The Eastern Macedonia Army Section (; ''Tmima Stratias Anatolikis Makedonias'', ''TSAM'') was a

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It faced the initial German attack on Greece during the Battle of the Metaxas Line, and was forced to capitulate after four days of fighting on 9 April 1941.

History

Pre-war Greek planning focused on a possible conflict with

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

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 ...

. For the defence of eastern Macedonia, the plans foresaw the creation of a Kavala Army Section (Τμήμα Στρατιάς Καβάλας), headquartered at

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 ...

and composed of a Group of Divisions (Ομάς Μεραρχιών) in the Axios River area, comprising 6th and 17th Infantry Divisions and the

's sole Cavalry Division, as well as of the IV Army Corps ( 7th and 14th Divisions, 7th and 14th Brigades) in the area of Kavala. Following the Italian attack on Greece on 28 October 1940, Kavala Army Section was mobilized, under the command of Lt. General Markos Drakos, but was renamed as the Eastern Macedonia Army Section in early November.

Leadership

Commanders

* Lt. General Markos Drakos (28 October 1940 – 7 February 1941) * Lt. General Konstantinos Bakopoulos (7 February – 9 April 1941)

Chiefs of staff

* Col. Kleanthis Boulalas (28 October – 19 December 1940) * Col. Theodoros Grigoropoulos (19 December 1940 – 7 February 1941) * Col. Panagiotis Kalogeropoulos (7 February – 9 April 1941)

Headquarters

Serres Serres ( ) 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 Northern Greece. The c ...

(28 October 1940) *

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

(8 February 1941)

References

Sources

* {{Greece field armies Field armies of Greece Battle of Greece Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 Military units and formations of Greece in World War II Greek Macedonia in World War II