BK003

CHAPTER III
THE GREEK COUNTER-ATTACK AND THE

ADVANCE OF THE ARMY ON THE
NORTHERN EPIRUS TERRITORY
(November 14, 14! "#$%& '(#"(r) *, 141+
Intentions of the General Headquarters regarding Future
Operations
(Sketch-map no. 8)
1, Durng the rst perod of war and after the
contanment of the Itaan ohensve and the favourabe
outcome of the operatons conducted by the Greek Army,
the Genera Headquarters began to examne the queston
of the ne whch woud have to be occuped and secured
before the advent of wnter, whereupon serous resuppy
dmcutes were bound to occur. Varous soutons were
consdered to that ehect. In the end, the decson taken
was to move a Greek forces west of the Pndos mountan
buk and to secure ther resuppy by usng the carrage
road of Kortsa-Erseka-Mertzan-Ioannna.
Ths souton was seected, because t woud greaty
factate the resuppy of the forces aocated to the
mountanous areas. Moreover, t presented an addtona
advantage, .e. the capacty to transport troops from one
part of the Theatre of Operatons to the other rapdy, as
compared to the ong stretch of road, used up unt then,
that traveed through Kortsa-Kastora-Grevena-
Kaambaka-Metsovo-Ioannna-Eea.
75
-, In order to mpement the above ntensons of the
Hgh Command, by November 13, 1940, the Greek forces
successfuy accombshed the advancement and the
strategc concentraton so as to take on, as of November
14, arge scae ohensve operatons. The ob|ectve of
these operatons was to repuse the ntruder beyond the
borders and to occupy the mountan buk of Morova and
the road |uncton of Kortsa.
The genera depoyment of the Greek forces n the
Abanan Theatre of Operatons on November 13, the eve
of the Greek counter-attack, was the foowng :
In the area of Eprus: The A' Army Corps, wth the VIII
Dvson and the Cavary Dvson, n contact wth the
enemy and the II Dvson, movng towards the zone of
operatons, va Metsovo.
In the area of Pndos: The B' Army Corps wth the I
Dvson, the V Infantry Brgade and the Cavary Brgade.
In North-western Macedona: The C' Army Corps, wth
the IX, X and XV Infantry Dvsons.
The forces of Pndos and North-western Macedona
were under the command of the Western Macedona Fed
Army Secton (WMFAS). In addton, the atter had, as
reserves, cose to the area of the front, the XI Infantry
Dvson, whch, as of November 4, had been paced under
the command of Ma|or Genera of the Reserve Nkoaos
Tspouras, and the XIII Infantry Dvson whch, as of
November 3, had began to move from Aexandroupos
towards the Abanan Theatre of Operatons.
The Genera Reserves of the Commander n Chef:
The III Dvson whch, as of November 7, had been paced
under the command of Ma|or Genera Georgos Bakos and
was movng towards the area of Arta-Phppada, the IV
Dvson and the XVI Infantry Brgade, that were
concentratng ther forces n the area Trkaa-Kaambaka-
Koutsouan, the XVII Dvson, that was concentratng ts
forces n the area of Kozan and the V Dvson n the area
of Thessaonk.
76 THE GREEK COUNTER-ATTACK
., The above manoeuvre and the genera dsposton of
the Greek forces n the Abanan Theatre of Operatons
provded the bass for the na orders of the Commander
n chef. The orders were ssued to the A' Army Corps and
the WMFAS, on November 12, 1940. They dened the
ob|ectve of the operatons that were to foow, whch was
to secure the free use of the road artery Kortsa-Erseka-
Mertzan or at east to prevent the free passage of the
enemy forces. The abovementoned two strategc
formatons were assgned the foowng mssons:
-The A' Army Corps was assgned to act n the genera
drecton Ioannna-Tepeen and to provde wde coverage
to the area of Mertzan. If unabe to accompsh the above,
t was to conne ts actvty to the task of consodatng
the free use of the Han Bourazan- Kontsa road.
-The WMFAS (B' and C' Army Corps), after the
occupaton of the mountan buk of Morova and f
accordng to ts estmate, the condtons were favourabe,
then foowng orders by the Genera Headquarters to
advance further, as deep as possbe, n order to bock oh,
the northern and western routes towards the pan of
Kortsa, at east as far as ake Mak. Further to the south,
the WMFAS had been assgned to reach the carrage road
that ed towards Erseka or at east to pace that road
under ts contro by power of re. Further advance of the
forces to the west woud be ordered once condtons were
assessed as favourabe.
-The eft ank of the B' Army Corps, woud assst the
A' Army Corps from the rght, by operatng n the drecton
of Leskovk.
A' Army Corps Operations in Epirus
(14 to ! "o#em$er 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 9)
77
4, On the evenng of November 3, the A' Army Corps
comprsed the VIII and II Infantry Dvsons as we as the
Cavary Dvson. As mentoned prevousy, the VIII
Dvson and the Cavary Dvson were n contact wth the
enemy, whe the II Dvson was movng towards the zone
of operatons and t was estmated that ts unts woud be
abe to enter nto acton wthn 3 to 4 days.
In order to accompsh ts msson, the A' Army Corps
ordered:
-Ohensve acton by the VIII Dvson, whch woud
drect the buk of ts forces towards Kakava and
concurrenty secure the occuped area. In parae, the
advance of the dvsons eft ank towards the coasta
sector, was aso ordered so as to restore the ntegrty of
the natona terrtory.
-Convergng acton by the Cavary Dvson n
con|uncton wth the rght ank of the VIII Dvson towards
the road |uncton of Mertzan, n antcpaton that the II
Dvson woud take over the acton of the VIII Dvson
wthn a short perod of tme.
/, The VIII Dvson whch, unt November 2, had been
operatng as an ndependent arge unt, was renforced
wth the 39th Evzones Regment of the II Dvson, and the
40th Evzones Regment of the III Dvson and had formed
three teams : the Team of Thesprota, (7 Infantry
battaons, 3 Cavary companes and 4 batteres), under
the command of Ma|or Genera Nkoaos Lubas, the Team
of Kaamas, (6 Infantry battaons, Machne-gun battaon
and 3 and 1/2 batteres), under the command of Coone
Dmtros Yatzs and the Team of Negrades, (8 Infantry
battaons and 10 batteres) under the command of
Coone Georgos Dres.
The Itaan forces depoyed opposte the Dvsona
front, were the foowng:
-Opposte the team of Thesprota, n the area
between the sea and Keramtsa (not ncuded) were the
Sena Dvson (except for one regment and an artery
battaon), the 3rd Grenader Regment, the 6th Cavary
Regment and 2 Abanan rreguars corps (approxmatey
600 men).
-Opposte the rest of the Dvsona front were the
Ferrara Dvson, that was addtonay renforced wth the
2nd Bersager Regment, the Centaurs Armoured
Dvson and one regment from the Sena Dvson.
The VIII Dvson commenced the assaut n the
mornng of November 4. By the evenng of November 6,
foowng a hard three-day ght, t managed, usng the
teams of Kaamas and Negrades, to seze the ne that ay
besde the vages of Ano Lavdan -Doana-Mavrovoun
and to take a arge number of prsoners. An enemy
counter-attack wth tanks, n the area of Mavrovoun, was
contaned by the accurate re of the Greek artery.
In the coasta sector there was no sgncant progress
to be recorded. An attempt on the part of the Thesprota
Team to break through the area at the ower ow of
Kaamas rver faed, many due to the severe
bombardment by the enemy arforce.
*, On November 13, the Cavary Dvson that had been
renforced wth the 4th Infantry Regment of the I Dvson,
was n contact wth the enemy at Prophts Eas of
Kontsa-Ita-Lthar, whch was occuped by the 9th Apne
Regment and the 139th Regment of the Bar Dvson.
On November 14 and 5, reconnassance operatons of the
area were conducted and an exchange of heavy artery
and mortar re took pace wth heavy casuates on the
Greek sde. In the nght of November 15 /16, a regment of
the Cavary Dvson operated n the drecton of Ita, so as
to renforce the ehort of the I Dvson of the B' Army
Corps whch was operatng on the rght ank of the
Cavary Dvson.
On November 6, reconnassance operatons of the
Cavary Dvson reveaed that the town of Kontsa had
been deserted and that most of t had been set on re.
Dvson sectons (3rd Cavary Regment and 4th Infantry
79
Regment) entered the town wthout deay and advanced
westwards for about 3 kometres. At that pont they
nterrupted ther advance, because of the contnuous and
vgorous bombardment by the enemy artery and
arforce.
0, In the meantme, on November 5, the Genera
Headquarters ordered the A' Army Corps to acceerate the
pace of the attack and to secure, as soon as possbe, the
passage of Kakava and the |uncton of Mertzan. On the
foowng day, wth another order, the Genera
Headquarters once agan stressed that the Corps ought to
ncrease ts actvty and ordered the advance of the III
Dvson from the area of Arta to the south of Ioannna.
Then, as of the nght of November 16/7, the A' Army
Corps paced the 39th Regment of the Negrades Team
under the II Dvson and t ordered the Dvson to begn
operatons n the mornng of November 7, n order to
contnue the ohensve, that had been commenced by the
VIII Dvson towards the |uncton of Merdzan. At the same
tme, t paced the Team of Thesprota (hereon referred to
as the Luba Detachment) under ts command and ordered
t to cross the rver Kaamas and contnue ts ohensve
acton, wth the buk of ts forces towards Kotska-Agh
Saranda and, wth a group of two battaons and the
necessary artery, n the drecton of Menna-Keramtsa-
Tsamandas, so as to secure the ason wth the VIII
Dvson.
The VIII Dvson was to contnue ts ohensve ehort,
wth the Team of Kaamas, n the drecton of Kakava-
Bourato and, wth the remanng forces of the Negrades
Team, n the drecton of Doana-Vssan-Drymades.
On the bass of the above mssons, as of November
17, the ohensve operatons of the A' Army Corps
contnued throughout the entre front.
1, In the sector of Thesprota, n the evenng of
November 8, the Luba Detachment, wth courage and
determnaton, forced the enemy to wthdraw to the north
of Kaamas rver. Durng ther wthdrawa, the Itaans set
re to the town of Igoumentsa and ked three notabes.
On November 9, Detachment troops constructed an
mprovsed brdge across the rver Kaamas n the area of
Menna and n the foowng mornng began to move
towards the heght of Mega Rah (heght 861) whch they
sezed on November 23, n the evenng.
At the ower ow of Kaamas (north of Igoumentsa),
there was a deay n the advancement of brdge
constructon equpment, because of the ack of wheeed
vehces and the adverse weather condtons.
Consequenty, the brdgng of the rver Kaamas, n the
area, was carred out on the nght of November 22 to 23.
As of the next day, the Detachment troops resumed ther
ohensve ehort n the area north of the rver and, by that
evenng, had managed to occupy the ne xed by the
vages of Smerto and Paravryso, forcng the Itaans to
wthdraw to the fronterne.
, In the sector of the VIII Dvson, on the outbreak of
the ohensve of the Greek troops n the mornng of
November 7, the enemy reacted wth a severe
bombardment of ong duraton, aganst the entre area of
the Dvsona front. The enemy ressted wth vgour and
thus, the attack of the VIII Dvson recorded but tte
success durng that day.
On the foowng day, the ohensve was resumed wth
greater ntensty. Despte the resstance of the enemy and
ncessant and erce counter-attacks, wth nfantry troops
and tanks, on November 20 after cose combat, the VIII
Dvson managed to occupy the town of Vssan and ts
westery heghts. Durng the strugge, the Commander of
the Devnak Battaon, Ma|or Tzans Aevzatos, was ked
on the batteed, whe ghtng at the front ne.
On November 2, the heght 597 south-west of the
Han Devnak dee was sezed and many Itaans were
taken prsoners. Successve Itaan counter-attacks to
81
recover the heght 597, durng that day as we as on the
next, were destned to fa wth many osses for the
Itaans.
After these events, the Itaans wthdrew from the
Han Devnak dee on the nght of November 21 to 22,
movng towards Kakava so as to occupy and organse a
new ne near the borders. The VIII Dvson troops
contnued ther ohensve ehorts durng the next two days
and, n the evenng of November 23, managed to fuy
occupy the western ext of Han Bourazan dee. Durng
ths strugge, the Commander of the Ferrara Dvson
came cose to beng captured and was forced to abandon
hs vehce and retreat on foot.
1!!, In the evenng of
November 6, the II Dvson concentrated ts forces n the
area of the vages Kpo-Eat, east of Kapak. The
Dvson troops aong wth the pack anmas arrved there
from the area of Kaambaka-Voos, after a contnuous
march under adverse weather and road condtons, a
extremey worn out, to such an extent that the pack
anmas were no onger abe to support ther oads.
Nevertheess, the morae of the troops remaned hgh.
Thus, on November 7, ony the 39th Regment of the
Negrades Team, that had been paced under the II Dvson
snce that date, was operatng whereas n the nght of
November 17 to 8, the 3rd Infantry Regment of the
above Dvson aso entered nto the acton.
The Dvson, contnung ts ohensve, crossed the
rver Gormos, moved rapdy towards the Northwest and
on November 9, after a severe ght, managed to seze
the vage of Agos Kosmas and the area around t. On the
foowng day, despte the stubborn resstance of the
enemy and the bombardment of ts arforce, Dvson
troops managed to break through the area and advance
towards Adonochor, forcng the Itaans to retreat n
dsarray, abandonng a muttude of war suppes on ste.
At the same tme, other sectons of the Dvson sezed the
vage of Drymades, wthout any resstance.
The Dvson expoted ths success at once and by
November 23, t had reached the fronter ne and
depoyed ts forces there.
1!1, The Cavary Dvson aso contnued ts
ohensve. On November 20, t arrved at the brdge of
Bourazan, and dscovered that t had been destroyed by
the Itaans
On the next day, contnung ts ohensve, t sezed the
vage of Messopetra and the vcnty after engagng n
cose combat, and forwarded ts troops towards the brdge
of Mertzan, n order to cut oh the Itaan defenders.
In the nght of November 21 to 22, Dvson troops
forded the rver Sarandaporos (the enemy had aready
destroyed the Mertzan brdge at Sarandaporos and the
Mesogefyra at Aoos rver) moved towards the Northwest
and on 23 November sezed the vage Tsarsova and the
area of Randachova west of Leskovk. On the same day,
the brdge of Bourazan was restored and thus the motor
vehce communcaton between Ioannna and Kontsa was
restored.
