1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division "Smyrni" is a historic and elite division of the Hellenic Army. It was founded in 1897 as an infantry division and has fought in all major conflicts in which Greece has been involved. During the Balkan Wars, it acquired the sobriquet "Iron Division". It is currently headquartered in Veroia, Macedonia. Despite its title, it is no longer a conventional infantry division, but a formation comprising the various special forces of the Hellenic Army - a role similar to that once held by the now disbanded 3rd Special Forces Division. History Greco-Turkish War of 1897 The 1st Infantry Division was established in Larissa on 19 March 1897 before the outbreak of, and in response to, the Greco-Turkish War. Formed, predominantly, from personnel recruited from Thessaly, it originally comprised two infantry brigades (1st and 2nd) and three Evzone battalions, and was tasked with the defence of the frontier from the Thermaic Gulf (near the Tria Platania heights) to the Bogazi pass, near Tyrnavos. Its first commander was Major General Nikolaos Makris.