Ethnikos Dimokratikos Ellinikos Syndesmos
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The National Republican Greek League was one of the major resistance
groups formed during the Axis Occupation of Greece during World War II
. The largest of the non-communist resistance groups, its military wing, the National Groups of Greek Guerrillas (Εθνικές Ομάδες Ελλήνων Ανταρτών, ΕΟΕΑ) concentrated its military activities in Epirus
. From 1943 onwards, EDES came into confrontation with the Communist-led National Liberation Front, beginning a series of civil conflicts that would lead to the Greek Civil War
.
, a centrist
ex-army officer who had been expelled from the army after the failed pro-Venizelist coup d'etat of 1935, and two of his friends, Leonidas Spais and Ilias Stamatopoulos.
Like many other resistance movements founded during that time, the political orientation of the National Republican Greek League was Republican, with a strong dislike towards the exiled King, George II
, and featured some vague leftist/socialist tendencies. In the aftermath of the four-year right-wing Metaxas Dictatorship
, which was strongly supported by the King, the monarchy was almost universally rejected, while social ideals for "social fairness" became the vogue among the various resistance groups.
The founding charter of EDES explicitly demanded the "establishment in Greece of a Republican regime, of Socialist form", the "revelation [...] of the treason of former King George II and the gang of the 4th of August Dictatorship", calling for a thorough cleansing of the state and Greek social and public life from anyone "who has not proven a National Republican [and] socialist conscience through actions". The charter acknowledged the prominent exiled Venizelist
general Nikolaos Plastiras
as its nominal political head, but due to his exile in France they failed to take his consent beforehand. For the time being, no reference to armed opposition against the occupying forces was made in the text.
On the same day, Komninos Pyromaglou
, a friend and assistant of Plastiras, left Nice
, where Plastiras resided, for Greece. He was authorize by the general to form, on his behalf, a republican organization with socialist content", and prepare to turn both "against the Occupier" and against a return of the monarchy. After his arrival in Athens on 23 September, Pyromaglou came into contact with Republican circles, and after contacting Zervas took EDES' command. In October, a five-member Executive Committee was founded, with Pyromaglou as Plastiras' representative as General Secretary and Zervas as a simple member.
As the organization grew, it succeeded in establishing links with the British Headquarters in Cairo
, with a view to receiving funds, weapons and guidance. Under British pressure which at the time strongly supported the Greek monarchy, Zervas forced to sent a statement of loyalty to King George II in March 1942. This marked a silent breach with the vitriolic anti-monarchist attacks of the past months, and marked EDES' slow slide towards a more pro-monarchist stance.
Like most similar groups, EDES was initially limited to Athens. Having the support of many prominent Venizelist and Republican military figures, EDES came into contact with EAM and tried to establish some form of cooperation. The negotiations failed over the demands of the Communists for a merger of EDES with EAM and their distrust of Zervas' pro-British attitudes.
On 23 July 1942, after intense British pressure and more than a month after the official appearance of the military wing of EAM, the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), Zervas, accompanied by Pyromaglou and a handful of companions, set out for the Valtos Mountains in Aetolia-Acarnania
, an area with long traditions of guerrilla warfare stretching back to the Ottoman period
. From then and until the end of the Occupation, Epirus
would be the primary area of operations of the EDES andartes.
Supported by British parachute drops, EDES quickly gathered some 100 fighters. The first major operation of EDES was "Operation Harling
", the destruction of the Gorgopotamos
viaduct by a joint force of British SOE
commandos, and EDES and ELAS forces. While the successful operation, one of the greatest sabotage acts in occupied Europe, greatly boosted the prestige of the nascent Resistance, it also caused a significant rift between EDES and ELAS: the British loudly proclaimed and lauded Zervas' role in the operation, while ignoring the - numerically far greater - contribution of the leftist ELAS forces. While the rift was healed by British mediation, it presaged the problems that would appear in the future.
1943
1944
, a propaganda war was launched with ELAS accusing EDES of collaboration, mainly due to gaining plausibility from the explicit exemption of EDES from German propaganda attacks. EDES was accusing ELAS for soviet perspective and crimes against non communists.
On the other hand Stylianos Gonatas
, initially a political leader of EDES in Athens, won the peculiar enmity of the organization because he supported the collaborationist Security Battalions
and encouraged young officers to join their ranks, which led to hostility of the EAM groups towards him. Apart from British support EDES had also some kind of covert German support. Since autumn 1943 EDES and the 12th Army of Nazi Germany there was an important connection, which led to an armistice and a pact of mutual assistance against the Greek People's Liberation Army in February 1944.
