The 41st Infantry Regiment () is a historic unit 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 ...

. Today its name and tradition are borne by the military command of Samothrace island in the northern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, as the 41st Infantry Regiment "Saranta Ekklisies" Tactical Command (Τακτική Διοίκηση 41 Συντάγματος Πεζικού "ΣΑΡΑΝΤΑ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΕΣ", ΤΔ/41 ΣΠ).

History

The 41st Infantry Regiment was formed in September 1920 in Saranta Ekklisies in

Eastern Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

(Kirk-Kilise, now Kirklareli in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

), at the time under Greek control, as part of the Xanthi Division, soon to be renamed into the 12th Infantry Division. On 1 June 1921, the regiment landed at

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

and took part in the Greek offensive in July–September, which culminated in the Battle of Sakarya. After the Greek withdrawal, the regiment, along with the rest of the 12th Division, was placed on the heights northeast of Afyon Karahisar. Following the Turkish breakthrough in the Battle of Dumlupinar, the regiment retreated westwards to the Aegean coast and embarked at

Çeşme Çeşme, officially the Çeşme Municipality, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 285 km2, and its population is 48,924 (2022). It sits at Turkey's westernmost end, on a promontory on t ...

on 31 August for

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

. As part of the Army of the Evros, the regiment was then successively moved to

Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis (, ) or Alexandroupoli (, ) is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Greek Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,75 ...

, Didymoteicho and Ferres in late 1922/early 1923, before being moved to its peacetime quarters in Xanthi after the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in July 1923. The regiment was re-formed anew with the general mobilization after the Italian invasion of Greece on 28 October 1940, and undertook garrison duties in the Metaxas Line, in the area of Achladochori. After 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 20 February 2004, the title of the 41st Infantry Regiment, as well as the honorific name "Saranta Ekklisies", were given to the 289th Infantry Battalion Tactical Command (Τ∆/289 ΤΠ) which formed the garrison of the island of Samothrace. The island had been devoid of military presence until the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

in 1974. After that it was successively defended by a company from the 290th National Guard Battalion in nearby

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

, by the separate Samothrace Command until 1982, and by the 289th National Guard Battalion, reduced in 1995 to a Tactical Command level.

Insignia

The Tactical Command's emblem is the statue of the

Winged Victory of Samothrace The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Niké of Samothrace'', is a Votive offering, votive monument originally discovered on the island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Helleni ...

, superimposed on an outline of the island and surrounded by a wreath, on a light blue background. The top bears the unit's motto ΚΛΕΟΣ ΑΦΘΙΤΟΝ ΕΣΤΑΙ ("glory is imperishable"), a quote by

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' (I.413). Below the statue is a scroll with the unit's honorific name. The unit flag consists of the whole emblem superimposed on three horizontal bands of black, red, and green, the distinctive colours of artillery, infantry and armour in the Hellenic Army, separated by thin gold stripes.

References

{{Recipients of the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour 1920 establishments in Greece Military units and formations established in 1920 Infantry regiments of Greece Commander's Crosses of the Cross of Valour (Greece) Military units and formations of Greece in World War II Samothrace Military units and formations of Greece in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)