Metaxas Line

The value of Rupel's defensive position on the Greek-Bulgarian border was noted during the First World War . Whereas Greco-Serbian relations were traditionally friendly and the Greco-Serbian border remained unreinforced, then Greco-Bulgarian relations were strained almost from the moment of the creation of the Bulgarian state at the end of the 19th century.

The fact that Bulgaria did not join the Serbia-Greece-Turkey alliance between the two world wars increased the mistrust and suspicion that Bulgaria might take military action against Greece in order to get revenge for the defeats in the Second Balkan and World War I and revising their results. It was decided to build fortifications not only in the Rupel region, but throughout the Greco-Bulgarian border. The project was completed in 1935 , and work began in the Kerkini area in 1936 .

The line consisted mainly of a network of underground tunnels, which included ground fortified complexes, with observation posts, artillery and machine-gun pillboxes, as well as a network of anti-tank ditches, a zone of reinforced concrete anti-tank hollows of double and triple containment lines.

The implementation of this project was undertaken by the Command of the garrison of the Macedonian capital, the city of Thessaloniki . The command of the Thessaloniki garrison formed a special “Committee for the Design of Fortifications”, which was attended by topographers, geographers, engineers, architects, with the participation of other military units, such as the Corps of Engineering, as well as the Athens Polytechnic University . In addition to the army and contractors, many enterprises of Athens and Piraeus were involved in the field.

The Committee, under pressure from time and after the positions of the construction of fortifications and all other necessary work were determined, presented a report with proposals to the Ministry of Defense. After meetings at the Ministry, it was decided to build a line that would cover the region from East Macedonia (Mount Beles ) to the region of Komotini in Thrace. The line, taking into account the areas where it was interrupted, amounted to a strip about 300 kilometers long. This should also add the continuation of anti-tank zones and other additional fortifications that reached the Evros River. Particular attention was paid to the confidentiality of the project and the absolute secrecy of all work.

The main goal of building a fortified defensive line was not a passive defense, but a reflection of a sudden enemy attack. At the same time, the goal was to provide shelter for units of the army, which from this position were supposed to counterattack and go on the offensive. The “Committee for the Design of Fortifications” provided for the construction of structures only for the needs of advanced units, which were:

1. Immediate reflection of any sudden enemy invasion.

2. Ensuring trouble-free mobilization of the border population.

3. Ensuring rapid concentration of the army for speaking out of the border zone.

4. Providing advanced units of the line from which the main parts of the army will be able to develop an offensive.

The committee wrote in its report:

“ It is possible that in some sectors (the defensive line) the main forces of the campaign have to defend themselves, on the line of structures that will be considered additionally and which are likely, although sufficient for the needs of the covering units, they may not be sufficient to develop the resistance positions of the entire Army. The Committee considers that it is not in a position to address this case as well. The command should determine the need for such positions and their place, and, if necessary, build more fortifications and more powerful structures there . ”

From this passage it follows that the entire project was only temporary defense in nature.

The Metaxas Line, consisted of (21) forts. These Forts were built to defend the Greek border from the Bulgarian attack, because at that time, 1936-1940, Bulgaria was not a member of the Balkan Friendship Pact and its goal was still the Greek territories that it lost in the Balkan Wars ( 1912 - 1913 ) and World War I

Each fort was a complex of structures capable of defending itself in any direction. It included dugouts and casemates, artillery machine-gun and mortar bunkers , observation posts, numerous entrances and exits. The underground facilities of each fort included a command post, officers' rooms, private rooms, a telephone center, a kitchen, water tanks, sanitary facilities, food stores (for 15 days), a medical center with an operating room, a pharmacy, a ventilation system, and a lighting system (generators, kerosene lamps, lanterns, etc.), sewers, external combat positions, anti-tank obstacles, positions of anti-aircraft guns, etc.

The structures were especially strong, some of them are used by the Greek army to this day.
The interior was lit mainly by kerosene lamps, and some had generators installed. Ventilation was provided by both artificial and natural ventilation. Water was supplied through a piping system. All fortifications are preserved to this day in good condition and functional. Some of them are available to visitors. Each of the forts keeps a story of courageous resistance of its defenders. The forts were not taken by the German army and were surrendered by their defenders on April 10, 1941, only after receiving an order from the command.

