The Battle of Hill (Height) 731 ( el, Μάχη του υψώματος 731), was a fierce battle fought during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in southern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, part of 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 ...
. It began in the early morning of 9 March 1941, when
Fascist Italy
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
launched an assault (''
Operation Primavera'') against
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 with ...
, aimed at capturing the critical mountain pass leading into the
Kalpaki
Kalpaki ( el, Καλπάκι) is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pogoni, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated about northwest o ...
valley. Hill 731, strategically located 20 km north of Klisura (
Këlcyrë
Këlcyrë ( sq-definite, Këlcyra) is a town and a municipality in southern Albania, located on the bank of the river Vjosë. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Ballaban, Dishnicë, Këlcyr ...
) at the feet of
Mount Trebeshinë
Mount Trebeshinë is a mountain in southern Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic an ...
, stood at the heart of the Greek defensive line. Despite being repeatedly and heavily attacked by superior Italian forces for over two weeks, Hill 731 was not captured, contributing to the failure of the ''Primavera'' offensive and the repulsion of Italians.
Background
By the end of 1940, the Greek command decided to halt large-scale offensive operations in the Albanian front, authorizing only local offensive operations for improving Greek lines until the weather improved. In effect, during the first months of 1941, the fighting had turned to a stalemate. In the spring of 1941, the Italian leadership desired to achieve a success against the Greek army before the impending German intervention. The plan, devised by General
Ugo Cavallero
Ugo Cavallero (20 September 1880 – 13 September 1943) was an Italian military commander before and during World War II. He was dismissed from his command due to his lacklustre performance, and was arrested upon the fall of Mussolini's regime. C ...
, envisioned a large-scale attack on a narrow, 32 km front in the centre of the Greek positions. The aim of the Italian attack was to break through the Greek lines, recapture Klisura, and advance towards
Leskovik
Leskovik is a town and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Kolonjë. It is located right at the Greek-Albanian border. The population ...
and
Ioannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...
. Key to the Italian effort was a hill known as 731, which stood at the center of the planned attack.
The attack would be carried out by
VIII Army Corps (
24th Pinerolo,
38th Puglie, and
59th Cagliari divisions), with
XXV Army Corps (
2nd Sforzesca,
7th Lupi di Toscana,
47th Bari, and
51st Siena divisions) as second echelon, and the
131st Armored Division "Centauro"
The 131st Armored Division "Centauro" ( it, 131ª Divisione corazzata "Centauro") was an armored division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was formed in April 1939 by expanding the I Armored Brigade ( it, I Brigata Corazzata ...
and
29th Infantry Division "Piemonte" as reserves.
The Greek units opposite them were
II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to:
France
* 2nd Army Corps (France)
* II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
(
17th,
5th
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
,
1st,
15th
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...
, and
11th
11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables.
Name
"Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...
Divisions) which had been fighting from the beginning of the war, with three regiments as reserve, and able to be reinforced by the
4th Division. During the preceding months and in anticipation of an attack, the Greek troops had been ordered to dig entrenchments to provide cover. The Italian Division to assault Hill 731 was Puglie. Hill 731 was defended by the 2nd Battalion of the Greek
5th Infantry Regiment (ΙΙ/5) of the 1st Division, who were ordered to hold their positions at all costs. The ΙΙ/5 Battalion was commanded by Major
Dimitrios Kaslas and the majority of its soldiers hailed from the towns of
Trikala
Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...
and
Karditsa
Karditsa ( el, Καρδίτσα ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of region of Thessaly.
Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BC. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the ...
.
The commander of the Greek II Corps Maj. Gen.
Georgios Bakos
Georgios Bakos ( el, Γεώργιος Μπάκος, 1892–1945) was a Hellenic Army officer.
Born in Athens in 1892, he became a career officer and fought in the Asia Minor Campaign. As a Major General, he commanded the 3rd Infantry Division ...
had been appointed a mere four days prior to the Italian offensive: In a conference held at Athens on 5 March, the then commander Lt. Gen.
Dimitrios Papadopoulos, along with two other generals of the
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...
, objected to the presence in Greece of a
British expeditionary force, which would have been inadequate to defend Greece against the Germans but sufficient to provide them with a casus belli. Their opposition led to their dismissal on the next day and their retirement on the day after that.
