Balkans Campaign: CMPs in Greece?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

On this forum I found one picture of a CMP during the Balkans Campaign: a captured CMP F15 15-cwt truck, photographed on 8 May 1941 when German troops were marching to Athens.


As I am interested to learn more about the use of CMPs in Greece, but knowing little of the Balkans Campaign, I decided to do some reading up on the subject. On the U.S. Army Center of Military History website I found some material on the The German Campaigns on the Balkans. From this source I quote:

Chapter 13: The Defense Forces - III. British and Imperial Forces

From 7 through 31 March the headquarters of I Australian Corps with corps troops, the 6th Australian and 2d New Zealand Divisions, and the 1st Tank Brigade of the 2d British Armored Division, as well as service troops, disembarked at the ports of Piraeus and Volos. These forces Ad been assembled near Alexandria, Egypt, and shipped across the Mediterranean at the beginning of March. Immediately upon arrival, the tank brigade moved to the lower Vardar west of Salonika, the New Zealand division took up positions north of Mount Olympus in the bend of the Aliakmon River, and the Australian division blocked the Aliakmon Valley up to the Vermion Range. General Wilson established his headquarters northwest of Larisa. The Royal Air Force continued to operate from airfields in central and southern Greece. There were few planes that could be diverted to this theater in addition to defending Malta, providing air cover for the widely dispersed ground forces fighting in North Africa, and safeguarding the naval convoys across the Mediterranean.

The British forces were almost fully motorized, but their equipment was suitable for desert warfare, not for the steep mountain roads in Greece. There was a shortage of tanks and antiaircraft guns. The lines of communication across the Mediterranean were very vulnerable despite the fact that the British Navy dominated the Aegean Sea. All convoys had to pass close to enemy-held islands in the Aegean. The logistical problems were aggravated by the limited availability of shipping and the low capacity of the Greek ports. Only one single-line railroad and one good highway led northward from Piraeus, the principal port of debarkation.

Who knows more about the vehicles used by the:
- headquarters of I Australian Corps with corps troops,
- 6th Australian Division,
- 2nd New Zealand Division,
- the 1st Tank Brigade of the 2d British Armored Division,
- as well as RAF and service troops?

Judging by the captured F15, some of these units employed CMP trucks - I hope to find more information about them.

Any input is welcome!

Thanks,
Hanno