The 10th Infantry Regiment "(10 ΣΠ)" ( el, 10ο Σύνταγμα Πεζικού (10 ΣΠ)) is a

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

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 th ...

. Headquartered in

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 ...

and subordinated to the III Army Corps, it was formed from the former 10th Infantry Division (Χ Μεραρχία Πεζικού) on 1 July 2004.

History

Early 20th century

The 10th Infantry Division was originally formed in March 1913, in preparation for the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

, where it participated. After the end of the war it was based at

Veroia Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...

. It remained loyal to the royal government during the

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

, and was withdrawn to Thessaly. After the ''

Noemvriana The ''Noemvriana'' ( el, Νοεμβριανά, "November Events") of , or the Greek Vespers, was a political dispute which led to an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist government of Greece and the forces of the Allies over th ...

'', the 10th Infantry Division was again moved to Tripoli in the Peloponnese, where it was disbanded in early 1917. In 1919, following the

Greek landing at Smyrna The Greek landing at Smyrna ( el, Ελληνική απόβαση στη Σμύρνη; tr, İzmir'in İşgali, Occupation of İzmir) was a military operation by Greek forces starting on May 15, 1919 which involved landing troops in the city of S ...

, the Smyrna Division (Μεραρχία Σμύρνης) was formed there, which in November 1920 was renamed as the 10th Infantry Division. The division distinguished itself during the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, particularly in the Battle of Afyonkarahisar–Eskişehir. During the Greek retreat in August 1922, it retreated orderly and evacuated over the

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

Eastern Thrace Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

. During the next few years it remained based in Veroia. It fought during 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 ...

of 1940–41 and was disbanded after the Greek capitulation in April 1941. It was re-established at

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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in 1946 as the 10th Mountain Division (Χ Ορεινή Μεραρχία) and fought in the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

under III Army Corps. Renamed to 10th Infantry Division, it was moved to Serres in July 1950, where it remains to this day. It received the honor title "Rupel" in 2000, in memory of the Rupel Fortress.

Current use

It was reorganized as the 10th Infantry Brigade (10η Ταξιαρχία Πεζικού) on 1 July 2004, coming under the control of I Army Corps, but was reformed as a mechanized infantry unit in November 2009 and subordinated to III Army Corps. It re-acquired a national role after having been reduced to a headquarters-only formation for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

use.

Structure

* Headquarters Company (ΛΔ/10ου ΣΠ) located at

. * 10th Signals Company (10 ΛΔΒ) * 10th Engineer Company (10 ΛΜΧ) * 567th Motorized Infantry Battalion (567 M/Π ΤΠ) at

Sidirokastro Sidirokastro ( el, Σιδηρόκαστρο; Bulgarian and Macedonian: ''Valovišta''; tr, Demirhisar) is a town and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipal ...

. * 518th Motorized Infantry Battalion (518 M/Π ΤΠ) located at

Kato Nevrokopi Kato Nevrokopi ( el, Κάτω Νευροκόπι "Lower Nevrokopi") is a municipality and town within that municipality in the northwest section of the Drama regional unit, Greece. Before the 2011 local government reform, it was the largest mun ...

. * 10th Support Battalion (10 ΤΥΠ)

References

External links

{{Greece divisions Mechanized infantry brigades of Greece 2004 establishments in Greece Military units and formations established in 2004 Serres (regional unit)