The blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge was undoubtedly one of the most important – in terms of symbolism, but also in substance – acts of resistance during the German occupation. It is also a case in which the two largest resistance organizations in the Greek area, ELAS and EDES, cooperated and, under the guidance of British agents who had arrived in the area by parachute, successfully completed the plan.
Already at the end of September 1942, a group of twelve British led by Colonel Eddie Myers and Major Chris Woodhouse, had secretly arrived in the Greek area, with the aim of making contact with the Greek rebels. Through the cooperation they desired, they would proceed with the so-called “Operation Harling”, according to the plans of the Allied Headquarters. More specifically, the plan provided for blowing up one of the bridges that are part of the railway line that connected Thessaloniki with Athens. Due to the lack of a suitable road network in Greece, the Germans were forced to rely on the only reliable means they had at their disposal for the transport to the southern ports of the country of equipment and the necessary supply of the German soldiers who were in North Africa. The destruction of the bridge would therefore create difficulties on the German side.
After a field study of the available targets, the British agents considered the Gorgopotamos bridge as the most suitable target, as they felt that the plan would succeed more easily. Having been preceded by a consultation between the two Greek resistance leaders, Napoleon Zervas and Aris Velouchiotis, as early as November 14, in an attempt to convey the message of their cooperation and united action against the Germans, on the 19th of the month the meeting between the British took place and Napoleon Zervas (EDES), while the next day there was a meeting with the captain of ELAS, Aris Velouhiotis. All sides agreed that the operation would take place at the Gorgopotamos bridge. A special group of rebels was then sent to check the area, and on November 22nd the final decision was made to implement the plan three days later – late in the evening of November 25th.
According to the final plan, the first objective was the neutralization of the bridge guards – a total of 100 Italian and 5 German soldiers. A total of 150 people were sent (members of ELAS, EDES and British agents), as their movements required great speed and precision: the Greeks were in charge of the guard and the British were in charge of the placement of the necessary explosive device to blow up the bridge. In the first minutes after 23:00 the attack on the garrison was carried out and then, in the early hours of November 26, the two explosions took place which completely destroyed the bridge. Of the 150 participants in the operation only 4 were injured.
This success – even though the developments on the North African front had advanced quite a bit, since the battle of El Alamein had already taken place – would not go without a response from the Germans. A few days later, in front of the destroyed bridge, 9 Greek civilians would be executed in retaliation.
In 1982, by decision of the government of Andreas Papandreou, the anniversary of the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge would be the date of official celebration of the National Resistance.
Column editor: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poimenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
