The Greek community of Egypt honored the Greek soldiers who fell in El Alamein, during the ferocious battle against the Axis powers in the Second World War, in a ceremony on Saturday.
Officials from Greece and Egypt laid wreaths at the monument for the fallen Greeks. The highlight of the ceremony was 95 year-old Michalis Matzakos, a survivor of the battle, who fought against the Germans at the age of 19.
The Greek government was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Terence Quick.
Several thousand Greek officers and soldiers, as well as members of the Greek government, to Crete and then to Egypt in the face of the overwhelming German advance in April and May of 1941.
They were placed under British command, re-equipped with British arms, and complemented by volunteers from the local Greek communities, together forming the “Royal Hellenic Army in the Middle East.”
The 1st Greek Brigade, placed under the British 50th Division in the Nile Delta, fought in the Second Battle of El Alamein, where it sustained 89 fatalities and 228 wounded.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
