Heroic battles
9th March to 26th March 1941
he 17-day battle of Height
731 was one of the
bloodiest battles of the ww2. It was the greatest
assault of the Greek-Italian War.
The Italians were defeated. The
most spectacular is that the hill
after the battle was 5 meters
lower than before.In March 1941
the Italians launched a last
assault to break the Greek
resistance. This offensive known
as “Operation Springtime” was
planned to each detail and was
supervised by Mussolini
himself who arrived to Albania
on March2. For 17 days the
attacks on the Greek
position were repelled.
The strategic importance of
Height 731, stood at the center of
the Italian effort. The Italian plan
anticipated an offensive action
with a front of 6 km by the
General Gastone Gambara.
The primary assault was
launched by 3 infantry divisions
and 2 blacksuit battalions and
2 infantry divisions in reserve.
The Battle of Height 731
The secondary assault was launched by 3 infantry divisions and 2 more in reserve. There were also 15 battalions of Bersaglieri, Alpini and blacksuits at the General’s disposal. The Italians aimed at the breaking of the Greek defense line by the men of the Greek “1st Thessaly Infantry Division” at the area of 731 under Major General Vasilios Vrachnos, with 6 frontline battalions and 3 in reserve. The 1st Infantry Division during the 17-day battle for 731 was named “THE IRON DIVISION”
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