THE GRECO-ITALIAN WAR 1940–1941

THE GRECO-ITALIAN WAR 1940–1941

General Mobilization and the Participation of Banitsa in the War

After the occupation of Albania by Italy, Greece realized the danger posed by Italy, and the Greek General Staff acted quickly. A general mobilization was hastily put into motion in the summer and autumn of 1940. For Aegean Macedonia, the call included all those who had served in the army from 1911 to 1940, but in old Greece, only those who had served within the ten-year period 1931 to 1940 were called up. This constituted yet another injustice: the Macedonians and others living in Aegean Macedonia, particularly the settlers from Asia Minor, were sacrificed once again.

The army of fascist Italy attacked Greece from Albania in the early hours of 28 October 1940 with eight well-armed divisions, totalling approximately 100,000 men. The Greek army had two divisions of 35,000 men to oppose the enemy across a front stretching 200 kilometres.

With the mobilization of 1940, a total of about 450 men from Banitsaweresenttothefrontlinesinthe28th Brigadeofthe9th Division.

The sudden and speedy attack of the Italian fascist army across the Albanian-Greek border inflicted heavy losses in the Greek army leading to initial gains for the Italians. But the steely, tough Greek divisions eventually halted the enemy. The 28th to 30th Brigades organized a

counter-attack, pushing the enemy back to its initial position. In a panic the enemy withdrew and abandoned Albanian towns and villages in the face of the onslaught of the Greek army, whose units were predominantly made up of Macedonians.

Lost and Captured Banitsa Soldiers

Many Macedonians lost their lives in that campaign, including five young men from Banitsa: Mitse Gligor Tanev, intellectual; Gligor Tego Minchev, miner; Mitse Dafo Pechinov, miner; Stojche Natse Ziskov, miner; and Pavle Leko Alushev, miner. The Italian army captured many Greek army soldiers in the first raids, among them 14 people from Banitsa: Kiro Leko Minchev, Stefo Leko Dajkov, Kitse Gele Genev, Blazhe Lazo Tashev, Tase Gele Petkov, Gjorgi Vane Iliev, Gligor Mitse Kjosev, DineMitseMangov, GoneMitseDelev, PetseKireKirov, Petse Minde Janchev, Kire Gjorgi Vasev, Blazhe Vane Kochev and Gjorgi Stefo Rapov.

All of the captured Greek army soldiers, including the ones from Banitsa, were taken to military internment camps in Italy. Later, at the conclusion of the battles with Germany and the occupation by Germany in the spring of 1941, the Bulgarian embassy in Rome claimed all the Macedonians held in military prisons and brought them to Sophia, considering them to be Bulgarian citizens. The top Bulgarian military and civilian leaders spoke to them of the mission of the Bulgarian army to liberate Macedonia and to include it within Mother Bulgaria. Afterwards they left them free to go wherever they wanted, including back to their birthplace. All of the freed Banitsa residents returned to their home town.

With respect to the Italian front, Aegean Macedonians were front linesoldiers, without regular supplies of food, clothing, ammunitionand other military materiel. That is to say, they were sacrificed for the Greek people, but the regular Greek First Armywas held far from the front and lived a comfortable life billeted throughout Macedonian villages. The

Macedonian people made a significant contribution to the war against their common enemy, fascism.20

Exiled Men of Banitsa

The advance of the Greek army into Albania lasted just a short time, but during that time, satisfying military successes were achieved.

The towns of Korcha, Argirekastro and other smaller towns and villagesin Albaniawerecaptured.However,theItalian army regrouped, the command staff was changed and reinforcements were received: around 600,000 soldiers, 7,600 combat aircraft and over 15,000 trucks and other means of transport were sent to the front. The Greek army’s advance was halted. The counter-attack by the Italian army started and the Greek army could not withstand the strong offensive and continuous bombardment, so it began to retreat from the southern front. The failure of the Greek army was due not only to being outnumbered but to other factors includingexhaustion, frostbite, incessant months of fighting, and irregular supplies of food, clothing, combat equipment and ammunition, but at this time they were able to meet some needs from the captured reserves of the enemy during retreat. The high command, headed by the King of Greece, blamed the Macedonians for this reversal at the front. The King ordered about 450 to 500 soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and commissioned officers of Macedonian origin, (“suspicious persons”), chosen by the leaders of the 28th to 30th Brigades, to be taken from their units with the pretext of being sent on leave. They were withdrawn, disarmed, and sent to the rear.

There were 30 men of Banitsa among these Macedonians. They wereloadedontotrucksandtakentothe Peloponnese region in southern Greece, then again moved and thrown into a camp on the island of

20Kirche Mallin, a distant relative and sometime employee of my father’s family, was also captured and ended up in Bulgaria as a policeman. He eventually moved to Skopje where he died in middle age. So not everyone returned from Bulgaria.

Tasos.21 After the arrival of the Germans in Greece, they were all turned over to the Gestapo. They were transferred onto cargo ships to be taken to Germany via the Mediterranean. However, the ships arrived in Piraeus, and some reached the gulf where they were attacked by Allied military aircraft. Some of the prisoners, while on a boat docked in Piraeus, took advantage of the confusion and panic caused by the attack and the abandoning of the ship to slip into the city and go into hiding. Among them were Banicheni who immediately set off for their birthplace. After an exhausting trip overland, they arrived back at the village.

However, many of the escapees were hit by machine gun fire from low-flying Allied fighter aircraft. Many drowned jumping off ships that had been set on fire by aircraft. They did not know how to swim. “Many were lost and only a small number succeeded in saving themselves by swimming to shore. Hundreds of bodies were floating in the channel, the water was bloody. It was a horrifying and appalling situation,” recalled a comrade, Kjeramitchiev.

21Risto Abov was released from captivity in the islands according to Evan Mallin. Slav speakers in the German army, such as Poles and Ukrainians, recognized Macedonians as Slavs and not Greeks, and would from time to time let them escape.

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