Cape Katsouni,
PL 250 & PL 227
Battery PL 250 & Battery PL 227
PL 250
Location
Cape Katsouni, altitude 6 m.
Administration
- Artillery Captain Roberto Pacciani (Commander)
Weaponry
It was equipped with 3 guns of 76mm/40.
It was adouble-purpose artillery (Anti-aircraft and Anti-surface)
PL 227
Location
Cape Katsouni, altitude 66 m.
Administration
- Artillery Captain Roberto Pacciani (Commander)
Artillery Second Lieutenant Vicari C. (Vice Commander)
Weaponry
It was equipped with 4 guns of 102mm/35.
It was adouble-purpose artillery (Anti-aircraft and Anti-surface).
Porto Lago - Lakki!! One of the largest natural harbors in the eastern Mediterranean!! The two ends of its entrance are called Agistro and Katsouni. There, at the northern end of the harbor, in Katsouni, the Italians set up the artillery batteries with the code numbers PL250 and PL 227. At a height of 6 and 10 meters from the sea, they built a complex series of defensive works among the rugged cliffs of the area and managed to connect the artillery batteries with communication channels. The purpose of this huge project was to guard the harbor, which hosted dozens of ships, submarines, and seaplanes. A series of artillery batteries against ships and anti-aircraft systems dominated the area. Shelters, bunkers, military houses, tanks, and a road network are still there to remind us of the special significance that the harbor of Lakkio had for them. The commander of the two coastal artillery batteries was the tough Captain of the Artillery Roberto Pacciani, assisted by the Lieutenant of the Artillery Vincenzo Sirizotti. Both were determined not to allow any enemy ship to violate the security of this harbor. A harbor that was protected both by artillery and by an underwater installation of triple barriers, as the distance from cape to cape at the entrance did not exceed 400 meters. The fighters of Pl 250 immediately after the surrender order rendered the artillery useless by throwing the shells into the sea and then boarded a speedboat that took them to the shores of Turkey. Today, a sad sight meets the eyes of visitors! The military buildings now accommodate goats, the former artillery is nonexistent as it was cut and sold for metal, the iron fences were blown up by order of the British, the once life-saving docks are used as storage for useless materials, while a bunker that was erected with so much effort and passion is now collapsing. My camera bears witness to all these things I write. A harbor that even in our days plays a crucial role in military operations. These were, in a few words, the two artillery batteries PL 227 and PL 250! They were the ones that did not allow any German ship to violate the entrance at all!!