The National Republican Greek League (, ''Ethnikós Dimokratikós Ellinikós Sýndesmos'' (EDES)) was a major anti-Nazi resistance group formed during the

Axis occupation of Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The largest of the non-communist resistance groups, its military wing, the

National Groups of Greek Guerrillas The National Republican Greek League (, ''Ethnikós Dimokratikós Ellinikós Sýndesmos'' (EDES)) was a major anti-Nazi resistance group formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. The largest of the non-communist resistanc ...

(Εθνικές Ομάδες Ελλήνων Ανταρτών, ''Ethnikés Omádes Ellínon Antartón'' (ΕΟΕΑ)) concentrated its military activities in

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

. From 1943 onwards, EDES came into confrontation with the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

-led National Liberation Front, beginning a series of civil conflicts that would lead to the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

Foundation and ideology

The National Republican Greek League was founded on 9 September 1941 by a former army officer, Colonel

Napoleon Zervas Napoleon Zervas (; May 17, 1891 – December 10, 1957) was a Hellenic Army officer and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League (EDES), the second most significant (after National Liberation ...

, a

Venizelist Venizelism () was one of the major political movements in Greece beginning from the 1910s. The movement first formed under Eleftherios Venizelos in the 1910s and saw a resurgence of support in the 1960s when Georgios Papandreou united a coaliti ...

who had been expelled from the army after the failed coup d'état of 1935, and two companions, Leonidas Spais and Ilias Stamatopoulos.Fleischer (1990), p. 150 Like many other resistance movements founded during that time, the political orientation of the National Republican Greek League was Republican, with a strongly stated opposition towards the exiled king, George II, and general leftist-socialist proclamations. In the aftermath of the four-year right-wing widely rejected in the country, 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 so-called ''4th of August'' Dictatorship", calling for a thorough cleansing of the state and Greek social and public life from anyone "who has not proven through actions

o be O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...

a National Republican nd have asocialist conscience". The charter acknowledged the prominent exiled

general

Nikolaos Plastiras Nikolaos Plastiras (; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he became famous as "The Black Rider" d ...

as its nominal political head, although, due to his exile in France, they'd failed to obtain his consent beforehand. At that time, yet, no explicit 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 Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionFleischer (1990), p. 154 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 General Secretary, representing Plastiras, and Zervas as a member. As the organization grew, it succeeded in establishing links with the British Headquarters in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, and receiving funds, weapons, and guidance. Under British pressure, in support of the Greek monarchy, Zervas sent a statement of loyalty to King George II in March 1942. This marked a silent breach with the anti-monarchist attacks of the past months, and marked EDES's turn towards a pro-monarchist stance. The organization supported

irredentism Irredentism () is one State (polity), state's desire to Annexation, annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by Ethnicity, ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the ...

, arguing that Greece should be allowed to annex parts of Albania and Bulgaria after the war. In 1944 and 1945, following the retreat of Axis forces and their evacuation of Greece, EDES participated in the expulsion of the Cham Albanians community, on account of their collaborationist actions during the Occupation, which included atrocities and acts of

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

against the local population. The expulsion was approved by the Middle East Allied Command, in a directive to "push he Chamsout of Greece and into Albania." The

People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the P ...

subsequently accused Greece of having perpetrated, through EDES,

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s by attacking Cham villages and murdering civilians. The issue of the Cham minority remains open from the Albanian side, after the communist regime fell.

Beginnings of armed resistance – The Gorgopotamos operation

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 The Greek People's Liberation Army (, ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós''; ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance until February 1945, when, followi ...

(ELAS), Zervas, accompanied by Pyromaglou and a handful of companions, set out for the Valtos Mountains in

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and the administrative regions of Greece, ...

, an area with long traditions of

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

stretching back to the

Ottoman period The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

. From then and until the end of the Occupation,

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, also known as the Battle of Gorgopotamos () in Greece, was a World War II mission by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), in cooperation with the Greek Resistance groups EDES and ELAS, which destroyed the heavily gu ...

", the destruction of the

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. The municipal unit has an area of 157.300 km2. It is l ...

viaduct by a joint force of British SOE commandos, and EDES and ELAS forces. While the successful operation, one of the greatest

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

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 contribution – numerically far greater – of the leftist ELAS forces. While the rift was healed by British mediation, it presaged the problems that would appear in the future. On 24 February 1943, Zervas addressed his friend Antonis Petsakis in a letter, urging him to create a branch of EDES in

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, before ELAS establishes full control of the region. A branch of the National Groups of Greek Guerrillas (ΕΟΕΑ) was then founded in

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

and by the summer of 1943 a small armed guerilla group was formed by E. Sevastakis. The Peloponnesean branch of EDES struggled with finding weapons and ammunition, prompting Zervas to request for a British airdrop of supplies in

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

. The airdrop did not materialize and Sevastakis' group disbanded in late July, numbering some 70 men at the time.

