Democratic Army of Greece
Encyclopedia
This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.
The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE (ΔΣΕ), was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece
during the Greek Civil War
, 1946–1949. At its height, it had a strength of around 50,000 men and women.
from the Axis occupation, the Dekemvriana and the Varkiza Agreement (in which ELAS
, the main Partisan Army in Greece, agreed to a disarmament), the persecution of left wing citizens, communists and officials of EAM, started. There were 166 different anti-communist groups, such as those of Sourlas and Kalabalikis in Thessaly
, and Papadopoulos in Macedonia
. Archives of D.S. National Solidarity indicate that by 31 March 1946, nationwide, 1,289 suspected communists had been killed, 6,671 had been wounded, 84,931 had been arrested, 165 been raped, and the property of 18,767 was looted. Imprisoned suspected communists numbered in excess of 30,000. Those responsible for the murders, according to the DSE, were collaborationist groups, national guards, rural police, and members of the British armed forces.
Under these circumstances, the persecuted partisans
that were still free, started to form guerrilla groups named Groups of Persecuted Fighters. By the summer of 1946 cells of these groups had been established throughout Greece
. The official start of the armed struggle came with the attack on the Greek Gendarmerie
station at Litochoro
by around 35 guerrillas on 31 March 1946, an election
day. 12 Gendarmes and 2 civilians were killed, and this attack is generally considered the start of the Civil War.
The Communist Party of Greece
led the armed struggle, through the General Partisan Command, which was created on 28 October 1946, and headed by Markos Vafiadis
. Order number 19 of the General Command, issued on 27 December 1946, renamed the guerilla groups to the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE). The relevant order included the following comment regarding the DSE: It is the national people’s revolutionary army of the new Democratic Greece and fights with gun in hand for our National independence and for People's Democracy
In 1947, KKE and the Democratic Army formed the "Provisional Democratic Government" ("Mountain Government") under the premiership of Markos Vafiadis. After this, KKE turned illegal.
As well as issues regarding the war effort, the Provisional Government had to deal with issues regarding the "People's Law" in the territories controlled by the DSE. These had to do with the judicial, financial, and political systems. As the Provisional Government was based on political forces which aimed to establish a socialist state, its decisions were driven by this political agenda. The self-determination of national minorities living in Greece was one priority. The Provisional Government and the KKE intended to establish a People's Republic
of Greece in which all nationalities would work together in a Socialist state. An article written by Nikos Zachariadis expressed the KKE's strategy after the envisioned victory of the Democratic Army of Greece regarding what was then known as the "Macedonian Issue": "The Macedonian people will acquire an independent, united state with a coequal position within the family of free peoples’ republics within the Balkans, within the family of Peoples’ Republics to which the Greek people will belong. The Macedonian people are today fighting for this independent united state with a coequal position and is helping the DSE with all its soul ...". The policy of self-determination for Macedonia within a People's Republic was reiterated during the 5th KKE Central Committee meeting held in January 1949, which declared that the "Macedonian
people participating in the liberation struggle would find their full national re-establishment as they want giving their blood for this acquisition ... Macedonian Communists should pay great attentions to foreign chauvinist and counteractive elements that want to break the unity between the Greek and Macedonian people. This will only serve the monarcho-fascists and British imperialism ...”. This statement can be explaned due to the large number of Slavomacedonian fighters (30-50%) amongst the DSE fighters.
The Provisional Government never achieved international recognition. During the first two years, from 1946 to the beginning of 1948, it managed to control large rural areas but no major town. At the same time, the "National Greek Army" guided by the British military up to 1947 and afterward by an American military delegation led by General James Van Fleet
, US Army, established the Athens government's position in the rest of the country as well as internationally.
After the fatal blow in early 1948, when DSE's III Brigade numbering 20,000 men and women was completely wiped out, DSE lost support in southern Greece as well as the political and economic control of a huge area. That was the beginning of the end of the Greek Civil War
. At the same time, the efforts of the HQ of DSE to capture and hold a major town in the North such as Konitsa
or Florina
led to catastrophic defeat of the partisan army, which never recovered. On the other hand, the DSE did manage to achieve some military victories in 1948 and early 1949, in the battles of Karpenisi
, Naoussa, and Karditsa
.
