Order of battle for the Battle of Greece
This is the
Battle of Greece
".
German forces
The German forces were grouped under Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm List's 12th Army, which comprised:[1]
- 1st Panzer Group (Generaloberst Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist), deployed against central Yugoslavia (Serbia)
- XL Panzer Corps (Generalleutnant Georg Stumme), deployed against southern Yugoslavia (Vardar Macedonia)
- 9th Panzer Division
- 73rd Infantry Division
- LSSAHMotorized Regiment
- XVIII Mountain Corps (General der Infanterie Franz Böhme), deployed against the Greek forces along the Metaxas Line
- 2nd Panzer Division
- 5th Mountain Division
- 6th Mountain Division
- 72nd Infantry Division
- Reinforced 125th Infantry Division
- XXX Army Corps (General der Artillerie Otto Hartmann)
- L Army Corps (General der Kavallerie Georg Lindemann), as reserve in Romania
- 16th Panzer Division, on the Bulgarian–Turkish border
The 1st Panzer Group did not participate in any significant way in the conquest of Greece. After the unexpected coup d'état in Yugoslavia on 27 March, the objective of the Panzer Group was changed to invading Yugoslavia and capturing Zagreb. As such, its command was handed over to General Maximilian von Weichs' 2nd Army, which was invading Yugoslavia from the north.
Greek forces
The
Vermion Mountains–Haliacmon
River line favoured by the British. Consequently, the Greek forces in Macedonia were divided in two major groupings, which fought separate battles.
The
- 7th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Christos Zoiopoulos)
- 26th Infantry Regiment
- 71st Infantry Regiment
- 92nd Infantry Regiment
- 14th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Konstantinos Papakonstantinou)
- 18th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Leonidas Stergiopoulos)
- 19th Mechanized Division (Maj. Gen. Nikolaos Lioumbas)[4]
- 191st Mechanized Regiment
- 192nd Mechanized Regiment
- 193rd Mechanized Regiment
- Nestos Brigade (Col. Anastasios Kalis)
- Krousia Detachment
- Evros Brigade (Maj. Gen. Ioannis Zisis), detached as a covering force for Western Thrace
- 21 fortresses of the Meraxas Line
The Central Macedonia Army Section (Τμήμα Στρατιάς Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας, ΤΣΚΜ) under Lt. Gen. Ioannis Kotoulas was assigned to the 'W' Force in holding the Vermion Mountains–Haliacmon line:[5]
- 12th Infantry Division(Col. G. Karambatos)
- 20th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Christos Karassos)
In total, the Greek forces facing the Germans numbered 65,110 men, only about half of whom were combat-worthy.[6]
Commonwealth forces
The Commonwealth forces were constituted as the "'W' Force", named after its commander, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson:[7]
- Australian Imperial Force (Lt. Gen. Sir Thomas Blamey)
- 6th Australian Division (Maj. Gen. Sir Iven Mackay)[8]
- Arthur Allen)
- 17th Australian Infantry Brigade (Brig. Stanley Savige)
- 19th Australian Infantry Brigade (Brig. George Vasey)
- Bernard Freyberg)[9]
- 4th Infantry Brigade (Brig. Edward Puttick)
- 5th Infantry Brigade (Brig. James Hargest)
- 6th Infantry Brigade (Brig. Harold Barrowclough)
- British 1st Armoured Brigade (Brig. Harold Vincent Spencer Charrington)[10]
- 7th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 64th (London) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 106th (Lancashire Yeomanry) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
References
- ^ Blau (1986) p. 82
- ^ The end of an epopee, April 1941, pp. 95–97
- ^ Concise History of the Greco-Italian and Greco-German War 1940-1941, pp. 161–162
- ^ Although officially a "mechanized" (μηχανοκίνητη) unit, the division was mostly truck-borne and is hence usually termed "motorized" in English literature, cf. Blau (1986), p. 80
- ^ Concise History of the Greco-Italian and Greco-German War 1940-1941, pp. 162–163
- ^ Battles in East Macedonia and Thrace (1941), p. 237
- ^ "British and Dominion Forces in Greece, April 1941". Orbat.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ "6th Australian Division, AIF, British and Dominion Armies, April 1941". Orbat.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ "2nd New Zealand Division, 2 NZEF, British and Dominion Armies, April 1941". Orbat.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ "1st British Armoured Brigade, British Army, April 1941". Orbat.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
Sources
- Blau, George E. (1986) [1953]. The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941) (Reissue ed.). OCLC 16940402. CMH Pub 104-4. Archived from the originalon 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
- Αγώνες εις την Ανατολικήν Μακεδονίαν και Θράκην (1941) [Battles in East Macedonia and Thrace (1941)] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army General Staff / Army History Directorate. 1956.
- Το τέλος μιας εποποιΐας, Απρίλιος 1941 [The end of an epopee, April 1941] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army General Staff / Army History Directorate. 1959.
- Επίτομη Ιστορία του Ελληνοϊταλικού και Ελληνογερμανικού πολέμου 1940-1941 (Επιχειρήσεις Στρατού Ξηράς) [Concise History of the Greco-Italian and Greco-German War 1940-1941] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army General Staff / Army History Directorate. 1985.