The Greek Sacred Band sees action in Tunisia, 1943

By Pierre Kosmidis

tsigantes-leclerc — Tsigantes with Leclerc and elements of the Sacred Band

On 7 February 1943, following Colonel Tsigantes’ suggestion, the Commander of the British 8th Army, General Bernard Montgomery, put the Greek company under the command of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque of the “Force L”, later known as Free French 2nd Armoured Division, with the duties of Light Mechanized Cavalry.

On March 10, 1943, in the area of Ksar-Rillan in Tunisia, the Sacred Band gave its first battle against a German mechanized detachment, while covering the advance of the X British Army Corps that tried to by-pass the Mareth defence line from the South.

Immediately after the Allied forces captured the Tunisian city of Gabès, the Sacred Company was detailed to the 2nd New Zealand Division (March 29) and on April 6, a mixed Greek-New Zealand detachment fought against the Germans at Wadi Akarit.

Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς Come back with your shield or on it Come back victorious or dead This was the farewell phrase Spartan mothers or wives said to their departing warrior sons or husbands, upon giving them their shield. A warrior returning with his shield meant that he did not flee the battlefield. Had he done so, he must have dropped the large, heavy bronze shield in order to run faster. A warrior returning on his shield was dead, and his corpse would have been carried home thus. Therefore a Spartan warrior's options were to return either victorious or dead. — “Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς”, “Come back with it (your shield) or on it”, which means “Come back victorious or dead”. This was the farewell phrase Spartan mothers or wives said to their departing warrior sons or husbands, upon giving them their shield. A warrior returning with his shield meant that he did not flee the battlefield. Had he done so, he must have dropped the large, heavy bronze shield in order to run faster. A warrior returning on his shield was dead, and his corpse would have been carried home thus. Therefore a Spartan warrior’s options were to return either victorious or dead.

On 12 April the Sacred Band entered Sousse, and participated in the battle for Enfidaville between April 13 and 17.