The 14th Infantry Division ( el, XIV Μεραρχία Πεζικού, XIV ΜΠ; ''XIV Merarchia Pezikou'', ''XIV MP'') was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

. The 14th Infantry Division was established in December 1913, during the reorganization of the

that followed the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

. Its headquarters was at

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia reg ...

in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

, comprising the

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and 36th infantry regiments, as well as the 1/14 Cretan Regiment at

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

. The division formed part of the

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

-based II Army Corps. As a result of the

National Schism The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizel ...

, the division was disbanded in 1916. The division was reformed in 1918 as part of the reconstituted II Corps, but only served during the final weeks of the war, in the pursuit of the Bulgarian forces around

Strumitsa Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...

, under the disposal of XVI British Corps. During the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, the division, reduced in strength to men, formed part of the

Army of Thrace The Army of Thrace ( el, Στρατιά Θράκης) was a field army of the Hellenic Army in 1920–1922. It was created out of the National Defence Army Corps on 3 June 1920, and proceeded to occupy Eastern Thrace, defeating the local Ottoman f ...

and did not see any combat, being responsible for covering the Greek–Yugoslav, and later the Greek–Bulgarian, borders. In the interwar period, due to the reduction in the size of the army, the division was disbanded, until the December 1939 changes to the mobilization plan, which re-established the 14th Division at

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit of the modern regions of Greece, region of East Macedonia and Thrace. A ...

, in northern Greece, under IV Army Corps. During the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...

of 1940–41, the 14th Division remained uninvolved, forming part of the

Eastern Macedonia Army Section The Eastern Macedonia Army Section ( el, Τμήμα Στρατιάς Ανατολικής Μακεδονίας, ΤΣΑΜ; ''Tmima Stratias Anatolikis Makedonias'', ''TSAM'') was a field army of the Hellenic Army in World War II. It faced the initia ...

(TSAM) covering the

Metaxas Line The Metaxas Line (, ''Grammi Metaxa'') was a chain of fortifications constructed along the line of the Greco-Bulgarian border, designed to protect Greece in case of a Bulgarian invasion after the rearmament of Bulgaria. It was named after Ioanni ...

on the border with Bulgaria. In the

Battle of the Metaxas Line A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, TSAM was outflanked and forced to capitulate during the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

in April 1941.

References

Sources

* {{Greece divisions 1913 establishments in Greece 1941 disestablishments in Greece Infantry divisions of Greece Military units and formations established in 1913 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 Military units and formations of Greece in World War I Military units and formations of Greece in World War II