THE FIRST LIBERATED TERRITORIES
On 27 April 1947 the partisan units who were on the mountain Vicho
commenced an offensive against the monarcho-fascist forces to take the
villages Neveska and Zagorichani. The battles for the villages were
waged all day with all the resources of the partisan units. A part of
the monarcho-fascist forces and military police that had taken position
in the church gave themselves up, while those who were defending the
hotel managed to withdraw through the village Zeleniche.
At the decline near Neveska the monarcho-fascist forces, unable to
withstand the forceful attack of the partisan units, also commenced
to withdraw. With that attack the following villages were liberated:
Neveska, Zagoricheni, Zeleniche, Srebreno, Negovan and Nered, and after
a short time, about half of the Lerin and Kostur regions were liberated.
That was the first liberated territory in Aegean Macedonia.
On 10 May 1947 the partisan units undertook another forceful attack
on the Greek monarcho-fascists who were stationed at the village L'k,
which is very close to the Prespa Lake. After this successful attack,
the monarcho-fascist forces were compelled to withdraw. With the loss
of the main centre which had until then been at L'k, they withdrew from
the whole Prespa region and from the villages Psoderi and Buf. In this
period, for a short time, the partisan units managed to liberate a greater
territory.
Along with their withdrawal the monarcho-fascists took with them the
villagers, their household possessions and livestock. They did that
with the aim of ensuring the partisan units would have nowhere to get
food and new fighters. They did this with the following villages: Dolno
Kotori was resettled to the village Nevoljani which is close to Lerin.
Bel Kamen and Elovo were resettled into the village Maala and the villages
Nered, Krpeshtina and Lagen were resettled into the plains villages
close to Lerin. With this resettlement and reallocation of the villagers,
the partisan units experienced a shortage of food.
With great agitation and propaganda by the leadership of NOF, after
a short time the return of the villagers to their own homes was achieved.
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Lerin in Mourning