Epirus Army Section
The Epirus Army Section (
Establishment and operations, February–March
The Epirus Army Section was established on 14 February 1941, with the I Army Corps and II Army Corps fighting on the western and central sections of the Albanian front. Until that point, the two corps had been under the direct control of the General Field Headquarters at Ioannina, led by the Greek commander-in-chief Lt. General Alexandros Papagos. However, the increasing possibility of a German attack through Bulgaria necessitated the relocation of GHQ back to Athens and the establishment of a new higher command.[1] The first commander of the Epirus Army Section was Lt. General Markos Drakos, who until then had commanded the Eastern Macedonia Army Section.[1]
After vehement disagreements with GHQ on the future course of operations, on 6 March Drakos was retired along with his two corps commanders, Lt. Generals Panagiotis Demestichas (I Corps) and Dimitrios Papadopoulos (II Corps). Markos was replaced by the commander of the Western Macedonia Army Section, Lt. General Ioannis Pitsikas. I Corps went to V Corps commander Lt. General Panagiotis Demestichas and II Corps to 3rd Infantry Division commander Major General Georgios Bakos.[2][3]
From 9–24 March, II Corps faced successive attacks in the
German invasion and collapse
Following the start of the
On 16 April, Pitsikas reported to Papagos that signs of disintegration had also begun to appear among the divisions of I Corps and begged him to "save the army from the Italians", i.e. to be allowed to capitulate to the Germans, before the military situation collapsed completely. On the next day, the Western Macedonia Army Section (Lt. General
References
- ^ a b An Abridged History, p. 140.
- ^ Koliopoulos 1978, p. 442.
- ^ An Abridged History, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Gedeon 2001, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Stockings & Hancock 2013, p. 77.
- ^ Koliopoulos 1978, p. 444.
- ^ a b Koliopoulos 1978, p. 446.
- ^ Stockings & Hancock 2013, pp. 225–227, 282.
- ^ a b Gedeon 2001, p. 33.
- ^ Stockings & Hancock 2013, p. 258.
- ^ Koliopoulos 1978, pp. 448.
- ^ Stockings & Hancock 2013, pp. 282–283, 382.
- ^ Koliopoulos 1978, pp. 448–450.
- ^ Gedeon 2001, pp. 33–34.
- ^ Stockings & Hancock 2013, pp. 383–384, 396–398, 401–402.
Sources
- Hellenic Army History Directorate (1997). An Abridged History of the Greek-Italian and Greek-German War, 1940-1941 (Land Operations) (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army General Staff, Army History Directorate. ISBN 9789607897015.
- Gedeon, Dimitrios (2001). "Ο Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος 1940–41: Οι χερσαίες επιχειρήσεις". Ο Ελληνικός Στρατός και το Έπος της Βορείου Ηπείρου. Periskopio. pp. 4–35. ISBN 960-86822-5-8.
- ISBN 978-960-213-111-4.
- Stockings, Craig; Hancock, Eleanor (2013). Swastika over the Acropolis: Re-interpreting the Nazi Invasion of Greece in World War II. BRILL. ISBN 9789004254596.
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