 A ruined castle dominated the ridge across which the coastal pass led to Platamon . During the night of April 15 , a German motorcycle battalion supported by a tank battalion attacked the ridge , but the Germans were repulsed by the New Zealand 21st Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Neil Macky , which suffered heavy losses in the process . Later that day , a German armoured regiment arrived and struck the coastal and inland flanks of the battalion , but the New Zealanders held . After being reinforced during the night of the 15th – 16th , the Germans assembled a tank battalion , an infantry battalion and a motorcycle battalion . The infantry attacked the New Zealanders ' left company at dawn , while the tanks attacked along the coast several hours later.The New Zealanders soon found themselves enveloped on both sides , after the failure of the Western Macedonia Army to defend the Albanian town of Koritsa that fell unopposed to the Italian 9th Army on 15 April , forcing the British to abandon the Mount Olympus position and resulting in the capture of 20 @,@ 000 Greek troops . 