1!-, Foowng the above successes of the
Greek forces, the enemy wthdrew about 10 kometres to
the east of Premet, to a new ne of defence that
extended from the snow-covered northern sopes of
Nemertska mountan, aong the western bang of the rver
Legattsa to Fraser, |ust before t.
Thus, after a erce ten-day strugge, the A' Army
Corps managed to repuse the nvaders beyond the
borders and succeeded n restorng the ntegrty of the
natona terrtory, due to the unequaed bravery and
sacrce on the part of ts worthy combatants.
The osses were extremey numerous on both sdes.
On the Greek sde, the casuates amounted to more than
600 dead and wounded. Most of them from the VIII
83
Dvson. On the Itaan sde, the exact number of
casuates, as regards the dead and wounded, s unknown,
more than 950 omcers and soders were taken prsoners.
(he )' Army Corps Operations in the area of *indos
(14 to ! "o#em$er 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 9)
1!., The B' Army Corps regarded the assumpton of a
genera ohensve by the Greek forces throughout the
entre area of the front, as a seque to ts own counter-
attack, whch had been conducted n the area of Pndos, n
order to repuse the Itaan forces.
In the evenng of November 3, the B' Army Corps,
comprsed wthn ts zone of operatons, the I Infantry
Dvson, the V Infantry Brgade, the Cavary Brgade and
the IX, X and B' Reconnassance Groups. The contnuaton
of the counter-attack was assgned to the I Dvson whch
the B' Army Corps had provded wth the V Infantry
Brgade, as we as the IX, X and B' Reconnassance
Groups. The Cavary Brgade retred from acton and
concentrated ts forces n the area of Doutsko-Samarna,
as a reserve for the Army Corps.
1!4, After ther defeat n the vaey of the rver Aoos, the
Itaans presented a powerfu front, on November 4, at
the western rdges of the Pekar-Ita-Tzournsko-Lthar
pass, that covered the drecton towards Kontsa.
In order to break through the poston of the front, the
I Dvson had organsed two combat teams whch were
the foowng:
-The Southern team, that was under the command of
Coone Panaghots Spotopouos and was assgned to
cover the rght ank of the A' Army Corps unts, whch had
been nstructed to act towards Mertzan. Furthermore, t
was assgned to advance ts Cavary troops towards the
Bourazan brdge, so as to cut oh the carrage road of
Ioannna-Kontsa.
-The Northern Team, that was under the command of
Coone Anastasos Kas, Commander of the V Infantry
Brgade, and was assgned to compete and secure the
border ne, and, furthermore, to bock oh, wth re, the
transverse road Mertzan-Erseka-Kortsa.
1!/, In the mornng of November 4, the I Dvson
commenced ts attack and occuped the Batra pass on the
Greek Abanan borderne and, further to the south, the
fronter ne as far as the Ptetso heght. In the southern
sector, ts troops recorded but tte success, due to the
vgorous resstance of the enemy.
On the foowng day, November 5, the Dvson
contnued ts ohensve and, after a erce batte, sezed
the Tzournsko heght n the southern sector as we as the
eastern rdges of the Mara heght. In the northern sector,
t sezed the heghts Ptetso-Batra-Rosdo, on the border
ne, thus pacng the carrage road Mertzan-Erseka-
Kortsa under the contro of the Dvsons artery re.
In the nght of November 15 to 6, the Itaans
wthdrew from the heghts of Ita and Lthar and, on the
foowng day, November 6, the Dvson sezed the
Kamenk heght. There were no other essenta changes
wthn ts sector.
After the turn of events unt November 6, the
Commander of the I Dvson proposed to the B' Army
Corps that the buk of the Dvson forces be drected
westwards, n order to occupy Leskovk and provde cover
to the rght ank of the Cavary Dvson. The atter had
been operatng wthn the zone of responsbty of the A'
Army Corps, n the drecton of Mertzan. Intay, the B'
Army Corps approved the Dvson. Wth another order,
however, the Corps nformed the Dvson that the enemy
appeared to be wthdrawng from the entre area of the
front and ordered t to advance ts troops towards
Leskovk, Randan and Erseka, as soon as possbe.
85
1!*, Meanwhe, ncomng ntegence reported that the
enemy was renforcng ts troops n the dee of Tsagon
and n the southern passes of Morova, n the area of Kafe
Kart, hence, the WMFAS ordered the B' Army Corps to
secure, as of November 8, the area that was under ts
occupaton. Furthermore, to orent a avaabe Corps
Forces towards the northern secton of ts zone of acton
and to keep them at a state of readness to move north of
Grammos. The bockng oh of the road Leskovk - Kortsa
woud be secured wth re.
Foowng the above mentoned, the B' Army Corps
suspended ts operatons towards Leskovk and ssued an
order that the saddes and passes aong the border ne
shoud ony be hed wth ght troops, n order to secure
the argest possbe number of troops towards the
northern secton of ts zone. Thus, the I Dvson troops,
that occuped Erseka on the evenng of November 17 and
the vages Kouteza and Borova n the mornng of
November 8, aso wthdrew to the border ne. However,
on November 9, the Genera Headquarters decded to
assgn the B' Army Corps wth the msson of provdng
wde coverng to the area of Leskovk from the Northwest
and nstructed the Corps to co-ordnate ts operatons wth
those of the C' Army Corps n the drecton of Kortsa.
Foowng that the B' Army Corps noted the I Dvson
that the reasons for the suspenson of operatons had
ceased to exst and ordered the resumpton of the Dvson
westwards.
1!0, The ohensve of the I Dvson
commenced n the mornng of November 2. By that
evenng, the Dvson had managed to regan contro of
the ne Kouteza-Borova-Erseka and, on November 22, t
recaptured Leskovk. Thus, the cross carrage road
Leskovk-Erseka-Kortsa was fuy controed by the Greek
forces. Durng the foowng day the Dvson troops many
deat wth the conduct of reconnassance and the
mprovement of ther postons.
The repuson of the Itaans beyond the borders nto
the zone of the B' Army Corps, from Grammos to the
|uncton of the rvers Aoos and Sarandaporos, consttuted
the epogue to the batte of Pndos and rased the morae
of the struggng Greek troops.
The osses of the enemy were reatvey sma. The
vered casuates on the Greek sde amounted to 1 omcer
ked n acton and 3 wounded, and 24 soders ked n
acton and 118 wounded. About 100 Itaans were taken
prsoners.
1!1, Meanwhe, after the favourabe deveopment of
the A' and B' Army Corps operatons, the Genera
Headquarters ssued a set of genera gudenes on
November 20, denng ther future assgnments. The A'
Army Corps, that had been addtonay provded wth the
III Dvson, was assgned to occupy the harbour of Ag
Saranda and to fuy secure the cross road road Kakava-
Ag Saranda. The B' Army Corps was assgned to fuy
secure the area of Leskovk.
The accompshment of the above ob|ectves and the
use of the harbour of Ag Saranda woud serve to shorten
the resuppy route Preveza-Fronters and woud factate
any further operatons wthn the terrtory of Northern
Eprus.
(he )attle of +oro#a,I#an and the O--upation of .oritsa
$y the C' Army Corps (14,! "o#em$er 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 10)
1!, On the bass of the ntentons of the Genera
Headquarters, regardng the assumpton of ohensve
operatons for the occupaton of the mountan buk of
Morova-Ivan and the |uncton of Kortsa, the C' Army Corps
87
conducted a seres of ohensve operatons wthn ts zone
of responsbty. These were conducted from November 1
to 6, and amed at securng a sutabe base for further
operatons.
These ohensve operatons, conducted by the C' Army
Corps, were competey successfu and enabed ts unts to
mprove ther postons, by advancng ther depoyment
nto the northern-Eprus terrtory, as far as the eastern
rdges of the upper vaey of Devos rver.
Meanwhe, on November 5, the Genera
Headquarters ordered the WMFAS to appy, together wth
the C' Army Corps, as soon as possbe, the strongest
possbe pressure, so as to attan the na ob|ectve, the
occupaton of Kortsa. Subsequenty, on November 6, the
WMFAS assgned the C' Army Corps ts new msson and
ponted out the need to assume operatons n haste, n
order to compete the occupaton of the Pyxos pennsua
and Morova mountan. The precse moment whereupon
the C' Army Corps woud commence ts ohensve was to
be determned after the WMFAS had receved the reevant
proposa of the Corps.
11!, The naturay strong area of Morova-Ivan
covered the road |uncton of Kortsa and, as of 1939, the
entre area had been organsed, wth partcuar attenton
pad to the passes of Tsagon and Darza. The C' Army
Corps, seekng to break through the above area, decded
to attack t from the anks, wth the man ehort on the
eft, n the drecton of Nestor-Darza-Kortsa. It was
seekng thus to avod any serous nvovement n the
Tsagon dee, whch, owng to ts at terran, was sutabe
for the passage of enemy tanks aong the road Kortsa-
Tsagon-Bgsta.
The ohensve acton of the Army Corps had been
panned to commence on November 11, wth the forces
that were aready on ste, the IX, X and XV Dvsons. The
dea was, on the one hand, to ahord the enemy wth no
tme to renforce ts troops and, on the other, to hod the
enemy troops n poston wthn ther zone, so as to
prevent ther empoyment aganst the fronts of the A' and
B' Army Corps n Eprus and Pndos.
The Itaan forces that were depoyed opposte the C'
Army Corps durng that perod comprsed the 49th Parma
Dvson, the 9th Venezza Dvson and the 29th
Pedmonte Dvson.
111, The WMFAS dd not agree wth the proposa
submtted by the C' Army Corps, by whch the date for the
commencement of operatons had been set on 11
November snce t consdered that the Army Corps dd not
have sumcent forces. Thus, t submtted ts own proposa
to the Genera Headquarters, requestng the suspenson
of operatons and the tmey advance of two addtona
dvsons.
Fnay, after a seres of repeated contacts wth the
WMFAS and the C' Army Corps, the Genera Headquarters
xed November 14 as the date of the attack. Furthermore,
t paced the XIII Dvson, that was concentratng ts forces
n the area of Andartko-Vatochor, at the dsposa of the
WMFAS.
The C' Army Corps, n accordance wth ts own
manoeuvre and n order to secure the surprse, ordered
the attack, wthout any artery preparaton, n the
foowng drectons:
-Nestor-Darza-Kortsa, whch was the man ehort,
wth the X Dvson.
-Vratsa-heght 1700 (Svet Atanas)-Kortsa wth the IX
Dvson that was obged to retan a constant ason
between ts eft ank and the X Dvson, so as to assst n
the occupaton of the heght 1259 east of Sntsa-Propa.
-Pyxos-Ivan-Kortsa, aong wth the XV Dvson.
11-, The attack was aunched, as authorsed,
on November 4, at 0630hrs, n the entre area of the C'
89
Army Corps front, whch extended from the heght of
Goube up to the shores of ake Mega Prespa.
In the southern sector, the X Dvson saed forth, as
authorsed, wthout artery preparaton and was engaged
n acton durng the whoe of that day. By that evenng,
despte the vgorous enemy resstance, the Dvson
succeeded n penetratng to a depth rangng from 1 to 3
kometres and sezed Bataros heght as we as the
vages Nkotse and Vozgrad.
The IX Dvson, n the mdde of the ohensve
depoyment, after a erce strugge due to the stubborn
enemy resstance, advanced to a depth rangng from 2 to
5 kometres and occuped the west bank of Devos rver
by the same evenng. On the nght of November 14 to 5,
the Regment of the X Dvson, that was assstng the eft
ank of the IX Dvson, was paced under the command of
the atter.
In the northern sector, the XV Dvson aso attacked
wthout artery preparaton and, despte the erce enemy
resstance, managed to advance to a depth of
approxmatey four kometres and occuped the ne
Btnska vage-Tsernk heght-heght 1285. In many cases
the batte was extremey ferocous and was conducted by
bayonet and hand grenade. Many casuates were suhered
by the XV Dvson, amountng to 42 dead and 161
wounded.
The resuts of the rst day of acton were regarded as
satsfactory by the C' Army Corps, takng nto
consderaton the consderabe breadth of the attack front,
and the vgorous resstance of the enemy that had been
supported by the artery, mortars and arforce. The
WMFAS reported that t had commtted ts entre strength
to the acton, and that t was ackng n reserves.
Furthermore, t supported the vew that n the course of
the foowng day the enemy woud be empoyng
motorsed vehces. The WMFAS ordered ts forces to
contnue the attack, by shock acton aong a narrow front
and to support t wth a avaabe means of re.
After the favourabe outcome of that rst day and
upon recevng the WMFAS order, the C' Army Corps,
havng no tme to ater ts pans, ordered the contnuaton
of the attack, startng on the mornng of November 5, n
order to accompsh the set ob|ectves.
11., The X Dvson aunched ts attack at daybreak on
November 5. Despte the fact that t encountered great
resstance, t succeeded n competng the occupaton of
the Bataros heght and n sezng the Stavroedes heght
(two and a haf kometres west of Nkotse vage), whch
consttuted a strong foothod to the south of the Darza
pass.
The IX Dvson, n the centre, began the attack at
0700 hrs and by that evenng, after a dmcut strugge,
succeeded n ts ehort to seze the heghts 1259 and
1271, despte the vgorous resstance and the counter-
attacks of the enemy. Furthermore, 11 omcers and 250
soders were taken prsoners and an abundance of enemy
suppes were sezed, ncudng 18 guns, 40 machne-guns,
200 pack anmas etc.
In the northern sector, the XV Dvson contnued ts
ohensve ehort, n order to mprove the occuped postons
and t managed to repuse oca enemy counterattacks.
On the foowng day, November 6, the C' Army Corps
had ordered Dvsons X and XV, to ncrease ther actvty,
n order to accompsh ther ob|ectves. The IX Dvson
was ordered to act n the drecton of Propa heght-Darza
pass-heght 1878 (Nkotse pass), so as to support the
ehorts of the X Dvson.
114, The ohensve contnued and, the X Dvson
competed on the eft ank the occupaton of Stavroedes
heght and occuped heght 1827 and Arza vage, aong
wth ts northern heghts.
The IX Dvson managed to occupy the range of
Hepets, after a erce strugge, and advanced ts troops
towards the heghts 1779 and 1700 (Svet Atanas).
