Battle of Chora - Agorelitsa
The Battle of Chora - Agorelitsa was fought on July 19, 1944 between Greek Peoples' Liberation Army against the Nazi occupation forces.
Broader context
After Aris Velouchiotis' descend to Peloponnese, the Greek Resistance became more active in central and southern Peloponnese to the extent that Peloponnese was considered war zone by the Nazis.The battle
The National Liberation Front's political organization had informed ELAS that a battalion of the German occupiers would leave Pylos and head towards Gargalianoi - Kyparissia. Based on this information, ELAS forces hid on July 17 between Ampelofyto and Chora to ambush the Nazi forces. On July 19, the German military left Pylos and when they reached the location of ELAS forces, the battle started. The victory of ELAS was decisive: ELAS suffered 18 casualties and 8 wounded while the Germans suffered 78 casualties, 30 Germans were taken prisoners and vehicles and war material was captured or destroyed by ELAS. Among the casualties of ELAS was Ilias Sfakianakis, the leader of the battalion that made the ambush.Commemoration
Each year an event in memory of the fallen of ELAS takes place. The names of ELAS' casualties are:- Ηλίας Σφακιανάκης, Ταγματάρχης
- Γεώργιος Μανωλάκος
- Νικόλαος Δημητρακόπουλος/Πλαστήρας
- Χαράλαμπος Χάτζος
- Γεώργιος Μούντανος
- Ηλίας Πατικόπουλος
- Παύλος Παυλίδης, nickname Κανάκης
- Γιώργης ΦΙλιππόπουλος
- Νίκος Στατηγουλέας
- Γιάννης Οικονομέας
- Νέστορας Κολοκάθης
- Βασίλης Βασιλικός
- Μιχάλης Παπαθεοδωρακάκης
- Νικόλαος Σταματελόπουλος
- Νικόλαος Βλαχαδάμης
- Πέτρος Κατελάνος
- Πέτρος Τσαπέκης
- Παναγιώτης Κομποχόλης