Battle of Meligalas 1944
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 13 September 1944 – 15 September 1944 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1944 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Greece | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Greek Resistance | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Greek People's Liberation Army, Security Battalions | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 37.2231, 21.9539 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Meligalas (Greek: Μάχη του Μελιγαλά, romanized: Machi tou Meligala) took place during the Axis occupation of Greece in Meligalas in southwestern Greece on 13–15 September 1944. Greek Resistance forces of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) defeated a Security Battalion garrison loyal to the collaborationist government.
Partisan ELAS forces, the military wing of the Communist-led National Liberation Front (EAM), had begun operating in the Peloponnese from 1942 and in 1943 began to establish their control over the area. In response, the German occupation authorities formed the Security Battalions, which took part not only in anti-guerrilla operations but also in mass reprisals against local civilian populations. The Security Battalions were increasingly targeted by ELAS in 1944. Following the withdrawal of German forces from the Peloponnese in September, a force of about 1,000 Battalionists gathered in Meligalas, where they were quickly surrounded by around 1,200 ELAS partisans. After three days of fighting, the ELAS forces broke the town's defences; victorious, they executed between 700 and 1,100 prisoners and civilians.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Meligalas (revision 1375058470), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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