The withdrawal to the positions of the 21st and 23rd Battalions came as a major surprise to Hargest, but instead of ordering an immediate counterattack, he directed Andrew take overall command of the defences of 5th Brigade and conceded the airfield was lost. Once senior commanders became aware of the situation, they ordered that it be rectified. Despite a counterattack to recapture the airfield mounted in the evening of 21 May and into the next morning, Maleme airfield remained in the hands of the Germans. This was a significant factor in the German forces becoming established on Crete as it enabled much needed reinforcements to be landed by aircraft. Andrew and the surviving elements of his battalion were withdrawn from the area to Sphakia and, after acting as a defensive cordon, evacuated from Crete.