The 32nd Marines Brigade ( el, 32 ΤΑΞ ΠΝ - 32η Ταξιαρχία Πεζοναυτών Mοράβας, 32 TAX PN - 32 Taxiarhia Pezonavton Moravas) is the marine unit of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. The brigade is based at the port town of

Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...

in Thessaly, and its primary role is infantry and amphibious operations on the numerous islands off the Greek coast. Unlike other countries, the Greek Marines form part of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, while the landing craft and naval equipment are provided by the Hellenic Navy.

History

The unit traces its ancestry to the 32nd Infantry Regiment, formed in

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

in 1919, then belonging to the 8th Infantry Division. It took part in the Greco-Turkish War as part of the Kydoniai Division and the 5th Infantry Division, and later in the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (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 kingdoms of Italy and G ...

during the Second World War. After the occupation of Greece by the Germans, it was disbanded. In 1959 the Regiment was raised anew as the 132nd Light Infantry Regiment and moved to

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

as a reserve unit, but in 1967 was reorganized as a Marines unit under the name 32nd Marines Regiment. In January 1988, after the disbandment of the unified 3rd Special Forces Division, the unit was enlarged to brigade size. It is currently placed under the II Army Corps as part of the Greek Rapid Reaction Force. The 32nd Marines Brigade was established in 1988 after the reorganization of the Special Forces Command.

Uniform and Unit Insignia

All Marines wear the standard-issue ''Greek Lizard'' camouflage BDUs of the Hellenic Army. Members of the 32nd Marines Brigade originally wore the blue beret, but this was changed to the green beret in 2001 because of its Special Forces role. The blue beret was, subsequently, issued to infantry units. The unit insignia depicts the Argo, the ship of

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

and the Argonauts, and is representative of the first recorded Greek marine expedition. Brigade HQ is based at

, near the ancient

Thessalian Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...

port city of

Iolcos Iolcus (; also rendered ''Iolkos'' ; grc, Ἰωλκός and Ἰαωλκός; grc-x-doric, Ἰαλκός; ell, Ιωλκός) is an ancient city, a modern village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local gove ...

, from where the Argonauts embarked on their mission to retrieve the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...

. The unit flash is emblazoned with ΔΥΝΑΜΕΙΣ ΠΕΖΟΝΑΥΤΩΝ ''Dynamis Pezonavton'' (Marine Forces). The unit motto is Courage Is Necessary ( el, ΘΑΡΣΕΙΝ ΧΡΗ - ''Tharsin Hri''), attributed to the Goddess Athena, through the mouth of Odysseus, as words of encouragement to the Greek forces besieging the city of Troy.

Structure

;32nd Marines Brigade "Moravas" in Volos, Thessaly * Headquarters Company () * 505th Marines Battalion-Training Center ( ** Command company, three Marine companies, Support company * 521st Marines Battalion () ** Command company, three Marine companies, Support company * 575th Marines Battalion () ** Command company, three Marine companies, Support company * 32nd Medium Tank Squadron () ** Four tank platoons, with a total of 17

Leopard 1A5 The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought ...

tanks * 32nd Field Artillery Battalion () ** Command battery and three fire batteries, with a total of 12 Μ109 howitzers * 32nd Marines Engineers Company () * 32nd Light Air Artillery Battery () * 32nd Signals Company () * 32nd Support Battalion ()

References and external links

{{Hellenic Army Infantry brigades of Greece Special forces of Greece

1919 establishments in Greece Military units and formations established in 1919