Greek soldiers with flag in North Africa
After the
fall of Greece
to the Axis powers in April?May 1941, elements of the
Greek Armed Forces
managed to escape to the British-controlled Middle East. There they were placed under the
Greek government in exile
, and continued the fight alongside the
Allies
until the liberation of Greece in October 1944. These are known in Greek history as the
Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East
(Ελληνικ?? ?νοπλε? Δυν?μει? Μ?ση? Ανατολ??).
Army
[
edit
]
In the face of the overwhelming German advance into Greece, several thousand Greek officers and soldiers were either evacuated, along with the Greek government, to Crete and then Egypt, in April?May 1941, or managed to flee, mainly via neutral
Turkey
, to the British-controlled
Middle East
.
There a Greek army in exile started being formed, under British command and re-equipped with British arms. The core of this new military force was the "Phalanx of Egyptiote Greeks", from the Greek community in Egypt.
On 15 June 1941, the "Headquarters of the Royal Hellenic Army in the Middle East" (Αρχηγε?ου Βασιλικο? Ελληνικο? Στρατο? Μ?ση? Ανατολ??, ΑΒΕΣΜΑ) was established.
This provided the framework for the initial development of the Greek armed forces in exile until May 1942, when the Greek government-in-exile established a Ministry of National Defence, and began re-forming the
Hellenic Army General Staff
and Army Inspectorates.
George II of Greece
visits Greek soldiers in
Netanya
,
Palestine
, 1944
Already in late June 1941, the
1st Greek Brigade
began being formed. By June 1942 it numbered 6,018 men.
It comprised three infantry battalions, an artillery regiment (of battalion size), and support units. An independent armoured car regiment (of battalion size) was also formed, but later incorporated in the Brigade's artillery regiment. The Brigade remained in training camps in Palestine until May 1942, where its command was taken over by Colonel
Pafsanias Katsotas
. It was then transferred to Syria, before being deployed to Egypt in August.
The 1st Brigade was placed under
British 50th Division
, under whose command it participated in the
Second Battle of El Alamein
, before being transferred to the
British 44th Division
.
The brigade fought in the battle and the subsequent operations until 19 December, when it returned to Egypt.
It suffered 89 dead and 228 wounded.
A
2nd Greek Brigade
also began being formed in Egypt in May 1942 along similar lines, along with a 2nd Artillery Battalion.
By January 1943 it numbered 5,583 men, raising hopes that a full infantry division could be formed. This did not take place, as the men for a third brigade were not available.
In early 1943, 500
Metaxist
officers under Colonel Vagenas founded the "Nemesis" secret organisation. Their goal was to overthrow the Greek government in exile and replace it with politicians sympathetic to the
4th of August Regime
, as well as ousting all non-monarchist officers from the military. In the middle of February, Metaxist officers demanded the removal of the commanders of the 2nd Brigade. Members of the pro-
EAM
Antifascist Military Organisation (ASO) immediately protested those demands. In a coordinated effort over 48 Metaxist officers submitted their resignations, demanding the removal of non-monarchist officers from their positions and a reshuffle of the government. ASO members reacted by arresting the officers who resigned. Minister of Defence
Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
ordered the 1st Brigade to restore order in the 2nd Brigade by force, authorising the arrest of 28 ASO affiliated officers. Encouraged by this move Metaxist officers began resigning in all units of the military except the navy which was out at sea. ASO members arrested and disarmed Metaxist officers in their units while Katsotas refused to intervene. This prompted Kanellopoulos to telegraph his resignation to London and depart for Cairo. British
9th Army
commander General
William Holmes
likewise refused to suppress ASO by force, instead sending the Metaxist officers who had submitted a resignation to a special camp in Syria.
Finally, on 6 July 1943 a pro-EAM mutiny in the 2nd Brigade was left with only one battalion of about 200?250 men, with the other two used to replenish the losses of 1st Brigade to 4,718 men.
On 6 April 1944, 1st Brigade too suffered a widespread pro-EAM mutiny.
Subsequently, both units were disbanded by the British, and their personnel interned in camps or used in non-combat duties. 3,500 politically reliable officers and men were formed into the
3rd Greek Mountain Brigade
under Col.
Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos
, on 4 June 1944. This unit was embarked for
Italy
in August and fought with distinction, particularly at the
Battle of Rimini
, where it earned the honorific
Rimini Brigade
. This battle-hardened unit would later be instrumental in the
struggle
between the British-backed government and the EAM-
ELAS
forces.
