positions come what may", until the withdrawal had been completed. Action A German battlegroup based on the 6th Mountain Division, under Generalmajor Ferdinand Schörner, attacked at 1130 hours on 24 April, meeting fierce resistance. Another battlegroup, drawn from the 5th Panzer Division also attacked. Early in the afternoon, the German armored forces were shelled near Lamia by artillery that was able to fire down into the pass from multiple, lightly fortified positions. Two tanks from the Panzer division later attempted to penetrate the lines of the 25th Battalion, but were destroyed by long range field guns. Later in the day, 4 German tanks and a number of infantry troops being conveyed in trucks attempted to take a position in front of the 6th Brigade in front of the 25th Battalion's position, and after some initial confusion was repelled by 2-pound and 25-pound field guns. With the delaying action accomplished, the rearguard began to destroy what equipment and field guns they could not transport, and retreated towards another defensive position at Thebes. The last Allied vehicles were evacuated by 2400 hours, and Thermopylae would not be taken for another 3 hours, when the Germans led a formal attack on the vacated position. While holding their position for the specified amount of time, the Allied forces had destroyed 15-16 German tanks and inflicted considerable casualties. Aftermath The Germans would continue their march down the country, eventually occupying the country. The absence of the Greek Army, from a battle at a site as significant to the national psyche as Thermopylae, was controversial within Greece, as General Georgios Tsolakoglou had already capitulated. After the war, Aris Velouchiotis – a veteran of the 1941 campaign and leader of the Greek People's Liberation Army – argued that this fact was an eternal "shame" for the Greek regime that didn't take part in the battle. See also Battle of Greece Footnotes External links J.E. Brooks wrote a poem about this battle entitled "Thermopylae 1941" . Thermopylae 1941 1941 in Greece Thermopylae Thermopylae Thermopylae Thermopylae Thermopylae History of Phthiotis Thermopylae 1941 April 1941 events