“Oria” shipwreck, the watery grave of 4,000 POWs in 1944
By Pierre Kosmidis The sinking of the steamship “Oria” in Gaidouronisi, a tragedy in the dark years of the nazi occupation of Greece in February 1944, which resulted in 4,115 drowned Italian POWs, almost three times as many victims as the Titanic, is largely forgotten and kept in the dark drawers of history. Few people […]
The Brotherhood of Greek Veterans: Remembering and honouring all veterans and fallen comrades who served in Greece during WW2
By Pierre Kosmidis Information and photos submitted by David Sanderson, Chairman of the Brotherhood of Greek Veterans and used by permission. Thousands of Allied soldiers found themselves in the maelstrom of events following “Operation Marita”, the German invasion of Greece, which unfolded from April 6, 1941, until the end of May, when the Battle of Crete sealed the […]
Battlefield Archaeology: The armoured beasts of WW2 in the largest open-air museum in the world
By Pierre Kosmidis All photos by @DimaWaPhoto, used by permission. It is possibly the largest open-air WW2 wrecks museum in the world. Private collectors and Museums across the globe would pay millions for each of those iron carcasses, scattered across the plains and hills of northern Israel. Wars have been fought on those hills, men […]
The Germans in the Aegean, 1941-45: Author Jean-Louis Roba on his acclaimed book
By Pierre Kosmidis Jean-Louis Roba is an acclaimed author of 120 books on the Second World War. One of his first works is the book “The Germans in the Aegean Sea” (Volume I) on the occupation of the Greek islands by the German army in 1941. The Aegean Sea is situated in a very sensitive […]
Bunker Archaeology: WW2 German bunker complex in western Attica, by Konstantinos Kirimis
Information, research and photos by Konstantinos Kirimis Mr. Konstantinos Kirimis, a respected researcher and author, is a regular contributor of www.ww2wrecks.com and prepared a feature on a World War 2 bunker complex. During 1943, the German occupation forces in Greece, were expecting an Allied landing. In fact, this was deliberately circulated by the Allies, codenamed “Operation Animals”, as a distraction of […]
Stuka Attack! The new book on I./StG 3 Ju87 bombers in Southeast Europe and North Africa
By Pierre Kosmidis Information, photos and documents by Lt. Col. (ret.) Hans Peter Eisenbach, used by kind permission. A new book by acclaimed researcher and author Lt. Col. (ret.) Hans Peter Eisenbach is published, featuring the history of Sturzkampfgruppe I./3 in 1941. The book documents the history of Sturzkampfgruppe I./3, also known as the “Grazer Gruppe”, in 1941 and represents […]
Identifying the air attacks of 1941: Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica hit shipping hard in Greece
By Pierre Kosmidis Research and photos by George Karelas Updated in January 2021 with information by Giuseppe Barbetta PART ONE CLICK ON THE LINKS IN RED FOR FURTHER READING George Karelas from Patras, Greece, is a technical scuba diver and historical researcher credited with some of the most impressive WW2 Wrecks ever found, researched or identified in […]
Major Alexis Casdagli, the Battle of Crete and the… “[email protected] Hitler” message
By Pierre Kosmidis By Trevor Solley Imprisoned by the old enemy for four years during World War Two, Major Alexis Casdagli never lost his fighting spirit up with his own cheeky form of resistance, adding the secret messages to his needlework which were never spotted by his Nazi captors. Pinching red and blue thread from […]
Battlefield souvenirs: Japan lists 1,140,000 soldiers as Missing In Action. This is their story
By Pierre Kosmidis Today, 2016…..the government of Japan lists 1,140,000 soldiers as still Missing In Action. No trace of them was ever found. The ‘battlefield souvenirs’ that were carried home by soldiers at the end of the war are the only surviving remains of many young men. “Now, many American families, and Canadian, British, Scottish, Irish, […]
Bunker Archaeology: The German WW2 “Hohlgangsanlage” bunkers of Aegina island, Greece, by Konstantinos Kirimis
By Pierre Kosmidis Research and photos by Konstantinos Kirimis, submitted to www.ww2wrecks.com and used by permission Among the various bunkers and fortifications built by the German occupation forces all over Greece during World War 2, this specific “cave-shelter” (Hohlgangsanlage, according to the German technical terminology of the time) is located in the Northern Fortress of Aegina (see Note 1, […]