Battle of Hill 731

Battle of Hill 731
Part of the Italian Spring Offensive, during the Greco-Italian War
Date 9–24 March 1941 Location Hill 731, Mount Trebeshinë, Albania Result Greek victory
Belligerents
Greece	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Gen. Georgios Bakos (II Corps) Maj. Gen. Vasileios Vrachnos (1st Division) Col. Nikolaos Georgoulas (5th Regiment)	Gen. Gastone Gambara (VIII Corps) Gen. Div. Alberto D'Aponte (Puglie Division) Gen. Br. Angelico Carta (Siena Division) Gen. Br. Matteo Negro (Bari Division)
Hill 731 Location within Albania

Maj. Gen. Georgios Bakos (II Corps)

Gen. Gastone Gambara (VIII Corps)

The Battle of Hill (Height) 731 (Greek: Μάχη του υψώματος 731), was a fierce battle fought during World War II in southern Albania, part of the Greco-Italian War. It began in the early morning of 9 March 1941, when Fascist Italy launched an assault (Operation Primavera) against Greece, aimed at capturing the critical mountain pass leading into the Kalpaki valley. Hill 731, strategically located 20 km north of Klisura (Këlcyrë) at the feet of Mount Trebeshinë, stood at the heart of the Greek defensive line. Despite being repeatedly and heavily attacked by superior Italian forces for over two weeks, Hill 731 was not captured, contributing to the failure of the Primavera offensive and the repulsion of Italians.

By the end of 1940, the Greek command decided to halt large-scale offensive operations in the Albanian front, authorizing only local offensive operations for improving Greek lines until the weather improved. In effect, during the first months of 1941, the fighting had turned to a stalemate. In the spring of 1941, the Italian leadership desired to achieve a success against the Greek army before the impending German intervention. The plan, devised by General Ugo Cavallero, envisioned a large-scale attack on a narrow, 32 km front in the centre of the Greek positions. The aim of the Italian attack was to break through the Greek lines, recapture Klisura, and advance towards Leskovik and Ioannina. Key to the Italian effort was a hill known as 731, which stood at the center of the planned attack.

The attack would be carried out by the VIII Army Corps (59th Cagliari, 38th Puglie, and 24th Pinerolo Divisions) and two elite Blackshirt battalions of the 26th Legion, XXV Corps' Sforzesca Division, the 47th Bari, 51st Siena, and 7th Lupi di Toscana Divisions as a second echelon, and the Centauro and Piemonte Divisions as general reserves. The Greek units opposite them were II Corps (17th, 5th, 1st, 15th, and 11th Divisions) which had been fighting from the beginning of the war, with three regiments as reserve, and able to be reinforced by the 4th Division. During the preceding months and in anticipation of an attack, the Greek troops had been ordered to dig entrenchments to provide cover. The Italian Division to assault Hill 731 was Puglie. Hill 731 was defended by the 2nd Battalion of the Greek 5th Infantry Regiment (ΙΙ/5) of the 1st Division, who were ordered to hold their positions at all costs. The ΙΙ/5 Battalion was commanded by Major Dimitrios Kaslas and the majority of its soldiers hailed from the towns of Trikala and Karditsa.