Mount Mouplogurna

Battery PL 906

PL 906

Location

Mount Mouplogurna, altitude 284 m.

Coordinates

37.16893725446956, 26.79358869746955

Administration

Artillery Lieutenant Mori Antonio (Commander)

Weaponry

It was equipped with 4 guns of 76mm/40 at mount Mouplogourna.

It was a dual-purpose battery (Anti-aircraft and Anti-surface)

On one of the highest peaks of Leros is the former Italian anti-aircraft and naval artillery with code number PL 906. From the height of 284 meters, you can control the entire northwestern part of Leros, and for this reason, the PL906 artillery was placed there. It was a huge project that included a military building, underground water tanks, underground shelters, an observatory built at the highest point of the mountain, and four gun bases with huge support bolts, which testify to the firepower of the PL906 artillery! On November 17, 1943, the island fell into the hands of the Germans. The commander of PL 906 was Lieutenant Artillery Antonio Mori. At 18:30 on the same day, the fortress surrendered and since then its weapons fell silent! However, the building with its peculiar inscriptions and paintings remained to remind us of the futility of wars until today! When the fortress passed into the hands of the Germans, soldier Herbert Froind began to unfold his artistic talent on the walls of the barracks and more!! He painted... and his paintings still stand on the PL906, PL388 artillery batteries to this day. Two paintings have been depicted on the wall of PL906, one of which presents a building similar to the one in Laboe near Kiel, Germany.

Frantsesko DiPierro

PL 906 Today

Mount Mouplogurna building

Mount Moulogurna installation

Mount Mouplogurna PL 906 Inside

Photos by Markos Spanos ©

Fortification of Leros

Among the islands of the Dodecanese, Leros, due to its geographical position in the eastern Mediterranean and its special morphology, was chosen for the creation of Italy's main air and naval base in the Dodecanese.

The purpose was purely strategic: the fortification of Leros and the creation of a large military base ensured the Italians control of an area of vital interest to the Great Powers. This Base, according to the planning, would have facilities for the Navy, the Air Force and the Army, as well as the necessary workshops of private companies manufacturing military equipment.

The main construction projects of the Italians in Leros, for the fortification and defense of the island, were carried out as early as 1923 and were completed at the end of the 1930s.

Among these are:

"Gianni Rossetti" Seaplane Base in the area of Lepida
Submarine Base in the adjacent area of Aghios Georgios
New town of Portolago (nowadays Lakki), created in order to cover the housing needs created by the construction of the Aeronautical Base
Centro Radio Lero – the installation of the Italian telecommunications center in the area of Aghios Nikolaos in Lakki
The headquarters of FAM - DICAT, the “FAM - Fronte A Mare” - Coastal Defense Command and the “DICAT - Difesa Contraerea Territoriale” - Anti-Aircraft Land Defense Command on Mount Patella, with the unique installation of the Aerophone and the Acoustic - Parabolic Wall

Along with the other defense installations of Leros, the fortification of the island with artillery began already in the mid-1920s, initially mainly for naval defense. Gradually, until the middle and mainly at the end of the 1930s, 103 guns of caliber from 76mm to 152mm were installed on almost all the heights of Leros, most of them from decommissioned battleships and cruisers of the Italian Navy from WW I, composing a network of 25 batteries, responsible for the defense of the island, both from the sea and from the air. Along with the construction of the gun emplacements, other military facilities were developed in each artillery barracks, such as material and ammunition storages, shelters, barracks and logistics buildings, as well as various other facilities. The defense network of Leros is considered a model of interwar fortification architecture (1918 – 1939).

Especially since 1936, when military zones were officially created on the island, fenced with barbed wire, the mountains and heights of Leros acquired a purely military character. The granting of compensation stops, since the cutting of the bushes was first prohibited by decree, and thus the fields were turned into forest land, and by extension they are considered the property of the Italian State. Thus, livestock breeders and farmers, losing their properties, are forced to resort to day labor, since there is indeed a lack of labor force, due to the excessive number of projects in progress. For the construction of the defense and public works of Leros, artisans are transferred from Italy, with a daily wage of 40-50 italian lire, while the Greeks receive 6-10 italian lire.

The outbreak of World War II led to the expansion and improvement, on a large scale, of military installations, but this was opposed to economic criteria and above all the lack of availability of means and the difficulties in maritime transportations. The serious shortcomings of the hasty Italian military preparation led to the dispersion of the scarce available means in many areas, all of them of high importance and therefore did not allow the care imposed on any of them.

Thus, in the Dodecanese, although the level of preparation could be described as satisfactory, in relation to infrastructure and logistics facilities, the field of armaments, and especially that of Artillery, lagged far behind, since the Dodecanese had been sent almost exclusively old-style and dissimilar weapons caliber, which did not allow the organization of defense to develop to a sufficient and satisfactory degree, which will have a huge impact on the events of September - November 1943.

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