Fort Roupel () is a fortress at the north border of

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting the central part of the Geographic regions of Greece, geographical and historical region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. With a ...

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 ...

, built-in 1914. It became part of the fortifications of the

Metaxas Line The Metaxas Line (, ''Grammi Metaxa'') was a chain of fortifications constructed along the line of the Greco-Bulgarian border, designed to protect Greece in case of a Bulgarian invasion after the rearmament of Bulgaria. It was named after Ioa ...

in the 1930s and became famous for its defence during 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 ...

in April 1941. The Roupel fortifications are not far from the

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 ...

- Promachonas national road, which leads to the Greek-Bulgarian border. They are just a short distance from the border in the narrow Roupel Gorge, through which the

Strymon River The Struma or Strymonas (, ; , ) is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its Ancient Greek, ancient name was Strymon (, ). Its drainage area is , of which in Bulgaria, in Greece and the remaining in North Macedonia and Serbia. It takes its source fr ...

flows. This place is strategically important for entry to Greek or Bulgarian territory and was fortified in 1914. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, on 25 May 1916, the royal Greek government of Athens permitted the surrender of the fortress to the Germans and their Bulgarian allies as a counterbalance to the Allied forces that had been established in Thessaloniki. The German-Bulgarian troops then proceeded to occupy most of eastern

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 ...

without resistance. This act led to the outbreak of a revolt of

Venizelist Venizelism () was one of the major political movements in Greece beginning from the 1910s. The movement first formed under Eleftherios Venizelos in the 1910s and saw a resurgence of support in the 1960s when Georgios Papandreou united a coaliti ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officers in

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 ...

and the establishment of the

Provisional Government of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ve ...

under Entente auspices there, opposed to the official government of Athens and King

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

, cementing the so-called "

National Schism The National Schism (), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Kingdom of Greece, Greece's foreign policy from 19 ...

". The fort also became famous during

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 ...

, when the advance of the German armies on that front sector was halted here. On the eve of

, Fort Roupel was incorporated into the

, a new line of defence that was built to repel an invasion of Greece from Bulgaria. For three days, the fort held out against German attack and was only abandoned by its men after the surrender of the Greek army in

. Today one of the fortification's galleries is open to visitors, as is a small museum and the pavilion the visitors, the observatory and the memorial of fallen soldiers. In the gallery, the visitor has the opportunity to feel the moments of the battle. Walking the wards and in the side aisles, some dioramas depict the Greek fighters battle forts (gunner, doctor to doctor caring for injured, the sergeant in his office and the office of captain and more.

File:Macedonian_Museums-95-Ohiro_Roupel-434.jpg, Model of a sergeant File:Macedonian_Museums-95-Ohiro_Roupel-435.jpg, Entrance of visitable tunnel File:Macedonian_Museums-95-Ohiro_Roupel-436.jpg, Map of the battle for the fort in April 1941

References

Sources

* ''The original version of this article was taken from th
corresponding article
at th
''Museum of Roupel''
'' {{Authority control World War II museums in Greece Roupel Buildings and structures completed in 1914 Museums in Central Macedonia Buildings and structures in Serres (regional unit)