Battle of Pindus

Italian Invasion of Greece 1940

Date	28 October – 13 November 1940
Location	Pindus Mountains 40°05′20″N 20°55′31″E / 40.08889°N 20.92528°E / 40.08889; 20.92528Coordinates: 40°05′20″N 20°55′31″E / 40.08889°N 20.92528°E / 40.08889; 20.92528
Result	Greek victory

Belligerents

Fascist Italy

Kingdom of Greece:
Pindus Detachment
elements from:
Ist infantry Division
Cavalry Brigade
Cavalry Division

Commanders and leaders

Mario Girotti

Konstantinos Davakis
Vasileios Vrachnos
Georgios Stanotas
Sokratis Dimaratos

Strength

28 October: 3rd Alpine Division Julia

elements 47th Infantry Division Bari
Julia:
10804 officers and men
20 guns

mid-November:
23,000 men
112 guns

28 October:
2.000 men
4 guns

13 November:
32,000 men
114 guns

Casualties and losses

1,674 killed, wounded and missing

Unknown

28 October: 3rd Alpine Division Julia

The Battle of Pindus (Greek: Μάχη της Πίνδου) took place in the Pindus Mountains in Epirus and West Macedonia, Greece, from 28 October – 13 November 1940. The battle was fought between the Greek and the Italian armies during the first stages of the Greco-Italian War. The Italian 3rd Alpine Division Julia (Julia Division) invaded Greece from the Pindus sector. After its initial advance, the division was surrounded and virtually wiped out by the Greek army. In the aftermath, the Greeks were able to push back the Italians, advancing deep into Albanian territory.

After the Italian invasion of Albania in 1939, the Greek General Staff became alerted to a potential Italian attack from Albanian territory, which eventually started on 28 October 1940. The Italians deployed the Julia Division with the objective of capturing the strategic mountain passes of the Pindus Mountains as swiftly as possible. During an Italian war council, the Italian commander in Albania, General Visconti Prasca, stated that the mountain range of Pindus would be no problem for the Italian units, and foresaw no difficulty in getting his divisions straight to Athens, like a modern Hannibal. The Greeks divided the theatre of operations into the sectors of Epirus and Macedonia linked by the Pindus Detachment. The Pindus Detachment under Colonel Konstantinos Davakis was deployed along a 35-kilometre (22 mi) line in the Pindus mountain range.

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Wikipedia