91
The XV Dvson, despte ts forcefu assaut, dd not
succeed n advancng sgncanty, because of the
vgorous resstance of the enemy forces and the dense
barrage of re by ther machne-guns, mortars and
artery.
Thus, on November 6, before nghtfa, n the sector
of the X and IX Dvsons, sgncant heghts stuated at
the prncpa defensve area of the enemy n the Darza
pass had been taken and a serous break was acheved
through the enemys area.
Durng the course of that same day, prsoner
nterrogatons reveaed that a new Itaan dvson, the
53rd Arezzo Infantry Dvson had entered nto acton.
Thus, the enemy dvsons ncreased n number wthn the
zone of the C' Army Corps, amountng to four.
11/, After the above mentoned successes and the
break through of the hoste poston, the WMFAS, on the
evenng of November 6, ordered the actve and darng
advance of ts unts, that woud occur many from the eft,
so as to compete the occupaton of mount Morova and t
paced the XIII Dvson at the dsposa of the C' Army
Corps.
The C' Army Corps then, assgned the mssons for
the next day, as foows:
-The X Dvson to attack and seze the heght 1878.
-The IX Dvson to conduct ts attack n the drecton
of the Darza-Lotto pass and at the same tme, to take
acton northwards aong the rdgene of mount Morova, n
order to threaten the rear area of the enemy and
mmobse the enemy forces n that area.
-The XV Dvson to attack and seze Ivan mountan.
11*, On the foowng day, November 7, after a hard
ght, the X Dvson managed to occupy the southern feet
of heght 1878 and repused successve enemy counter-
attacks aganst the heghts of Stavroedes and 1827.
The IX Dvson competed the occupaton of the
rdgene of Propa-Svet Atanas (heght 1700), n spte of
the repeated counter-attacks of the enemy.
In the north, the XV Dvson sezed vages
Motsortse and Gooberda, after a tough ght, wthout
however managng to advance any further, owng to the
natura strong terran, the exstng organsed postons
and the vgorous resstance of the enemy. There were
grave casuates on both sdes. The XV Dvson had 4
omcers ked n acton and 5 wounded durng that day, as
we as 79 soders ked n acton and 280 wounded. The
Itaan prsoners, that were taken by the Dvson that
same day, were 7 omcers and 120 soders.
For the operatons of the foowng day, November 8,
the C' Army Corps was renforced by the WMFAS wth an
Infantry regment of the IX Dvson. The C' Army Corps
assgned ater ths regment to the X Dvson. In parae,
the Corps ordered the XIII Dvson to attack wth an
Infantry regment detachment n the drecton of
Kapesttsa-Zebac, between the IX and XV Dvsons.
110, On November 8, the IX Dvson
assumed acton wth an Infantry regment detachment
(the Beyett Detachment) n the drecton of Darza, n
order to factate the ohensve ehorts of the X Dvson,
and advanced strong forces towards Drenovo vage and
further to the north. In parae, t managed to pace the
road Erseka-Kortsa, as we as the barracks and the base
camp of Kortsa under ts artery re.
Durng the same day, n the sectors of Dvsons X
and XV, there was no sgncant progress to be recorded,
due to the vgorous enemy resstance.
At 0200 hrs, durng a torrenta ranstorm, the XIII
Dvson Detachment concentrated ts forces at ts |ump
oh base, south of Kapesttsa vage. At 0230 hrs, the
Dvson receved an Army Corps order that atered the
drecton n whch the Detachment was to attack and
dctated that the atter shoud move towards the Hotsste
93
heght. Ths decson was taken by the C' Army Corps,
after the ntegence reported an mpendng retrement of
the enemy forces from the ne Hotsste-Tsagon.
Ths ateraton mposed specc movements, that
were conducted durng the nght under heavy ran, whch,
weakened the nk between the varous sectons and
created a state of dsorder and confuson. Ony two of the
rst echeon battaons that beonged to the Detachment
were abe to gan contact wth the enemy. Eventuay,
however, these were hed n poston before Hotsste
heght and ost a means of contact wth the command of
both the Detachment and Dvson. As for the second
echeon of the Detachment, n spte of the fact that t was
ony forced to confront arborne bombng attacks, ts
troops were overcome wth panc and wthdrew n a state
of tota dsarray.
Because of ths unfortunate event, whch,
nevertheess, escaped the attenton of the enemy, the
commander of the XIII Dvson Detachment was repaced
aong wth the Dvson commander. The command of the
Dvson was entrusted to Ma|or Genera Sotros
Moutouss, who had been Artery Commander of the C'
Army Corps up to that pont, whe the command of the
Detachment was assumed by ts Deputy commander,
Leutenant Coone Georgos Kyveos. After co-ordnatng
ther ehorts, the new commands were quck to restore the
order and managed to rase the combat ehectveness of
the Dvson troops to a satsfactory eve.
111, The proongaton of the operatons aganst the
mountan range of Morova-Ivan and the gradua
renforcement of the enemy, forced the WMFAS to
successvey commt nto acton the XIII Dvson between
IX and XV Dvsons and the XI Dvson further to the
south, between IX and X Dvsons.
Meanwhe, snce November 11, the Genera
Headquarters had assgned the Commander of the D'
Army Corps, Leutenant Genera Georgos Kosmas, to the
WMFAS. He was provded wth the stah requred n order
to assume command of the eft ank of the C' Army Crops,
where X and XI Dvsons were operatng. Ths new
command was named Dvson Group K (DvGrK). The
C' Army Corps woud be conned to the north of the ne
Vozgrad-Darza-Bobosttsa (a to the C' AC), wth the IX,
XIII, and XV Dvsons under ts command. The resuppy of
Dvson Group K woud be conducted care of the C' Army
Corps.
At the same tme, the Genera Headquarters decded
to organse a mobe reserve force for any case of
expotaton. On November 4, as the Cavary Dvson had
been transferred to Eprus, the GH ordered four
Reconnassance groups to concentrate ther forces n Pat
and to advance n haste to the area of Forna. These
comprsed the VI, VII, XII and Dvson groups, that
beonged to the Eastern Macedona Fed Army Secton
(EMFAS) and, as of November 8, were paced at the
dsposa of the WMFAS.
Fnay, the GH graduay advanced part of ts reserve
forces towards the northern front of the Abanan Theatre
of Operatons. Thus, the EMFAS was ordered to provde an
entre Infantry regment for the area of Amyndaeo, whe
the XVII Dvson advanced to the area of Nestor-Argos
Orestko. On November 20, the dvson advanced to the
area of Ieropg-Komnnades-Mesopotama, where t was
paced at the dsposa of the WMFAS, under the bndng
condton that ts use woud be sub|ect to GH approva.
The V Dvson had concentrated ts forces n the area of
Photas-Ptoemada and the XVI Brgade was n the area of
Grevena-Kvotos, so that t coud be commtted to acton
n the Pndos Sector.
11, At 0700 hrs on November 7,
Leutenant Genera Georgos Kosmas arrved n Kozan,
accompaned by a number of stah omcers from the
Headquarters of the D' Army Corps and two Sgna
companes. There, he was brefed by the commander of
95
the WMFAS n regard to the tactca stuaton and the
msson of Dvson Group K. Drecty afterwards, he
advanced to Kastora, where he assumed the command of
Dvson Group K (X-XI Dvsons).
The Commander of WMFAS arrved n Kastora amost
smutaneousy and ssued hs own orders to the
Commanders of the C' Army Corps and Dvson Group K.
Both formatons were nstructed to contnue operatons
wthn ther respectve zones of acton, whch had been
redened after the formaton of Dvson Group 'K'.
Furthermore, he underned that after the occupaton of
Morova, any further advance n the pan of Kortsa was
condtona on the ssue of a WMFAS order.
Dvson Group K then, ordered the contnuaton of
operatons n the genera drecton Nkotse-Kamentsa
wth the XI Dvson on the eft and the X Dvson on the
rght (the man ehort), amng at the occupaton of the ne
Moutke vage -1508 heght- Sepotsta heght (1570).
Furthermore, n an attempt to keep contact wth the
enemy, reconnassance troops were ordered to advance,
at east as far as the Erseka-Kortsa road.
Snce November 9, Reserve Ma|or Genera Georgos
Dromazos assumed the command of the X Dvson.
1-!, On November 19 and 20, the Dvson Group K
dvsons many deat wth mprovng ther postons and
advancng some of ther troops, n order to prepare for the
attack that woud be aunched on the foowng day. Patro
unts, sent by a detachment of the XI Dvson, advanced
to the eft ank of the dsposton, as far as the road
Erseka-Kortsa, wthout encounterng any resstance on
the part of the enemy. In the sector of the C' Army Corps,
durng the two-day perod of November 19 and 20, the IX
Dvson contnued ts ohensve ehort under adverse
weather condtons and snowfa, n the drecton of Darza
and the heght 1805 (the summt of mount Morova). By
evenng of November 9, the heght 1805 was taken, beng
ndspensabe n the ehort to compete the occupaton of
mount Morova. The foowng day, November 20, because
of the adverse weather condtons, the Dvson dd not
undertake any mportant ohensve acton. However, t
succeeded n pacng the Bobotsta-Darza road under the
contro of ts re.
The XIII Dvson sezed the Hotsste heght and
apped ts ehorts to the task of renforcng the anttank
protecton of the Devos rver vaey.
The XV Dvson mproved ts occuped postons and
kept cose contact wth the enemy.
1-1, On November 2, the dvsons of Dvson
Group K contnued ther ohensve. The XI Dvson
occuped Moutke vage and asssted n the occupaton of
the heght 1878. The X Dvson sezed the heght 1878
after a hard and stubborn ght. Due to the strong
resstance of superor enemy forces, the dvson faed to
occupy the Loto heght.
On the same day, the ohensve ehort of the C' Army
Corps contnued many n the sector of the IX Dvson,
where the western rdges of the heghts 1805 and Hotsste
were sezed. After beng defeated, the enemy wthdrew
towards the pan of Kortsa. The eft ank of the Dvson
contnued the pressng towards the Darza pass.
On November 2, the WMFAS ssued an order for the
contnuaton of the ohensve operatons, nstructng the C'
Army Corps and Dvson Group K to contnue ther
ohensve, n order to compete the occupaton of mount
Morova and Tsagon dee.
1--, After the abovementoned successes of
the Greek troops at the front of Morova, the Itaans began
to wthdraw towards the vaey of Devos rver on the
nght of November 21 to 22, so as to avod encrcement
wthn the pan of Kortsa.
At daybreak on November 22, the dvsons of the C'
Army Corps resumed ther ohensve acton.
97
The IX Dvson occuped the remanng southern
shouders of Tsagon pass and nked up wth the XV
Dvson at Zemac. Further to the south, the Detachment
of Coone Beyets, of the same Dvson, sezed the vage
of Drenovo south-east of Kortsa. At 1745 hrs, detachment
troops (the 1st Battaon of the 33rd Regment and a
company from the 1st Battaon of the 27th Regment)
entered the town of Kortsa wthout encounterng any
enemy resstance, and the natve Greek popuaton
expressed to them ther enthusasm wth dspays of
derum.
By that evenng, the Dvson advanced ts outposts
west of Kortsa and estabshed ts defence on the western
feet of mount Morova, on the same eve as the XV
Dvson.
The XV Dvson occuped the pass of Tsagon and the
summt of mount Ivan, where t estabshed ts defence.
The XIII Dvson concentrated ts forces n the area
south-east of the Tsagon pass.
Dvson Group K contnued ts ohensve acton
westwards on November 22. By nghtfa on the same day,
t succeeded n occupyng the ne Moutke vage-Kafe
Kart heght, wth the XI Dvson and the ne Kamentsa-
Bobosttsa, wth the X Dvson.
The WMFAS suhered consderabe osses n the course
of the Morova-Ivan batte. The casuates have been
estmated to 34 omcers and 590 soders ked n acton
and 82 omcers and 2,226 soders wounded, even though
these numbers are thought to be far ower than the actua
ones.
(he "e/ O$0e-ti#es of the General Headquarters
(Sketch-map no. 8)
1-., Snce t became evdent that the
ohensve acton of the Greek troops was deveopng
favouraby n Eprus as we as n the sector of Kortsa, the
Genera Headquarters began to consder the ssue of the
further contnuaton of the operatons. Ths consderaton
was drected towards the two genera axes of Ioannna-
Avona and Forna-Kortsa-Evasan. The deveopment of
the operatons woud be decsvey ahected by the
transportaton for ther support and by the advent of
wnter, the mountanous terran as we as by the adverse
weather condtons prevang n the northern and centra
sectors, that s to say n the hgh pateau of Kortsa and
the mountan buks surroundng the vaey of Aoos rver.
Unt then, the A' Army Corps had procured ts
suppes va the harbour of Preveza, whe the B' Army
Corps had used the centra raway termnas of
Kaambaka-Kozan and the C' Army Corps, the towns of
Forna and Amyndaeo. From there on, the transportaton
of suppes to the front-ne was conducted by motor
vehces and pack anmas. The harbour of Ag Saranda
and the cross road Ag Saranda-Kakava-Merd|an-
Leskovk were crtca ocatons for the support of any
future operatons due to the fact that the transportaton
route was bound to be shortened, f use was made of the
above ocatons after managng to have them both
secured. Ths fact assumed even greater mportance,
gven that the motor vehces of the Greek Army were
numercay nadequate, of many dherent types, and n a
bad state of repar. Most of these vehces had been
requstoned and therefore coud not be repaced wth
new ones from foregn sources and, what s more, there
was no reserve stock of spare parts, so as to repar the
damages. If used to ther fu capacty the vehces were
ony expected to ast as far as the area of the borders.
On the bass of the abovementoned facts, the
Genera Headquarters decded to focus ts man ehort
aong the axs Ioannna-Avonas, wthout rung out the
addtona possbty of expotaton deep nsde the
northern sector of Kortsa. To that end, the A' and B' Army
99
Corps were renforced wth the III and XI Dvsons
respectvey.
1-4, In genera, the manoeuvre of the
Genera Headquarters amed at :
-Securng the free use of the carrage roads Leskovk-
Kortsa and Kakava-Ag Saranda, wth the mountan buks
of Ma Ger (west of Argyrokastro)-Kore (Northeast of
Argyrokastro)-Ma Kokoka (north of Premet) as the
desred ob|ectves.
