28 October 1940
On 28 October 1940, Italy invaded hitherto neutral Greece via Albania. Greek forces were able to hold the Italians on the Albanian front. However, they feared that they would not be able to defend effectively if Germany joined the Italian invasion. The Greek government soon sought British assistance.
In March and April 1941, Allied naval forces began transporting troops and equipment to mainland Greece under the codename Operation Lustre. Australia’s HMAS Perth and the 5 destroyers of the Scrap Iron Flotilla joined in the operation. In spite of harassment by the Italian Navy, nearly 60,000 troops, as well as accompanying tanks, transports and supplies, were landed to support Greece.
The expected German invasion commenced on 6 April. It soon became obvious that the Allied and Greek units could not halt the rapid advance of the German army. After a month of intense fighting, and facing almost certain defeat, they began to withdraw from the Greek mainland.
The evacuation, codenamed Operation Demon, began on 24 April and once again involved Perth and the Scrap Iron Flotilla. Over the following 3 days, under continuous attack from the air, Australian ships evacuated nearly 2,500 soldiers to the island of Crete. The entire evacuation was conducted over 5 nights, with over 50,000 Allied personnel evacuated.
Crete, however, offered only a temporary respite. Its position in the centre of the eastern Mediterranean made it a key strategic asset. Most of 28,000 Allied troops had recently been evacuated from the Greek mainland. They were on the island on 20 May when around 8,000 German paratroopers landed along its northern coast. It was the beginnings of an invasion.
The Scrap Iron Flotilla joined other Allied units in bombarding enemy forces on shore. They were in company with Perth and the recently arrived N-class destroyers HMA Ships Napier and Nizam. They also offered aid to stricken Allied vessels and attempted to prevent a landing by German troops.
It soon became apparent, however, that the situation on Crete was untenable. Under intense enemy fire, around 16,000 Allied troops were evacuated from the island. The remaining 12,000 had either been killed during the fighting or were taken prisoner by the Germans. The Crete campaign cost the Allied navies four light cruisers, seven destroyers and several smaller vessels. Many more vessels suffered damage, including Perth and Nizam.