The massacre of the Aqui division in Kefalonia. The extermination of the Italians who refused to be taken prisoner by the Germans after the fall of Mussolini
One of the greatest crimes committed by the German Wehrmacht during World War II is the massacre of the Italian Aqui division based in the Ionian Islands.
On July 25, 1943, the Supreme Fascist Council in Rome ousted Mussolini and King Vittorio Emmanuele appointed General Bandolio as prime minister.
The Anglo-Americans were advancing on the military landing in Sicily and the Germans were advancing their forces on Italian-occupied territory. They saw the collapse of their alliance with unforeseen consequences in the outcome of the war. In Kefalonia there was one of the largest Italian units with about 12,000 men of the Aqui Division.
When Bandolio's envoy, General Castellano, signed a ceasefire on September 3 at Eisenhower headquarters in Sicily, the 700,000 Italian army men outside Italian territory found themselves in a dangerous and meteoric situation. The Nazis wanted to disarm this huge military force at all costs, and within a few hours.
In Greece only two Italian divisions did not obey the surrender order signed in Athens by General Vecchiarelli. The Pinerolo Division of Thessaly that preferred to follow ELAS and the Acqui Division of Cephalonia. Its commander, General Antonio Gandin, has begun negotiations to ensure the safe transport of his men home.
The Germans demand immediate surrender and decide to harden their stance when the commander of the Edelweiss Mountain Division of Ioannina, General Hubert Lanz, tries to reach Cephalonia by seaplane and the Italian anti-aircraft guns do not allow him to land. Then the ruthless men of Edelweiss took action with 1,200 cruel Nazis who had bloodied Epirus with unheard of massacres in Ligiades, Mousiotitsa, Kommeno Arta and Paramythia. They were led by Major Harald voHirschfeld.
Within a few hours the island was filled with corpses of Italians who were ordered to remain unburied. On September 25, the complete neutralization of the Acqui division of Kefalonia was announced. See testimonies of the massacre. ...