-Advancng the eft ank of the A' AC northwards
usng the rght ank of the entre dsposton (C' AC-DvGr
K) as a strong and secure pvot. The centre (B' AC) was
assgned to foow and assst ths advance, and aso to
provde a stabe nk between the two anks.
The mssons assgned to the Large unts of the front
were as foows:
-The A' Army Corps woud operate n the genera
drecton of Eea-Argyrokastro-Tepeen-Avonas, co-
ordnatng ts move wth the B' Army Corps on the rght.
-The B' Army Corps woud operate n the genera
drecton Mertzan-Verat, through the vaeys of rver Aoos
and Apsou (Ouzoun), co-ordnatng ts acton on the rght
wth the A' Army Corps and nkng up wth the two other
anks of the front (A' AC-WMFAS).
-The WMFAS (C' AC-DvGrK) woud secure the
hghand of Kortsa from the northern and western
drectons and appy strong pressure aganst the enemy
forces, n order to engross ther attenton and detan
them, to the advantage of the other Large Unts of the
front (A'-B' AC). The carrage roads, west of Kortsa,
towards Moschopos - Devos -Pogradetz soud be the
startng ponts for the respectve drectons of attack, n
order to acheve the deepest possbe ntraton. The am
of the promoton north of Pogradetz was to bock oh that
drecton and hnder the enemy from movng westwards.
The forces, that remaned as genera reserves of the
Commander n chef of the Army, were the V and XIII
Dvson, the XVI Brgade n North-western Macedona and
the IV Dvsons n Eprus.
In the etters of nstructon of the Commander n
chef, there was no na denton of the ob|ectves so that
the commands may dspay ther ntatve, n order to take
advantage of ther successes unt the tme mt mposed
by the onset of wnter, when operatons woud essentay
come to a hat.
(he Ad#an-e of the A' Army Corps to/ards the #alley of
1rinos ri#er
("o#em$er 4,!&2 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 11)
1-/, Snce November 24, the A' Army
Corps resumed ts pursut of the enemy wthn the
northern Eprus terrtory. In parae, t began to orent ts
unts n the genera drecton of Ioannna-Avonas, so as to
prepare for any further operatons, n accordance wth the
Genera Headquarters nstructons.
In the coasta sector, the Lubas Detachment
contnued ts ohensve nsde the northern Eprus terrtory,
after havng occuped the boundary ne north of the
vage Sayada, on November 25, at the end of a erce
ght. By the evenng, on November 26, t had managed to
gan contact wth the enemy poston south of the rver
Pava, despte the vgorous counter-acton of the Itaan
Arforce. The atter succeeded n destroyng the brdges of
Vrysea and Menna on Kaamas rver, an acton whch
created consderabe dmcutes n the resuppy of the
Detachment troops.
101
Meanwhe, n order to assst the ohensve of the
Lubas Detachment, the Mtary Command of Kerkra had
organsed, by order of the Genera Headquarters, a
detachment comprsng 5 omcers and 190 ete troops.
Ths was transported by motor boats and anded at the
area of Kato Aetos on November 23, at 0630 hrs. Its
msson was to move towards Vangaat, n order to attack
the rear area of the enemy. However, nstead of actng as
nstructed, t moved southwards and aong the coastne
durng the day, arrvng at Konspos, where t spent the
nght. On the foowng day, t contnued to move
southwards, n order to nk up wth the Greek troops that
were actng towards the north. However, the Itaan troops
became aware of ts presence and attacked t. The
detachment dsbanded and the ma|orty of ts troops were
taken prsoners. Eventuay, ony 2 omcers and 45 soders
were abe to nk up forces wth the Lubas Detachment.
On November 27, the Lubas Detachment resumed ts
ohensve, contnuousy pressng the enemy postons and
forcng the Itaans to wthdraw towards the vaey of
Bstrtsa rver, n the nght of November 27 to 28. The
pursut of the enemy commenced on the foowng day. By
the evenng on November 30, the Detachment troops had
reached the east bank of Bstrtsa rver and had
estabshed ther forces there, n contact wth the Itaans
who were occupyng the west bank of the rver.
1-*, In the sector of the VIII Dvson, the Greek troops
contnued ther ehort to occupy the dee of Kakava,
whch had been organsed by the enemy and was strongy
occuped by the troops of the Apne Dvson.
On November 24, the VIII Dvson aunched an
attack, n order to break through the abovementoned
pass, but was contaned, havng encountered the vgorous
resstance of the enemy. On November 27, after a erce
ght, n whch the scaes were constanty waverng
between the two sdes, the Dvson managed to occupy
the mountan range of the heghts 669 and Bourato.
Nevertheess, t was not abe to hod them, due to the
strong resstance of the Itaans n con|uncton wth the
severe bzzard that had broken out n the meantme. By
November 30, contnung ts ehort, the Dvson managed
to occupy the ne Kakava vage-Bouna forest-heght
1672 (Makrykambos), where t consodated ts poston.
1-0, As of November 25, the II Dvson began to act n
the drecton Drymades-Potsan. On the foowng day,
after occupyng the vage of Potsan, t proceeded
towards a dee of great tactca sgncance, the Sucha
dee, extendng over a dstance of eght kometres wth
a breadth of 200-600 meters and steep sopes on both
sdes.
In the evenng of November 29, the Dvson
managed to occupy the south-western ext of the dee
and to estabsh ts forces on the northern heghts of
Soucha vage.
On the nght of November 29 to 30, the Itaans
aunched a powerfu counter-attack whch, nevertheess,
was successfuy repused. The next day, the Itaans
contnued ther counter-attacks, supported by ther
arforce. The strugge was erce and asted unt the
evenng hours, whereupon the combat troops of the
Dvson that were on ste wthdrew towards the entrance
of the dee.
The Itaan Arforce, wth the excepton of the unts
engaged n acton, bombed a popuated areas of the
regon, causng the death of more than 30 cvans.
1-1, As of November 2, the III Dvson, whch had been
movng towards the zone of operatons, was paced at the
dsposa of the A' Army Corps. On November 23, t had
reached the area south of Ioannna, havng covered a
dstance of 350 kometres wth ts troops marchng under
adverse weather condtons. On November 24, the
Dvson was ordered to advance to the area of Doana n
103
order to commence operatons by November 28 n the
area south of the Devnak-Kakava-Argyrokastro road.
Durng the two days November 26 and 27, the
Dvson unts contnued ther advance, n order to seze
the postons from whch ther attack was to be aunched,
n the area of the vages Pepe and Bouarat.
Nevertheess, the troops were not abe to reach them n
tme and thus the attack was aunched n the mornng of
November 30. By that evenng, at the end of a erce
strugge, the Dvson managed to seze the eastern rdges
of heght 1297 (Kazana) and the southern outskrts of
Bouarat vage.
(he Ad#an-e of the )' Army Corps to/ards Fraseri
(4,!& "o#em$er 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 12)
1-, In parae to the advance of the A'
Army Corps towards the vaey of rver Drnos, the B' Army
Corps conducted new ehorts, amng at repusng the
Itaans even further nsde the northern Eprus terrtory
and to fuy secure the road of Mertzan-Leskovk-Erseka-
Kortsa wthn ts zone.
On November 23, the B' Army Corps renforced the
Cavary Brgade wth Reconnassance Groups B', D' and a
pack battery and proceeded to order the speedy
concentraton of the Brgade n the area of Borova vage.
The Brgade was assgned to act n the drecton of
Premet, n order to assst the operatons conducted n the
vaey of the rver Aoos.
The XI Infantry Dvson and the Cavary Dvson, that
by order of the Genera Headquarters had been paced at
the dsposa of the B' Army Corps, were ncorporated n
the atter as of November 27 and 28 respectvey.
1.!, By November 27, after havng sezed
the eastern rdges of the heght 1500 (Ma Pscat) on
November 24 and havng mproved the postons t was
occupyng, the I Dvson resumed ts acton n the genera
drecton of Ma Pscat-Ma Kokoka. By the evenng of
the foowng day, the Dvson had competed the
occupaton of Ma Pscat heght, whe some of ts troops,
that had advanced, entered the vage of Gostvst where
they took 48 prsoners and sezed 8 guns, 8 machne-
guns, hundreds of res and other war suppes.
On November 29 and 30 the Dvson contnued ts
ohensve acton, but was forced to sow down, owng to
the vgorous enemy resstance. The occupaton of a heght
range at the south-east of the Ma Kokoka heght
consttuted ts soe achevement durng that tme.
1.1, The Cavary Brgade began to move n
the drecton of Borova-Navosea-Fraser snce the mornng
of November 25, wthout watng to compete the
concentraton of ts forces. By the same evenng, t was
abe to gan contact wth the enemy at the south-eastern
rdges of the heght 1305. However, due to the ateness of
the hour t dd not take any further acton.
On November 26, Brgade troops occuped the heght
1305 and the vage of Zavaan. Durng the foowng
days and up unt November 30, the Brgade ehorted to
advance towards Fraser, but ts ehort was not successfu
due to the strong resstance and successve counter-
attacks of the enemy aganst the vunerabe troops of the
Cavary Brgade.
1.-, The V Infantry Brgade operated n parae wth the
Cavary Brgade, further to the north, n the drecton of
the heghts Ma Kekes-Ma Lres.
On November 27, after a cose combat , t managed
to occupy the heght Ma Kekes and advanced towards
the south-west, as far as the heght Kafe Lres.
105
On the foowng day, November 28, t managed to
mop up the area of the Ma Kekes heght and advanced
as far as Apsos rver. At the same tme, t aso drected ts
acton towards the vage of Fraser, but the ehort dd not
succeed due to the counter-acton of the enemy forces
that hed ther ground strongy at the occuped heghts
around the vage.
The Brgade troops, that occuped the heght of Kafe
Lres, remaned at ther postons awatng ther reef by
the XI Dvson whch, n the meantme, had been
ncorporated n the B' army Corps and had been assgned
to pass through the nes of the V Brgade and act n the
drecton of the Kafe Lres heght. However, due to the
favourabe deveopment of the operatons wthn the zone
of the V Brgade, the B' Army Corps ssued a new order, by
whch the V Brgade was to contnue to occupy ts sector,
whe the XI Dvson was to reman as a reserve n the
area of the Ma Randomt heght. The Dvson was
nstructed to pace a snge Infantry regment at the
dsposa of the Cavary Brgade, n order to enabe the
atter to contnue ts acton towards Fraser.
1.., The
Cavary Dvson had remaned under the command of the
A' Army Corps unt November 27 and was operatng n ts
rght ank, cosey asng wth the B' Army Corps. Durng
ths perod, t managed to advance as far as Legattsa
rver, where t ascertaned that the enemy was rmy
hodng ts ground wth strong forces n the area of the
west bank. On the foowng day, t managed to cross the
rver and moved towards Premet.
By November 30, at the end of a stubborn strugge,
the Dvson troops reached the eastern bank of Aoos rver.
Ther attempt to move towards the western bank faed,
due to the strong counter-acton of the enemy, but they
were abe to ascertan that the Itaans had begun to
abandon Premet and were n the process of wthdrawng
towards Kssoura.
(he 3+FA4 (C'AC,1i#Gr5.5' Operations2
for the -omplete se-uring of the Highplateau of .oritsa
(24-30 November, 1940)
(Sketch-map no. 12)
1.4, By order no. 3342 of the Genera Headquarters,
ssued to the WMFAS on November 22, the foowng was
decded :
Foowng my order No. 13174/1-11-40, contnue your
ehort wth ntensty accordng to your |udgement, amng
at bockng oh the routes towards Kortsa hghpateau and
the carrage road Kortsa-Leskovk, from the West and the
North, and as far deeper as you can reach, n order to
acheve safe and free use of the sad road.
The WMFAS, n order to reeve ts troops that had
been overcome wth fatgue, decded to suspend ts
operatons temporary and rased ob|ectons to that ehect
aganst the order of the Genera Headquarters.
Subsequenty, the Genera Headquarters ssued the
foowng suppementary order :
The contnuaton of the operatons for the
accompshment of the order 13342/22/11 s to be sought
after n haste. We acknowedge the fatgue of our troops,
however, the enemys condton s worse. It s not to our
advantage to aow the enemy to reorganse and redepoy
ts forces. Each and every day that goes by actuay
serves to aggravate rather than factate your ehorts. You
must stress the above to the commanders of your unts
and demand postve resuts.
1./, On November 23, the WMFAS ssued ts own
operaton nstructons, whch comprsed the foowng
man ponts :
- Durng the rst phase : The C' Army Corps was to
secure the mountan buk of Ivan, the dee of Tsagon and
107
the secton of Morova that was ncuded wthn ts zone.
Smutaneousy, t woud keep contact wth the enemy
towards the artera roads that ran aong the akes Mak
and Prespa Ma|or. Dvson Group K was assgned to
occupy Kafe Kart dee, hod ts ground rmy at that
poston and cover the eft ank of the C' Army Corps.
Furthermore, t was to keep contact wth the enemy n the
drectons of Moschopos and Ostravtsa. The B' Army
Corps was assgned to cover Leskovk from the northwest,
n cose cooperaton wth the Cavary Dvson, and was to
nk up wth Dvson Group K.
- Durng the second phase : The C' Army Corps was
to advance ts depoyment between akes Mega Prespa
and Mak, as far as the northern exts of the dees, and
was ordered to hod ts ground rmy nsde the dee of
Devos rver, as far as Prespa (Tsagon). Dvson Group K
and the B' Army Corps were to contnue and consodate
the ehorts of the rst phase.
- Durng the thrd phase : The C' Army Corps was to
advance ts dsposton between akes Achrs and Mak, as
far as the dee of Devos rver as far as Tresova, wth a
strong brdgehead n the area of Pogradetz. Dvson Group
K was to cover the eft ank of the C' Army Corps, whe
the B' Army Corps woud provde fu coverng to the
artera road Messopetra-Erseka-Kortsa wthn ts zone.
1.*, The C' Army Corps assgned the IX and XIII
Dvsons wth the ohensve operatons, n order to wdey
secure the hghpateau of Kortsa from the Northwest. The
XV Dvson was assgned to secure the Tsagon dee and
the mountan buk of Ivan.
The IX Dvson commenced ts acton on November
24, n order to occupy the heghts that ay to the
Northwest of ake Mak. By November 26 ts troops had
reached the ne of the vages Tresova and Tseresnko
wthout encounterng any serous resstance of the enemy.
