Fort Roupel ( el, Οχυρό Ρούπελ) is a fortress at the north border of

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

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 ...

, built-in 1914. It became part of the fortifications of 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 ...

in the 1930s and became famous for its defence 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. The Rupel fortifications are not far from the

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

Promachonas Promachonas ( el, Προμαχώνας, bg, Драготин, ) is a village and a former community in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sintiki, of which it is a municipal un ...

national road, which leads to the Greek-Bulgarian border. They are just a short distance from the border in the narrow

Rupel Gorge The Rupel () is a tidal river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Scheldt. It is about long. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Dijle and Nete, in Rumst. It flows into the Sch ...

, through which the

Strymon River The Struma or Strymónas ( bg, Струма ; el, Στρυμόνας ; tr, (Struma) Karasu , 'black water') is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its Ancient Greek, ancient name was Strymṓn (Greek language, Greek: Στρυμών ). Its drainage a ...

flows. This place is strategically important for entry to Greek or Bulgarian territory and was fortified in 1914. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, on 25 May 1916, the royal Greek government of Athens permitted the surrender of the fortress to the Germans and their Bulgarian allies as a counterbalance to the Allied forces that had been established in Thessaloniki. The German-Bulgarian troops then proceeded to occupy most of eastern Macedonia without resistance. This act led to the outbreak of a revolt of

Venizelist Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid-1970s. Main ideas Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were: *Greek irredentism: T ...

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 ...

officers in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

and the establishment of the

Provisional Government of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ve ...

under

Entente Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

auspices there, opposed to the official government of Athens and King

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

, cementing the so-called "

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 fort also became famous 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 ...

, when the advance of the German armies on that front sector was halted here. On the eve of

, Fort Roupel was incorporated into the

, a new line of defence that was built to repel an invasion of Greece from Bulgaria. For three days, the fort held out against German attack and was only abandoned by its men after the surrender of the Greek army in

. Today one of the fortification's galleries is open to visitors, as is a small museum and the pavilion the visitors, the observatory and the memorial of fallen soldiers. In the gallery, the visitor has the opportunity to feel the moments of the battle. Walking the wards and in the side aisles, some dioramas depict the Greek fighters battle forts (gunner, doctor to doctor caring for injured, the sergeant in his office and the office of captain and more

File:Macedonian_Museums-95-Ohiro_Roupel-434.jpg, Model of a sergeant File:Macedonian_Museums-95-Ohiro_Roupel-435.jpg, Entrance of visitable tunnel File:Macedonian_Museums-95-Ohiro_Roupel-436.jpg, Map of the battle for the fort in April 1941

References

Sources

* ''The original version of this article was taken from th
corresponding article
at th
''Museum of Roupel''
'' {{Authority control World War II museums in Greece Roupel Buildings and structures completed in 1914 Museums in Central Macedonia Buildings and structures in Serres (regional unit)