Military unit
The
Mechanized Cavalry Regiment
(
Greek
:
Μηχανοκ?νητο Σ?νταγμα Ιππικο?
) was a
mechanized infantry
unit of the
Hellenic Army
, created in 1937 at
Thessaloniki
as part of the
Cavalry Division
. It fought in the
Greco-Italian War
of 1940?41, before being amalgamated into the
19th Mechanized Division
in March 1941.
Background and establishment
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]
Greece's first contact with
armoured warfare
was in 1925, when the
French military mission to Greece (1925?32)
introduced up-to-date French tactical manuals. The creation of a Tank Regiment was ordered in 1926, but the effort was abandoned a year later due to financial constraints.
In 1931, Greece acquired its first tanks?two
Vickers 6-Ton
light tanks, one each of Type A and Type B, and two
Carden Loyd tankettes
. Initially used for training, they were formed into a tank battalion in 1935, with the expectation that they would be complemented with 14 light tanks ordered in Britain and France, at a cost of 40 million
Greek drachmas
. In the event, these were never delivered due to the priority given by Britain and France to their own rearmament and the outbreak of
World War II
.
In 1937, in an apparent imitation of the French
Division Legere de Cavalerie
model, the Mechanized Cavalry Regiment was formed at
Thessaloniki
, as part of the Hellenic Army's single
Cavalry Division
.
Its structure was as follows:
- Command and regimental staff group, including one communications and one engineer group
- 1st Battalion Command (Διο?κηση Ι Επιλαρχ?α?)
- 2nd Battalion Command (Διο?κηση ΙΙ Επιλαρχ?α?)
- Light Company (Ελαφρ? ?λη)
- 1 Bicycle and Tricycle Squad (Ουλαμ?? Δικ?κλων και Τρικ?κλων)
- 3 Reconnaissance Squads (Ουλαμο? Αναγνωρ?σεω?) on cars
- 3 Battle Companies (?λε? Μ?χη?), each comprising 120 men armed with
6.5 mm
Mannlicher?Schonauer
carbines, eight VB
rifle grenade
launchers on
Lebel
rifles, and twelve 6.5 mm
Hotchkiss machine guns
, divided into
- 2 Half-Companies (Ημιλαρχ?ε?) of
- 2 Lorry-Borne Squads (Μεταφερ?μενοι Ουλαμο?)
- 1 Machine Gun Company (?λη Πολυβ?λων) with twelve 7.92 mm
Hotchkiss machine guns
- 1 Mortar Company (?λη ?λμων) with four
81 mm mortars
- unit transports
- 2 mobile repair workshops
In total, the regiment comprised
c.
165
trucks (44 each of the
Mercedes-Benz W 152
4x4 cars and
Mercedes-Benz LG 2500
6x6 trucks, and 75 other 2.5-ton trucks, probably mostly
Fiats
), as well as motorcycles and other vehicles, but no armoured cars or tanks.
The battalion commands were designed to provide tactical flexibility, by detaching squads from the support companies and attaching them as needed to the Battle Companies.
Combat history
[
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]
With the
Italian invasion of Greece
on 28 October 1940, the regiment, under Cavalry Lt. Colonel Epameinondas Asimakopoulos, mobilized in the Lebet army camp in Thessaloniki and joined the rest of the Cavalry Division (Maj. General
Georgios Stanotas
) at
Langadas
.
On 29 October, the Light Company, along with other units of the Cavalry Division, were detached to the Cavalry Brigade also being formed at Langadas. The rest of the regiment followed the Cavalry Division to
Kalambaka
, where it arrived on 31 October. During this move, the inexperience of the drivers led to several accidents, which led to dozens of casualties in dead and wounded.
A Greek soldier sitting on a captured Italian
L3/33
tankette
Along with the rest of the Cavalry Division, the regiment participated in the final stages of the
Battle of Pindus
against the elite Italian
3rd Alpine Division Julia
. The first elements of the regiment arrived at
Metsovo
, the target of the Julia Division's advance, on 3 November.
On 7 November the Mechanized Regiment was detached from the Cavalry Division and placed under the command of the
8th Infantry Division
(Maj. General
Charalambos Katsimitros
) further west.
On 11 November, the detached Light Company, which along with the Cavalry Brigade had also participated in the fight against the Julia Division Until 10 November, was reincorporated into the Mechanized Regiment.
On 15 November an Anti-Tank Rifle Squad (Ουλαμ?? Αντιαρματικ?ν Τυφεκ?ων), equipped with twenty
Boys anti-tank rifles
was formed,
followed a month later by a Tank Company (?λη Αρμ?των) comprising 35
L3/35
tankettes
captured from the Italians in the
Battle of Elaia?Kalamas
.
To support the tanks in close combat, a lorry-borne squad of 60 men with two Mercedes-Benz W 152, four Mercedes-Benz LG 2500, and a motorcycle was attached to the Tank Company.
The regiment participated in the Greek offensive operations towards
Tepelene
, during which the captured Italian tanks?affectionately nicknamed "little
bouzoukis
" by the Greek soldiers? were employed as mobile
fire bases
to cover and support the Battle Companies.
Finally, on 23 March 1941, the regiment was moved to
Katerini
to provide the fighting core of the newly formed
19th Mechanized Division
. During the 600 km march, two tanks were lost?one to mechanical failure, and one by falling into a ravine.
Despite the harsh terrain and constant use, the Italian tankettes proved generally reliable, but the lack of spare parts soon became an acute problem and reduced their combat-worthiness.
References
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]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Christodoulou, Dimitrios (2012). "Οι ελληνικ?? μηχανοκ?νητε? δυν?μει? κατ? τον ελληνο?ταλικ? και ελληνογερμανικ? π?λεμο (1940-41), Μ?ρο? 1ο".
Ιππικ? ? Τεθωρακισμ?να, No. 74 (January?March 2012)
[
The Greek Mechanized Forces During the Greek?Italian and Greek?German War (1940-41), Part 1
]. Cavalry?Armour Retired Officers Union. pp. 21?24.
- Hellenic Army General Staff, Training Directorate/3a (March 1995).
Ιστορ?α Ιππικο? - Τεθωρακισμ?νων
[
History of the Cavalry?Armour Arm
]
(PDF)
. Athens: Hellenic Army Printing Office.
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