On the foowng day the Dvson resumed ts
ohensve ehort. After havng successvey sezed the
heghts 1434 and 1652, t aunched an attack aganst the
heght 1548 and managed to seze the atter on
November 29, despte the stubborn resstance of the
enemy. The enemy abandoned on the batteed 55 ked
n acton and 120 wounded, ncudng 10 omcers.
On November 30, the Dvson had panned to
operate towards the heght 1532, but due to heavy
snowfas, ths operaton was not carred out.
The XIII Dvson commenced ts ohensve acton on
November 25. By that evenng, the sadde of Grambottsa
was occuped. On the foowng day Dvson troops shfted
ther acton to the west of the sadde, n order to nk up
wth the IX Dvson and sezed the heght 1210. On
November 27 and 28, the Dvson focused ts actvty on
the ehort to mprove ts postons and prepare ts troops
for the attack aganst the heght 1292 whch towered over
the area as far as Pogradetz and had been powerfuy
organsed.
The attack aganst the heght 1292 commenced n
the mornng of November 29, wthout the requred
coordnaton between the artery re and the movement
of the attackng nfantry, many due to the nactvty of
the atter. Ths had as a resut the sow down of the entre
operaton and the sezure of the heght n the mornng of
the foowng day. The fa of the heght 1292 had a
decsve ehect on the Itaans defendng at Pogradetz who
began to evacuate ther defensve area as far as ake
Achrs and were n the process of wthdrawng towards
Evasan. Reconnassance troops of the C' Army Corps
entered Pogradetz at 1000 hrs and occuped the town.
1.0, The advance of Dvson Group K
westwards, began n parae wth the advance of the C'
Army Corps to the area Northwest of Kortsa.
On November 24, the X Dvson occuped
Moschopos and, n the course of the foowng day, t
proceeded to advance towards the North-western heghts,
where t estabshed ts defence by order of Dvson Group
109
K . On November 26 and 27, the necessary
rearrangements were conducted on the eft ank of the
Dvson, n order to factate the extenson of ts zone of
acton towards the eft, that woud occur after the
assgnment of the IX Dvson to the B' Army Corps. As of
November 28, the ohensve was resumed, and, by
November 30, the ne Maskouor heght-Pounemra
vage- Krousva heght had been occuped.
By November 25, whe operatng on the eft ank of
the X Dvson, the XI Dvson had managed to occupy the
ne Treska vage-heght 1843-Kourora heght, havng
encountered no resstance on the part of the enemy,
where t estabshed ts defence, havng been assgned to
cover the drectons from Ostravtsa and Apsos vaey to
Beavonda and Kortsa. As of November 27, t was paced
under the command of the B' Army Corps.
1.1, The operatons conducted by the C'
Army Corps and Dvson Group K up unt November 30,
were entrey successfu and as a resut the Greek forces
advanced as far as the eastern sopes of mount Kama.
Thus, the area of Kortsa was fuy secured.
Foowng a request of the C' Army Corps, the XVII
Dvson was assgned to t as of November 27. The XVII
Dvson, whch had |ust arrved at the area of
Mesopotama, was ordered by the C' Army Corps to
graduay reeve the XIII Dvson, that after been reeved
woud act as a reserve of the Genera Headquarters.
The reef of the XIII Dvson was consdered
necessary, n order to aow ts unts sumcent tme to rest
and re-group, due to the weaknesses they had dspayed
durng the most recent operatons. These weaknesses
beng many the resut of ack of professony competent
senor and reguar |unor omcers, dd not fa to ahect the
coheson of the Dvson, despte the actve and
contnuous presence of ts Commander on the ed of
acton and notwthstandng the success of the Dvson
durng the batte of heght 1292-Pogradetz.
(he O--upation of Agii 4aranda and Argyro6astro
(1,1 1e-em$er 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 11)
1., At the end of November 1940 and after
a seres of erce battes, the A' Army Corps, that had been
advancng n the drecton of the Ioannna-Avonas axs,
depoyed ts forces aong an amost 65 Km wdth front.
Ths front extended from the shores of the Adratc sea
rght up to the rver Aoos.
In the coasta sector, the Loubas Detachment
operated n two drectons. The eft ank (Team of Coone
Konstantnos Papadopouos) was abe to reach Bstrtsas
rver rght before the town of Ag Saranda, whe the rght
ank (Team of Coone Panaghots Raftopouos) managed
to occupy the naccessbe buk of the Tsamandas
mountans.
The III Dvson, that had been commtted to the
acton as of November 28, took over the sector that ay
south of the carrage road Devnak-Kakava and as far as
the mountans of Tsamandas.
The VIII Dvson conducted a seres of erce battes,
whch asted ten days, aganst the enemy forces
occupyng the area of Kakava pass-Bourato, but
eventuay faed to break down ther resstance.
The II Dvson operated on the rght ank of the Army
Corps and on ether sde of the rocky, steep and
naccessbe mountan range of Nemertska, havng paced
the buk of ts forces on the north-eastern sde of the
Soucha dee.
14!, As of December , the A' Army Corps
resumed ts advance wthn the terrtory of Northern
Eprus, accordng to the nstructons of the Genera
Headquarters.
111
From December 1 to 4, the eft ank (Papadopouos
Team) of the Lubas Detachment deat wth the
renforcement of ts occuped postons ocated south-east
of rver Bstrtsas. Furthermore, t drected ts ehorts
towards the re-organsaton of ts troops. As of December
, the rght ank (Raftopouos Team) was paced under the
command of the III Dvson, whch acted on the east of
the Detachment. By the mornng of December 4, the
atter Team had managed to cross the upper vaey of
Bstrtsas rver and had succeeded n enveopng the
enemy area facng the Detachment. Subsequenty, the
Itaans wthdrew to the Northwest on the nght of
December 4 to 5, after havng destroyed the brdge n
that area. The wthdrawa was perceved on the mornng
of December 5, whereupon a new mprovsed brdge was
constructed wth the abandoned natabe boat matere
and wth the addtona assstance of the oca nhabtants.
After the competon of the brdge, ght troops beongng
to the Lubas Detachment used t to cross the Bstrtsas
rver. Further to the south, they forded the rver at
Mesopotama vage and proceeded to seze the heghts
whch secured the contro of the cross road Ag Saranda-
Devno.
By the mornng of December 6, the rest of the
Detachment troops had crossed over to the other sde of
the rver, havng had to endure the severe cod and facng
grave hazards due to the dark and the hgh eve of the
frozen waters of the rver. The troops contnued ther
forward movement and, at 0900 hrs, entered and
occuped the town of Ag Saranda, wthout encounterng
any serous enemy resstance. The Itaans wthdrew,
settng re to stores and warehouses and abandonng
arge quanttes of war suppes, especay engneers
equpment and fue suppes.
The occupaton of Ag Saranda created a great
mpresson nternatonay. The repercussons were
detrmenta to the prestge of Musson, snce the Itaans
had changed the name of Ag Saranda to Porto Enda, to
honour Enda, the daughter of Musson and wfe of the
Itaan Mnster of Foregn Ahars, count Cano.
However, the advance of the Detachment troops
beyond Bstrtsas rver served to ncrease the dmcutes
of ther aready probematc resuppy even further. For ths
reason and due to the genera requrements of troop re-
organsaton and rest, nstructons were ssued orderng
the hasty transportaton of suppes from Sayada to Ag
Saranda by motor boats. Furthermore, the sector of the
Lubas Detachment was assgned to the II Dvson.
Nevertheess, the Detachment contnued ts advance
and by December 8 t had occuped Pkeras vage and
Tatezat pass where the Detachment nked up wth the III
Dvson whch was actng on the east of Kaasas rver. By
December 11, the Detachment troops arrved before the
vage of Bors and at the heght of Konak, where they
awated ther repacement by the III Dvson.
141, Durng the thrd ten-day perod of
November, the III Dvson advanced from the area of
Ioannna to the area of Kastanan. Thereafter, n the end
of November, t took over the eft secton of the VIII
Dvson zone, where t depoyed two regments, n order
to conduct ohensve acton n the drecton of Mouzna
vage.
On December , under extremey adverse weather
condtons, t aunched the attack and managed to seze
the eastern rdges of Patyvoun heght as we as the
vage of Bouarat. On the foowng day, an assaut
aunched by Dvson troops seekng to occupy the man
core of the Patyvoun heght ended n faure. The heght,
whch covered the areas of Devno-Argyrokastro and had
been strongy forted, was protected by a barrage of re,
by guns of varous cabres.
On December 3, the above heght was taken after a
erce ght and the enemy wthdrew towards Mouzna
vage. Further to the eft, the Raftopouos Team, assgned
to the Dvson from the Lubas Detachment managed to
113
occupy the southern bank of Bstrtsas rver on the same
day, after a erce batte. On the foowng day, t forded
the rver and depoyed ts forces on the opposte bank.
On December 5, contnung ts movement t
proceeded to occupy the vage of Peza as we as the
surroundng heghts. Thus, the road of Mouzna-Ag
Saranda was paced under the contro of the Dvson. On
the same day, the Reconnassance Group of the Dvson
crossed Bstrtsas rver and entered Devno whch had
aready been evacuated by the Itaans who had eft arge
quanttes of food and other suppes behnd.
On the foowng day, December 6, the Team
Commander Coone Raftopouos entered Devno, where
the nhabtants wecomed hm enthusastcay and ther
Mayor, n a symboc gesture, ohered hm the keys to the
town.
Meanwhe, the A' Army Corps ordered the successve
reef of the III Dvson unts by IV Dvson unts. By order
of the Genera Headquarters the atter Dvson was
paced at the dsposa of the A' Army Corps on the nght of
December 6 to 7. The III Dvson was to move further to
the west and had been assgned to reeve the Lubas
Detachment and to contnue the ohensve n the drecton
of Tatezat vage-Konak heght-Ma Dzoret heght.
However, the commencement of the reef was
postponed for the nght of December 7 to 8, because the
IV Dvson troops dd not arrve n tme at ther desgnated
postons, due to the adverse terran and weather
condtons. Thus, the III Dvson contnued ts ohensve
acton and, by December 7, had reached the ne
Makrykambos heght (1537 heght)-Souvan vage.
After ts reef by the IV Dvson, the III Dvson
concentrated ts forces n the area of Devno-Mouzna.
The necessary admnstratve movements foowed and by
December 2 ts unts had repaced the Lubas
Detachment troops and had ganed contact wth the
enemy. The reef of the troops on the mountan buk
Konak-Gats was conducted under a severe bzzard and
encountered many adverstes.
14-, By the end of November, the VIII Dvson was n
cose contact wth the strongy occuped poston of the
enemy on the heghts of 669-Bourato. On December 1 and
2, under extremey bad weather, the Dvson faed n ts
successve ehorts to seze the heghts 669 and Bourato,
suherng extremey heavy osses n the process.
On December 3, Dvson troops managed to occupy
the Bourato heght after another arduous ohensve ehort.
Thereafter, they contnued southwards, n order to
enveop heght 669, snce a fronta attack aganst t had
aready been repused. The acton south of Bourato aso
contnued on December 4 but faed to seze the heght
669.
In the evenng of December 4, the Commander n
chef arrved at the Headquarters of the A' Army Corps, n
Kapak, accompaned by the Crown Prnce where they had
a breng by the Commander of the VIII Dvson about the
accompshments up to that pont. After congratuatng
the Dvson Commander on hs work, the Commander n
chef proceeded to demand the sezure of the heght 669
by the foowng day, whereupon the Dvson woud retre
to become reserve of the Army Corps.
However, on the nght of December 4 to 5, the
Itaans managed to wthdraw from heght 669 wthout
beng notced by the Greek troops. The evacuaton of the
fought for heght 669, was dscovered n the mornng of
December 5. The enemy abandoned there about 100
unbured dead and more than 150 graves that attested
the erceness of the strugge and the perseverance of
both partes for the contro of the above heght. Durng
ther wthdrawa through the pass of Kakava, the Itaans
abandoned arge quanttes of ammuntons, a fact whch
aso reveaed ther hasty wthdrawa.
The occupaton of heghts 669 and Bourato opened
the way towards the vaey of Drnos rver. On December
115
6, a Combut Team of the VIII Dvson operated towards
the vage Lbhova and sezed t. Thereafter, t nked up
wth the II Dvson n the area east of Soucha. On the
foowng day, the greatest part of the Dvson was
reeved by the III Dvson and t remaned as a reserve at
the area north of Kakava, for re-groupng.
Thus the forty-day contnuous and unnterrupted
strugge of the VIII Dvson ended on 7 December. Durng
the operatons t captured 46 omcers and ,490 soders of
the enemy and sezed approxmatey 30 tanks, of whch
15 were n a good state, an entre 65mm battery, 3 Skoda
guns, a arge number of automatc weapons, res, rados
etc. Most of these tanks were repared and empoyed
thereafter by the Greek troops.
The casuates suhered by the Dvson were heavy
and amounted to 34 omcers and 280 soders ked n
acton, 48 omcers and 1,360 soders wounded and 84
soders mssng n acton.
14., On December st, the II Dvson troops of whch hed
the north-eastern sde of the Soucha dee repeed an
attack by the enemy forces, whe organsng two combat
teams, both of regmenta strength, for the further
contnuaton of operatons, one to be empoyed south and
the other north of the Loudzertse mountan range. On
December 2, the southern team aunched an attack to
seze the dee of Soucha. Despte the ferocous enemy
counter-acton n con|uncton wth the barrage of etha
machne-gun and artery re, the Team succeeded n
reachng as far as the vage of Setska by the same
evenng. After a erce and contnuous strugge on 3 and 4
December t managed to force ts way nto the dee and
to occupy the south-western ext.
Ths success surprsed the enemy forces depoyed at
the area of Soucha vage who were overcome wth panc
and ed, abandonng arge quanttes of weapons and
suppes. The evacuaton of the town of Argyrokastro
commenced smutaneousy, accordng to reports of the
Itaan prsoners.
On December , the team that acted n the northery
drecton, between the mountan buks of Loudzertse and
Nemertska-Debet, managed to seze heght 2145 of
mount Nemertska. Nevertheess, because of the arctc
cod and the resuppy dmcutes, the team retred to the
western sde of the heght on December 3.
Snce December 4, accordng to the order of the A'
Army Corps, the Dvson resumed ts ohensve towards
the sadde of Tsayoup, n order to bock the canazaton
of forces from the vaey of Aoos rver to and from the
vaey of Drnos rver.
