The Echinos Fort of the Metaxas Line in Xanthi

The Echinos Fort is located on a hill south of the village of Echinos in Xanthi and was built to protect the road that led from the vast plains of Bulgaria to the Thracian Sea. It consists of the main fort "Isavros" and the smaller forts "Anarrotirio", "Antliostasio", "S", and "M." During the German invasion of Greece in April 1941, it was heavily attacked. The German operation against it began on April 6th, 1941, with columns of motorcyclists and an infantry column. On April 7th, a mass attack by German infantry followed, which was repelled. On the morning of April 8, the Germans attacked the defensive complex "M," which fell. On the night of April 8th-9th, the Germans moved against the "Anarrotirio" complex and released asphyxiating gases, resulting in half of the defenders taking refuge in the central complex "Isavros." The Greek garrison had run out of ammunition, and at midnight on April 9, the commander of the fort, Lieutenant Colonel Christos Drakousis, decided to abandon it and continue the fight from the western bank of the Nestos River. The garrison headed toward Xanthi, which was already under German occupation, and having no way to escape, the defenders of the Echinos Fort were forced to surrender. After the battle, Greek forces suffered ten casualties, while German losses exceeded 300 dead and 1,000 wounded. Pictured: a Greek prisoner surrounded by a group of Germans near the Echinos Fort, April 7th-9th, 1941. ©Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria ‘Christos Kalemkeris’.