against the
Germans, some for the remainder of the war. They were fed and sheltered by the Cretan
people whose support often came at great cost.
“Some 25,000 Greeks were executed for guerrilla activities or in reprisal for partisan attacks
during the four years of German occupation of Crete and the mainland,” Mr Griffin said.
“Today, we pay tribute to Australians and Greeks who served and died during the Second World
War. We honour their memory at memorials such as the one on Anzac Parade in Canberra, at
Rethymno in Crete and the Australian-Hellenic Memorial in Melbourne.”
Media inquiries: Sasha Nimmo 0437 863 109
The VVCS – Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a
week on 1800 011 046.
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NEWS 
