Metaxas Line

The Metaxas Line (Greek: Γραμμή Μεταξά, Grammi Metaxa) was a chain of strong walls and tunnels built along the border between Greece and Bulgaria. It was made to keep Greece safe if Bulgaria ever tried to attack after getting new weapons. The line was named after Ioannis Metaxas, who was the Prime Minister of Greece at the time. It had many tunnels that led to places where soldiers could watch for enemies, and spots for machine guns to protect the area.

The Metaxas Line had 21 separate strong points. The biggest one was Fort Roupel, which stretched across 6.1 kilometers of the whole 155-kilometer line. It was built very high up, at 322 meters above ground. At first, lights inside were mostly from oil lamps, but they also had generators for power. Today, the old walls still stand, and some are even still used. People can visit some parts of the line that are open to the public. Building all these strong points took four years and cost 100,400,000 drachmas back then.

List of fortification complexes

The Metaxas Line was made up of 21 strong forts. They stood in a line from west to east along the border between Greece and Bulgaria.

The forts are:

1. Popotlivitsa (Ποποτλίβιτσα)
2. Istimpei (Ιστίμπεη)
3. Kelkagia (Κελκαγιά)
4. Arpalouki (Αρπαλούκι)
5. Paliouriones (Παληουριώνες)
6. Roupel (Ρούπελ)
7. Karatas (Καρατάς)
8. Kali (Κάλη)
9. Persek (Περσέκ)
10. Mpampazora (Μπαμπαζώρα)
11. Maliagka (Μαλιάγκα)
12. Perithori (Περιθώρι)
13. Partalouska (Παρταλούσκα)
14. Ntasavli (Ντάσαβλη)
15. Lisse (Λίσσε)
16. Pyramidoeides (Πυραμιδοειδές)
17. Kastilo (Καστίλο)
18. Agios Nikolaos (Άγιος Νικόλαος)
19. Mpartiseva (Μπαρτίσεβα)
20. Echinos (Εχίνος)
21. Nymfaia (Νυμφαία)

History

Before World War II began, the defenses at the Roupel Fortress were thought to be too weak. So, leaders decided to build more strong walls and tunnels all along the northern border of Greece. Planning started in 1935, and building began at Kerkini in 1936. The goal was to build all the way to Ormenion, but when Greece entered the war in 1940, the defenses were not finished. By then, the line only reached Komotini in Thrace and was 155 km long.

Like the Maginot Line on the border between France and Germany, the Metaxas Line was bypassed when German troops invaded Greece in April 1941 by going through Yugoslavia. German forces attacked the Metaxas Line early on April 6th and faced strong resistance. After three days, they had only small wins. A German group crossed into Yugoslavia, beat resistance there, and took the city of Thessaloniki on April 9th. This made the Greek troops defending the line stop fighting on April 10th, and the battle ended.

The German general leading the attack praised the Greek soldiers for their bravery. He let them leave freely if they gave up their weapons and supplies. He also told his own soldiers to honor the Greek troops. There were not many soldiers to guard the line because most of the Greek Army was fighting against the Italians on another front.