Battle of Elaia–Kalamas

The Battle of Elaia–Kalamas (Greek: Μάχη Ελαίας-Καλαμά) took place in Epirus on 2-8 November 1940. The battle was fought between the Greeks and the Italians during the initial stage of the Greco-Italian War. The Italian Army, deployed on the Greek-Albanian border, launched a major offensive against Greece on 28 October 1940. The main thrust of the Italian invasion occurred in the Epirus sector, with a further flanking move through the Pindus mountains. In Epirus, the Greeks held the Elaia–Kalamas river line, but the Greek units were outnumbered and their General Staff was pessimistic as to the outcome of the fight. Nevertheless, the local Greek forces, under Major General Charalambos Katsimitros, managed to successfully stop the Italian advance. Along with the Italian failure in the Battle of Pindus, these Greek successes signified the complete failure of the Italian invasion, leading to the dismissal of the Italian commander in Albania, Sebastiano Visconti Prasca, on 9 November. In the next few weeks, the Greek forces managed to initiate a full-scale counteroffensive which forced the Italians to retreat deep into Albanian territory.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle of Elaia–Kalamas