Misplaced Pages

#134865

98-537: The Battalions were founded in 1943 by the government of Ioannis Rallis . The Rallis cabinet passed the law raising the Security Battalions on 7 April 1943. The driving force behind raising the Security Battalions was the former dictator, General Theodoros Pangalos , who saw the Security Battalions as his means of making a political comeback, and most of the Hellenic Army officers recruited into

196-644: A "junta of Nazi collaborators". Some members of the Security Battalions were recognized during the Greek military junta of 1967-74 by law as "resistance fighters against the Axis", but this decision was cancelled after the fall of the regime. Recruits to the Security battalion swore under the following oath: I swear by God this sacred oath, that I will obey absolutely the orders of the Supreme Commander of

294-502: A belt of cotton in blue and white stripes. The number of pleats of the fustanela is rumored to be equal to the duration of Ottoman occupation i.e. 400. On the legs were worn tsarouchia , with white wool leggings and garters; the former decorated in dark blue embroidery. For bad weather, an "iron-coloured" knee-length cape was issued. During the remainder of the 19th century, the dress of the separate line battalions of Evzones appears to have differed slightly in detail between units. After

392-743: A cavalry company, was formed. During the Great Eastern Crisis , in 1877 the Hellenic Army was reorganized, with two square infantry divisions being established. The 1st Evzone Battalion at Kravasaras was subordinated to the Patras Brigade, and the 2nd Evzone Battalion at Karpenisi to the Corfu Brigade, with the two brigades comprising the Peloponnese Division. The 3rd Evzone Battalion at Ypati

490-591: A colonel or lieutenant colonel. In another reorganization in 1843, the regular infantry battalions were reduced to two Line Infantry Battalions of eight companies (including one Evzone company) of 140 men each, and two Skirmisher Battalions of four companies each. At the same time, an additional three light companies were established, which in 1844 were amalgamated into the "Supplementary Mountain Guard Corps" (Παραπληρωματικό Σώμα Ὁροφυλακής). The entire Mountain Guard

588-479: A few minor changes over the years, it became the familiar uniform seen worn today by the Presidential Guard. In 1910 a new field service uniform was adopted, substituting a khaki farion cap and khaki doulama jacket for the respectively red and dark blue garments previously worn. The long white woollen hose and turned-up tsarouchia shoes were still retained, although sometimes replaced on campaign by

686-445: A new, more homogeneous divisional structure was adopted, with four regular infantry regiments and two Evzone battalions for each of the three infantry divisions. 1st Division now comprised the 4th and 6th Evzone Battalions, 2nd Infantry Division the 1st and 2nd Evzone Battalions, and 3rd Infantry Division the 3rd and 7th Evzone Battalions. The 1910 army regulations envisaged again nine Evzone Battalions (to 18 infantry regiments), but

784-467: A part in the outbreak of the Greek civil war . Evzones The Evzones or Evzonoi ( Greek : Εύζωνες, Εύζωνοι , pronounced [ˈevzones, ˈevzoni] ) were a type of light infantry units in the Hellenic Army . Today, they are the members of the Presidential Guard ( Greek : Προεδρική Φρουρά , romanized :  Proedrikí Frourá ), a ceremonial unit that guards

882-599: A position which Rallis had previously held in the regime. The Hellenic State was widely viewed as a puppet government and was unpopular with the Greek people. Administratively, the Hellenic State was divided into a number of prefectures. The Hellenic State lacked the infrastructure and latitude for action to face the great difficulties of the Occupation period; it was also devoid of any political legitimacy, and

980-556: A recruiting speech in May 1944 to a group of his fellow royalists, stated that the denunciations of the Security Battalions by the radio station of the Cairo government were just for "show", and that in fact both the British and the king secretly supported the Security Battalions. In May 1944, a secret emissary representing Dertilis arrived in Cairo with a message for the government-in-exile that

1078-442: A special uniform with a white wool jacket (φέρμελη) with dark blue cord embroidery (γαϊτάνια), with the battalion number embroidered in crimson at the end of each sleeve. The jacket was also decorated with two rows of twelve yellow metal buttons on the chest, and eight on the sleeves. A fez (φέσιον) with a silk tassel, bearing the national cockade and the royal crown was worn; plus a knee-length fustanella of white cloth, closed by

SECTION 10

#1732765852135

1176-459: A speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Lee Metcalf called the new government "a military regime of collaborators and Nazi sympathizers who are receiving American aid". In another speech before the Senate on 16 November 1971, Metcalf listed the members of the Greek junta who had served in the Security Battalions, and denounced the administration of Richard Nixon for supporting what he called

