Battle of Pindus The Battle of Pindus ( ) took place in the Pindus Mountains in Epirus and West Macedonia , Greece , in the autumn of 1940 , between October 28 – November 13 . The battle was fought between the Greek and the Italian armies during the first stages of the Greco - Italian War . The Italian Julia Division , that invaded Greece from Pindus sector , after its initial advance , was surrounded and virtually wiped out by the Greek Army . In the aftermath of the battle , the Greek forces were able to push back the Italians , advancing deep into Albanian territory . Background . After the Italian invasion of Albania in 1939 , the Greek General Staff became alerted to a potential Italian attack from Albanian territory , which eventually started on October 28 , 1940 . The Italians deployed the Julia Alpine Division with the objective of capturing the strategic mountain passes of the Pindus Mountains as swiftly as possible . During an Italian war council , the Italian commander in Albania , General Visconti Prasca , stated that the mountain range of Pindus would be no problem for the Italian units , and foresaw no difficulty in getting his divisions straight to Athens , like a modern Hannibal . On the other hand the Greek side divided the theatre of operations into the sectors of Epirus and Macedonia linked by the Pindus Detachment . The Pindus Detachment under Colonel Konstantinos Davakis was deployed along a line in the Pindus mountain range . Battle . The primary objective of the Julia Division was to advance towards the Pindus mountain range and to capture the strategic pass at the town of Metsovo . This move would have a crucial effect on the outcome of the battle , since it would break the Greek supply lines and separate the Greek forces in Epirus from those in Macedonia . The Julia Division managed to cover of mountain terrain in icy rain and captured the village of Vovousa , but couldn ' t reach Metsovo . On November 2 , Colonel Davakis , was gravely wounded during a reconnaissance mission near Fourka , however , it had become clear for the Italians that they lacked the manpower and the supplies to continue in the face of the arriving Greek reserves . On November 3 , the Italian spearhead , after the initial advance , was surrounded from all sides . The commander of the Julia Division requested from the Italian headquarters relief attacks and Italian reserves were thrown into the battle . However , reinforcements from Albania were unable to reach the cut - off Italian forces and the Julia Division sustained heavy losses . In the meantime , Greek reinforcements were arriving in the Pindus sector , while the assistance of the local population , including men , women , and children , was invaluable . The situation became difficult for the Italians and their pocket came under pressure from Greek units that had advanced to the area , while the Julia Division was virtually wiped out . The villages that had been initially captured during the Italian advance , Samarina and Vovousa , were recaptured by the advancing Greek forces on November 3 and 4 . Within less than a week , the remaining Italian troops were in roughly the same positions they occupied before the declaration of the war . By 13 November , the entire frontier area had been cleared of Italian units , thereby ending the Battle of Pindus in a complete Greek victory . Highly significant for the Greek success was the failure of the Italian air force to disrupt the mobilization and the deployment of the Greek forces . Due to this factor , the geographical and technical obstacles faced by the Greeks to transport men and material to the front proved surmountable . Aftermath . As a result of the failed invasion , the Italian Julia Division lost 5 , 000 men . After the successful Greek defense in Pindus and Elea - Kalamas sectors , the Greek forces were able to push back the Italians , advancing deep into Albanian territory . It has been argued that the assistance provided by the local women during the conflicts was crucial to the outcome of the battle . The women of the surrounding villages assisted the Greek forces in several ways , while their most important contribution was the transportation of guns , food , clothes and other important supplies to the front , since vehicles could not reach the battlegrounds due to bad weather conditions and rough roads .