The battle
![Greek Army during Primavera Offensive Klisura March 1941](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Greek_Army_during_Primavera_Offensive_Klisura_March_1941.JPG)
The Italian attack, observed by Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
in person, was launched on 9 March with a heavy artillery barrage and air bombardment; on the main sector, held by the Greek 1st Division, over 100,000 shells were dropped on a 6 km front. Despite repeated assaults and heavy shelling that dug up the soil, the defenders of Hill 731 held during 9–15 March. With the support of the Greek artillery, they managed to take advantage of the terrain and launch counterattacks. Greek riflemen charged at the oncoming Italians with fixed
bayonet
A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...
s, under the cover of dense smoke.
Dimitrios Kaslas, after the bombardment gave an order for every soldier to stand his ground no matter what, and promised to personally shoot and kill anyone trying to retreat.
A flanking manoeuvre by the Blackshirts of the 26th Legion on 11 March ended in Italian defeat. In the afternoon of the 12 March, the Greeks reinforced the defending units with the entire 19th Regiment of the 4th Division; Hill 731 was now defended by the III/19 Battalion under the command of Captain
Panagiotis Koutridis. On the night of 12 March, the Italians withdrew the exhausted ''Puglie'' Division and replaced it with the ''Bari'' Division. The Italian offensive halted between 16–18 March, allowing the Greeks to bring reserves forward and begin a gradual reshuffle of their line, relieving the 1st Division with the 17th. The Italian offensive resumed on 19 March with another attack of the Siena Division on Height 731 (the 18th thus far). Supported by four
M13/40
The Carro Armato M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the M11/39 in the Italian Army at the start of World War II. It was the primary tank used by the Italians throughout the war. The design was influenced by the British Vi ...
tanks and an
Arditi
Arditi (from the Italian verb ''ardire'', lit. "to dare", and translates as "The Daring nes) was the name adopted by a Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They and the opposing German '' Stormtroopers'' were the first modern ...
assault unit from the Siena Division, the Italians seized a portion of Hill 731 but were soon pushed back by a Greek counter-attack. Attacks, preceded by intense artillery bombardments, followed daily until 24 March, without achieving any result. Mussolini was forced to admit that the result of the Italian offensive was ''zero'', and the Italian offensive was terminated on 24 March.
Aftermath
![Athens - Evzones at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - 20060930a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Athens_-_Evzones_at_the_Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier_-_20060930a.jpg)
The Battle of Hill 731 has been described as the
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
of the Greco-Italian War, whereas others referred to it as the ''new
Thermopylae
Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...
''. It was a bloody struggle, with soldiers often engaging in close quarters combat and fighting with whatever they had at hand. The ferocious ground and air bombardment transformed the hill's landscape, eliminating all trees and reducing its height by 2 meters: its present day altitude is 729 meters.
The Greek army defeated the Italian counter-attack of March 1941, inflicting heavy casualties. Shortly after, the
German invasion of Greece through Bulgaria (Operation Marita) began on 6 April, creating a second front. Greece had received a small reinforcement from
British forces based in Egypt, in anticipation of the German invasion. Greek forces were outnumbered and most troops were still at the Albanian front. The Bulgarian defensive line did not receive adequate reinforcements and was soon overrun. The Germans outflanked the Greek forces on the Albanian border, forcing their surrender and British Empire forces began a retreat. For several days Allied troops contained the German advance on the
Thermopylae
Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...
pass, allowing ships to be prepared to evacuate the British force. The Germans reached
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
on 27 April and completed the conquest of Greece with the
capture of Crete a month later. As a result, Greece was
occupied
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by the military forces of Germany, Italy and Bulgaria until late 1944.
Footnotes
See also
*
Capture of Klisura Pass
The Capture of Klisura Pass ( el, Κατάληψη της Κλεισούρας) was a military operation that took place during 6–11 January 1941 in southern Albania, and was one of the most important battles of the Greco-Italian War. The It ...
*
Battle of Trebeshina
The Battle of Trebeshina ( el, Μάχη της Τρεμπεσίνας) or the Battle of Mal Trebeshinë, was a series of engagements fought between the Greek and Italian armies in south-eastern Albania during the Greco-Italian War. The twenty-day ...
*
Italian Spring Offensive
References
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External links
The battle for Hill 731 archived
Ὕψωμα 731*
ttp://pheidias.antibaro.gr/1940/731.htm Ὕψωμα 731: Οἱ Θερμοπύλες ποὺ δὲν ἔπεσαν
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill 731, Battle of
Hill 731
Conflicts in 1941
Battles and operations of World War II involving Greece
Battles of World War II involving Italy
1941 in Albania
1941 in Greece
1941 in Italy
March 1941 events