Meritsa Battle Monument

The Battle of Meritsa or Battle of Oxynia was fought on 11 and 12 February 1943 between ~800 men of the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS), under Nestoras Vokas (“Tzavellas”), Nikos Zaralis (“Hasiotis”), Aristides Bloutsos (National Republican Greek League – EDES) and Elias Kafantaris (“Adamantios”) against a battalion of the Royal Italian Army. It took place near Meritsa (present-day Oxynia), along the valley road and near the old railway line. In the battle, 137 Italians were killed and 160 were captured, along with all their equipment, which included 4 mortars, 20 automatic weapons and over 2,000 hand grenades. The guerrillas released the prisoners, but kept the con the confiscated equipment. The battle was the result of an organized reaction of the resistance forces and the local civilians against the raids of the Italian occupation forces to control the wider Kalambaka area and to collect food by force from the civilian population.