The fortifications of the “Line” consisted of 21 independent complexes. Fort Rupel was one of the largest. It occupied 6.1 of the 155 kilometers of the line (if you do not include areas where the line was interrupted) and was built at an altitude of 322 meters. The fortifications were built on three levels, in some places the thickness of reinforced concrete reaches 2.5 meters. The names of 21 forts, starting from the west from Mount Beles to the fort north-east of the city of Xanthi :

• Fort Popotlivitsa
• Fort Istibey
• Fort Kelkaya
• Arpaluki Fort
• Fort Paliuriones
• Fort rupel
• Fort Karatash
• Fort Cali
• Fort Percek
• Fort Babazor
• Fort Maliaga
• Fort Peritori
• Fort Partalushka
• Fort Dasawley
• Fort Lisse
• Fort Pyramidoid
• Fort Castillo
• Fort Agios Nikolaos
• Fort Bartiseva
• Fort Echinos
• Fort Nymphea

This defense line is one of the largest technical structures in Greece in the last century, as follows from the technical data:

Infrastructure

• Construction of new roads: 115 kilometers.
• Use and repair of existing roads: 92 kilometers.
• Earthwork on the surface: 16,000 cubic meters.
• Underground earthworks: 291,000 cubic meters.
• Earthwork during the laying of roads: 927,000 cubic meters.

Major Structures

• The volume of reinforced concrete is 108,000 cubic meters.
• The total volume of unreinforced concrete: 68,000 cubic meters.
• Total length of underground water pipes: 74 kilometers.
• Total length of domestic water supply: 14 kilometers.
• Total length of telephone lines outside the fortifications: 1.216 kilometers.
• Total length of telephone lines within the fortifications: 70 kilometers.
• The total length of the deployment of barbed wire: 90 kilometers.
• Total cement used: 66,000 tons.
• Total amount of concrete reinforcement used: 12.000 tons.
• Total length of underground galleries: 24,000 meters.
• Total length of underground shelter-halls: 13.000 meters

Cost-time spent on the construction of the Line

• Total cost: 1.5 billion drams (equivalent to 58.5 billion euros (2002))
• Total workdays expended: 3,000,000
• Duration of construction: 3.5 years, (November 1936 -July 1940).

In October 1940, the Greek army repelled an attack by Italy and transferred hostilities to the territory of Albania. This was the first victory of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition against the Axis forces. German intervention was expected. The German General Staff prepared a plan for Operation Marita in December 1940, having also signed an agreement on the participation of the Bulgarian army in the war and the provision of Greek territories to Bulgaria in Macedonia and Thrace ^[1] . Germany began introducing its units into its allied Bulgaria on February 6, 1941 and deploying them on the Greek-Bulgarian border. At the same time, Bulgaria mobilized 14 of its divisions ^[2] . The Italian spring offensive of March 9-15-15, 1941 in Albania showed that the Italian army could not change the course of events, which made German intervention to save its ally inevitable. At the request of the Greek government, which foresaw the intervention of Germany, until the end of March 1941, Britain sent 40 thousand of its soldiers to Greece, the number of which later reached 60 thousand. At the same time, the British occupied the second line of defense along the Aliakmon River to Mount Olympus , away from the front line in Albania and the potential theater of operations on the Greek-Bulgarian border ^[3] .

The German invasion of Greece began on April 6, 1941. On the same day, the Germans and their allies invaded Yugoslavia, since the March coup violated the plans for this country to join the Axis. Against Greece, the German command set ^[4] :

• 7 infantry divisions
• 3 tank divisions
• 1 motorized infantry division
• 1,400 aircraft

Of the 22 divisions that the Greek army had, 16 were in Albania, away from the new front.

The German army, which invaded Greece from Bulgaria on April 6, 1941, was unable to take the line with an attack.