1274-599: A speech to mark Hitler's birthday, on 20 April 1944 before the officers of the Security Battalions, Schimana announced that the most dividing line in the world was between communism vs. anticommunism , and predicted that the "Grand Alliance" against Germany would soon fall apart. Schimana predicted that both the United Kingdom and the United States would soon realize that the alliance with the Soviet Union

1372-619: Is already a serious threat in the Mediterranean". Stott was not arrested by the Germans and allowed to leave Athens for Cairo with the message that Germany wanted to work with Britain. In the last stages of World War II, many Nazi leaders, such as the Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, believed that the alliance of Britain and the Soviet Union would not last, and inevitably the British would have to ally with

1470-577: Is to retain her in the British sphere of influence, and...a Russian-dominated Greece would not be in accordance with British strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean"- that the British were willing to push the Cairo government to ally with any anti-communist force in Greece. The belief that the British supported the Security Battalions and that the king would pardon all of the men who served in them further encouraged royalist officers to join. In

1568-473: The Army of Thessaly , while the 1st, 3rd and 11th Battalions with 4,494 men were subordinated to the Army of Epirus . In the aftermath of the war, various reorganization attempts were undertaken, and the number of Evzone battalions varied considerably. In June 1900 two Evzone regiments were established by combining some of the hitherto independent battalions: the 1st Evzone Regiment (1ο Σύνταγμα Ευζώνων) comprised

1666-742: The Axis would win the war. The core of the Battalions consisted of men of the Royal Guard ( Evzones , so the name tsoliádes ). The Security Battalions were initially only a small force, and only began to grow after Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943. After the armistice, German forces seized the parts of Greece that been occupied by the Italians. In the confusion caused by

1764-466: The Gendarmerie . Each battalion was to be commanded by a lieutenant colonel or a major, with a staff of 4 officers and 6 NCOs, and comprising four companies of 122 officers and men each. Their personnel were to be exclusively career and volunteer soldiers, rather than draftees. Prospective recruits had to be of good health and character, over 17 and under 40 years of age, and preferably unmarried. On

1862-618: The Ottoman occupation of Greece. The most visible item of this uniform is the fustanella , a kilt -like garment. Their distinctive dress turned them into a popular image for the Greek soldier, especially among foreigners. The word evzōnos ( Greek : εὔζωνος ) is first attested in Homer's Iliad and derives from εὖ and ζώνη , meaning "well-girt". The word was used by ancient writers for centuries to describe light infantry (better known as psiloi or gymnitai ). The term "Evzones"

1960-629: The Reich against the Soviet Union. Broadly speaking, there were two tendencies on the German side in the last years of the war. Some of the Nazi leaders were like Himmler, who, influenced by his intelligence chief Walter Schellenberg, tried to engage in various stratagems to break up the "Grand Alliance," such as his offer in 1944 to stop deporting Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz if the United States were to give Germany 50,000 trucks that would only be used to supply

2058-549: The Second World War , and he presented the return of the monarchy as a return to subordination to Britain. However, both Rallis and Pangalos were men of the right and strongly opposed the National Liberation Front (EAM) , which gave them some common ground. Pangalos and the clique of republican officers associated with him made it clear that the Security Battalions were meant to fight just as much

SECTION 20

#1732765852135

2156-432: The abolition of the monarchy , the Presidential Guard ( Greek : Προεδρική Φρουρά ). Several modern regular Army Infantry units have been given the numbers and names of the post-1913 Evzone regiments. However, these names are only honorific. The historical units were numbered and known as Τάγμα Ευζώνων ("Evzone Battalion") or Σύνταγμα Ευζώνων ("Evzone Regiment"). The first Evzone Regiment was formed in 1912, shortly before

2254-579: The klephts , armatoli , and many of the best-known fighters of the Greek War of Independence . At first, it was only issued to the native light infantry battalions, but its popularity led to its adoption as the official uniform of the Evzones in 1868. In the 1868 regulations, officers and warrant officers continued wearing the regular Army uniform, but the other ranks of the Evzone battalions were issued

2352-854: The white terror period that ensued after the Varkiza Agreement that dismantled ELAS . Many ex-members continued carrying out atrocities against the DSE during the Greek Civil War . During the Civil War, Security Battalions veteran officers organized themselves in a secret group known as the Holy Bond of Greek Officers, which from 1947 onward was subsidized by the Central Intelligence Agency as one of Greece's principle "democratic" (i.e. anti-communist) groups. After

