The area of northern Pindos: The battle of Pindos (1940)

During the first weeks of the Greek - Italian War of 1940, some of the most severe battles took place here in Vasilitsa of Northern Pindos. If the front of Vasilitsa had collapsed,the alpinists' division "Giulia", who were advancing to occupy Metsovo, would have given the victory to the forces of fascism.

The alpinists' division "Giulia", with two regiments, was made up of experienced in war mountain Italians of the NE areas of Italy, was under the commands of  the major-general Mario Girotti and had a force of 10.800 men.

The mission was specific: After entering the Greek territory, a few kilometers away, it would open up like a big bender which would clutch the two sides of Smolikas and they would reach to Metsovo, making that way the war "swift". They would take the Greeks by surprise, who would collapse, and they would give (so they hoped!) the victory to the Axis Powers.

Against the division Giulia there was the so called squad of Pindos of the colonel Davakis, which had been made up of reservists two months before the war, and had taken orders to defend far and wide a geografically huge area!     

The unbelievable, after the war, excuse of GES (Hellenic Army General Staff) that the front the squad had to defend "with its relevantly small forces" was "from a defencive aspect a natural entrenchment", is of course ridiculous.

If it wasn't for the amazing heroism of the men of Davakis, if the inhabitants of Pindos hadn't helped and also, if the Italian generals themselves hadn't made serious tactical errors, the continuation of the war would have been different.

Based on documents of the Department of History of GES , St. Siomopoulos writes about the battle of Vasilitsa:

"Tolmezzo Squad - the ghost of Vasilitsa (November 8).

"The last one to leave (literally speaking, just like they were going for lunch to Distrato) was the squad of Vasilitsa.

"The huge mountain was steadily occupied by the Tolmezzo Squad that, surrounded by week indeed Greek forces, was fighting to all directions, besides west, from which it maintained a constant unbreakable zone of defence until Distrato.

"The Greeks, acting wisely and due to lack of sufficient forces, wanted to clear up the situation on the complex of the huge massifs that cover Distrato from the north, avoiding that way entering between them and Vasilitsa or Gomara. So, for three whole days severe battles took place on the mountains of western Smolikas, mentioned above. When the situation on the mountains begun to settle and Gomara emptied of Italians, it was Vasilitsa's turn. At the time when on 8th November three squads and a battery were about to join the battle, the Italian squad literally ascended from the mountain, without even a gunshot to be heard and without any prisoners of war or matiriel, heavy or light, to be left behind by the squad. And it was noon, 12 o'clock, and no mist was reported... It was just found what was obvious: that it had narrowed to Distrato.

"The history of GES fills its readers in for the last of these three romantic incidents that stamps the end of the battles in the area of Distrato, and which reminds of the quiet monoeuvres of the wars with spears and bows, or the today's "map drills", once again with eloquent brevity:

"The 11/66 Battalion (less the company of Avdella) reaches north - east of Vasilitsa, where it joined the Identification Squad II at the moment when the enemy had narrowed to Distrato".  That was all…"

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