The division was formed in the reorganization and expansion of the
Hellenic Army following the
Balkan Wars of 1912–13. It was activated on 23 December (O.S.) 1913 at
Kozani, comprising the
31st,
32nd,
33rd Infantry Regiments and the XII Mountain Artillery Battalion. It formed part of
III Army Corps. The original formation was disbanded during the
National Schism and did not take part in any engagements during
World War I. In February 1920, the
Xanthi Division (;
Merarkhia Xanthis) was formed at
Thessaloniki from
Thracian recruits, whence its naming after the city of
Xanthi. Commanded by Major General
Konstantinos Mazarakis-Ainian, it comprised the
13th,
14th,
15th Infantry Regiments, the XII Mountain Artillery Regiment and other divisional units. In May 1920, the division took part in the Greek takeover of
Western Thrace, after which it was shipped to
Anatolia where it took part in the
Greek offensive operations against the
Turkish nationalist forces. In July it was withdrawn from the Anatolian front and re-shipped to take part in the operations for the capture of
Eastern Thrace. Following the
1920 elections and the victory of the anti-
Venizelist royalist coalition, the Xanthi Division was renamed as the 12th Infantry Division. In early 1921, it was reformed under the command of
Prince Andrew and, comprising the 14th,
41st and
46th Regiments, was transferred once again to the Anatolian front, landing in
Smyrna between 29 May and 6 June 1921. The division took part in the
Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir and the Greek advance to
Ankara, which ended in the
Battle of Sakarya. The division was commanded from 15 July by Colonel
Periklis Kallidopoulos. The division remained in Anatolia under
I Army Corps until the great Turkish offensive in August 1922. The division was practically destroyed as a fighting force after the
Battle of Dumlupınar; its remnants—155 officers, 2,240 men, 1,010 animals, 18 guns and 15 machine-guns—embarked at
Çeşme for
Chios on 31 August. In Greece, its remnants were merged with the
Independent Division to form the new 12th Division at
Feres as part of the
Army of the Evros (October 1922). It remained in
Western Thrace after the signature of the
Treaty of Lausanne, based at Komotini. Upon the outbreak of the
Greco-Italian War in October 1940, the division remained in Thrace, and provided the cadre for several reserve regiments, which were transferred to other divisions. On 6 March 1941, with the expected
German invasion of Greece looming, the division was transferred to the
Central Macedonia Army Section, and was placed under the
British Commonwealth troops holding the
Vermion–
Aliakmon line. Coming under German attack at the
Battle of Siatista Pass, the division retreated to the southwest and lost much of its force to desertion; finally, with the Greek capitulation on 24 April, the division, by now reduced to some 1,000 men, was disbanded. 12th Infantry Division was reformed on 26 August 1964 at
Alexandroupolis, with the
29th,
30th and
31st Regiments and other divisional units. In June 1996 it was converted into a
mechanized infantry division, and in 2009 it received the honorific title "
Evros". == Organization ==