A leading act of the National Resistance and one of the most impressive acts of sabotage in occupied Europe, the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge took place on the night of November 25-26, 1942.
The operation was carried out by ELAS rebels, led by Aris Velouchiotis, EDES rebels led by Napoleon Zervas and British saboteurs, led by Colonel Eddie Myers and deputy leader Major Chris Woodhouse.
The interruption of the only North-South railway connection in Greece for six weeks, significantly reduced the movement of munitions and raw materials to and from Greece.
78 years later, we "fly" over the site of the historic Resistance (produced by haanity):
How the operation was carried out
In late September early October 1942, British planes transported groups of saboteurs to Greece. The teams fell in the area of Giona and one team in the area of Karpenisi.
The groups of British saboteurs had come to Greece following a decision by the Middle East Headquarters, with the immediate aim of carrying out a mission codenamed "HARLING", that is, blowing up one of the three bridges of Papadia, Asopos or Gorgopotamos . But that was not their only mission.
Their goal was basically to pave the way for the consolidation of the British military presence in Greece.
Moreover, their interests were directly intertwined with those of the ruling class and the English were interested in the post-liberation regime, given that the leadership of the popular liberation movement had been assumed by the working class with its Party, and its alliance, the EAM, was really the only force of resistance that aimed at another Greece, of its people.
The leaders of the English saboteurs were E. Myers and Chris Woodhouse, two not random people, who were the leaders of the English military mission in the Greek guerrilla, doing everything possible to consolidate British sovereignty over Greek affairs.
The English saboteurs - and especially their leaders - from the first moment they set foot in Greece, did everything possible to get in touch with their own man, Nap. Zerva, believing that he and his rebel forces were sufficient to carry out the Harling mission.
For EAM, like ELAS, not only did they not want to be involved in the bombing operation, but they considered these popular organizations as opponents of their ultimate goals.
However, they were forced to cooperate with them when they found that Zervas not only did not have the necessary forces to blow up the bridge, so he could not undertake the whole project, but also that his forces were much smaller than those of ELAS.
The organization and execution of the business
The bridge that was finally chosen to blow up was that of Gorgopotamos.
The operation was carried out by one hundred and fifty ELAS rebels, led by Aris Velouchiotis, sixty EDES rebels led by Napoleon Zervas and twelve English saboteurs, led by Colonel Eddie Myers and deputy leader Major Chris Woodhouse.
The detonation plan was by the English and specifically by E. Myers, who was an expert in this type of sabotage.
However, the plan of the attack to seize the bridge - so that it could be blown up - was formulated by Ari, who he himself dictated to Kostoulas Agrafiotis (Kostas Cavretzos), on November 25, a few hours before the countdown began, after previously, Zerva's plan had been rejected.
The order - as preserved by historical evidence - provided for the following:
The southern platform of the bridge, guarded by 80 Italians and fully fortified, was taken over by a section of 60 ELAS rebels, led by Kostoula.
The northern platform of the bridge, which was guarded by 30 Italians and had installed two double-barreled anti-aircraft guns, capable of being used against ground targets, was taken over by a section of 20 EDES rebels led by second lieutenants Papachristou and Petropoulaki.
The undermining and blowing up of the bridge was undertaken by the skilled British saboteurs who were assisted by a few trained men of ELAS and EDES.
Also, two ELAS groups, with 15 men each and a British saboteur, undertook to undermine the railway line approximately one kilometer to the south and one kilometer to the north, so as to exclude the possibility of sending reinforcements to the enemy by train.
The leader of one team was Diamantis (Yiannis Alexandrou) and the other Heraklis (Kostas Skarmoutsos). Another group of 15 ELASites, headed by Chrysiotis, undertook to destroy with gasoline the wooden road bridge over the river in the event that enemy reinforcements would appear from there.
A group of eight EDES men, led by his assistant Zervas M. Myridakis, undertook to neutralize the machine gun, which may have been present. In the event that there was no machine gun, her mission was to reinforce the Kostoula team. Also, another group of ten men of the EDES undertook to flank the Italians further south of the defense of the southern podium.
Finally, a group of 30 men of ELAS was appointed as general reserve, led by D. Dimitriou - Nikiforos. The start time of the operation was fixed on the 11th in the evening and the general leadership was assigned to Nap. Zerva.
Two days after the bridge was blown up, the Italians, in retaliation, took 14 patriots from the prisons of Lamia, 7 of whom were to be executed in front of the collapsed bridge. The rest will be executed in Kastellia of Parnassida, along with 10 other residents.
In conclusion, the operation had an awakening effect on the occupied people, strengthened the morale of the rebels, demonstrated the possibilities of armed action against the occupiers and glorified the struggle of the Resistance.
The blowing up of the bridge became a symbol of the resistance struggle and a momentary unity, due to the collaboration of ELAS and EDES, even for "practical" reasons.
Since 1982, the anniversary of the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge has been established as an annual nationwide celebration of the National Resistance.
The importance of business
Much has been written about the importance of the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge in the conditions of the Second World War. E. Myers, for example, notes:
"It was very important to prevent in every way the enemy's attempts to strengthen his bases along the North African coast, bringing supplies by sea from Southern Europe"7. But the Germans, in their secret official report, which they drew up on 9 /4/1943 staff of the special office of Ainz Che in Thessaloniki, refer to the sabotage of the rebels in general, as well as the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge, considering that these were actions "intended to hinder the smooth operation of logistics and aid to the German expeditionary force in North Africa from the German military forces stationed in Greece".
H. Fleischer expresses the exact opposite opinion:"Almost in every relevant book - he writes - one comes across the stereotypical claim that the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge paralyzed Rommel's main supply line for six decisive weeks, or indeed that it stopped him in "his march to Alexandria". In fact, Rommel's advance had been stalled months earlier. By 25/11, the Allied counter-offensive had succeeded in recapturing all of Cyrenaica, Rommel's Afrika Kor had been displaced as far as El Agayla, as far west, so that supply through Greece no longer plays a role.Hitler himself expresses on 18/12/42, his regret at "how unpleasant" the blowing up of the bridge was - but only in so far as the supply of troops in Greece".
In any case, as Rizospastis notes, the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge is one of the biggest sabotage operations of the Second World War. Its value was great in the struggle of the Greek people against the triple (German, Italian and Bulgarian) occupation, because it revived the morale of ordinary people, raised the prestige of the resistance organizations, mainly EAM - ELAS, contributed to their massification and gave impetus in the national liberation struggle of the Greek people.
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