2450-438: The "Big Three" alliance of the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom. Blume saw Britain as much an enemy as the Soviet Union, and he was much closer to republican officers like Pangalos than to royalist officers like Dertilis. Blume used his influence to try to promote republican officers over royalist officers in the Security Battalions, and after Dertilis gave his speech in May 1944 boasting about his contacts with

2548-455: The "tight" European uniforms prescribed for these units were unpopular with many veterans of the War of Independence, recruitment remained very low. In the end, the attempt was given up and in 1836, four Light Infantry Battalions were formed instead, who were allowed to wear a uniform based on the traditional Greek dress. These battalions had six companies each, but with 162 men per company instead of

2646-629: The 120 men in the regular infantry battalions. In January 1838, the four Light Infantry Battalions were merged into two regular infantry battalions (while one of the original four line battalions was disbanded), and replaced by eight "Mountain Guard" battalions (Τάγματα Ὁροφυλακής). Assigned the role of border guards , the Mountain Guard battalions had four companies with 299 men and 16 officers. In February 1838, they were subordinated to three Mountain Guard Headquarters, commanded by

2744-471: The 1912 regulations reduced them again to six, each of four companies and two machine gun squads. In the mobilization prior to the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912, four more Evzone battalions were raised. They operated independently on the vanguard or the flanks of the army. They distinguished themselves for their fighting spirit suffering high casualties, especially among officers. Subsequently

2842-429: The 5/42 Evzone Regiment was the 5th Evzone regiment, but also the 42nd infantry regiment. In 1833, the uniform of the Evzones (as in all infantry companies of the line battalions) was in the unpopular Bavarian style of blue trousers, tailcoats and shako . As light infantry the Evzones were distinguished only by green braid and plumes. In 1837, a new uniform was created; based on the traditional fustanella style worn by

2940-428: The 6th, 8th, and 9th Evzone Battalions, and the 2nd Evzone Regiment (2ο Σύνταγμα Ευζώνων) the 1st and 4th Evzone Battalions. The new army regulations composed in 1903–04 combined the 1st and 2nd Evzone Regiments in the 1st Brigade under the 1st Infantry Division , with an additional Evzone Battalion (1st–3rd) attached to each of the three infantry divisions. This structure was not of long duration, however, as in 1904

3038-428: The Axis occupation as an opportunity to abolish the monarchy, and announced its end upon taking office. The existence of a native Greek government was considered necessary by the Axis powers, in order to give some appearance of legitimacy to their occupation, although it was never given more than an ancillary role. The country's infrastructure had been ruined by the war. Raw materials and foodstuffs were requisitioned, and

Security Battalions - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-432: The British forces in Greece, in contrast to his attitude towards EAM, whom he dismissed as mere "bandits", treated the Security Battalions as a legitimate military force. The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a very favorable view of the Security Battalions, saying, "It seems to me that the collaborators in Greece in many cases did the best they could to shelter the Greek population from German oppression". When he

3234-532: The Cairo government, as many EAM members believed the king after his return to Greece would pardon all of the Security Battalions, and enlist them to fight on his behalf. Mazower reported that many of the documents relating to the Stott mission at the Public Record Office are still closed to historians. Mazower argued on the basis of one declassified document, stating "our long term policy towards Greece

3332-517: The Cairo government, he ordered his arrest under the grounds that Dertilis was a British spy. Dertilis was sent to Vienna to be interrogated by the Gestapo while Blume had the Athens headquarters of the Security Battalions searched for evidence of contacts with Britain and the Cairo government. Rallis was furious at Blume's action and asked Schimana to dismiss him. Blume, who had a fearsome reputation as

3430-405: The Civil War, and during the persecution of the communists during the 1950s and '60s in Greece, many of the brutal military personnel of the exile islands accused of tortures were ex-members of the Security Battalions. Finally, the leader of the Greek junta of the 1970s, Georgios Papadopoulos , had also been accused of being a member of the Security Battalions, but without definite proof. One of

3528-523: The EAM come to power. The German military governor of the Balkans, General Alexander Löhr , in a message to Berlin stated that his policy was to ensure "that the anti-communist part of the Greek population be fully utilised, revealing itself openly and obliged to display an undisguised hostility towards the communist side". The main role of the Security Battalions was to fight against ELAS. Their aggregate force

3626-521: The Evzone uniform and participated in operations against the EAM-ELAS partisans. They were derisively known as Germanotsoliades ("German Evzones") or Tagmatasfalites ("Security Battalionists"), and were disbanded after liberation in 1944. After the war, the reconstituted Hellenic Army did not re-establish the Evzone regiments, possibly due to their association with the collaborationist Security Battalions. Their elite status and role being assumed by