In the southern drecton, the Dvson sezed the
vage of Lambova Ma|or, at the south of the Tsayoup
sadde as we as the heghts to the east of Hormova
vage, both by December 10. In the northern drecton,
Topova vage and ts area had been sezed by December
7, whe the sadde of Tsayoup was sezed -wthout a
combat- on the foowng day. The ehort conducted by the
Dvson n the drecton of the Mouskes sadde was
unsuccessfu unt December 2, many due to the adverse
weather condtons and the numerous osses suhered by
the Dvson n manpower and pack anmas durng the
operatons.
144, By November 9, the IV Dvson, whch was
mobsed n Nafpo and advanced to Kaambaka, had
concentrated ts forces n the area of Koutsouan. As of
November 24 t began to move by nght marches to the
west of Ioannna, where t arrved on December 2.
Thereafter, accordng to the order of the Genera
Headquarters, t became subordnate to the A' Army
Corps. By December 6, t had advanced to the area of the
vages Kastanan-Kerasovo-Batssta, near the Greek
-Abanan borders.
On the nght of December 7 to 8, by order of the A'
Army Corps, t repaced the III Dvson troops at the ne
117
Peza-Mouzna-Souvan and on December 8 t began to
advance to the Northwest of Argyrokastro. In the same
evenng, t managed to occupy the town of Dervtsan and
the surroundng heghts, despte the adverse weather
condtons. At the entrance of Dervtsan, the troops were
wecomed by about 700 young men and women, who
were wavng the Greek Fag and sang the Natona
Anthem and the Easter hymn Chrst s Rsen.
By the foowng day, the Dvson contnued ts
advance and, on December 11, sezed by a surprse attack
the southern rdges of Ma Spat heght as we as the
Bouzae Sefer Agat sadde, contnung southwards towards
the Skvovk heght.
On December 2, foowng orders of the A' Army
Corps, the IV Dvson drected ts forces westwards, so as
to occupy the sadde on the east of Skvovk heght and
from there to have under ts artery re the Kouts
vage, as we as the sadde east of Ma D|oret heght.
The IV Dvson troops stuated at the area of Bouzae Sefer
Agat, were reeved by troops of the II Dvson.
14/, Meanwhe, as of December 5, the A' Army Corps had
organsed a Combat Team n the area of Kakava,
comprsng one Infantry battaon, two Fed batteres and
an Anttank Artery battery. The Combat Team was
prncpay assgned to provde anttank coverng of the
anks of both dvsons that were operatng north and
south of the Kakava-Argyrokastro road.
On December 7, the above Combat Team advanced
to Dervtsan, where on the foowng day, t was nformed
that the enemy had aready evacuated Argyrokastro snce
the nght of December 5 to 6, due to the advance of the
Greek dvsons. Foowng these reports, the Team
proceeded n haste and occuped the town, estabshng ts
forces on the heghts stuated approxmatey 4 kms north
and Northeast of Argyrokastro. Durng ther wthdrawa,
the Itaans eft the town ntact and abandoned a
muttude of war suppes. The entrance of the Greek
troops nto the town caused a storm of enthusasm
amongst the nhabtants, who wecomed them wth ags
and festvtes. The same enthusasm aso prevaed
throughout the Greek manand.
(he O--upation of *remeti and Fraseri
(1,1 1e-em$er 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 12)
14*, Towards the end of November, the B' Army Corps
that was aso advancng wthn the terrtory of Northern
Eprus, had arrved n the area east of Premet and Fraser,
whe further to the north t had managed to occupy the
Randomt heghts.
As of November 30, the Army Corps ceased to be
subordnate to the WMFAS and was paced under the
drect command of the Genera Headquarters. Meanwhe,
on November 29, t had ssued orders to ts unts by whch
they were nstructed to contnue operatons and occupy
the area of Premet-Ma Kokoka-Fraser, assgnng them
the foowng mssons:
-The Cavary Dvson were to attack n the drecton
of Devna-Hotova, coverng the eft ank of the I Dvson.
-The I Dvson was to attack n the drecton of
Royann-Seentsa.
-The Cavary Brgade, that had an addtona XI
Dvson Regment under ts command, was to operate n
the drecton of heghts Ma Kekes-Kafe Lopouses and
enveop the enemy poston of Fraser from the north.
-The V Brgade was to secure heghts Ma Kekes and
1305.
-The XI Dvson was to secure further north the area
of Kafe Lres and to cover the rght ank of the Cavary
Brgade.
119
140, On December 2, the Cavary Dvson, whch was
operatng on the eft of the B' Army Corps zone, had
managed to pace Premet under ts re, and the brdge by
Aoos rver. That brdge was bown up by the Itaans the
foowng mornng. On December 3, the Dvson resumed
ts ohensve and, at around 1000 hrs, ts troops (the
Detachment of Leutenant Coone Dmokostouas)
occuped the town and took about 250 prsoners. The
wthdrawa of the Itaans from Premet was conducted
under the coverng of ther tanks and a arge number of
arcraft. Further to the north, another secton of the
Dvson occuped the vage of Gostvst and the
surroundng heghts n the same day.
On December 4, the Dvson contnued ts ohensve
towards the north-west. Encounterng no serous
resstance durng the occupaton of the Ma Bodard
mountan range and Hotova vage, t proceeded to
advance beyond Loumntsa rver and by December 8, had
taken possesson of heght 1150, on the Northwest of the
vage of A Postvan.
Snce the foowng day, the Cavary Dvson
suspended the conduct of any further ohensve
operatons. Foowng a B' Army Corps order, that was
ssued on December 3, the I Dvson was to graduay take
over the zone of the Cavary Dvson. The atter, after ts
repacement, was to concentrate ts forces Northwest of
Premet, pacng them at the dsposa of the Genera
Headquarters.
141, On December 3 and at the end of a erce ght, the I
Dvson had managed to occupy the southern rdges of
Kokoka heght, whe actng on the rght of the Cavary
Dvson. On the foowng day, t contnued ts ohensve
ehort and, by the evenng hours of December 6, ts troops
had reached the eastern rdges of heght 1292, n cose
contact wth the enemy.
From December 6 to 2, the Dvson many focused
ts ehorts on the task of mprovng ts occuped postons
and reevng graduay the Cavary Dvson, a task that
was competed by the evenng of December 10.
14, On December st, the Cavary Brgade occuped the
Kafe Kortses heght and on December 2, the vage of
Seropou west of Fraser. Ths bod ohensve acton of the
Cavary Brgade was the decsve factor of the batte of
Fraser and forced the enemy to wthdraw to a new
poston east of Kssoura.
On the foowng day, the Brgade contnued ts
ohensve and by December 5, t had arrved at the area
of Mad vage, east of the Garonn mountan buk. Ths
acton concuded the msson of the Cavary Dvson,
whch remaned, thereafter, as a reserve n the area of
Fraser. Accordng to the orders of the B' Army Corps,
further operatons wthn the Brgade zone were assgned
to the XI Dvson. The regment of ths Dvson, whch had
been temporary assgned to the Cavary Brgade snce
November 29, returned to ts parent unt.
1/!, In December 3, after the requred
reconnassance and preparaton, the XI Dvson aunched
a strong attack aganst the entre front of ts zone of
responsbty and by the same evenng, t had managed
to seze the Ma Potomt heght.
In December 5 the Dvson contnued towards the
heght 1200 and sezed t n the foowng day, after a
erce and waverng batte. Despte the adverse weather
condtons and the ferocous counter-acton of the enemy,
the Dvson contnued ts ohensve ehort. Thus, by
December 0, t had managed to take possesson of the
Gana heght. The Itaan troops wthdrew westwards,
abandonng 15 machne-guns, about 50 ght machne-
guns and over 200 res on the batteed.
The Dvson casuates durng the ohensve aganst
the Gana heght were consderabe, amountng to 9
omcers and 24 soders ked n acton, 8 omcers and 122
soders wounded and 20 soders mssng n acton.
121
1/1, The ncessant strugge of the B' Army Corps unts as
of November 14 and the adverse weather condtons wore
out the men and created serous decences. Thus, the
Command of the Army Corps addressed the Genera
Headquarters, requestng a rest perod of 8 to 10 days for
ts troops after the occupaton of Fraser or, at the very
east, the renforcement of the Corps wth an addtona
dvson before resumng operatons.
In December 5, the Commander n chef and the
Crown Prnce arrved at the Headquarters of the B' Army
Corps. After a breng about the stuaton, the Genera
Headquarters acknowedged the request of the B' Army
Corps, regardng the urgency of ts renforcement, and
decded to provde t wth the XV Dvson n the pace of
the V Brgade and the Cavary Brgade. These Brgades
had aready endured many hardshps and were decent
n resuppy equpment, a fact whch further aggravated
ther ehorts. After ther reef they were to reman as
reserves, at the dsposa of the Commander n Chef.
The XV Dvson was reeved by the XIII Dvson , that
was once agan at the dsposa of the WMFAS. The V
Dvson was summoned to n for the XIII Dvson, as a
reserve of the Commander n chef and had concentrated
ts forces at the area of vages Photas-Perdka and was
ordered to move to the area of Kastora-Argos Orestko.
On the nght of December 5 to 6, the XV Dvson
moved away from the area of Kortsa and by December 8,
ts forces had been paced at the dsposa of the B' Army
Corps. On December 2, n the course of the afternoon, the
Dvson arrved at the area of Fraser n fu strength.
On December 2, the V Brgade was stuated n the
area of Seropou, been under the command of Infantry
Coone Panaghots Krtkos snce December . On the
same day, the Cavary Brgade was n the area of Fraser.
Durng the evenng of December 2, the I Dvson
occuped the ne Grambove vage-1150 heght, havng
been assgned to occupy the heght.
Thus, after the occupaton of Premet and Fraser, the
B' Army Corps had competed the requred admnstratve
movements of ts troops and hed ts ground rmy aong
the ne Grambove vage-heght 1150-Tserevonda vage.
(he Operations of the 3+FA4 in the "orthern 4e-tor of
the Front (.oritsa'
(1e-em$er 1,12 1%4&'
(Sketch-map no. 12)
1/-, The WMFAS contnued ts operatons n the northern
sector of the front (Kortsa), whe the A' and B' Army
Corps were conductng ther operatons from December 1
to 12.
In the zone of the C' Army Corps the IX Dvson whe
hodng ts ground rmy at the heghts 1652 and 1548, by
the eastern feet of mount Kama, contnued on December
1 the fronta attack n order to occupy the heght 1532
whch towered over the area of Pogradetz and was of
partcuar tactca mportance. The progress recorded by
that evenng was mnma, because of the vgorous enemy
resstance and the adverse weather condtons.
Meanwhe, as of December , the XVII Dvson took
over the sector of the XIII Dvson and was ordered by the
C' Army Corps to attack n the drecton of Prensta vage-
heght 1532-Tservenaka vage. Subsequenty, the acton
of the IX Dvson towards heght 1532 was suspended,
snce the heght was thereby ncuded n the zone of the
XVII Dvson.
On December 4, the IX Dvson attacked and sezed
the heghts 1687 and 1642, wthout encounterng any
serous resstance by the enemy. Wth the occupaton of
the above heghts the Dvson competed the occupaton
of the rdgene of Kama mountan. On December 6, t
sezed the heght 1538, n an attempt to create a
dverson n order to assst the XVII Dvson. However, t
123
was unabe to proceed towards the heght of Kortsa, due
to the enemy counter-acton and a severe bzzard. On
December 0, the Dvson repeated the ohensve acton
aganst the Kortsa heght, but once more the ehort was
not successfu. Subsequenty, the Dvson suspended ts
ohensve operatons and began the defensve
organsaton of ts occuped postons.
1/., On December 1 and 2 and under extremey dmcut
terran and adverse weather condtons, the XVII Dvson
took attack formatons and advanced ts unts to the
departure areas.
On December 3 the Dvson aunched ts attack,
notwthstandng the prevang weather condtons that
had remaned unchanged. After a hard and uncertan
strugge, the Greek troops managed to occupy the heght
1532. The contrbuton of Deputy Commander of the 3st
Regment, Leutenant Coone of the reguar reserve
Sotros Basakos, to ths success was nstrumenta, for hs
acton was one of unequaed courage and audacty. Ths
omcer, despte hs age, took the ntatve and paced
hmsef n command of a force whch surprsed the enemy
at ts rear area, by vrtue of a darng manoeuvre that was
conducted from a precptous sope usng cmbng ropes.
Bayonnet ghtng ensued, at the end of whch the heght
was nay occuped and 13 omcers and 400 soders were
taken prsoners. Furthermore, the casuates of the XVII
Dvson were qute consderabe, amountng to 6 omcers
and 50 soders ked n acton, 7 omcers and 350 soders
wounded and 36 soders mssng n acton.
The bad weather and the mted vsbty due to the
fog and the heavy snowfas, prevented the further
expotaton of the above success. On December 6, the
Dvson resumed the ohensve and managed to occupy
the northern rdges of the heghts 1532 and 1211, despte
the stubborn resstance of the enemy. On the foowng
day, Dvson troops entered Pogradetz and proceeded to
repace the reconnassance troops of the XIII Dvson, that
had aready occupped the town snce November 30 and
had remaned there.
The ohensve ehort of the Dvson contnued durng
the foowng days as we. However, nothng sgncant
was accompshed, because of the vgorous enemy
resstance, the naccessbe terran and the extremey
adverse weather condtons that caused numerous cases
of frostbte and deaths due to the extremey ow
temperatures.
Hence, the C' Army Corps temporary suspended the
ohensve operatons of the Dvson, orderng t to retan
the areas t had occuped, that s, the ne of heght 1532-
heght 1211- Northwestern outskrts of Pogradetz.
The casuates suhered by the Dvson durng the
above operatons were over 100 ked n acton, 650
wounded and 80 mssng n acton. Furthermore, a arge
numbers of weapons were ost. The Itaan osses were
qute consderabe, even though they were not conrmed.
More than 500 Itaans were taken prsoners.
1/4, The Dvson Group K assgned ts XI
Dvson as a reserve to the B' Army Corps, after an order
of the Genera Headquarters, and then advanced
southwards aong wth the X Dvson, as far as Ostravtsa
mountan.
On December , t was desgnated the K Team,
havng as subordnate ony the X Dvson and assgned to
defend the occuped ne, to cover the eft ank of the C'
Army Corps and to keep conduct wth the B' Army Corps
on the eft.
