Massacre of the Acqui Division
World War II massacre / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Massacre of the Acqui Division?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Massacre of the Acqui Division, also known as the Cephalonia massacre, was a war crime by German soldiers against POWs of the Italian 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" on the island of Cephalonia, Greece, in September 1943, following the Italian armistice during the Second World War.[1][2][3] About 5,000 soldiers were executed, and around 3,000 more drowned.
Massacre of the Acqui Division | |
---|---|
Location | Cephalonia, Ionian Islands, Kingdom of Greece |
Coordinates | 38.25°N 20.59°E / 38.25; 20.59 |
Date | 21–26 September 1943 |
Attack type | |
Deaths | 6,470 killed
|
Victims | Royal Italian Army |
Perpetrators | German Army
Gen. Hubert Lanz Lt. Col. Johannes Barge Maj. Harald von Hirschfeld |
Following the decision of the Italian government to negotiate a surrender to the Allies in 1943, the German Army tried to disarm the Italians during Operation Achse. On 13 September the Italians of the Acqui resisted, and fought the Germans on the island of Cephalonia. By 22 September the last of the Italian resistance surrendered after running out of ammunition. A total of 1,315 Italians were killed in the battle, 5,155 were executed by 26 September, and 3,000 drowned when the German ships taking the survivors to concentration camps were sunk by the Allies. It was one of the largest prisoner of war massacres of the war, along with the Katyn massacre,[4][5] and it was one of many atrocities committed by the 1st Mountain Division (German: 1. Gebirgs Division).[6]