3724-416: The Evzone units to 11 independent battalions of four companies each, and one training battalion. However, the 1881 army regulations again revised the number to nine Evzone battalions. In 1885, during a reorganization of the infantry, the Evzone battalions of the active army were reduced to eight, but two reserve battalions were established. The Hellenic Army was mobilized during the diplomatic crisis with

3822-780: The Evzone units were increased to five regiments, which fought with distinction as elite shock troops in the First World War , the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and the Greco-Italian War . During the German invasion in 1941, a memorable event is said to have occurred: on April 27, as the German Army was entering Athens, the Germans ascended to the Acropolis of Athens and ordered the young Evzone who

3920-719: The Evzones was not used at the time; but a uniform derived from the traditional costume of the fustanella , had already been adopted by the British-sponsored Greek Light Infantry Regiments raised during the Napoleonic Wars . A similar uniform was adopted when Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias reformed the nascent Hellenic Army in 1828 and formed the so-called "Light Battalions" (Ελαφρά Τάγματα)—five from Western Continental Greece and eight from Eastern Continental Greece—in an attempt to instil discipline and gradually regularize

4018-670: The German Army, Adolf Hitler. I will with loyal dedication perform my duties and obey without condition the orders of my superiors. I fully acknowledge that any objection to the obligations hereby accepted will lead to my punishment by the German Military Authorities. [REDACTED] Media related to Security Battalions at Wikimedia Commons Hellenic State (1941%E2%80%9344) The Hellenic State ( Greek : Ελληνική Πολιτεία , romanized :  Elliniki Politeia , lit.   ' Greek State ' )

Security Battalions - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-502: The Germans became more generous in arming the Security Battalions. The growth in ELAS, which was now far better armed than it was before the armistice, alarmed many conservative Greek officers, including the royalists, who joined the Security Battalions as a way of defending the "bourgeois world". Despite their distaste for republicans like Pangalos, for many royalist officers the defense of the prewar status quo against EAM came to override even

4214-470: The Germans even when the occupation was crumbling. Their last mission was to engage in combat against ELAS and keep them away from the main routes, to secure the safe exit of the German troops from Greece. What the Greek people hated about the Battalions, even more than their collaborationist nature, was their total lack of control over their members. For example, after a battle in the hamlet of Attali in Evvia,

4312-490: The Germans that he met with Hermann Neubacher of the Auswärtiges Amt , who played a key role in governing the Balkans. Accordingly, to Neubacher's account of the meeting, Stott told him: "This war should end in the common struggle by the Allies and German forces against Bolshevism ". Neubacher's account also stated that Stott apologised for Britain supplying EAM with arms, and that he believed "communist infiltration

4410-649: The Germans". In total, very few of their members were tried and convicted of collaborationism . For instance, their creator and quisling Prime Minister of Greece, Rallis, was sentenced to life imprisonment for treason and died in prison in 1946, but he was acquitted for his involvement with the Security Battalions. After the defeat of the EAM in Dekemvriana, the Security Battalion members continued to hunt down left, communist, and anti-royalist civilians during

4508-670: The Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( Greek : Μνημείο του Άγνωστου Στρατιώτη , romanized :  Mnimeío tou Άgnostou Stratiόti ) and the Presidential Mansion in Athens . An Evzone ( Greek : Εύζωνας ) is also known, colloquially, as a Tsoliás ( Greek : Τσολιάς ; pl. Τσολιάδες, Tsoliádes). Evzones are known for their distinctive uniform, which evolved from the clothes worn by the klephts who fought

4606-530: The King with whom they are in contact". Many of the leaders of the Cairo government secretly approved of the Security Battalions as a counterweight to EAM. In June 1944 the Greek government-in-exile asked that the BBC's Greek language service stop denouncing the Security Battalions as traitors under the grounds that these men were going to be useful to the government after the war, a request the British government granted. At

4704-581: The National Schism. One provincial governor, that of the Patras district, told an audience of Wehrmacht officers in February 1944: "Hellenism is by heritage and tradition opposed to the communist world-view. Annihilate communism!" The governor announced that he was now recruiting for the Security Battalions in his district, saying he'd prefer that Greece be permanently occupied by Germany than that

4802-740: The Ottoman Empire that followed the de facto annexation of Eastern Rumelia to the Principality of Bulgaria in 1885. In May 1886, clashes broke out between Greek and Ottoman troops in Thessaly , and at Koutra, 300 men of the 5th Evzone Battalion surrendered to the Turks. The two captains responsible for the Koutra incident were court-martialled and condemned to death in August 1887, although