The German 18th and 30th Army Corps attacked the Line from April 6th and after only three days of battle had only limited success. For 4 days, despite massive shelling and the use of assault aircraft and hand-to-hand fighting in the tunnels of some forts, the Germans could not take the dominant position of the Greek defense line.

The 2nd Armored Division of the Wehrmacht ( 18th Corps ), bypassing the maneuver, crossed the Bulgarian-Yugoslav border on April 8 and, without encountering significant resistance here, reached the Thessaloniki on the 9th through the practically unshielded Greek-Yugoslav border and the Axios river valley April, thus cutting off the group of divisions of East Macedonia (4 divisions and 1 brigade) from the Greek army in Albania, which continued to fight against the Italians.

On the same day, the Greek General Staff, believing that the defense in East Macedonia no longer made sense, by order No. 1381 provided the opportunity to the commander of the group of divisions of East Macedonia, General K. Bakopoulos, at his discretion, to continue to fight or surrender ^[5] Bakopoulos, a famous Germanophile, did not fail take the order and gave the order to surrender the forts. However, the commanders of most forts did not obey and continued the battle. ^[6]

After receiving the order to surrender, the battle took on the character of fighting for the “honor of arms” and, having received from the German command honorary conditions for surrender, the forts stopped the battle one after another, starting on April 10. German Field Marshal Wilhelm Liszt , who led the attack against the Metaxas Line, expressed admiration for the bravery and courage of these soldiers. Liszt did not take prisoners, claiming that the Greek army could leave the forts, leaving their military flags with them, but subject to the surrender of weapons and ammunition. He also ordered his soldiers and officers to salute the Greek soldiers. ^[7]

The behavior of the German command at this stage of the war differs from the next stage - the Cretan operation. After a month and a half, and starting on May 31, 1941 ( Execution at Kondomari ), German troops began mass executions of the population throughout Crete for their participation in the battles, as this violated Prussian concepts of the rules of warfare ^[8] .

The brigade that covered the Greek-Turkish border along the Evros River, numbered 2,300 people, under the command of General Zisis. The brigade successfully defended Nimfeo Fort and its section of the Greek-Bulgarian border. After the surrender of the group of divisions of East Macedonia, the threat of capturing the brigade arose.

General Zisis decided to transfer the brigade to the Turkish bank of the river, assuming that the provisions of the pre-war Balkan Pact between Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey remain in force. The general, however, did not know that the Turks had signed an agreement with the Germans, which annulled the Pact, having received assurance from the Germans that they would remain 20 km from the Turkish border. When the brigade laid down its arms but was refused immediate transfer to Crete to continue participating in the battles, General Zisis committed suicide ^[9] .

Hitler began his speech with the following introduction: “I am sincerely sorry as a German who always had a deep respect for the culture of this country, from which the first light of beauty and dignity came, and it was especially painful for me to observe the development of events, not being able to influence them. " Hitler goes on to say: “In this campaign, the German armed forces surpassed themselves. The attack on the strongly fortified positions, especially on the front of Thrace, was one of the most difficult tasks ever set for any army. ”

Continuing his speech, Hitler made the following statement:

Historical justice obliges me to declare that of all the opponents who opposed us, the Greek soldier fought with the greatest courage. He surrendered only when further resistance became impossible and worthless ^{[10] [11] [12]}

After 3 years, at the end of the war, Hitler declared to Leni Riefenstahl on March 30, 1944, as follows from her memoirs: “Italy’s entry into the war turned out to be a disaster for us. If the Italians hadn’t attacked Greece and they didn’t need our help, the war would have taken a different turn, we would have managed to capture Leningrad and Moscow before the onset of Russian frost ” ^[13] .

• Dimitrios Itzios
• Theodoros Kallinos

• Ρούπελ (inaccessible link)
• Η ΜΑΧΗ ΤΩΝ ΟΧΥΡΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΓΡΑΜΜΗΣ ΜΕΤΑΞΑ
• About the German invasion of Greece
• Bunkermuzeum, maps and ww2 fortifications
• World War II Fortifications in Greece

• Kaufmann, JE Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II. - Combined Publishing, 1999. - ISBN 1-58097-000-1 .