List of battles

1942 * 23 October - 24 November: Battle against Italian forces at Skoulikaria and at wider mountainous area of Arta, during 22 days. * 25 November: Operation Harling (Gorgopotamos). * 20–22 December: Battle against Italian forces at Ano Kalentini - Xirokampos - Velentziko - Koufalo of Arta 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,

. * 8–20 September: Battles against German forces at

Metsovo Metsovo (; ) is a town in Epirus (region), Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east. The largest centre of Aromanians, Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large regio ...

, Pramada, Kalarites. * 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 (with the eventual participation of

ELAS The Greek People's Liberation Army (, ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós''; ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance until February 1945, when, followi ...

, mainly against the EDES forces) at Tzoumerka. * November–December: Battles against Germans and Cham Albanians at

Thesprotia Thesprotia (; , ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity. His ...

. 1944 * 30 March Battle in

Thesprotiko Thesprotiko (, "Thesprotian") is a village and a former municipality in the Preveza (regional unit), Preveza regional unit, Epirus (region), Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ziros, Preveza, Ziros ...

against Germans and Cham Albanians. * 29 Juny: Liberation of

Paramythia Paramythia () is a town 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. The municipal unit has an area of 342.197 ...

and

Parga Parga (, , ) is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza in Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on ...

. * 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

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...

and

Filiates Filiates (; ) is a town and a Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Thesprotia, Greece. It is located in the northernmost part of the regional unit, bordering western Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and southern ...

. * 7–15 October: Battles against German forces.

Accusations of collaborationism

Following large scale clashes between ELAS and EDES in October 1943, Zervas entered into contact with the Germans and began discussing the possibility of collaboration against ELAS. In February 1944, Zervas and XXII Mountain Corps commander

Hubert Lanz Karl Hubert Lanz (22 May 1896 – 15 August 1982) was a German general during the Second World War, in which he led units in the Eastern Front and in the Balkans. After the war, he was tried for war crimes and convicted in the Southeast Case, s ...

reached a "gentlemen's agreement". Under its terms the two sides were to enter a truce, exchange limited information on ELAS prior to each side's military operations against the communists and enter full on collaboration in case EDES found itself on the brink of collapse. According to 1st Mountain Division officer Karl Heinz Rotfuchs, the agreement remained a secret from the absolute majority of EDES members. It was also kept secret from the British, so that EDES would continue to receive material support from the former. Upon their departure from Epirus, the Germans ensured that leftover materiel would reach the hands of EDES rather than ELAS. The left wing

on various occasions accused its rival organizations, and particularly EDES, of collaboration with the occupying Nazi forces.David H. Close
The origins of the Greek civil war
Longman, 1995, , p. 106 During the armed conflicts between ELAS and EDES in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, 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. On the other hand,

Stylianos Gonatas Stylianos Gonatas (; 15 August 1876 – 29 March 1966) was an officer of the Hellenic Army, Venizelist politician, and Prime Minister of Greece from 1922 to 1924. Early life and military career Gonatas was born in Patras. He entered the Hellenic ...

, initially a political leader of EDES in Athens, won the peculiar enmity of the organization because he supported the collaborationist

Security Battalions The Security Battalions (, derisively known as ''Germanotsoliades'' (Γερμανοτσολιάδες, meaning "German tsoliás") or ''Tagmatasfalites'' (Ταγματασφαλίτες)) were Greek collaborationist paramilitary groups, formed d ...

and encouraged young officers to join their ranks, which led to hostility of the EAM groups towards him. The 12th Army of Nazi Germany attempted for a short time to coopt the EDES forces, and to use them against the

, but this attempt failed and in July 1944 the EDES launched new attacks. In August 1944, members of collaborationist organizations such as the EEE and

began enlisting into Organization X and EDES en-masse in order to avoid persecution as liberation seemed imminent.Dimitris Kousouris, p. 82, 115

The civil war within the Resistance

These internal conflicts caused rivalry between resistance groups and eventually escalated into civil war. In October 1943,

launched an attack on EDES. These attacks triggered a civil war that would last until February 1944. After that, a fragile truce was established, which lasted until December, two months after the Liberation. Then, while the ELAS of Athens attempted to overthrow the government, other units stormed the EDES positions in

. The latter was defeated and the remaining forces were evacuated to Corfu. After the defeat of the ELAS in Athens (January 1945), EDES forces returned to Epirus, where part of them got involved to the expulsion of the

Cham Albanians Cham Albanians or Chams (; , ), are a sub-group of Albanians who originally resided in the western part of the region of Epirus in southwestern Albania and northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. The Chams have their ow ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Ar ...

German Antiguerrilla Operations in The Balkans (1941–1944)

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

.
The Statutes of EDES
{{Authority control Anti-communist organizations in Greece Republicanism in Greece Epirus in World War II 1941 establishments in Greece 1944 disestablishments in Greece 1940s in Greek politics