Greek Resistance
The Greek Resistance is the blanket term for a number of armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis Occupation of Greece in the period 1941–1944, during World War II.-Origins:...
groups formed during the Axis Occupation of Greece during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The largest of the non-communist resistance groups, its military wing, the National Groups of Greek Guerrillas (Εθνικές Ομάδες Ελλήνων Ανταρτών, ΕΟΕΑ) concentrated its military activities in Epirus
Epirus (region)
Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë in the north to the Ambracian Gulf in the south...
. From 1943 onwards, EDES came into confrontation with the Communist-led National Liberation Front, beginning a series of civil conflicts that would lead to 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...
.
Foundation and ideology
The National Republican Greek League was founded on 9 September 1941 by a former army officer, Colonel Napoleon ZervasNapoleon Zervas
Napoleon Zervas was a Greek general and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League , the second most significant , in terms of size and activity, resistance organization against the Axis Occupation of Greece.-Early life and army career:Zervas...
, a centrist
Venizelism
Venizelism was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid 1970s.- Ideology :Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:*Opposition to Monarchy...
ex-army officer who had been expelled from the army after the failed pro-Venizelist coup d'etat of 1935, and two of his friends, Leonidas Spais and Ilias Stamatopoulos.
Like many other resistance movements founded during that time, the political orientation of the National Republican Greek League was Republican, with a strong dislike towards the exiled King, George II
George II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
, and featured some vague leftist/socialist tendencies. In the aftermath of the four-year right-wing Metaxas Dictatorship
4th of August Regime
The 4th of August Regime , commonly also known as the Metaxas Regime , was an authoritarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled Greece from 1936 to 1941...
, which was strongly supported by the King, the monarchy was almost universally rejected, while social ideals for "social fairness" became the vogue among the various resistance groups.
The founding charter of EDES explicitly demanded the "establishment in Greece of a Republican regime, of Socialist form", the "revelation [...] of the treason of former King George II and the gang of the 4th of August Dictatorship", calling for a thorough cleansing of the state and Greek social and public life from anyone "who has not proven a National Republican [and] socialist conscience through actions". The charter acknowledged the prominent exiled Venizelist
Venizelism
Venizelism was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid 1970s.- Ideology :Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:*Opposition to Monarchy...
general Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier and known for his personal bravery, he was known as "O Mavros Kavalaris" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922...
as its nominal political head, but due to his exile in France they failed to take his consent beforehand. For the time being, no reference to armed opposition against the occupying forces was made in the text.
On the same day, Komninos Pyromaglou
Komninos Pyromaglou
Komninos Pyromaglou , was a Greek teacher and politician, and one of the driving forces behind the foundation of the National Republican Greek League , the second-largest Resistance organization in Axis-occupied Greece during World War II...
, a friend and assistant of Plastiras, left Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, where Plastiras resided, for Greece. He was authorize by the general to form, on his behalf, a republican organization with socialist content", and prepare to turn both "against the Occupier" and against a return of the monarchy. After his arrival in Athens on 23 September, Pyromaglou came into contact with Republican circles, and after contacting Zervas took EDES' command. In October, a five-member Executive Committee was founded, with Pyromaglou as Plastiras' representative as General Secretary and Zervas as a simple member.
As the organization grew, it succeeded in establishing links with the British Headquarters in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, with a view to receiving funds, weapons and guidance. Under British pressure which at the time strongly supported the Greek monarchy, Zervas forced to sent a statement of loyalty to King George II in March 1942. This marked a silent breach with the vitriolic anti-monarchist attacks of the past months, and marked EDES' slow slide towards a more pro-monarchist stance.
Beginnings of armed resistance - The Gorgopotamos operation
On 23 July 1942, after intense British pressure and more than a month after the official appearance of the military wing of EAM, the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), Zervas, accompanied by Pyromaglou and a handful of companions, set out for the Valtos Mountains in Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the regional unit is a combination of the geographic regions Aetolia and Acarnania. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest...
, an area with long traditions of guerrilla warfare stretching back to the Ottoman period
Ottoman Greece
Most of Greece gradually became part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until its declaration of independence in 1821, a historical period also known as Tourkokratia ....
. From then and until the end of the Occupation, Epirus
Epirus (region)
Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë in the north to the Ambracian Gulf in the south...
would be the primary area of operations of the EDES andartes.
Supported by British parachute drops, EDES quickly gathered some 100 fighters. The first major operation of EDES was "Operation Harling
Operation Harling
Operation Harling was a World War II mission by the British Special Operations Executive , in cooperation with the Greek Resistance groups ELAS and EDES, which destroyed the heavily guarded Gorgopotamos viaduct in Central Greece on 25 November 1942...
