This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.
The Democratic Army of Greece (Greek: Δημοκρατικός Στρατός Ελλάδας, DSE), was the armed unit supporting the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946 – 1949. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Communist Party of Greece (Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas) better known by its acronym ΚΚΕ (usually The Greek Civil War (ο Eμφύλιος, "the Civil War" fought from 1946 to 1949 by the Governmental forces receiving logistical support by the United Kingdom Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
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History
After the liberation of Greece from the Axis occupation, and the Varkiza Agreement (in which the communist liberation forces who had fought the Germans agreed to surrender their guns) the "hunting" of communists, who were rapidly increasing, started in Greece. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Axis occupation of Greece during World War II ( Η Κατοχή, I Katochi, meaning "The Occupation" began in April The Treaty of Varkiza (also known as the Varkiza Pact or the Varkiza Peace Agreement) was signed in Varkiza (near Athens) on February 12 In 1945 the British Armed Forces together with the National Army of the Greek government, had at their disposal 60,000 troops, 200 tanks, and 80 airplanes to fight the National Liberation Front (EAM). The Armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces Mission The Hellenic Army's objective is to defend Greece's independence borders and terrain and also to guarantee the country's defense The National Liberation Front (EAM ( Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο (ΕΑΜ, Ethniko Apeleftherotiko Metopo) was the main movement of the In Greece there were 166 different anti-communist groups, such as those of Sourla and Kalabaliki in Thessaly, and Papadopoulos in Macedonia. Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. Macedonia ( Μακεδονία, Makedonía,) is a geographical and historical region of Greece in southeastern Europe 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 anti-communist groups, national guards, rural police, and members of the British armed forces.
Under these circumstances, the persecuted communists started to form guerrilla groups named People’s Fighters' Protection Groups, (OPLA)[1]. By the summer of 1946 cells of OPLA had been established throughout Greece. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The start of the armed struggle came with the attack on the rural police station at Litochoro by 33 guerillas on 31 March 1946, an election day. Litochoro (Greek Modern Λιτόχωρο Ancient/ Katharevousa Λιτόχωρον older form Litochoron) is a town and municipality located in the southern part
The Communist Party of Greece led the armed struggle, through the General Guerilla Command, which was created on 28 October 1946, and headed by Markos Vafiadis. The Communist Party of Greece (Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas) better known by its acronym ΚΚΕ (usually Markos Vafiadis (Μάρκος Βαφειάδης Theodosiopolis (Erzurum, Ottoman Empire, 1906 – Athens, Greece, February 23, 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[2] 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
The biggest battle of the three year Greek Civil War took place in the Grammos mountains. The Greek Civil War (ο Eμφύλιος, "the Civil War" fought from 1946 to 1949 by the Governmental forces receiving logistical support by the United Kingdom For the community in the Kastoria Prefecture, see Gramos Greece Gramos or Grammos (Γράμος is a Mountain range in the northeastern In this battle, government forces, with the codename Operation Koronis, deployed 100,000 troops, while the DSE had 12,000. The battle lasted from 16 June until 21 August 1948. On that day, DSE forces, after a hard fight, broke out of the encircling government troops and headed east towards Vitsi. Vitsi (Βίτσι is a municipality in the Kastoria Prefecture, Greece. The maneuvre 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 government army, strengthened now by American forces, altogether about 100,000 troops, defeated the DSE army on the Grammos-Vitsi front. After this defeat, the DSE guerillas crossed the border into Albania. This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics.
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. [3] [4]
Notes and references
- ^ In Greek, the acronym "OPLA" functions as a pun for Greek: όπλα, arms or weapons
- ^ Daily Orders General Command, DSE, 28th December 1946
- ^ Πολιτική επιτροπή για την Ανασύνταξη του ΚΚΕ 1918-55
- ^ ΡΙΖΟΣΠΑΣΤΗΣ : Ο χαρακτήρας του και η βασική του στρατηγική επιδίωξη
- «Oath of the fighter» Source: Website of the Political Committee for the Re-establishment of the Communist Party of Greece, 1918 - 1955. A pun (or paronomasia) is a Phrase that deliberately exploits confusion between similar-sounding Words for humorous or Rhetorical Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Downloaded 15 July 2006
- «Oath of the DSE fighter» Source: Website of Rizospastis, newspaper of the Communist Party of Greece. Downloaded 15 July 2006
Bibliography
- Nikos Kiritsis, "Democratic Army of Greece, basic steps of the struggle. "