4900-602: The Security Battalions arrested disabled veterans of the Greco-Italian war , brutally beating them with their own crutches and artificial limbs. The men of the Security Battalions were poorly disciplined and much given to looting and rape. Even collaborationist officials of the Hellenic State complained that the Security Battalions were a force for disorder rather than order, who stole whatever they wanted, raped any man or woman they wanted, and killed whomever they pleased. The Security Battalions killed indiscriminately, as it

4998-456: The Security Battalions in April 1943 were republicans who were in some way associated with Pangalos. The National Schism between royalists and republicans was still going strong in the 1940s, with considerable tensions between royalist politicians such as Rallis and republicans like Pangalos. Pangalos, a Greek nationalist, resented Greece's semi-colonial relationship to the United Kingdom before

SECTION 50

#1732765852135

5096-590: The Security Battalions into their area. The mountainous terrain of Greece favored the andartes, together with the fact that the Wehrmacht was by 1944 fully committed elsewhere in Europe, led to the policy of "total terror" being employed. Sometimes, the Security Battalions engaged in targeted killings, as one Security Battalion death squad in Volos killed 50 local EAM members over the course of March 1944. More typical

5194-412: The Security Battalions that 35-40% of them believed that the governments of Britain and the United States secretly approved of them fighting for Germany. A member of the Security Battalions wrote in 1944: "Our leaders gave us lectures and tell us that we are chasing the Andartes of EAM/ELAS and that way we are going to avoid Communism; and that the leaders of the Security Battalions act after the orders of

5292-469: The Security Battalions were a "patriotic organisation" committed to the "national struggle" against communism, and that when Greece was liberated, they would reveal their true loyalty was to the king. The idea of a "Greek bridge" in the form of the Security Battalions that would lead to an Anglo-American-German alliance against the Soviet Union was vigorously opposed by SS- Standartenführer Walter Blume , who still believed that Germany on its own would defeat

5390-562: The Security Battalions, he ensured his followers were given key command positions. They were supported by extreme right and Nazi sympathisers, but also by some centrist politicians who were concerned about the dominance of ELAS (the military arm of the communist-dominated National Liberation Front EAM ) as the main body of the Greek resistance. Members of the Security Battalions included ex-army officers, forcefully conscripted soldiers, conservatives, landowners, extreme-right radicals and social outcasts, as well as opportunists who believed that

5488-410: The Security Battalions, if captured, were always summarily executed under the grounds that any member of the Security Battalions was a war criminal. During the war, the Allied-oriented government in exile and the main resistance organizations in Greece decried the Security Battalions for treason multiple times. In November 1943, a British officer, Major Donald Stott , arrived in Athens and contacted

5586-424: The Trials of Collaborationists (I Diki ton Dosilogon) to judge collaborators. During 1945, Tsironikos was tried and sentenced to death. On 10 May 1945, he was arrested in Vienna by Allied forces and sent to Greece, where he was imprisoned. The government did not fulfil its promise to make major efforts to punish collaborators; this contributed to the escalation of political enmities in Greece, which in turn played

5684-411: The Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . And on the other side was the tendency, strongly encouraged by Hitler himself, to think that if Germany could not win the war, then all of Europe should be destroyed so that the Allies would liberate a wasteland. Given these hopes by some of the German side about the break-up of the "Big Three" alliance, Walter Schimana , the Higher SS Police Chief for Greece, and

5782-404: The armistice, ELAS took the opportunity to take over many of the Italian armories in Greece, and used the resulting vast haul of Italian weapons against the Germans. With ELAS better armed and the Germans now occupying more of Greece, the Higher SS Police Chief of Greece, Walter Schimana , argued that the Reich needed an auxiliary force to relieve the burden. After the armistice of September 1943,

5880-465: The best known being the Battle of Meligalas in September 1944. After the liberation, the groups were only temporarily disbanded, and were recruited into the Gendarmerie to fight alongside the British and government forces against the EAM / ELAS in the battle of Dekemvriana in Athens. The Security Battalions always surrendered to the British, who usually let them keep the weapons the Germans had supplied them with. General Ronald Scobie , who commanded

5978-450: The chieftains of the old irregular groups. In 1833, after the arrival of King Otto ( r.  1832–1862 ) to Greece, the Hellenic Army was organized along new lines by the Bavarian officials who had come with Otto. In February 1833, the infantry was organized into eight regular infantry battalions, of 728 men and six companies each: one of grenadiers , four line infantry companies, and one light infantry company. The latter received

