Battle of Pindus

The Battle of Pindus 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 elite Italian 3rd Alpine Division "Julia" invaded Greece from the Pindus sector. After
its initial advance, the division was surrounded by the Greek army and forced to retreat
after suffering heavy losses. 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 Italian command deployed the Julia Division with the objective of capturing the
strategic mountain passes of the Pindus Mountains as swiftly as possible.[5] 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.[6] The
Greeks divided the theatre of operations into the sectors of Epirus and Macedonia linked
by the Pindus Detachment.[7] The Pindus Detachment under Colonel Konstantinos
Davakis was deployed along a 35-kilometre (22 mi) line in the Pindus mountain range.[8]

The primary objective of the Julia Division was to advance towards the Pindus mountain
range and to capture the strategic pass at the town of Metsovo. This move would have a
crucial effect on the outcome of the battle, since it would break the Greek supply lines
and separate the Greek forces in Epirus from those in Macedonia. The Julia managed to
cover 40 kilometres (25 mi) of mountain terrain in icy rain and captured the village
of Vovousa, but were unable to reach Metsovo. On 2 November, Davakis was gravely
wounded during a reconnaissance mission near Fourka.[9] However, it had become clear
to the Italians that they lacked the manpower and the supplies to continue in the face of
the arriving Greek reserves.[10]
On 3 November, the Italian spearhead, after the initial advance, was surrounded from all
sides. The commander of the Julia requested from the Italian headquarters relief attacks
and Italian reserves were thrown into the battle. However, reinforcements from Albania
were unable to reach the cut-off Italian forces and the Julia sustained heavy losses. In
the meantime, Greek reinforcements were arriving in the Pindus sector, while the
assistance of the local population, including men, women, and children, was
invaluable.[11] The situation became difficult for the Italians and their pocket came under
pressure from Greek units that had advanced to the area.
The Julia was eventually able to break out of the encirclement, but lost about one fifth of
its force and retreated to Koritsa.[12] The villages that had been initially captured during
the Italian advance—Samarina and Vovousa—were recaptured by the advancing Greek
forces on November 3–4.[13] Within less than a week, the remaining Italian troops were
pushed back into roughly the same positions they occupied along the frontier before the
declaration of the war.[12]
By 13 November, the entire frontier area had been cleared of Italian units, thereby ending
the Battle of Pindus in a complete Greek victory.[14] Highly significant for Greek success
was the failure of the Regia Aeronautica to attack and disrupt the mobilization and the
deployment of the Greek forces as they moved to the front. Due to this failure to interdict
movement, the geographical and technical obstacles faced by the Greeks in transporting
men and material in the mountainous terrain to the front lines proved surmountable. [15]

As a result of the failed invasion, the Italians lost 5,000 men. [4] After the successful Greek
defence in Pindus and Elea–Kalamas sectors, the Greeks were able to push back the
Italians, advancing deep into Albanian territory.[16] It has been argued that the assistance
provided by the local women during the conflicts was crucial to the outcome of the battle.
The women of the surrounding villages assisted the Greek forces in several ways, while
their most important contribution was the transportation of guns, food, clothes and other
important supplies to the front, since vehicles could not reach the battlegrounds due to
bad weather conditions and rough roads.[17]