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Battle of Meritsa
The Battle of Meritsa (Greek: Μάχη της Μερίτσας) or Battle of Oxyneia (Μάχη της Οξύνειας) was fought on 11–12 February 1943 between some 800 men of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), under Nestoras Vokas (nom de guerre "Tzavellas"), Nikos Zaralis ("Chasiotis"), Ilias Kafantaris ("Adamantios") and artillery 2nd Lieutenant Aristidis Bloutsos (MIDAS) against a Royal Italian Army battalion.
| Battle of Meritsa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Greek resistance in World War ll | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
| Greek People's Liberation Army | Royal Italian Army | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Nestoras Vokas Ilias Kafantaris Nikos Zaralis Aristidis Bloutsos | Unknown | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| 800 men |
One battalion (700-900 men) | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 7 casualties |
137 men killed 160 men taken as prisoners but later released | ||||
The Battle of Meritsa was the first victorious battle of the Greek National Resistance and had tremendous impact on Greek morale.
It was fought at the village of Meritsa (modern Oxyneia) near Kalambaka. In the battle, 137 Italians were killed, and 160 were taken prisoner, along with their entire equipment, including 4 mortars, 20 automatic weapons, and over 2,000 grenades. The partisans released their prisoners, but kept the equipment.[1][2][3]
The Greek side had only seven casualties.
- ^ Αρχεία Εθνικής Αντίστασης, 1941-1944, p. 331.
- ^ Eudes 1973, pp. 43–44.
- ^ Mazower 1993, p. 135.
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