At the same time, DSE had a huge problem on reserves. Most of the men and women capable and willing to join its ranks were imprisoned or unable to reach areas controlled by DSE.
One of the biggest battles of the three year Greek Civil War took place in the Grammos mountains in 1948. The operation took place after the National Army had secured the Peloponnese
, where it managed to defeat the DSE's III Division, numbering 20,000 fighters. In the battle of Grammos, forces of the National Army, with the codename Operation Koronis, deployed 100,000 troops, while the DSE had 12,000 fighters. The battle lasted from 16 June until 21 August 1948. On that day, DSE forces, after hard fight, retreated into Albanian territory and reformed towards Vitsi
. The maneuver from Grammos to Vitsi is considered one of the most important tactical actions of DSE during the war, from a military point of view.
Towards the end of August 1949, the National Army under the leadership of Alexander Papagos
, with the support and guidance of US Government, deployed 180,000 troops, and achieved the defeat of the DSE army of about 7,000 fighters on the Grammos-Vitsi front. After this defeat, the DSE fighters crossed the border into Albania
and scattered to camps all over the newly founded so-called Socialist Republics, with the main body of the fighters camped in Taskent
, the capital of Uzbekistan
in the USSR.
The post-Civil War era left a country in ruins. Most of the youth were either killed in the battlefield, imprisoned or became political refugees. The political situation was quite unstable for more than 25 years - that led to the Greek military junta of 1967-1974
. The ghost of the Civil War haunted Greece for many years after. In 1981, when the socialist PASOK party came to power in Greece following a long period of right-wing dominance, the political refugees of the DSE were finally given permission to return to their homeland (Slavomacedonians
excluded) by the new Interior Minister, George Gennimatas. Markos Vafiadis also returned to Greece and supported the PASOK government, and was elected a Member of Parliament for PASOK.
In 1989, the Greek Parliament voted unanimously a law that declared the three-year war of 1946-1949 as the Greek Civil War and accepted the former "Communist Bandits" as Fighters of DSE giving some of them privileges of pension.
I, a child of the Greek people and a DSE fighter, swear to battle with gun in hand, to shed my blood, and give even my life to banish from the soil of my motherland every last foreign occupier. To banish every trace of fascism. To secure and defend the national independence and territorial integrity of my motherland. To secure and defend democracy, honour, work, fortune, and progress of my people.
I swear to be a good, brave and disciplined soldier, to carry out all the orders of my superiors, to observe all regulations, and not betray any secrets of the DSE.
I swear to be a good example to the people, to encourage popular unity and reconciliation, and to avoid any action that reduces and dishonours me, as a person and as a fighter.
My ideal is a free and strong democratic Greece and the progress and prosperity of the people. And in the service of my ideal I offer my gun and my life.
If I ever prove to be a liar, and with bad intent violate my oath, let the vengeful hand of the nation, and the hate and scorn of the people, fall upon me implacably.
The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE (ΔΣΕ), was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
during the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
, 1946–1949. At its height, it had a strength of around 50,000 men and women.
History
After the liberation of GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
from the Axis occupation, the Dekemvriana and the Varkiza Agreement (in which ELAS
ELAS
ELAS may refer to:*The Greek People's Liberation Army, World War II Greek Resistance group*The Equitable Life Assurance Society, a life insurance company in the United Kingdom...
, the main Partisan Army in Greece, agreed to a disarmament), the persecution of left wing citizens, communists and officials of EAM, started. There were 166 different anti-communist groups, such as those of Sourlas and Kalabalikis in Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, and Papadopoulos in Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
. Archives of D.S. National Solidarity indicate that by 31 March 1946, nationwide, 1,289 suspected communists had been killed, 6,671 had been wounded, 84,931 had been arrested, 165 been raped, and the property of 18,767 was looted. Imprisoned suspected communists numbered in excess of 30,000. Those responsible for the murders, according to the DSE, were collaborationist groups, national guards, rural police, and members of the British armed forces.
