Number of soldiers: 12,898
Number of casualties: 513
Number of decoration holders: 30
In 1940 the Greek army numbered 18 divisions, of which only one was mechanized, and without tanks.
The Greek Air Force and Navy were small and insignificant for combat.
The Italian-Greek War or as it was called "The Epic of 1940", or "War of 40" began on October 28, 1940 and ended on April 6, 1941. This war, which took place on Greek soil, was the beginning of the Balkan campaign in World War II. During it, 4 elite Greek divisions managed to block the Italian attack from the Albanian border, of 6 Italian divisions and caused them to retreat even though they had priority in the air field.
The Greeks deployed their forces in the "Texas" line of defense built in front of the fighting fronts in the north of the country, west of Albania and east of Bulgaria and reinforced by a British shipping force arriving in Greece. Faced with the German offensive launched from the territory of Bulgaria in early April and after fighting that lasted until the end of the month, the Germans took control of the entire territory including the numerous Aya. The British force was forced to evacuate its forces from southern Greece and Crete From 42,000 wounded.
Many fled to Crete and through Turkey to Egypt, where the Royal Hellenic Army was established in the Middle East, numbering about 18,000 men, including Jewish fighters. This force, which included 3 brigades, now operated under British command, an armored battalion commando unit. Which became part of the SAS unit and artillery battalion. One brigade and commando unit took part in battle battles in the western desert. The rest of the force was given non-combat missions. There were also three Greek squadrons in the British Army (Western Desert Army). In April 1944, a force revolt broke out, causing almost a confrontation with British forces. In their eyes and this fought with excellence in the Italian system and even later helped the British to subdue the communist underground uprising (ELAS).
About 13,000 Jewish soldiers served in the Greek army, on the eve of the war, including 343 officers, who fought against the Italian army that invaded the Albanian front in October 1940, in the mountains of Epirus and the Macedonian line of defense and then against the German army that invaded Greece in April 1941. The systems, and fought heroically and with great courage.
In the battle against the Italian army that invaded from Albania, the senior Jewish officer, Colonel Mordechai Frizis, who had become a national hero, fell. The governor of Thessaloniki at the time wrote to the president of the Jewish community in Thessaloniki, "On behalf of the State of Greece, I congratulate you on the heroism demonstrated by the Jews on the battlefield."
After the occupation. (See also the underground chapter).
In addition to Greek Jews, more than 2,000 Palestine soldiers served in Greece as part of the British forces ( The pioneer Corps, engineering, communications, Air force) who came to help the Greeks in their war. More than 1700 of them - were captured. Some managed to escape and some joined the underground in Greece and Yugoslavia .
Jewish fighters were also sent to Greece during the war to carry out covert missions, mostly sabotage missions at various destinations.
The British officer sent to Greece to assist the underground in its various operations was Brigadier (Brigadier General) Edmund Myers, a member of a Spanish Jewish family who happened to be a cousin of the famous New Zealand general Bernard Freyberg, who commanded British forces in Crete. Two Jewish officers Senior officials, who played an important role in the war against the Germans on Greek soil.