The Maliaga Fort of the Metaxas Line in Drama

This fort of the Metaxas Line was located on the northern ridges of the Maliaga hill, north of the town of Perithori in Drama. Its fortifications consisted of three main complexes and a standalone pillbox on Hill 940, positioned between Maliaga Fort and the Perithori Fort. At the time of the German invasion of Greece in April 1941, the commanding officer of Maliaga Fort was Captain Efstathios Theodoropoulos. The German assault began at dawn on April 6, 1941. Troops from the German Army’s 125th Regiment fought for five days in an attempt to capture the fort, without success. On April 9th, 1941, a German detachment approached the fort with a white flag. The Greek commander ordered a ceasefire and approached them with two or three other soldiers, one of whom spoke German. When he asked what they wanted, the German envoys demanded the surrender of the fort. The Greek commander replied that he only took orders from Greek authorities, had received no such command, and warned them to withdraw, as the battle would continue. The fort was never taken. On the night of April 10th, under orders from the Greek Army High Command, the garrison evacuated the fort undetected. Inside the smoke-blackened structure, scorched from explosions and flamethrowers, a Greek soldier wrote on a wall in lime: "Molon labe" ("Come and take [them]"). Pictured: View of the pillbox at Maliaga Fort after the Greek withdrawal on April 10th, 1941. ©Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria ‘Christos Kalemkeris’