Western Macedonia Army Section
The Western Macedonia Army Section (; Tmima Stratias Dytikis Makedonias, TSDM) was a field army of the Hellenic Army active during the Greco-Italian War (1940–41). History The command was established in western Macedonia prior to the Italian attack on 28 October 1940. Based at Kozani, it was commanded by Lieutenant-General Ioannis Pitsikas and comprised the II Army Corps (Lieutenant-General Dimitrios Papadopoulos) and III Army Corps (Lieutenant-General Georgios Tsolakoglou), each of two infantry divisions and an infantry brigade. The total forces available to TSDM on the outbreak of war consisted of battalions and batteries (seven heavy). 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