The 29th Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Pogradec" () is a mechanized infantry brigade of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

. It is headquartered in

Komotini Komotini (, , ), is a city in the Modern regions of Greece, region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece and its capital. It is also the capital of the Rhodope (regional unit), Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope- ...

as part of IV Army Corps.

History

The brigade traces its history to the 29th Infantry Regiment (), which was founded in August 1913 in

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

. The regiment distinguished itself in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...

, where it participated in the battles of Kleisoura and

Pogradec Pogradec (,) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a List of settlements on the Lake Ohrid coastline, narrow plain between two mountain ch ...

. Following the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Kingdom of Greece, Greece by Kingdom of Italy, Italy and Nazi Germany, Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Gr ...

and the capitulation of the Greek Army, the regiment was disbanded on 14 April 1941. The 29th Infantry Regiment was re-established on 15 May 1960 at Komotini, where it has remained since. On 15 September 2000 it received the honorific title "Pogradec". From 1 January 2003, it began to be expanded to the level of a brigade, and received the new title 29th Control and Security Brigade (29 Ταξιαρχία Ελέγχου Ασφαλείας, 29 ΤΑΞΕΑ) on 25 March of the same year. On 25 August 2005, it was converted to a regular infantry brigade under its current title. In 2005–09, the brigade's zone of responsibility extended into the

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

and

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

, but in December 2009 it was withdrawn east to the western boundary of the

Xanthi Prefecture Xanthi (, ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Modern regions of Greece, Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. The capital is Xanthi. Together with the regional units Rhodope (regional unit), Rhodope and Evros (regional unit), ...

. In the 2013 Army reorganization, the 29th Mechanized Infantry Brigade was reinforced with the addition of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (Α' ΕΑΝ), transferred from

Amyntaio Amyntaio (, before 1928: Σόροβιτς – ''Sorovits''; Macedonian: Суровичево, Сорович), is a town and municipality in the Florina regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. The population of Amyntaio proper is 4,348, while that o ...

after the disbandment of II Army Corps.

Emblem

The brigade's emblem features a red triangular shield upon which is depicted a map of

Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace (, '' ytikíThráki'' ), also known as Greek Thrace or Aegean Thrace, is a geographical and historical region of Greece, between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country; East Thrace, which lie ...

with a soldier standing on guard before it. This is edged in white, with an inscription above with the unit's motto, Ιστάμεθα άγρυπνοι ''Istametha agripni'' ("We stand sleepless").

Structure

* Brigade Headquarters Company (ΛΧΣ 29ης Μ/Κ ΤΑΞ ΠΖ) * 29th Signals Company (29ος ΛΔΒ) * 29th Medical Company (29ος ΛΥΓ) * 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (1η ΕΑΝ) * 511th Mechanized Infantry Battalion (511ο M/Κ ΤΠ) * 557th Mechanized Infantry Battalion - Recruit Training Centre (557ο M/ΤΠ - KEN)

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Mechanized infantry brigades of Greece Komotini 2003 establishments in Greece