The Metaxas Line (, ''Grammi Metaxa'') was a chain of fortifications constructed along the line of the Greco-Bulgarian border, designed to protect

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in case of a Bulgarian invasion after the rearmament of Bulgaria. It was named after

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; 12 April 187129 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as th ...

, then

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic (), usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece (), is the head of government of the Greece, Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Cabinet of Greece, Greek Cabinet. The officeholder's of ...

, and chiefly consists of tunnels that led to observatories, emplacements and machine gun nests. The constructions are so sturdy that they survive to this day, some of which are still in active service. Some of them are open to the public. The Metaxas Line consists of 21 independent

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

complexes, the largest of which is

Fort Roupel Fort Roupel () is a fortress at the north border of Central Macedonia, Greece, built-in 1914. It became part of the fortifications of the Metaxas Line in the 1930s and became famous for its defence during the German invasion of Greece in April 1 ...

as it covers 6.1 out of the 155 km of the full line and had been constructed at a height of 322 m. Illumination was initially mostly provided by oil-lamps, although generators were also installed. Currently, the fortifications are supplied with public electricity, but they are also equipped with generators. Ventilation was achieved both naturally and artificially. Water was supplied via water-mains. The fortification works lasted four years and their cost at the time reached 100,400,000

drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001. First modern drachma The drachma was reintroduce ...

List of fortification complexes

The following 21 forts make up the Metaxas Line, ordered from West to East along the Greco-Bulgarian border. # Popotlivitsa (Ποποτλίβιτσα) # Istimpei (Ιστίμπεη) # Kelkagia (Κελκαγιά) # Arpalouki (Αρπαλούκι) # Paliouriones (Παληουριώνες) # Roupel (Ρούπελ) # Karatas (Καρατάς) # Kali (Κάλη) # Persek (Περσέκ) # Mpampazora (Μπαμπαζώρα) # Maliagka (Μαλιάγκα) # Perithori (Περιθώρι) # Partalouska (Παρταλούσκα) # Ntasavli (Ντάσαβλη) # Lisse (Λίσσε) # Pyramidoeides (Πυραμιδοειδές) # Kastilo (Καστίλο) # Agios Nikolaos (Άγιος Νικόλαος) # Mpartiseva (Μπαρτίσεβα) # Echinos (Εχίνος) # Nymfaia (Νυμφαία)

History

Before the outbreak of

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 ...

, the additions made to the Roupel Fortress were considered to be too weak. Thus, it was decided that further fortifications should be constructed, not only in that particular region, but also along the entire northern Greek borderline. The plans were drawn up in 1935 and work began at Kerkini in 1936. The original intention was that the full fortifications' line reach as far along the border as Ormenion. Greece, however, became involved in

in 1940, thus preventing completion. At the war's outbreak, the fortification line had only reached Komotini,

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

and was 155 km long. Like the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

on the Franco-German border, the Metaxas Line was outflanked by German forces specifically when the Germans invaded Greece in April 1941 through Yugoslavia. The German XVIII Mountain Corps and XXX Army Corps attacked the Metaxas Line before dawn on 6 April, but they encountered fierce resistance under the leadership of Brig. General Konstantinos Th. Bakopoulos, and after three days of fighting they had only limited successes. The 2nd Panzerdivision XVIII Mountain Corps with an enveloping move crossed the Yugoslavian borders, overcame Yugoslav and Greek resistance and captured Thessaloniki on 9 April. The capture of Thessaloniki forced the Greek East Macedonia Army Section to surrender on 10 April and the Metaxas Line battle was over. German General

Wilhelm List Siegmund Wilhelm Walther List (14 May 1880 – 17 August 1971) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) of the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II. List was a professional soldier in the Bavarian Army and served as a staff officer o ...

, who led the attack against the Metaxas Line, admired the bravery and courage of these soldiers. He refrained from taking the Greek soldiers prisoner and declared that the army was free to leave with their war flags, on condition that they surrender their arms and supplies. He also ordered his soldiers and officers to salute the Greek soldiers (Beevor 2005, p. 20). There were few troops to defend the line as most of the Greek Army was fighting against the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

on the Albanian front.

References

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External links

About the German invasion of GreeceBunkermuzeum, maps and ww2 fortifications

World War II Fortifications in Greece
{{Authority control 4th of August Regime Battle of Greece World War II defensive lines 1936 establishments in Greece Ioannis Metaxas

List of fortification complexes

History

See also

References

External links