Gorgopotamos bridge, Railway bridge in Gorgopotamos, Greece
Gorgopotamos bridge is a railway crossing made of steel and stone that spans a deep gorge between two mountain slopes. The structure rises roughly 30 meters above the valley floor and extends approximately 211 meters across the chasm.
The bridge was destroyed on 25 November 1942 in the Battle of Gorgopotamos by resistance fighters of EDES and ELAS, who cooperated under the coordination of British agents. The operation, part of Operation Harling, targeted the railway line between Athens and Thessaloniki. In 1982, Law 1285 established the battle's anniversary as an annual nationwide commemoration of the National Resistance.
The anniversary of the 25 November 1942 battle is marked each year as Greece's national Resistance day, established by Law 1285 in 1982. The sabotage was carried out jointly by EDES and ELAS fighters, coordinated by British officers, and the date now commemorates that cooperation.
The bridge is reached via the old highway linking Lamia and Athens and local roads leading to the nearby village. The main approach comes from the national route, where viewing areas and parking spaces are available.
Operation Harling, the mission to destroy the bridge, had two other candidate targets: the Papadia and Asopos bridges. Two teams parachuted in at the end of September 1942 and a third in October, led by Colonel Eddie Myers and Major Chris Woodhouse, who first contacted ELAS and Aris Velouchiotis, then EDES and Napoleon Zervas.
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