Under these circumstances, the persecuted partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
that were still free, started to form guerrilla groups named Groups of Persecuted Fighters. By the summer of 1946 cells of these groups had been established throughout Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. The official start of the armed struggle came with the attack on the Greek Gendarmerie
Greek Gendarmerie
The Hellenic Gendarmerie was the national gendarmerie and military police force of Greece.-19th Century:The Greek Gendarmerie was established after the enthronement of King Otto in 1833 as the Royal Gendarmerie and modeled after the French Gendarmerie. It was at that time formally part of the...
station at Litochoro
Litochoro
Litochoro is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of the Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dio-Olympos, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is located at the base of Mount Olympus, on the western shore...
by around 35 guerrillas on 31 March 1946, an election
Greek legislative election, 1946
These elections were marked by:* The marked abstention of voters, caused by the abstention of Communist Party of Greece, and the effects of the civil war , because of which many citizens either could not or chose not to vote....
day. 12 Gendarmes and 2 civilians were killed, and this attack is generally considered the start of the Civil War.
The Communist Party of Greece
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
led the armed struggle, through the General Partisan Command, which was created on 28 October 1946, and headed by Markos Vafiadis
Markos Vafiadis
Markos Vafiadis ]], Ottoman Empire, 1906 – Athens, Greece, February 23, 1992) was a leading figure of the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War.-Pre-war life:...
. Order number 19 of the General Command, issued on 27 December 1946, renamed the guerilla groups to the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE). The relevant order included the following comment regarding the DSE: It is the national people’s revolutionary army of the new Democratic Greece and fights with gun in hand for our National independence and for People's Democracy
In 1947, KKE and the Democratic Army formed the "Provisional Democratic Government" ("Mountain Government") under the premiership of Markos Vafiadis. After this, KKE turned illegal.
As well as issues regarding the war effort, the Provisional Government had to deal with issues regarding the "People's Law" in the territories controlled by the DSE. These had to do with the judicial, financial, and political systems. As the Provisional Government was based on political forces which aimed to establish a socialist state, its decisions were driven by this political agenda. The self-determination of national minorities living in Greece was one priority. The Provisional Government and the KKE intended to establish a People's Republic
People's Republic
People's Republic is a title that has often been used by Marxist-Leninist governments to describe their state. The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist-Leninists govern in accordance with the interests of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist-Leninist...
of Greece in which all nationalities would work together in a Socialist state. An article written by Nikos Zachariadis expressed the KKE's strategy after the envisioned victory of the Democratic Army of Greece regarding what was then known as the "Macedonian Issue": "The Macedonian people will acquire an independent, united state with a coequal position within the family of free peoples’ republics within the Balkans, within the family of Peoples’ Republics to which the Greek people will belong. The Macedonian people are today fighting for this independent united state with a coequal position and is helping the DSE with all its soul ...". The policy of self-determination for Macedonia within a People's Republic was reiterated during the 5th KKE Central Committee meeting held in January 1949, which declared that the "Macedonian
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
people participating in the liberation struggle would find their full national re-establishment as they want giving their blood for this acquisition ... Macedonian Communists should pay great attentions to foreign chauvinist and counteractive elements that want to break the unity between the Greek and Macedonian people. This will only serve the monarcho-fascists and British imperialism ...”. This statement can be explaned due to the large number of Slavomacedonian fighters (30-50%) amongst the DSE fighters.
The Provisional Government never achieved international recognition. During the first two years, from 1946 to the beginning of 1948, it managed to control large rural areas but no major town. At the same time, the "National Greek Army" guided by the British military up to 1947 and afterward by an American military delegation led by General James Van Fleet
James Van Fleet
James Alward Van Fleet was a U.S. Army officer during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy. He served as a regimental, divisional and corps commander during World War II and as...
, US Army, established the Athens government's position in the rest of the country as well as internationally.
After the fatal blow in early 1948, when DSE's III Brigade numbering 20,000 men and women was completely wiped out, DSE lost support in southern Greece as well as the political and economic control of a huge area. That was the beginning of the end of the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
. At the same time, the efforts of the HQ of DSE to capture and hold a major town in the North such as Konitsa
Konitsa
Konitsa is a town in Epirus, Greece, near the Albanian border. It lies amphi-theatre shaped on a mountain slope of the Pindos mountain range, overlooking the valley where the river Aoos meets the river Voidomatis. The valley is used for farming. Konitsa is a regional centre for many small Pindos...
or Florina
Florina
Florina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina peripheral unit, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West...
led to catastrophic defeat of the partisan army, which never recovered. On the other hand, the DSE did manage to achieve some military victories in 1948 and early 1949, in the battles of Karpenisi
Karpenisi
Karpenisi is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the peripheral unit of Evrytania. The area around Karpenisi is mountainous while farmlands are mainly in valley areas....
