Following the Italian attack, TSDM played a crucial role in reversing the initial Italian penetration in the Battle of Pindus, where the weak Pindus Detachment was retreating against the elite Italian "Julia" Alpine Division. TSDM assigned the Pindus sector to the 1st Infantry Division, and progressively assigned more forces as they arrived—the Cavalry Division, 5th Brigade, and the newly formed Cavalry Brigade—managing to stabilize the situation by 30 October, and on 3 November began a counter-attack that forced the "Julia" to withdraw back to Albania to prevent being encircled. In the meantime, III Corps had undertaken limited advances into Albanian territory, and already on 6 November, it submitted plans for a general offensive. Judged too ambitious for the moment, the Greek commander-in-chief Alexandros Papagos postponed the offensive for 14 November.