Where Greeks Fought After Saying No: A Guide to WWII Sites

Ohi Day celebrates October 28, 1940, when Greece refused Mussolini's ultimatum. But the actual fighting happened across Greece in mountains, passes, and villages most Greeks have never visited. If you want to understand what came after that dramatic "no"—the victories, the occupation, the resistance, the brutal costs—here's where to go.

This isn't typical Greek tourism. These sites require intention, respect, and the understanding that you're visiting places where Greeks died defending principles that mattered more than survival. But they're worth the effort for anyone who wants to connect Ohi Day parades with the actual geography of resistance.

Note: This covers major accessible sites. Countless villages and mountain hideouts across Greece witnessed resistance—every family has stories. This is a practical starting guide, not a complete memorial.

NORTHERN GREECE: THE METAXAS LINE

Fort Roupel - Part of the Metaxas defensive line where Greeks held against German invasion in April 1941. The fort remains remarkably preserved, showing how Greeks defended against superior German forces until ordered to surrender.

Base in Serres - Use as hub for northern sites. Visit Serres War Museum for context, then explore Lake Kerkini and Strymonas valley where much of the defensive line was positioned.

Sidirokastro and Fort Lisse (Demir Kapı) - Additional Metaxas Line fortifications. These aren't tourist attractions—you'll need determination to visit—but they show the scale of defensive preparations.

CENTRAL GREECE: RESISTANCE AND ANCIENT ECHOES

Gorgopotamos Bridge (near Lamia) - Site of November 1942 sabotage operation where Greek resistance and British SOE destroyed bridge, disrupting Nazi supply lines to North Africa. The bridge still stands with commemorative plaque. One of WWII's most successful resistance operations happened here.

Thermopylae - The same mountain pass where Spartans held Persians in 480 BC saw WWII fighting. Museum connects ancient and modern Greek resistance in the same strategic location. History layered on history.

ATHENS: OCCUPATION AND MEMORY

Kessariani Shooting Range - Memorial where Nazis executed Greek resistance fighters and communists. Stark, powerful. Located in Kessariani neighborhood, easily accessible from central Athens.

Chaidari Concentration Camp (Athens) — The main Nazi camp in Greece; barracks and Block 15 tell the story of interrogations, transfers, and executions—including links to Kessariani.

War Museum of Athens - Comprehensive documentation of Greek WWII experience: invasion, occupation, resistance, liberation, civil war aftermath. Well-organized for those who want full historical context.

Syntagma Square - Tomb of Unknown Soldier and Ohi Day parade route. Evzone guards wear uniforms commemorating mountain fighters. This is where celebration happens, providing context for why Greeks march every October 28.

CRETE: THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED AIRBORNE WARFARE

Maleme Airfield (near Chania) - Where German paratroopers landed in May 1941 during history's first major airborne invasion. Cemetery nearby honors fallen New Zealand soldiers who fought alongside Cretans.

Galatas Memorial - Village where Cretan civilians and Allied soldiers fought house-to-house. Memorial commemorates the combined military-civilian resistance.

Souda Bay War Cemetery - British Commonwealth cemetery with graves of soldiers killed defending Crete. Immaculately maintained, sobering.

Heraklion Historical Museum - Covers Battle of Crete from Cretan perspective, documenting how occupation affected island life.

DODECANESE: AFTER THE ARMISTICE

Battle of Leros (Dodecanese, 1943) — A fierce air–sea campaign where German forces seized Leros after weeks of bombardment; gun emplacements, tunnels, and small museums sketch the story of a stubborn island fight.

Symi & Kastellorizo Raids (1943–44) — SOE operations and see-saw control in the outer Dodecanese; tiny harbors with outsized war footnotes.

IONIAN: WHEN ALLIES BECAME TARGETS

Cephalonia — Acqui Division Massacre (1943) — After Italy’s armistice, thousands of Italian POWs were executed by German forces; memorials around Argostoli/Lassi keep the memory plain and heavy.

Corfu (1943) — Parallel Acqui Division reprisals and deportations; visit the Holocaust Memorial in Corfu Town to connect civilian cost beyond battle lines.

EPIRUS: WHERE GREEKS PUSHED BACK

Kalpaki - Village where Greeks decisively defeated Italian invasion in November 1940. Small military cemetery and memorial mark where the tide turned. Mountain setting explains why terrain favored defenders.

Konitsa - Border town that saw heavy fighting. Historic stone bridge survived the war. Use as base for exploring battle zones in surrounding mountains.

Zagorochoria stone villages - Not battle sites themselves, but these mountain villages sustained resistance fighters and faced occupation hardships.

Ioannina - Regional capital with museums documenting the Italian campaign and Albanian front. Good base for Epirus exploration.

THE DIFFICULT SITES: CIVILIAN MASSACRES

These sites memorialize Nazi reprisals against Greek civilians. They're harder to visit emotionally than battle sites because they document atrocities against unarmed populations.

Kalavryta, Peloponnese - Germans executed all males over 12 and burned the town in December 1943. Municipal Museum of the Holocaust documents the massacre. Church clock stopped at execution time (2:34 PM) remains frozen.

Distomo, Central Greece - June 1944 SS massacre killed over 200 civilians. Memorial and small museum honor victims. Village rebuilt but memory preserved.

Kommeno (Arta) — Over 300 civilians murdered in a dawn sweep; riverside church and lists of the dead make the scale human.

Lingiades (Ioannina) — Hill village razed and civilians executed; the memorial looks back over the lake,

Why visit: Because resistance had costs beyond battlefield deaths. Because Greeks paid brutal prices for saying no. Because forgetting would dishonor those who died.