, Naoussa, and Karditsa
Karditsa
Karditsa is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa peripheral unit.Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BCE. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the road to Karpenisi, and the road to Palamas and Larissa...
.
At the same time, DSE had a huge problem on reserves. Most of the men and women capable and willing to join its ranks were imprisoned or unable to reach areas controlled by DSE.
One of the biggest battles of the three year Greek Civil War took place in the Grammos mountains in 1948. The operation took place after the National Army had secured the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
, where it managed to defeat the DSE's III Division, numbering 20,000 fighters. In the battle of Grammos, forces of the National Army, with the codename Operation Koronis, deployed 100,000 troops, while the DSE had 12,000 fighters. The battle lasted from 16 June until 21 August 1948. On that day, DSE forces, after hard fight, retreated into Albanian territory and reformed towards Vitsi
Vitsi
Vitsi is a former municipality in Kastoria peripheral unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kastoria, of which it is a municipal unit. It takes its name from Mount Vitsi which is the highest point within the municipal unit. The...
. The maneuver from Grammos to Vitsi is considered one of the most important tactical actions of DSE during the war, from a military point of view.
Towards the end of August 1949, the National Army under the leadership of Alexander Papagos
Alexander Papagos
Field Marshal Alexander Papagos , was a Greek General who led the Greek Army in the Greco-Italian War and the later stages of the Greek Civil War and became the country's Prime Minister...
, with the support and guidance of US Government, deployed 180,000 troops, and achieved the defeat of the DSE army of about 7,000 fighters on the Grammos-Vitsi front. After this defeat, the DSE fighters crossed the border into Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and scattered to camps all over the newly founded so-called Socialist Republics, with the main body of the fighters camped in Taskent
Taskent
Taşkent, formerly Pirlerkondu, is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 46,396 of which 10,779 live in the town of Taşkent.-External links:* *...
, the capital of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
in the USSR.
The post-Civil War era left a country in ruins. Most of the youth were either killed in the battlefield, imprisoned or became political refugees. The political situation was quite unstable for more than 25 years - that led to the Greek military junta of 1967-1974
Greek military junta of 1967-1974
The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...
. The ghost of the Civil War haunted Greece for many years after. In 1981, when the socialist PASOK party came to power in Greece following a long period of right-wing dominance, the political refugees of the DSE were finally given permission to return to their homeland (Slavomacedonians
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
excluded) by the new Interior Minister, George Gennimatas. Markos Vafiadis also returned to Greece and supported the PASOK government, and was elected a Member of Parliament for PASOK.
In 1989, the Greek Parliament voted unanimously a law that declared the three-year war of 1946-1949 as the Greek Civil War and accepted the former "Communist Bandits" as Fighters of DSE giving some of them privileges of pension.
The Oath of the DSE fighter
The following text was the oath that DSE members must swear and abide by. During enrolment, the member would swear:I, a child of the Greek people and a DSE fighter, swear to battle with gun in hand, to shed my blood, and give even my life to banish from the soil of my motherland every last foreign occupier. To banish every trace of fascism. To secure and defend the national independence and territorial integrity of my motherland. To secure and defend democracy, honour, work, fortune, and progress of my people.
I swear to be a good, brave and disciplined soldier, to carry out all the orders of my superiors, to observe all regulations, and not betray any secrets of the DSE.
I swear to be a good example to the people, to encourage popular unity and reconciliation, and to avoid any action that reduces and dishonours me, as a person and as a fighter.
My ideal is a free and strong democratic Greece and the progress and prosperity of the people. And in the service of my ideal I offer my gun and my life.
If I ever prove to be a liar, and with bad intent violate my oath, let the vengeful hand of the nation, and the hate and scorn of the people, fall upon me implacably.