SECTION 60

#1732765852135

6076-554: The civilian population. An officer named Georgios Bakos served as the minister of national defense. In September 1944, a new collaborationist government was established at Vienna , formed by former collaborationist ministers. It was headed by Ektor Tsironikos . It ceased to exist after the withdrawal of German forces and the liberation of the country in October 1944. Tsolakoglou, Rallis and Logothetopoulos (in Germany, where he had escaped to) were all arrested, along with hundreds of other collaborationists. The restored government set up

6174-406: The collaborationists pillaged the houses of the village, taking away 1,000 oka of oil, five sewing machines, 200 oka of cheese, and 30 complete trousseaux. Sixty mules were needed to carry away the loot. By the end of the occupation their name was synonymous with arbitrary violence and frightful cruelty. An example of this behavior was the pogrom against the disabled in November 1943, when members of

6272-476: The death sentence was immediately commuted by the King. The eight Evzone battalions were retained by to the 1887 regulations issued by the French military mission , but two of them were skeleton formations in peacetime, with only their professional personnel assigned to them. In total, ten Evzone battalions (1st–9th, 11th) fought in the disastrous 1897 war with Ottoman Turkey . The 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 11th Battalions, comprising 6,996 men, fought in

6370-408: The decision was eventually revoked. Logothetopoulos, who had protested against the measures taken by the Axis occupation authorities, was himself sacked on 6 April 1943. Against the wishes of the Italians, who favored Finance Minister Sotirios Gotzamanis , he was replaced by Ioannis Rallis , a monarchist politician. Rallis, who was looking beyond the German withdrawal from Greece to the restoration of

6468-441: The diplomat Hermann Neubacher welcomed Stott's mission as the beginning of an anti-Soviet Anglo-German alliance. The Geheime Feldpolizei in the Balkans were led by Roman Loos, a career policeman from Austria who was described by the British historian Mark Mazower as a "wily" and "shadowy" figure who closely worked with the SS, and who was never tried for war crimes. Loos became a prominent policeman in Austria after 1945, and at

6566-413: The express orders of his commanding officer Alexandros Papagos . As King George II with the legitimate Greek government-in-exile were stationed in Crete, the new regime avoided all reference to the Greek monarchy and used Hellenic State as the country's official, generic, name. The collaborationist regime lacked a precise political definition, although Tsolakoglou, a republican officer, considered

6664-416: The first acts of Papadopoulos's government after the 1967 coup d'état was to change the pension rules to declare that Security Battalion veterans could collect pensions for their services, and that those who had served and were serving in the Greek military could "top up" their pensions by presenting proof to the pension board of their service in the Security Battalions in 1943–44. After the 1967 coup d'état, in

6762-432: The general who signed the unconditional surrender of the Hellenic Army to the Germans. However, he was sacked a year later and replaced by Konstantinos Logothetopoulos , who himself was sacked in 1943. The last prime minister of the Hellenic State was Ioannis Rallis , who led the collaborationist regime until its dissolution in 1944. Georgios Bakos , a Greek Army major general , served as the minister of national defense,

6860-421: The government was forced to pay the cost of the occupation, giving rise to inflation, further exacerbated by a "war loan" Greece was forced to grant to Nazi Germany. Requisitions, together with the Allied blockade of Greece, resulted in the Great Famine (Greek: Μεγάλος Λιμός) during the winter of 1941–42, which caused the deaths of an estimated 300,000 people. The regime was first led by Georgios Tsolakoglou ,

6958-414: The infrastructure, such as factories, railroads, ports, etc., and furthermore would execute the entire political Greek leadership to reduce the country to complete chaos. Appointing Pangalos as prime minister and letting the Security Battalions run amok were part of Blume's preparations for executing the "Chaos Thesis". On the eve of the liberation, several battles took place between the Battalions and ELAS,

7056-477: The irregular groups (" klephts ") that had provided the bulk of the Greek forces during the War of Independence. The men of these battalions wore the traditional costume, although they were not designated as Evzones. Following the assassination of Kapodistrias in 1831 and the ensuing political infighting, the Light Battalions effectively disbanded, and their men became armed brigands under the command of

7154-531: The local branch of the Geheime Feldpolizei (German military police). During the course of Stott's extended visit with the GFP, he asked to arrange for the Security Battalions to switch over to serving the Cairo government when it returned to Greece, as Stott asserted to his German hosts that his government did not want EAM to come to power under any conditions. Stott's visit was considered so important by

