Force 140 in Athens, December 1944.

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von Adler
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Force 140 in Athens, December 1944.

#1

Post by von Adler » 31 Aug 2005, 12:52

I have seen documents indicating that the Force 140, under command by Scobie, included these troops when the the ELAS revolt broke out:

2nd Brigade
Rimini Brigade (Free Greek Brigade group)
23rd Armoured Brigade
Parachute Regiment

Also, there was a RN Force 120.

These troops were rushed in:
4th Indian Division
4th Division

And collaborationist units (to the Germans) like the Organisi H was used as well.

Anyone got more info about these formations and/or the battle for Athens in general?

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Steen Ammentorp
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#2

Post by Steen Ammentorp » 31 Aug 2005, 19:19

Here is some information on the 4th Indian division and its involvement in Greece 1944/45. The Following is a quote from Chris Kempton's (2003) Loyalty & Honour : The Indian Army September 1939 – August 1947. Vol. I, p. 23-24.
After the allies had entered Athens on 19th October 1944 the situation in Greece became effectively a civil war between the previous resistance factions of the right wing EDES and the left wing ELAS partisans and the division's role would be to maintain law and order and distribute civil relief whilst remaining strictly neutral. On 20th October 7th Brigade commander and his staff flew to Greece to carry out a reconnaissance and on 3rd November 7th Brigade and Divisional HQ left Taranto disembarking on the 12th at Salonika, where Divisional HQ was established. 11th Brigade arrived from the 17th but Brigade at Taranto until December arriving at Piraeus on the 9th and moving immediately to Athens where ELAS formations had come out against the British and official greek forces. The brigade remained in Athens, involved in some fierce and unpleasant fighting, until the ELAS forces withdrew on 5th January 1945 when it moved to Volos and remained there until March when it joined the rest of the division on the move to North Greece.
In the meantime 7th Brigade moved into the Thrace and Macedonian provinces and 11th Brigade took responsibility for the Peloponnese based at Patras. On 2nd March the entire division moved into North Greece in order to enforce the authority of the Provisional Government but was involved mainly with civilian relief, medical aid, restoration of communications and the repatriation of displaced persons until relieved by 4th British Division in January 1946 and returned to India between 22nd January 1946 and the end of February.

The OOB below is compiled from the same source Vol. I-II.
OOB 4th Indian Div in Greece 1944/45
GOC: Major General A.W.W. Holworthy (until 6th January 1945), Major General C.H. Boucher.
- 5th Indian Bde (CO Brig J.C. Saunders-Jacobs)
o 3[Queen Mary's Own]/10th Baluch Regt.
o 1/9th Gurkha Rifles
o 5 Brigade Signals Section
o 5 Brigade Troops Transport Coy. RIASC.
o 24th Field Post Office
- 7th Indian Bde (CO Brig O. deT. Lovett)
o 1/2nd King Edwad VII's Own Gurkha Rifles [The Simoor Rifles]
o 2 Royal [Ludhiana Sikhs]/11th Sikh Regt.
o 7 Brigade Signals Section
o 7 Brigade Troops Transport. RIASC.
o 7 Brigade LAD
o 13 Field Post Office
- 11th Indian Bde (CO Brig H.J.C. Hunt)
o 2/7th Gurkha Rifles
o 3 Royal [Sikhs]/12th Frontier Force Regiment
o 11 Brigade Signals Section
o 11 Brigade Transport Coy. RIASC.
o 11 Inf. Bde. LAD.
o 86 Field Post Office
- Divisional Troops
o MG/6th Rajputana Rifles
- Artillery (CRA Brig H.C.W. Eastman)
o 31 Field Regt. R.A.
o 11 Field Regt. R.A.
o 149th Anti Tank Regt. R.A.
o 57 L.A.A. Regt. R.A.
- Engineers (CRIE Lt.Col. E.E. Stenhouse (until 21st January 1945, Lt.Col. L.A.B. Paten)
o 4 Field Coy., K.G.V's Bengal Sappers & Miners
o 12 Field Coy., Q.V.O. Madras Sappers & Miners
o 21 Field Coy., Royal Bombay Sappers & Miners
o 11 Field Park Coy., Q.V.O Madras Sappers & Miners Group I.E.
o 5 Bridging Section/Pl., K.G.V's Bengal Sappers & Miners Group I.E.
- Signals
o 4 Indian Divisional Signals
- Supply & Transport RIASC.
o 4 Division Transport Coy
- Medical I.M.S./I.A.M.C
o 17 Field Ambulance
o 26 Field Ambulance
o 32 Field Ambulance
o 15 Field Hygiene Section
- Ordnance
o 4 Division Ordnance Field Park I.O.A.C
- Electrical & Mechanical Engineers
o 117-119 Mobile Workshops Coys. I.E.ME
o 4 Division Recovery Coy I.E.M.E.
- MISC.
o 290 Field Security Service Section I. Corps
o 4 Divisional Postal Unit
o 17 Field Post Office
As a reading suggestion may I suggest Henry Maule's (1975) Scobie : Hero of Greece 1944-1945. Rather journalistic (like his other books) it is an okay read and you get a good picture.

Kind Regards
Steen Ammentorp
The Generals of World War II
Last edited by Steen Ammentorp on 01 Sep 2005, 08:45, edited 1 time in total.


von Adler
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#3

Post by von Adler » 01 Sep 2005, 08:26

Thankyou very much. :)

aghart
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Re: Force 140 in Athens, December 1944.

#4

Post by aghart » 23 Aug 2019, 18:59

On 23 August 1944:
In Egypt the COs of 40, 46, & 50 RTRs briefed their Bns on the plan. 40 & 50 would form up as Infantry Bns each of 4 sqns; 46 RTR were to provide the extra sun-units. Their remaining Sqn (A) would be equipped with armoured cars. Force 140 was born.

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