On December 2, the K Team repeated ts ohensve
ehort and by December 4, t had occuped the Marta
sadde of Ostravtsa mountan, at the eft of ts zone, and
the southern rdges of the Mogtsa heght at the rght of
the zone, a venture that was carred out durng a severe
snowstorm.
On December 5 and 6 there was no sgncant
actvty to be recorded. On December 7, despte the
125
contnung bad weather and the severe cod, the Dvson
contnued ts ohensve actvty. Thus, by December 12 t
had managed to occupy mount Ostravtsa and proceeded
to advance as far as the heghts Mnma Lamt and Skemb
Bard wth ts eft ank, whe the rght sezed the Mogtsa
heght.
Crisis /ithin the 7an6s of the Italian High Command
1//, The repeated successes of the Greek
Army aarmed the Itaan Hgh Command and created a
crss wthn ts ranks.
On November 26, the Chef of the Army Genera Stah
Marsha Badogo submtted hs resgnaton. On the same
day, Genera Prcoo, Chef of the Arforce Stah, returned
to Rome from Abana, where he had been sent by order of
Musson, and depcted the beak stuaton at the front.
On November 30, Musson convoked a meetng, n
order to bref hs Cabnet Mnsters, who were unaware of
the stuaton. Furthermore, hs move was an attempt to rd
hmsef of the abtes attrbuted to hm by the whsper
campagn of certan mtary crces and Badogo's frends.
By December 3, ths state of ahars that was both
serous and dangerous for the Itaans, turned nto a panc.
The occupaton of the heghts 1292 and 1532 by the
Greek forces ncted an addtona bow to the aready
shaken morae of the Itaan Commander n Chef n
Abana. In hs report to Musson, wrtten on the nght of
December 3, he stressed the tragc stuaton of the two
Itaan Armes on the Abanan front. Faty and wthout
hestaton he expressed hs opnon that any mtary
acton to reverse the stuaton that has been created, s no
onger possbe, and ths can ony be setted by potca
nterventon. In other words, he was amng at concudng
a truce.
On the foowng day Genera Kavaero was
dspatched over to Abana to examne the stuaton and
on December 6 he was assgned as Chef of the Army
Genera Stah. In hs report to Musson, dated December
5, he characterzed the stuaton of the XI Itaan Army, as
very bad.
The Bar Dvson has ost everythng. The 8th
Apne has ost 80% of ts strength. The 9th Apne suhered
fewer osses. The Vncenza and Aqua battaons
conducted themseves herocay. It s worth honourng the
and upon whch they fought. The Gua Dvson has
been weakened but contnues to ght. Three ed
battaons have not been competey damaged, however
they have no pack transportaton. The 4st and 42nd
Infantry Regments have suhered bady, especay the
4st, whch was -treated by Coone Mana, who was
court-marshaed for un|usted wthdrawa. The 139th
Infantry wthdrew due to ack of ammunton. The Army s
provded wth a day's suppy of ammunton for res or
automatc weapons, no hand-grenades and haf a day's
suppy of artery ammunton. Under these
crcumstances, the Army w be abe to resst for eght
days.
Greece, soated, accordng to Musson, and forced to
ght aone, had crushed ts powerfu adversary to such an
extent, that the enemy's eaders were cang ths
dsastrous defeat the greatest mtary crss of the entre
Itaan hstory, whch coud cover Itay wth shame for
centures on end, and were serousy consderng to be
sub|ected to the ndescrbabe humaton of requestng a
cease-re from the Greek forces.
1/*, In order to avod such humaton and to dea wth
ths crtca stuaton, the Itaan Leadershp nay decded
to turn to ts great ay, Germany, for hep.
Consequenty, Cano summoned Aer, the Itaan
Ambassador to Bern, who was recuperatng n Rome, and
ordered hm to depart for hs post and to pead the
127
Germans to hasten to Itay's ad, to make every ehort
possbe n order to convnce Hter.
Aer ndeed arrved n Bern on December 7 and
mmedatey had a meetng wth the German Mnster of
Foregn Ahars, Von Rbbentrop. However, Rbbentrop was
evasve n hs repy to the urgent Itaan pea for
mmedate hep through the Romanan terrtory. He
stressed the meteoroogca mpedments and the mtary
dmcutes of such an nterventon and cted the potca
and mtary stuaton n Europe as a ma|or obstace that
dd not aow such actons.
On the foowng day, the Itaan Ambassador, who
had naturay become totay pessmstc, was accepted by
the Fuehrer. In pan terms, ayng asde the usua
dpomatc conventons, Aer expaned the stuaton n
Abana. Hter was shaken by ths unvarnshed
presentaton and, enraged by Musson's contnuous
nabty to come up wth soutons, made a few bref
remarks concernng the Itaan campagn and the ghtng
abtes of the Itaan Army. After gvng vent to hs rage,
he dscussed the possbe soutons.
Eventuay, he promsed to oher ar transportaton
assstance to Itay. A few days ater, the 3rd Team of the
no.1 Arforce Squadron (49 Younger 52 arcraft) woud
begn the operaton of transportng Itaan soders and
suppes from Fogga n Itay to the areds of the zone of
operatons, near Avonas and Dyrracho.
(he "e/ Intentions of the General Headquarters
regarding the Further 1e#elopment of the Operations
1/0, The Commander n chef, seekng to be brefed on
ste and to form hs own concusons wth regard to the
stuaton, vsted the zone of operatons from December 2
to 0, accompaned by the Crown Prnce Pau. Durng hs
trp, the Commander n chef conducted the foowng
meetngs wth the commanders of the Large Unts:
In Ztsa, wth the Commander of the A' Army Corps. In
Eea, wth the Commander of the VIII Dvson, n the
presence of the Commander of the A' Army Corps. In
Kontsa wth the Commander of the B' Army Corps and n
Kortsa wth the Commanders of the WMFAS, the C' Army
Corps and K Team.
Durng these meetngs, the Commander n chef
presented hs new ntentons and gave nstructons wth
regard to the conduct of further operatons. The
nstructons of the Commander n chef were formuated n
a drectve of the Genera Headquarters, on December 12,
and assgned the foowng mssons:
-The A' Army Corps was to operate, n order to seze
and secure the |uncton of Tepeen, seekng, furthermore,
to break through the vaey of the rver Soustsa.
-The B' Army Corps was to operate, n order to seze
the |uncton of Kssoura-Tepeen as we as the mountan
buks north of Kssoura-Tepeen.
-The WMFAS was to operate on the bass of the above
nstructons. Furthermore, t was to consodate the ason
wth the B' Army Corps and to cover the eft ank of the
atter from the drectons of the vaeys of Devos and
Tomortsa rvers.
1/1, For the most ehectve co-ordnaton of the future
operatons, an advanced Genera Headquarters echeon
was organsed and became operatona on December 7,
under the drect command of the Commander n chef,
who hed the overa command of operatons aong wth
hs other dutes.
On the bass of the above mentoned future
operatons and for the mprovement of the organsaton of
the Command, Leutenant Generas Kosmas and
Demesthas were mutuay transferred to the A' Army
Corps and to the K Team respectvey. As of December 5,
129
ths partcuar Team was redesgnated as the E' Army
Corps and was addtonay renforced wth certan non
dvsona unts.
(he Operations of the A' Army Corps to/ards (epeleni
and the 8alley of the 7i#er 4iousitsa
(1e-em$er 1!2 1%4& , 9anuary :2 1%41'
(Sketch-map no. 11)
1/, On December 2, the A' Army Corps occuped the
genera ne of Bors vage-Gast heght-south-eastern
rdges of the heghts Skvovk and Ma Spat-sadde of
Bouzae Sefer Agat-Maesova vage, wth the III, IV and II
Dvsons depoyed n contact wth the enemy. The VIII
Dvson and the Lubas Detachment remaned nsde ts
zone, n the areas of Devnak and Devno respectvey,
as a reserve of the Commander n chef.
On December 13 and 4, the Corps unts deat wth
the preparaton of further ohensve operatons and wth
the addtona task of mprovng ther postons. Because
of the contnung bad weather, the rough terran and the
vgorous resstance of the enemy forces, the II and III
Dvsons recorded but tte progress. The IV Dvson, n
spte of the above adverstes, was abe to occupy Pous
dee on south-east of Ma Spat, by empoyng a
successfu manoeuvre, and managed to gan contact wth
the strongy occuped ne Gusmar-Progonat. More than
50 dead were found ater on the batteed, ncudng the
Commander of the 42nd Itaan Regment and hs
ad|utant. Furthermore, 92 prsoners were taken, ncudng
a battaon commander.
1*!, On December 5, the A' Army Corps
drew up ts own pan of acton, aong the foowng
gudenes :
-In order to seze the |uncton of Tepeen :
Immedate attack wth the IV Dvson, to seze the
saddes of Vernko (4kms west of Kenderstsa heght) and
Saara (3kms west of the Tersntsa heght). Thereafter,
the same Dvson was to conduct ohensve acton towards
Saara-Aoos rver, n order to cut oh the carrage road of
Tepeen-Avonas, wth the man ehort towards Nvtsa-
Saara. In the vaeys of rvers Drnos and Zagora, an
attack wth the II Dvson woud be conducted n the
genera drecton of the respectve rver ows. The
ob|ectve of ths attack was to engage and x the enemy
forces and n the event of a favourabe outcome of
operatons, to conduct moppng up operatons of the
above vaeys as far as Aoos rver.
-In order to break through the vaey of Soustsa rver
:
Drastc ohensve wth the III Dvson, n order to seze
the sadde of Kouts, near the homonymous vage and
advance of the coverng detachments towards the vages
of Kaarat and Boena, wth a smutaneous acton by the
same Dvson n the coasta sector, so as to foothod the
enemy forces that were present there.
On the same day, the A' Army Corps ssued an
operatons order to ts dvsons, by whch t assgned the
conduct of the above mssons and t stressed the fact that
despte the ehorts that had aready been made and whch
had surpassed even the most optmstc expectatons, the
ohensve operatons woud have to contnue wthout any
deay, n order to accompsh n fu the ob|ectves that
had been set.
1*1, The IV Dvson, whch had the man ehort, aunched
ts attack nay on December 7, because of the repeated
counter-attacks t had suhered on December 15 and of the
severe frost. Despte the severe bzzard and the arctc
cod, whch caused a great number of frostbte cases
among the men and numerous deaths of pack anmas,
the Dvson managed to take possesson of the Ma Spat
heght, to capture an enemy battery and two ed
131
surgeres and was abe to advance to the south of
Progonat vage.
The attack contnued durng the foowng days and
by the evenng of December 22, the ne of eastern rdges
of Kputs heght-Gusmar vage-Progonat vage-Bouzae
Sefer Agat had been sezed.
From December 23 to 28, the unts mproved and
consodated ther postons under dramatc weather
condtons. On December 28, the vage of Nvtsa was
taken and the entre Itaan battaon, of approxmatey
580 men, defendng that area, was captured.
Accordng to ts msson and foowng the occupaton
of Nvtsa, the Dvson woud conduct a ohensve towards
the vage of Saara. However, ths operaton was not
carred out, due to the numerous frostbte cases that took
a day to of approxmatey 200 men.
The tota number of casuates suhered by the IV
Dvson, snce ts entrance n the war on December 8, was
15 omcers and 252 soders ked n acton, 38 omcers
and 843 soders wounded and 9 soders mssng n
acton. Furthermore, 51 omcers and 2,650 soders were
evacuated due to frostbte and approxmatey 2,800 pack
anmas pershed. However, the Itaan osses n
manpower and pack anmas were aso numerous. Itaan
prsoners of war exceeded 1,300 , ncudng many
omcers.
1*-, The II Dvson aunched ts attack on December 15
and sezed the western sde of the Mouskes sadde on
mount Debet on the same day.
Durng the foowng days, the arctc cod, the depth
of the snow that had reached 75 centmetres, and the
resuppy dmcutes, dd not permt the conduct of any
serous ohensve actons.
On December 7, the Dvson troops operatng n the
centre of ts zone of acton sezed the vage of Hormova,
where they captured 150 Itaans and captured an
abundance of war suppes beongng to the Ferrara
Dvson. Enemy counter-attacks conducted on December
19 and 20, n order to reoccupy the above vage, were
repused.
On December 19, a movement by the eft ank of the
Dvson towards the vage of Leskovk encountered a
strong counter-acton and was eventuay bocked by the
enemy. Due to the ragng snowstorm and the extremey
severe cod, ths ehort was repeated on December 26 and
28, but t was agan unsuccessfu. Subsequenty, the
Dvson temporary suspended the ohensve operatons
and kept busy wth the defensve organsaton of the
terran and, furthermore, wth the vng condtons of the
Dvson troops, and pack anmas.
1*., The III Dvson aunched the attack on December 5.
Despte the substanta support of the artery, the
attackng troops advanced very sowy, due to the enemy
counter-acton, the depth of the snow and the actvty of
the Itaan Arforce, partcuary n the coasta sector.
On December 9, the Dvson troops operatng n the
coasta zone sezed the Gam heght, after a hard ght
that resuted n grave casuates on both sdes. Durng the
same day, other Dvson troops operatng further to the
north aunched a surprse attack at daybreak, wth no
artery preparaton, aganst the powerfuy organsed Ma
e |oret heght. The surprse was successfu and the enemy
troops n the rst p boxes were caught oh ther guard. A
erce strugge ensued wthn the defensve area whch
asted for three days and resuted n the occupaton of the
Ma e |oret heght and the Kouts sadde by the Greek
troops. The successfu outcome of ths batte was of
partcuar mportance, snce the occupaton of the Kouts
sadde opened the road through the Soustsa vaey. On
the Itaan sde, the casuates of ths batte were
approxmatey 400 ked n acton and more than 950
prsoners.
133
Furthermore, they ost sx guns, a mortar company
and a muttude of war suppes. The Greek osses dd not
exceed 100 ked n acton and wounded.
On December 2, the heght of Tspsta, Northwest of
Hmara, was occuped by the Greeks. After that, the
Itaans abandoned Hmara, nto whch the Greek troops
entered, n the mornng of December 22. The beraton of
Hmara from the Abanan occupaton, for the thrd tme,
gave rse to ntense emotons a over Greece and great
enthusasm.