7252-535: The most extreme and violent of all the SS leaders in Greece, was greatly feared by his other SS officers, including his superior, the Higher SS Police Chief Schimana, and no action was taken against him. The idea that the Security Battalions were secretly supported by the United Kingdom and the United States encouraged them to commit atrocities, as they believed that would not be punished after

7350-567: The name "Evzones" (" Voltigeurs " in the Bavarian terminology), but their uniform was of European style, identical to the rest of the infantry, apart from the use of green as their distinctive colour in the piping , epaulettes and decoration of their uniforms. In March 1833, ten independent battalions of light infantry (termed Ἀκροβολισταί, "Skirmishers", or Κυνηγοί, "Hunters" in Greek) of 204 men and four companies were established. However, because

7448-562: The newly established Mountain Raiding Companies . The traditions and distinctions of the Evzones are, however, maintained by a special ceremonial unit, which has served under several names: Palace Guard ( Greek : Ανακτορική Φρουρά ), Flag Guard ( Greek : Φρουρά Σημαίας ), Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard ( Greek : Φρουρά Μνημείου Αγνώστου Στρατιώτη ), Royal Guard ( Greek : Βασιλική Φρουρά ) and after 1974, with

7546-667: The outbreak of the Balkan Wars . The "traditional" and well-known Evzone regiments, which fought in World War I, the Asia Minor Campaign, and World War II, were formed after the Balkan Wars by the Royal Decree of 23 December 1913. Since the regiments were distinctive, elite units, they had dual numbers—the first, numbering them in the Evzones order of seniority, the second, in the overall infantry hierarchy. Thus

7644-518: The post-war political order, and who was alarmed by the growth of the mostly Communist -dominated Greek resistance , obtained German consent for the creation of the Security Battalions , armed formations that were used in anti-partisan offensives. The collaborationist regime under Rallis set up Security Battalions , units of soldiers that aided the German Army in fighting the resistance. They are known for committing atrocities against

7742-400: The return of King George II as they were EAM, and initially, royalist officers were reluctant to join. Both the Italians and the Germans distrusted the Security Battalions and provided them with only small arms, fearing that Pangalos, a tough, able soldier and a megalomaniac who was widely considered to be "half mad", was not a reliable partner. Though Pangalos did not formally have a position in

7840-407: The same day, due to the precarious security situation, the King also provisionally authorized the creation of eight further Evzone Battalions, numbered 5–12, as well as the increase of each Evzone company's strength to 170. In addition, on the same day a special detachment, initially named Agema (Άγημα), the precursor of the modern Presidential Guard , composed of two Evzone infantry companies and

7938-403: The same time, the Cairo government also asked that the British and American air forces stop dropping propaganda leaflets over Greece warning that all of the Security Battalions were going to be tried for treason and war crimes after the liberation, as this discouraged recruitment by the Security Battalions which the government was planning to use to fight against EAM once it returned to Greece. In

8036-451: The spot. Other men who were merely suspected of being sympathetic towards EAM would be taken to Haidari prison, where they were held as hostages, with the German policy being that these men would be executed if there were any more ELAS attacks against them. The bloko was ordered by Blume as part of his strategy of polarization, as he wanted to provoke more violence to justify even more extreme violence on his part. Blume had decided that Rallis

8134-449: The summer of 1944, the Security Battalions assisted German forces in Athens with the bloko (round-ups). In the blokos , an entire district of Athens, usually one of the poor neighborhoods where EAM was most popular, was sealed off while the occupying forces and the Security Battalions rounded up the entire male population of the district. Informers wearing hoods to hide their identities would point out suspected EAM members, who were shot on

8232-575: The time of his retirement in 1962 was serving as the Austrian liaison officer for Interpol. Stott was in radio contact with the SOE headquarters in Cairo during his time as a guest of the Geheime Feldpolizei , reporting to Brigadier Keble. After Stott's meeting was exposed, he was disallowed as a "rogue" agent and reprimanded while Keble was fired. Stott's visit inflamed the suspicions of EAM of

8330-607: The war. EAM reported that many of the men serving in the Security Battalions were claiming that "they are serving the interests of England with her consent". After raiding the village of Pili in July 1944 looking for EAM members, the local Security Battalion told the villagers: "Next time we will come back with the English." One agent of the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) reported after interviewing captured members of

8428-411: Was German policy to cow the population of Greece into total submission by encouraging the Security Battalions to kill at random. Most of the people killed by the Security Battalions were not andartes or even associated with the andartes . Instead, they were killed at random to instill an atmosphere of fear in Greece, so people would not want the andartes to operate in their area, lest that would bring

