Battle of Metaxas Line

Battle of the Metaxas Line
Part of the Battle of Greece
Date 6–9 April 1941 Location Greek-Bulgarian border Result German victory
Belligerents
Germany	Greece
Commanders and leaders
Wilhelm List	Konstantinos Bakopoulos
Strength
One Panzer Division Two Mountain Divisions Three Infantry Divisions One Independent Infantry Regiment One Air Corps with 650 aircraft	Greece: Four Divisions and Two Brigades: 65,110 officers and other ranks 188 field artillery pieces 76 anti-tank guns 30 anti-aircraft guns 40 tankettes
Casualties and losses
Ground forces: 603+ killed 192+ missing 2,403+ wounded Total: 3,198+

The Battle of the Metaxas Line (German: Kampf um die Metaxas-Linie), also known in Greece as the Battle of the Forts (Greek: Μάχη των Οχυρών), was the first battle during the German invasion of Greece in World War II. The Germans succeeded in breaching the fortified Metaxas Line on the western flank and forced the Greek forces east of the Axios river to surrender after four days of combat (6–9 April 1941).

The origins of the battle lie in the Italian invasion of Greece, which took place on 28 October 1940. The failure of the Italian Army to bring a favourable end to this Greek-Italian war, forced the Germans to intervene, with an operation they dubbed Operation Marita.

For the purpose of the invasion of Greece, Germany tried to bring Greece's northern neighbours, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, to the Tripartite Pact alliance. Bulgaria agreed to allow passage of German troops for the attack on Greece, although Bulgarian troops would not participate in combat. Yugoslavia also agreed, but a coup overthrew the Yugoslav government. Although the pact was not denounced, Hitler decided to attack Yugoslavia as well as Greece.

The fortification of the area informally known as the Metaxas Line was conceived as a defensive measure against Bulgaria. Bulgaria had refused to sign the Balkan Pact signed by Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey and Romania in 1934 which aimed at maintaining the geopolitical status quo in the region following World War I. The Metaxas Line was a series of independent forts along the Greek-Bulgarian border, built on possible routes of invasion. Each fort's garrisons belonged to the division or brigade which controlled the respective border sector. The fortifications were built with the meagre resources that Greece could muster, and exploited at fullest the terrain. Construction had begun in 1936; however, by 1941 the line was still incomplete.

...
Wikipedia