Rimini Brigade
|
3rd Greek Mountain Brigade |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| active | July 1, 1944 to February 1945 |
| Country | Greece |
| Armed forces | Greek army |
| Branch of service | infantry |
| structure | 3 battalions of 3 companies each, 1 field artillery regiment |
| Strength | 3,377 |
| Nickname | Rimini Brigade |
| Butcher | Battle of Rimini |
| commander | |
| Important commanders |
Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos |
As Rimini Brigade ( Greek Ταξιαρχία Ρίμινι Taxiarchía Rímini ) known 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade ( Greek ΙΙΙ Ελληνική Ορεινή Ταξιαρχία Triti Elliniki Oriní Taxiarchía shortly ΙΙΙ Ε.Ο.Τ. ) was a Greek infantry unit in World War II . She fought alongside the Allies in Italy and in the Greek Civil War against the communist- controlled ELAS .
founding
The brigade was formed by the Greek government-in-exile in Egypt after a mutiny by the Greek armed forces in Egypt, considered to be pro-communist, was put down in April 1944. It was composed mainly of selected politically right-wing monarchist officers and soldiers from the disbanded units.
The installation took place on July 1, 1944 in Lebanon under the command of Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos . It included 3,377 men, divided into three infantry battalions, each with three companies, and a field artillery regiment.
Use in Italy
On August 11, 1944, she arrived with the Dutch passenger ship Ruiz from Haifa in Taranto , Italy, where she was placed under the command of the New Zealand Division under General Freyberg . On August 19, 1944, the brigade began moving Taranto, 650 km north. A week later she set up camp near Spoleto .
Battle of Rimini
On September 5, 1944, the brigade came to Santa Maria Pietrafitta a few kilometers inland from Cattolica , where it was temporarily placed under the command of the Canadian 5th Panzer Division . In the coastal strip south of Rimini it supported the Allied forces in their attacks against the Goths fortified by the German Wehrmacht , which had entered a decisive phase since August 25 with the Battle of Rimini . In loss-making battles against heavy resistance from the German 1st Paratrooper Division , it crossed the Marano River on September 15 and advanced against the Rimini airfield with the support of Canadian and New Zealand armored units and artillery . On September 19, she reached the outskirts. Two days later the Greek flag was waving from Rimini City Hall. The city was passed in a protocol in English, Italian and Greek. The brigade, which had to mourn 146 dead and 310 wounded, from then on held the honorary title of Rimini Brigade .
On September 27, 1944, the brigade's first battalion, together with a New Zealand unit, forced the German armed forces to retreat across the Uso River near Bellaria . The Greek brigade participated in the position battle in the coastal strip between Rimini and Ravenna until October 18 .
Participation in the Greek Civil War
On 6./7. November 1944, the brigade embarked on the steamer MS Alkantara in the port of Taranto and returned to Greece , escorted by the destroyer Pindos . On November 9, she arrived in Athens and placed herself in the service of the Greek government in exile under Georgios Papandreou, which had arrived three weeks earlier after the withdrawal of the German occupiers .
During the negotiations on the demobilization of the partisan associations, the communist- controlled ELAS demanded, among other things, the disarming of the government- loyal monarchist Rimini Brigade, which the government refused. When the dispute culminated in the armed conflict of the Dekemvriana , the Rimini Brigade fought alongside the British, the EDES and other nationalist groups such as Organization X and the government security battalions against ELAS.
Individual evidence
- ^ Robin Kay: Italy . Volume II: From Cassino to Trieste . In: The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-1945 . Wellington 1967, p. 215
- ^ Robin Kay: Italy . Volume II: From Cassino to Trieste . In: The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-1945 . Wellington 1967, p. 225