The occupaton of Kouts sadde and Hmara aarmed
the Itaan eadershp to such a degree that on December
24th Musson addressed the foowng teegram to
Cavaero :
Whatever may befa you, I order you to resst to the
very end n the sector of Progonat-Tepeen-Kssoura,
even f tomorrow shoud nd yoursef competey
surrounded. I hereby appont you personay responsbe
to carry out my order wth fu awareness as to ts nature.
By December 23, the Dvson troops contnued ther
movement towards the vages Kaarat and Boena and
sezed both on December 27. An acton conducted by a
Dvson tactca group on |anuary 4, aganst the heght of
Skoutara n the coasta sector, was unsuccessfu, because
of the vgorous counter-acton of the enemy.
1*4, In the meantme, the pace of the operatons of the
Army Corps kept decreasng on the entre front, due to the
arctc cod and the extreme severty of wnter. The
dmcutes of resuppy became amost unsurpassabe and
the bread raton was often reduced to an eghth of the
orgna porton. The frostbte casuates kept ncreasng
and the pack anmas that pershed due to exhauston and
ow temperatures reached aarmng proportons. In the
Kouts area aone, more than 1,200 pack anmas pershed.
Moreover, due to the dscernbe serous threat
created by the openng of the vaey of Sousttsa, the
enemy hastened to transport by sea and ar substanta
renforcements and depoyed them aganst the zone of
the A' Army Corps. These renforcements comprsed two
dvsons and a number of ndependent battaons.
Meanwhe, the Army Genera Stah, whch was
constanty beng kept nformed of the osses and the
terrbe hardshps endured due to the ack of suppes,
paced the Lubas Detachment and the VIII Dvson, both
of whch had been reserves of the Commander n chef
unt then, at the dsposa of the A' Army Corps. From
|anuary 1 to 6, the VIII Dvson graduay repaced the IV
Dvson. After ts reef, the IV Dvson concentrated ts
forces south of Argyrokastro as a reserve of the
Commander n chef.
(he Operations of the )' Army Corps to/ards .lissoura
(1e-em$er 1!2 1%4& , 9anuary :2 1%41'
(Sketch-map no. 12)
1*/, On December 2, the B' Army Corps occuped the ne
Grambove-heght 1150-Tserevonda, wth the I Dvson on
the eft aong Aoos rver, the V Infantry Brgade n the
centre, the XI Dvson on the rght to the north of rver
Apsos and the XV Dvson as a reserve n the area Fraser-
mount Randomt.
After competng the requred reconnassance and co-
ordnaton, the Army Corps ssued ts operaton order on
December 8, whch determned the foowng:
The Army Corps woud attempt to break through the
enemy poston, by sezng the heght 1292 at the
Northeast of Fratar. Thereafter, the Army Corps woud
appy ts man ehort aong the rdgene of mount Garonn
(heghts 1292-1237-1248) and at the same tme woud
operate n the drecton A Postvan-Toar-carrage road
towards Bouz.
135
The na ob|ectve woud be the ne of Sende
mountan-Voskopoa vage-Dobrousa vage, n order to
secure the |unctons of Kssoura and Tepeen.
The I Dvson woud operate on the eft, n the
drecton of the carrage road Kssoura-Bouz, havng been
assgned to occupy the area of Artza-Bouz.
The XV Dvson woud operate n the centre, n the
drecton of heght 1292-heght 1248, assgned to break
through the enemy poston and then to pursue to cut oh
the road to the north of Kssoura, n the area of Souka
vage.
The XI Dvson woud operate on the rght, n the
drecton of Tsepan-Dobrousa, assgned to occupy the
area of Dobrousa vage.
The operatons were schedued to commence on
December 23.
1**, In the meantme, accordng to varous fragmentary
orders of the Corps, the dvsons conducted the foowng
operatons from December 12 to 22.
The I Dvson, contnung ts ohensve actvty n the
southern bank of Aoos rver, advanced as far as the
vage of Brezdan. Further to the north, an ehort of the
Dvson, to seze the heght 1292, dd not record any
progress and a further attempt was hated by an order of
the B' Army Corps, whch had panned to assgn the
sezure of the above heght to the XV Dvson.
The XV Dvson, whch had arrved at the area of
Fraser on December 2, was renforced wth the V Infantry
Brgade as of December 13.
On December 5, the B' Army Corps noted the XV
Dvson that t had been assgned to break through the
enemy poston at Garonn mountan, and ordered t to
propose the approprate tme of attack after conductng
the requred reconnassance. On December 19, the
Dvson submtted a report by whch t presented ts
stuaton as ths had deveoped after the ten-day march
under a severe and contnuous snowstorm through neary
mpassabe paths and requested to postpone the attack.
The Army Corps, deemng that the aunchng of the
attack was a matter of urgency, dd not approve of the
proposa of the Dvson and ordered that the attack
shoud be carred out on December 23. In parae,
attrbutng rresouton to the Dvson Commander, the
Corps ntated hs repacement by the Chef of Infantry of
the I Dvson, Coone Panaghots Spotopouos, who
assumed command of the XV Dvson on December 22.
On December 3, the XI Dvson sezed the heght of
Kresta (858) north of Apsos rver, but faed to seze the
brdge of Sarova. The contnuaton of ts ehorts became
ncreasngy dmcut because of the heavy snowfas, the
resuppy dmcutes and the constanty dmnshng
number of pack anmas, whch were eventuay reduced
by we over 60%.
On December 22, the command of the Dvson was
assgned to Coone Sokrats Dmaratos, who had been
Commander of the Cavary Brgade unt that pont. Ma|or
Genera Nkoaos Tspouras was paced at the dsposa of
the Genera Headquarters.
1*0, On December 23, the attack that had been ordered
by the B' Army Corps was aunched by a three
abovementoned Dvsons.
The I Dvson, despte ts ehorts, managed to
accompsh ony a sght mprovement of ts occuped
postons. On December 24, an acton conducted by ths
dvson towards Koukar, on the northern bank of Aoos
rver, came to no ava.
The XV Dvson havng aso under ts command the V
Brgade as we as a regment of the XI Dvson, aunched
an attack under adverse weather condtons and dense
coudness, drectng ts man ehort towards the heght
1292. However, ts troops advanced at a sow pace due to
the depth of the snow and the drastc re of the enemy.
Nevertheess, the ghtng contnued and, by a
137
superhuman ehort, the Dvson troops approached the
summt. However, they were forced to wthdraw to ther
departure base due to the combned ehect of the severe
enemy sheng and the extremey heavy casuates that
amounted to 28 omcers and 631 soders. On the foowng
day, the Dvson dd not have the chance to repeat the
ohensve due to the contnung adverse weather
condtons and the nabty to forward ammunton,
especay of the artery.
The XI Dvson, despte the snowfa, was aso abe to
aunch ts attack westwards. After heroc ehorts and cose
combat, ts troops sezed the sadde of Moas and
advanced westwards as far as the vage of Dobrousa. On
December 24 no sgncant operatons took pace n the
Dvson zone, but ehorts were made to mprove the
dsposton and forward ts artery, a fact that was
accompshed after many dmcutes, due to the terran,
the weather and the sgncant reducton of ts pack
anmas.
1*1, Meanwhe, the unts began to face serous
probems due to the contnuous bad weather, the
exhauston of suppes and food and the great osses n
pack anmas. For, the ce and the sppery paths often
caused the anmas to fa down the ravnes aong wth
ther oad of suppes, wthout any hope of recovery. Ths
stuaton of the unts forced the B' Army Corps to
temporary suspend ohensve operatons, awatng the
mprovement of weather condtons.
The suspenson of the ohensve operatons asted
unt December 29, whereupon the weather mproved and
the Army Corps ordered the renewa of operatons,
focusng ts man ehort on the task of sezng and securng
the heght 1292.
1*, The XV Dvson troops (whch had been assgned
the man ehort), aunched ther attack at 0645 hrs, on
December 30, wthout any artery preparaton and under
severe cod, managng to seze heght 1292 and 1237 by
surprse. The surprse was compete and the enemy
abandoned many ked n acton on the batteed, about
600 prsoners and mportant war suppes, ncudng 18
pack artery peces, 12 mortars and a number of
automatc weapons and mortars of smaer caber. Further
to the south, the heghts of Fratar sadde were sezed.
On the foowng day, December 3, the ohensve
contnued, yet the troops operatng to the west of the
heght 1237 were contaned before the organsed poston
of Ma Topoyant. Facng ths stuaton, the Dvson
requested the permsson of the Army Corps to hat the
ohensve, n order to advance ts artery, suppes and
ammuntons, whch had agged behnd due to the snow
depth, the rough terran and the muddy surface of the
mue paths because of the frequency of ther use. On
|anuary 1 and 2, 1941, the Dvson troops retaned ther
postons and repused enemy counterattacks.
The I Dvson, aso contnung ts ohensve ehort,
sezed the vage of Koukar on December 31 and
proceeded to advance as far as the vage of Rba,
approxmatey 2 kms to the Northeast of Kssoura.
The XI Dvson sezed Srakou sadde, west of
Zaosgna mountan, on December 30. Successve Itaan
counter-attacks to repossess the sadde came to no ava.
10!, The concuson of the two day ght, conducted by
the B' Army Corps n order to break through the enemy
poston at the centre of ts zone, was that the enemy,
though surprsed and uttery crushed at heght 1292, was
st hodng ts ground strongy at that hghy organsed
poston. Itaan prsoners reported that the enemy
dvsons Aqu, Gua and Bar were those unts actng
aganst the B' Army Corps, asssted by an Apne regment
and a number of Backshrts battaons.
Subsequenty, the B' Army Corps ssued an order, on
|anuary 3, for the contnuaton of the operatons, from
|anuary 5, n order to break through the Ma Topoyant
139
area. The break through woud conducted by the I and XV
Dvsons, whch thereafter woud move ther forces
towards the south-west, n order to enveop the enemy
forces, n the area of Kssoura.
The XI Dvson woud operate n parae wth the
centra XV Dvson. However, by a new order of the B'
Army Corps, the attack was postponed for |anuary 8. The
postponement was deemed necessary because of the
probems that the unts faced, regardng ther resuppy,
due to the contnuaton of the adverse weather and to the
bad condton of the roads.
(he 1e#elopment of the Operations in the "orthern
4e-tor of the Front
(1e-em$er 1!2 1%4& , 9anuary :2 1%41'
(Sketch-map no. 12)
101, Accordng to the Genera Headquarters nstructons
and after securng wdey the hgh pateau of Kortsa, the
WMFAS woud become the powerfu pvot around whch
the A' and B' Army Corps woud conduct ther manoeuvres
n order to seze Avonas. Thus, due to the extreme
severty of that wnter, as of December 3, the operatons
of the WMFAS were graduay mted to actons of oca
sgncance, whch many sought to mprove the occuped
postons and to foothod the enemy forces.
In the zone of the C' Army Corps, the most
noteworthy operatons, after the above date, were the
foowng :
The IX Dvson, whch was n the area of mount
Kama, deat wth the organsaton of the terran and the
probematc vng condtons of ts troops, and pack
anmas.
The XIII Dvson reeved the XVII Dvson from
December 26 and undertook to bock oh the enemy routes
from the vaey of rver Skoub towards the hghand of
Kortsa.
The XVII Dvson, depoyed at the Northeast of the
Kama mountan as far as Pogradetz, deat wth the
probematc vng condtons and the terran organsaton
unt December 26. On December 27 t was reeved by the
XIII Dvson and concentrated ts forces as a reserve n the
area north of the Mak ake.
10-, In the zone of the K Team, on December 14, the X
Dvson crossed Tomortsa rver and sezed the vages of
Mova and Rechova on the western bank. On the same
day, the command of the Dvson was assumed by Ma|or
Genera Panaghots Gazs. Ma|or Genera Dromazos, who
had been the Commander of the X Dvson up to that
pont, was transferred due to heath reasons.
On December 5, the K Team was renamed to E'
Army Corps and t receved an order by phone to actvey
advance the X Dvson towards the vaey of Tomortsa
rver.
On December 7, the Dvson troops reached the
vage of Kovatsan. Amng to estabsh an addtona
ason wth the XI Dvson of the B' Army Corps, the E'
Army Corps ordered the X Dvson to operate towards
Devrs sadde. However, due to the severe weather the
operaton was not carred out. On the foowng day, the
heght of Gour Prer at the centre, between mountans
Tomoros and Mogtsa, was sezed.
In the afternoon of December 22, the troops of the
rght ank of the Dvson sezed the heght 1453.
However, after successve enemy counter-attacks, whch
caused them extremey heavy casuates they were forced
to wthdraw to ther base of departure.
From December 23 to 28 the stuaton remaned
unchanged. On December 29, the heght 1732 was taken
aong wth the vage of Douska n the vaey of Tomortsa
rver, to the east of the Tomoros mountan. Any further
acton was not possbe due to the contnung bad
141
weather, the resuppy dmcutes and the hardshps
endured by the Dvson troops and ts pack anmas. Thus,
the ony Dvson of the E' Army Corps fe nto a state of
nactvty and was assgned thereafter to hod ts ground
and provde a ason between the B' and C' Army Corps.
4uspension of the ;arge 4-ale O<ensi#e Operations
10., The Itaan Leadershp, facng the danger of an
mpendng occupaton of Avonas, made every possbe
ehort to hat the Greek advance. In parae, t renforced
the Abanan front wth new forces and abundant war
suppes. From md-December and unt the begnnng of
|anuary, ve addtona dvsons arrved n Abana. These
were the Aqu, Kouneense, Kouneo, Brennero and the
Woves of Tuscany.
Snce December 29, the genera command of the
Itaan forces n Abana was assumed by Genera
Cavaero, who repaced Genera Soddu.
104, The Greek Genera Headquarters was facng very
serous probems durng the same perod. The extremey
severe wnter together wth the transportaton probems
that had arsen, had n many cases created unsurpassabe
dmcutes n the resuppy and evacuatons. Furthermore,
there was great need to suppement the shortages that
had been created after the two-month expedton, n
personne, pack anmas, armament and other war
suppes.
Under those crcumstances, the Genera
Headquarters decded, at the end of December, to
suspend the arge scae ohensve operatons. However, t
dd not abandon the oca ohensve actons, n partcuar
those of the B' Army Corps, n order to create favourabe
condtons for the future operatons towards Avonas.
The above decson of the Genera Headquarters was
dssemnated to the Large Unts aong wth the
nstructons, ssued on |anuary 6, 1941.
143

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CHAPTER III

THE GREEK COUNTER-ATTACK AND THE

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