In September 1942, an elite
special forces
unit, the
Sacred Band
(Ιερ?? Λ?χο?), was formed, made up solely of officers and volunteers. Under its charismatic leader, Col.
Christodoulos Tsigantes
, it was attached to the 1st
SAS
Regiment, and participated in raids in Libya. In February 1943, the unit was placed under the orders of General
Philippe Leclerc
, and participated in the
Tunisia Campaign
. From May to October 1943, the Sacred Band was re-trained in airborne and amphibious operations, and for the remainder of the war it was employed in operations against the German garrisons of the Aegean islands. The unit was disbanded in Athens, on 7 August 1945.
Navy
[
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]
RHN
Adrias
entering the port of Alexandria at the end of a journey of 1,000 miles after losing her bow
The Hellenic Royal Navy suffered enormous casualties during the German invasion, losing over 20 ships, mostly to German air attacks, within a few days in April 1941. Its chief, Vice Admiral
Alexandros Sakellariou
, managed to save some of its ships, including the cruiser
Averof
, six destroyers, five submarines and several support ships, by evacuating them to
Alexandria
. The fleet was subsequently expanded by several destroyers, submarines, mine-sweepers and other vessels handed over by the British
Royal Navy
, until it became, with 44 ships and over 8,500 men, the second-largest Allied Navy in the
Mediterranean
after the RN,
[
when?
]
accounting for 80% of all non-RN operations.
Greek ships served in convoy escort duties in the
Indian Ocean
, the Mediterranean (where it succeeded in destroying a few enemy submarines), the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. RHN ships also participated in the landing operations in
Sicily
,
Anzio
and
Normandy
, as well as at the ill-fated
Dodecanese Campaign
. A significant moment in the RHN's history was the acceptance of the
Italian Fleet
's surrender in September 1943, alongside the British Royal Navy. Two of the most notable Greek warships of the war were the destroyers
Adrias
and
Vasilissa Olga
. One destroyer and three submarines were RHN's casualties. The large Greek merchant navy, likewise, contributed enormously to the Allied war effort from the first day of the war, losing over 2,500 men and 60% of its ships in the process.
When the pro-
EAM
April 1944 mutiny
broke out, a large part of the Navy joined it. These ships were stormed by Greek officers loyal to the government-in-exile and recaptured. Eleven seamen were killed, others wounded, and many were subsequently interned. Thus, when the Navy returned to liberated Greece in October 1944, it was firmly behind the government of
George Papandreou
.
Air Force
[
edit
]
Greek pilots of the
335th Fighter Squadron
at Dhekeila, Egypt (1942)
The few Air Force personnel that managed to escape eventually constituted the
13th Light Bomber
and the
335th
and
336th
Fighter squadrons, operating under the
Desert Air Force
in North Africa and Italy, before being repatriated in late 1944.
13th Light Bomber Squadron was formed in June 1941 in Egypt as a naval cooperation unit, using the 5 surviving
Avro Ansons
of the former RHAF 13th Naval Cooperation Squadron. The Squadron was initially reequipped with
Blenheims
IV, later Blenheim V and finally with
Baltimores
.
[4]
335 Squadron was formed on 10 October 1941, while 336 Squadron on 25 February 1943. Both were initially equipped with
Hurricanes
, mostly of the Mk. IIc type, until they were re-equipped with
Spitfire
Mk Vb and Vc in January 1944.
[5]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Athanasiadis, Giorgis (1971).
Η Πρ?τη Πρ?ξη τη? Ελληνικ?? Τραγωδ?α?
[
The First Act of the Greek Tragedy
] (in Greek). Eleutheri Ellada.
OCLC
66166774
.
- Η ιστορ?α τη? οργ?νωση? του Ελληνικο? Στρατο?, 1821?1954
[
History of the Organization of the Hellenic Army, 1821?1954
] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army Historical Directorate. 2005.
ISBN
960-7897-45-5
.
- Η ιστορ?α του Πεζικο? (Στρατιωτικ?? Κανονισμ?? 900-21)
[
History of the Infantry (Military Regulation 900-21)
] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army Infantry Directorate/3a. 2014.
- Stavrianos, L. S. (1950).
"The Mutiny in the Greek Armed Forces, April, 1944"
.
American Slavic and East European Review
.
9
(4): 302?311.
doi
:
10.2307/2492150
.
ISSN
1049-7544
.
JSTOR
2492150
.
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