19th Mechanized Division (Greece)
| 19th Mechanized Division 19η Μηχανοκίνητη Μεραρχία |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 15 January – 10 April 1941 |
| Country |
 Kingdom of Greece
|
| Branch | Hellenic Army |
| Type | Mechanized infantry |
| Part of | Eastern Macedonia Army Section |
| Engagements | Battle of the Metaxas Line |
The 19th Mechanized Division (Greek: 19η Μηχανοκίνητη Μεραρχία) was a mechanized infantrydivision of the Hellenic Army, established on 15 January 1941. Its formation was not completed until late March. Its nucleus was the pre-war Mechanized Cavalry Regiment, augmented with captured Italian tankettes and cars, motorcycles and Universal Carriers provided by the British. The division confronted the German invasion of Greece on 6 April 1941, covering the left flank of the Eastern Macedonia Army Section defending the forts of the Metaxas Line. In a series of clashes, the division was destroyed piecemeal as a fighting formation by 9 April. Its remnants surrendered along with the rest of the Greek Army in eastern Macedonia on 10 April.
The division is considered the first major Greek mechanized formation, and the progenitor of the modern Greek Armour combat arm, which inherited the traditions of the Cavalry arm after World War II.
The origins of the division lie in the first attempts of the Hellenic Army to introduce mechanization in the interwar period. In 1931, Greece acquired its first tanks—two Vickers 6-Ton light tanks, one each of Type A and Type B, and two Carden Loyd tankettes. Initially used for training, they were formed into a tank battalion in 1935, with the expectation that they would be complemented with 14 light tanks ordered in Britain and France. In the event, the latter were never delivered due to the priority given to the latter countries' rearmament and the outbreak of World War II. In 1937, a Mechanized Cavalry Regiment was formed within the Hellenic Army's single Cavalry Division, in an apparent effort to follow the French Division Légère de Cavalerie model. The regiment comprised c. 165 trucks (44 each of Mercedes-Benz W 152 and Mercedes-Benz LG 2500 and 75 other trucks, mostly Fiats), as well as motorcycles and other vehicles, but no armoured cars or tanks. Despite its designation, therefore, the Mechanized Cavalry Regiment was actually a motorized infantry rather than a mechanized infantry unit.
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