8526-491: Was at most 22,000 men, divided into 9 ' evzonic ' and 22 'voluntary' battalions, under the command of SS Lieutenant-General Walter Schimana . Although the plan was to expand them all over the occupied Greek territories, their main theater of action was in eastern Central Greece and the Peloponnese . At that time, ELAS had already gained control over 1/3 of continental Greece. The Security Battalions remained faithful to

8624-527: Was criticized by Labour MPs in the House of Commons for employing the Security Battalions to fight on the British side against EAM in the Dekemvriana , Churchill replied: "The Security Battalions came into existence to protect the Greek villagers from the depredations of some of those who, under the guise of being saviours of their country, were living upon the inhabitants and doing very little fighting against

8722-514: Was guarding the flag post, Konstantinos Koukidis , to haul the Greek flag down and replace it with the swastika flag. The young soldier supposedly did so, but refused to hand over the Greek flag to the Germans, and instead wrapped himself in it and leapt from the Acropolis to his death. After the occupation of the country, in 1943, the collaborationist government raised a number of " Security Battalions " (Τάγματα Ασφαλείας), which were dressed in

8820-483: Was homogenized into ten infantry battalions of six 120-man companies (one Evzone company), plus ten reserve battalions. On 12 December 1868, King George I ( r.  1863–1913 ) signed a Royal Decree authorizing the creation of four independent (αὐθύπαρκτα) Evzone Battalions (Τάγματα Εὐζώνων), "forming part of the Army's regular strength and intended especially for service on the frontier, and in providing assistance to

8918-412: Was insufficiently pliant, and was intriguing to replace him with Pangalos. From Blume's viewpoint, having Athens reduced to chaos would show the need to sack Rallis, who was close to a nervous breakdown in the summer of 1944, and replace him with the stronger Pangalos. Ultimately, Blume was planning to carry out the "Chaos Thesis," under which the Germans, before withdrawing from Greece, would destroy all of

9016-542: Was not in their best interests, and that the Anglo-Americans would switch sides to ally themselves with Germany. Referring to the Stott mission, Schimana argued to his audience that Britain approved of the Security Battalions, and it was only just a matter of time before British, Greek and German soldiers would all be fighting side by side against the Soviet Union and those loyal to it. One of the Security Battalions' royalist officers, Major-General Vasilios Dertilis, in

9114-601: Was revived in modern practice as a Greek version of the European-style light infantry (such as the German Jäger , French Chasseurs , or British Riflemen ) in 1824 during the Greek War of Independence , when the first attempts to form a regular, European-style army were undertaken by the Greek rebels. The first regular infantry battalion comprised six companies, one of which was designated as an "Evzone Company" (Λόχος Εὐζώνων). The uniform now associated with

9212-582: Was subordinated to the Athens Brigade, and the 2nd Evzone Battalion at Gardiki to the Missolonghi Brigade, with the two brigades comprising Continental Greece Division. The 1878 reorganization greatly increased the size of the army, but the Evzone battalions remained the same, with a peacetime strength of 1,968 men (out of 10,400) and an intended wartime strength of 4,160 men (out of 21,000 men). In 1880, another reorganization increased

9310-413: Was the collaborationist government of Greece during the country's occupation by the Axis powers in the Second World War . After the fall of Greece , the puppet government of General Georgios Tsolakoglou was appointed Prime minister of the new Greek government on April 30, 1941. His main qualification for the position was that he surrendered to the Wehrmacht the week before 20 April 1941, against

9408-451: Was the executions in the same month of 100 people shot at random as retaliation for the assassination by ELAS of General Franz Krech . When members of the Security Battalions were assassinated by ELAS, the Security Battalions tended to lash out by massacring any Greeks who just happened to be in the vicinity. The andartes would usually spare captured policemen or gendarmes, unless they had been involved in killing fellow Greeks, but members of

9506-544: Was then placed directly under the command of the Ministry of Military Affairs , abolishing the Mountain Guard Headquarters. In October 1852, the Mountain Guard was reorganized into four two-battalion regiments. In August 1854, the Mountain Guard was disbanded and its units converted into three Skirmisher Battalions, while the regular infantry battalions were increased to six. In 1860, the infantry

9604-566: Was widely considered a puppet government. Tsolakoglou demanded greater political rights for his government, and soon threatened to resign. The proclamation of a mandatory work service in Germany for Greek citizens proved widely unpopular and hastened the fall of Tsolakoglou; on 17 November 1942, he was sacked and replaced by his deputy, Konstantinos Logothetopoulos . The new government announced that 80,000 Greek citizens were to be sent to Germany. This led to widespread demonstrations and strikes, and

#134865