Bralos or Brallos ( el, Μπράλ ��ς) is a village located on the slopes of

Mount Kallidromon Kallidromo ( el, Καλλίδρομο) is a mountain in southeastern Phthiotis and northeastern Phocis, in Central Greece. Its maximum elevation is 1,399 m. The Kallidromo lies south of the Malian Gulf, east of Mount Oeta and north of the Cephiss ...

Phthiotis Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is borde ...

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 wit ...

. It is part of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia. The town can be found along

European route E65 European route E65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chania, Greece. The road is about in length. Route * **: Malmö ( ) – Ystad *Gap ( Baltic Sea) ** Ystad - Świnoujście * ** ...

, and is served by Bralos railway station.

History

In October 1917, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the 49th Stationary Hospital was established at Bralos along with rest and recuperation camps for Allied troops. It remained in use until April 1919. Many of the dead from the hospital—chiefly from the influenza epidemic—are buried in the Bralo British Cemetery. It contains 101 burials, 95 of which from the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

. Bralos was also the site of fighting between

troops and the Germans in the Battle of Thermopylae (1941). On 12 January 1947, 300 guerrillas led by Captain Diamantis, of the

Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; el, Δημοκρατικός Στρατός Ελλάδας - ΔΣΕ, Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas - DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At ...

took the Bralos railway station by surprise at 14:00 local time, when the train pulled into the station. The guerrillas destroyed the radios, called on the passengers to get off the train, and separated the civilians from the soldiers. Captains Stathakopoulos,

Nikolopoulos Nikolopoulos (Greek: Νικολόπουλος) is a Greek surname, meaning "son of Nikolaos". The female version of the name is Nikolopoulou (Νικολοπούλου). Notable examples include: * Alexandros Nikolopoulos (born 1875), Greek weightli ...

and gendarme Kastanas resisted the takeover, who were killed in the ensuing exchange of gunfire. The guerrillas sat at the station for an hour and a half, blew up the chimney of the locomotive and set fire to the train, resulting in the burning of two

wagons A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

. They then left in cars, taking with them about 20 captives, various supplies and the station's cash register, and took refuge in Oiti. Both the Army and

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

forces pursued them without result.

Demographics

The following table includes the demographic development of Bralos settlement:

Transport

Road

The town can be found along

Rail

The village is served by Bralos railway station, with local stopping services to Tithorea and

Leianokladi Leianokladi ( el, Λειανοκλάδι) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of th ...

References

Populated places in Phthiotis World War I cemeteries {{CentralGreece-geo-stub