On December 5, 1946, the 4th Company of the 501st Battalion of the Rimini (3rd Mountain) Brigade, under Captain Sotirios Liarakos, was ordered to move from the village of Ampelonas Larisis to the village of Rodia, which is 7 km from Ampelonas and 20 from Larissa. The company had just 74 men, half its intended strength, and was equipped with a British 3in mortar, a PIAT anti-tank launcher and the prescribed BREN machine guns (one per battle group) and Enfield rifles.
Captain Liarakos, due to the terrain, deployed the forces into two main groups, the 1st (3rd platoon) and the 2nd (2nd platoon) + 1st platoon group. The reserve consisted of the other two groups of the 1st platoon. One of them would act in favor of the 2nd group, while the other was stationed at the company's Command Station, in the center of the formation, between the two groups. The mortar element was positioned on the edge of the northern settlement of the village, when able to fire from there in a 360 degree radius. The aim of the company was the defense of the village, without the idea of retreating and this because any retreat would expose the 501st Battalion to serious danger as it would expose its right due to the creation of a breach at the height of the Pinios river.
Attack in the night
At 04.30 on 8 December, in pitch darkness, the company came under fire from all directions. However, the defenders were not taken by surprise as they had set up ambushes, whose men opened fire on the advancing opponents. Immediately the soldiers took their positions and awaited the attack, while the 10 men of the two ambushes retreated to the main line of defense. At least 350 DSE guerrillas rushed against the company, with 22 machine guns and submachine guns and 5 light Italian 45mm mortars.
The pressure from the DSE departments was particularly severe from the beginning. Essentially, the DSE were exerting strong pressure from three directions, simply engaging the forces of the Hellenic Army (HE) from the north. Captain Liarakos readjusted his meager powers accordingly. He could not wait for reinforcements as it was not possible to contact the battalion in question. Nevertheless his men fought heroically from the start. Soldier Konstantinos Margonis of the 2nd platoon, who was on duty, was wounded in the head. Nevertheless, he continued to fight, giving his team time to take their positions.
His team leader, Sergeant Eleftherios Staikos, immediately rushed in and, defying the fire, pulled his wounded soldier back to the team's positions. Captain Liarakos had also moved to the positions of the group that was positioned at the most exposed point of the company's defensive arrangement. From there, assessing the situation in person he ordered the company's PIAT element to rush to the scene. Passing through a deadly web of bullets, the men carried the anti-tank to the Staikou Group's positions. Then the sergeant grabbed the PIAT himself and with the first shot hit an approaching DSE team. Among them was the captain "Odysseus" who fell dead. The death of the captain caused confusion among the rebels who relaxed the pressure.
However, a fierce battle was also taking place in front of the positions of the Hadjistamou Group (team leader Corporal Georgios Hadjistamou), also of the 2nd platoon. Heroic Corporal holding Thomson sub-machine gun in one hand and firing, hurling grenades with the other, pulling the pitchfork with his teeth as the enemy closed to within 30 yards. The other 2nd platoon team covered the mortar element. The mortarmen were fighting with their rifles, while the mortar was handled by the platoon leader Corporal Angelos Karatzas, while a soldier gave him the projectiles.
Change direction
In the meantime, the DSE being unable to bend the resistance of the 2nd platoon, at 05.30, they launched a fierce attack on the SW of the company, in the center of the defensive location, extending the pressure also against the 3rd platoon. Team Byrakis (team leader Sergeant Ioannis Byrakis), although receiving fire from six enemy machine guns and at least two sub-machine guns – the DSE's had approached 20 m. – neither stopped fire, nor retreated against an antenna. On the contrary, with its aggressive fire it caused significant losses to the attackers, while later it counterattacked and pursued them all the way to Pineos.
The other group of the 3rd platoon, under Corporal Vasilios Katsonis, also fought heroically. In the meantime, Liarakos assigned the PIAT to the 3rd platoon, specifically to the team of Sergeant Panagiotis Sarantopoulos , which made the most of it. Not making any progress, the DSE started calling the soldiers to surrender, saying – falsely – that the other positions of the company were neutralized and their captain himself was captured. However, Liarakos was not only a prisoner. Instead, with a rifle in his hand, he was acting as a sniper!
In the center, unbearable pressure was also exerted against the company's SD. There the DSE concentrated the fire of six machine guns and three mortars. The BREN operator, soldier Christos Charalambidis, who was fighting there, was injured, along with soldier Athanasios Triantafyllakis. But two of them casually bandaged their wounds and continued to shoot with BREN. The SD building began to collapse from the fire, but the fire of the soldiers entrenched inside did not stop. The insurgents reached a distance of 25-30 m and called the fighting soldiers to surrender. They received no answer but bursts. To the curses and threats thrown at them by their opponents, the wounded responded and fought.
With the use of the company's reserves, the attack on the SD was repelled. Sergeant George Triantafyllakis, corporals George Staikos and Petros Mallios, soldier George Souliotis, were the heroes of the conflict. Sergeant Dimitrios Andreopoulos and soldier Ioannis Solos, the captain's messengers, ignored the fire and ran like mad from one position to another carrying orders. At some point the ammunition started to run low and the BREN gunner soldier Achilles Spathias volunteered to ask the captain to go through the enemy barrage and carry ammunition. The captain with pain of soul allowed him. But Spathias succeeded, and with enemy bullets digging into the ground between his feet, twice, he made the dangerous journey. The captain, in tears, hugged him and kissed him on the forehead.
Counterattack!
By 06:00, however, the situation had become absolutely critical and there were suggestions to unhook. But Liarakos rejected them and ordered:"Victory or glorious death" . At the same time, he ordered his reserve team, which he placed under the command of the 1st platoon Lieutenant Dimitrios Axiotis , to strike back at the center in an attempt to ease pressure on the SD. However, the fire was particularly intense and it took the group about an hour to get through the enemy barricade. The distance between the opponents was less than 30m. The DSE again called on the soldiers to surrender. Then the soldier Vassilis Arvalis, crept up and after approaching he hurled a grenade at the opponents. When it started to light up, Liarakos threw a flare, signaling that he was calling for reinforcements. But at the same time he ordered his men to prepare for a general counterattack!
And indeed, with the support of the company's mortar the soldiers launched an epic counterattack despite being dramatically outnumbered and outgunned. Such was the tension and battle that the soldiers threw away their tunics and tunics and - in December - fought wearing only shirts. Nevertheless, they succeeded. Until 09.00 in the morning the DSE was in retreat. It was a stunning victory. The 4th Company had only three wounded. The rebels left behind 35 dead. Apparently they also had a number of wounded that they took with them.
It is worth noting that the DSE, in addition to the classic address "monarcho-fascists" with which they called their opponents soldiers, from the announcement of the Truman Doctrine and then they also called them "mercenaries", wanting to make their own fighters believe that their opponents are fighting for money!