", the destruction of the Gorgopotamos
Gorgopotamos
Gorgopotamos is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located 10 km southwest of Lamia. Its 2001 population was 443 for the village and 4,510 for the...
viaduct by a joint force of British SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
commandos, and EDES and ELAS forces. While the successful operation, one of the greatest sabotage acts in occupied Europe, greatly boosted the prestige of the nascent Resistance, it also caused a significant rift between EDES and ELAS: the British loudly proclaimed and lauded Zervas' role in the operation, while ignoring the - numerically far greater - contribution of the leftist ELAS forces. While the rift was healed by British mediation, it presaged the problems that would appear in the future.
List of battles
- 25 November 1942: Operation Harling (Gorgopotamos)Operation HarlingOperation Harling was a World War II mission by the British Special Operations Executive , in cooperation with the Greek Resistance groups ELAS and EDES, which destroyed the heavily guarded Gorgopotamos viaduct in Central Greece on 25 November 1942...
.
1943
- 20 May: Victorious battle against Italians and Cham Albanians at Agia Kyriaki village.
- 22 June : Destruction of Spiliopotamos bridge.
- 6 July: Victorious battle against Italian alpinists at Milia, EpirusEpirus (region)Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë in the north to the Ambracian Gulf in the south...
. - 8–20 September: Battles against German forces at MetsovoMetsovoMetsovo is a town in Epirus on the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the north and Meteora to the south. The largest centre of Vlach life in Greece, Metsovo is bypassed by GR-6 and also by Egnatia Odos Motorway....
, Pramada, KalaritesKalaritesKalarites is an Aromanian village and a former community in the Ioannina peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality North Tzoumerka, of which it is a municipal unit. The population, as of 2001, is 223....
. - 16,19 September: Battles against Germans and Cham Albanians at Skala Paramythias.
- 30 September: Attack against German forces at Xirovouni.
- 30–31 October: Battle against Edelweiss Division.
- November–December: Battles against Germans and Cham Albanians at ThesprotiaThesprotiaThesprotia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Igoumenitsa. It is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity.-History:...
.
1944
- 29 Juny: Liberation of ParamythiaParamythiaParamythia is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Souli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Population 7,859 .-Name:...
and PargaPargaParga, , is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the regional unit of Preveza in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on the Ionian coast between the cities of Preveza and Igoumenitsa...
. - 30 Juny: Victorious battle against Germans and Cham Albanians at Menina.
- 11 August: Liberation of Margariti.
- 17–18 August: Conquest of Fort Menina.
- 14 September: Battle of Dodona-Liberation of Lefkada.
- 22 September: Liberation of IgoumenitsaIgoumenitsaIgoumenitsa , is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit Thesprotia. Its original ancient name used to be Titani....
and FiliatesFiliatesFiliates is a town and a municipality in Thesprotia, Greece. It is located in the northernmost part of the prefecture, bordering western Ioannina Prefecture and southern Albania.-Municipality:...
. - 7–15 October: Battles against German forces.
Accusations of collaboration by ELAS
The left wing Greek People's Liberation Army on various occasions accused its rival organizations, and particularly EDES, for collaboration with the occupation forces. Specifically, one of the reasons given for the ELAS to launch an attack on EDES in October 1943, was the latter's presumed collaboration. However, this accusation was as yet unfounded, at least concerning EDES' guerilla branch. Moreover during the armed conflicts between ELAS and EDES in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, a propaganda war was launched with ELAS accusing EDES of collaboration, mainly due to gaining plausibility from the explicit exemption of EDES from German propaganda attacks. EDES was accusing ELAS for soviet perspective and crimes against non communists.
On the other hand Stylianos Gonatas
Stylianos Gonatas
Stylianos Gonatas was a Greek military officer and Venizelist politician and Prime Minister of Greece between 1922 and 1924.- Early life and military career :...
, initially a political leader of EDES in Athens, won the peculiar enmity of the organization because he supported the collaborationist Security Battalions
Security Battalions
The Security Battalions were Greek collaborationist military groups, formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II in order to support the German occupation troops.- History :...
and encouraged young officers to join their ranks, which led to hostility of the EAM groups towards him. Apart from British support EDES had also some kind of covert German support. Since autumn 1943 EDES and the 12th Army of Nazi Germany there was an important connection, which led to an armistice and a pact of mutual assistance against the Greek People's Liberation Army in February 1944.
The first conflict
These internal conflicts caused rivalry between resistance groups and eventually escalated into civil war. In October 1943, ELAS launched an attack on EDES. These attacks triggered a civil war that would last until February 1944.Sources
- Center of Military History, German Antiguerrilla Operations in The Balkans (1941-1944) Washington DC: United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. - The Statutes of EDES