The II Army Corps ( el, Β' Σώμα Στρατού, abbr. Β' ΣΣ) was an

army corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

. Established in 1913, it took part in all subsequent wars of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Since 1998 the corps functioned as a strategic reserve force, and comprised the Army's special forces and army aviation units, as well as

mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

. It was disbanded on 29 November 2013.

History

The II Army Corps was founded after the Balkan Wars, on 17 August 1913 (O.S.). Initially headquartered at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, it was transferred to Patras in December of the same year. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it fought in the Macedonian front, and then participated in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. Following the Greek retreat in August 1922, the Corps was reconstituted on 7 September 1922 (O.S.) in eastern Macedonia, as part of the Army of Evros. The Corps took part in the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

of 1940–41 from the beginning, and lasted until the Greek capitulation and disbandment of the Greek Army after the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

in April 1941. After liberation from the German occupation, II Army Corps was re-established in 1946 at Larissa and took part in the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

. After the end of the Civil War in 1949, the Corps was moved to

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...

, where it remained until July 1962, when it moved to

Veroia Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...

, its final base. During this period, the Corps provided the bulk of the Greek Expeditionary Force in Korea. From 1 January 1998, the Corps ceased to be a territorial formation, and was transformed into a rapid reaction and strategic reserve force under the operational command of the

Hellenic National Defence General Staff The Hellenic National Defence General Staff ( el, Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας, abbr. ΓΕΕΘΑ) is the senior staff of the Hellenic Armed Forces. It was established in 1950, when the separate armed services ministr ...

. On 1 July 2002, the Corps became a

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects (for example by using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other) ...

headquarters, and was renamed four months later into the Reaction, Reinforcement, Reserve Forces Headquarters (Στρατηγείο Δυνάμεων Αντίδρασης, Ενίσχυσης, Εφεδρείας ''Stratiyio Dynameon Adidrasis, Enischysis, Efedrias'' �ΔΑΕΕ (Β’ΣΣ). On 19 July 2005, it reverted to a purely Army command, and returned to its former name. Following a wide-ranging defence review that decided upon a new force structure for the Greek armed forces, in April 2013 KYSEA decided the disbandment of II Army Corps, with its subordinate formations to come under the direct command of the First Army. The Corps was dissolved on 29 November 2013.

Structure (2008)

* II Army Corps (''Β' Σώμα Στρατού''), based at

, Macedonia which includes ** Corps Field and Air Defense Artillery Command and units (''ΔΠΒ/Β' ΣΣ'') ** Corps Engineer Command and units (''ΔΜΧ/Β' ΣΣ'') ** 489th Signal Battalion (''489ο ΤΔΒ'') ** Corps HQ Battalion ** I Infantry Division(''I ΜΠ''), based at

, Macedonia organised in *** 1st Signal Battalion (''1ο ΤΔΒ'') *** Division HQ Company (''ΛΣ/Ι ΜΠ'') *** 1st Raider/Paratrooper Brigade (''1η ΤΑΞΚΔ-ΑΛ''), based at Rentina, Macedonia **** 480th Signal Battalion (480ο ΤΔΒ - 480 Tagma Diavivaseon) **** 1st Raider Regiment (1ο ΣΚ - 1 Syntagma Katadromon) ***** Beta Raider Squadron (Β΄ ΜΚ - Beta Mira Katadromon) ***** Delta Raider Squadron (Δ΄ ΜΚ - Delta Mira Katadromon) ***** Epsilon Raider Squadron (Ε΄ ΜΚ - Epsilon Mira Katadromon) ***** 14th Signal Company (14 ΛΔΒ - 14 Lochos Diavivaseon) **** 2nd Paratrooper Regiment (2ο ΣΑΛ - 2 Syntagma Alexiptotiston) ***** 1st Paratrooper Squadron (1η ΜΑΛ - 1 Mira Alexiptotiston) ***** 2nd Paratrooper Squadron (2η ΜΑΛ - 2 Mira Alexiptotiston) ***** 18th Signal Company (18 ΛΔΒ - 18 Lochos Diavivaseon) **** 13th Special Operations Command "Ieros Lochos" (13η ΔΕΕ Ιερός Λόχος - 13 Dioikisi Eidikon Epiheiriseon) ***** Alpha Amphibious Raider Squadron (Α΄ ΜΑΚ - Alpha Mira Amfivion Katadromon) ***** Gamma Amphibious Raider Squadron (Γ΄ ΜΑΚ - Gamma Mira Amfivion Katadromon) ***** 13th Signal Company (13ος ΛΔΒ - 13 Lochos Diavivaseon) **** Special Paratrooper Unit (ETA - Eidiko Tmima Alexiptotiston) **** Zeta Amphibious Raider Squadron (Ζ΄ ΜΑΚ - Zeta Mira Amfivion Katadromon) *** 32nd Marines Brigade "''Moravas''" (32η ΤΑΞΠΝ ''Mοράβας''), based at

Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

**** HQ Company (ΛΣ/32ης ΤΞΠΖΝ) **** 505th Marines Battalion (505ο ΤΠΝ) **** 521st Marines Battalion (521ο ΤΠΝ) **** 575th Marines Battalion (575ο ΤΠΝ) **** Marines Artillery Battalion (32η ΜΠΠ) **** Marines Armoured Squadron (3η ΙΜΑ) **** Marines Engineer Company (32ος ΛΜΧ) **** Marines Light Air Defence Battery (32η ΠΕΑ/ΑΠ) **** Marines Signal Company (32ος ΛΔΒ) **** Marines Support Battalion (32ο ΤΥΠ) *** 71st Airmobile Infantry Brigade (''71η Α/M ΤΑΞ''), based at Nea Santa, Macedonia **** HQ Company (ΛΣ/71ης Α/Μ ΤΑΞ) **** 595th Airborne Battalion (595ο A/M ΤΠ) **** 596th Airborne Battalion (596ο A/M ΤΠ) **** 601st Airborne Battalion (601ο A/M ΤΠ) **** 116th Airborne Artillery Battalion (116η Α/Μ ΜΠΠ) **** 71st Airborne Engineer Company (71ος ΛΜΧ) **** 71st Light Air Defence Battery (71η ΠΕΑ/ΑΠ) **** 71st Signal Company (71ος ΛΔΒ) **** 71st Support Battalion (71ο ΤΥΠ) ** II Mechanized Infantry Division (''II Μ/Κ ΜΠ''), based at Edessa, Macedonia organised in *** Division Artillery Command and units (''ΔΠΒ/ΙΙ Μ/Κ ΜΠ'') *** 2nd Signal Battalion (''2ο ΤΔΒ'') *** Division HQ Company (''ΛΣ/ΙΙ Μ/Κ ΜΠ'') *** 33rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade "''Kydoniae Regiment''" (33η Μ/Κ ΤΑΞ ''Σύνταγμα Κυδωνιών''), based at

Polykastro Polykastro ( el, Πολύκαστρο, before 1928 , ''Karasoúli''; ''Pandektis: Name Changes of Settlements in Greece'', compiled by the/ref>) is a town and a former municipality in Kilkis regional unit of Central Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2 ...

, Macedonia **** HQ Company (ΙΣΤ) **** 33rd Armored Battalion (33 ΕΜΑ) **** 506th Mechanized Infantry Battalion (506 M/K ΤΠ) **** 525th Mechanized Infantry Battalion (525 M/K ΤΠ) **** 104th Self Propelled Artillery Battalion (104 Μ Α/K ΠΒ) **** 33rd Antitank Company (33 ΛΑΤ) **** 33rd Engineer Company (33 ΛΜΧ) **** 33rd Signal Company (33 ΛΔΒ) **** 33rd Support Battalion (33 ΤΥΠ) *** 34th Mechanized Infantry Brigade "''Colonel Dialetes Detachment''" (34η Μ/Κ ΤΑΞ ''Απόσπασμα Σχου Διαλέτη''), based at

Giannitsa Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit Gian ...

, Macedonia **** HQ Company (ΙΣΤ) **** 34th Armored Battalion (34 ΕΜΑ) **** 501st Mechanized Infantry Battalion (501 M/K ΤΠ) **** 507th Mechanized Infantry Battalion (507 M/K ΤΠ) **** 162nd Self Propelled Artillery Battalion (108 Μ Α/K ΠΒ) **** 34th Antitank Company (34 ΛΑΤ) **** 34th Engineer Company (34 ΛΜΧ) **** 34th Signal Company (34 ΛΔΒ) **** 34th Support Battalion (34 ΤΥΠ) ** 1st Army Aviation Brigade (''1ο ΤΑΞΑΣ''), based at Stefanovikio,

which consists of *** HQ Company *** 307th Support Battalion, based at Stefanovikio,

*** 17th Signal Company (''17 ΛΔΒ'') *** 1st Attack Helicopter Battalion (1o ΤΕΕΠ), based at Stefanovikio,

*** 2nd Attack Helicopter Battalion (2o ΤΕΕΠ), based at Megara,

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

*** 1st Army Air Battalion (1o ΤΕΑΣ), based at Stefanovikio,

*** 2nd Army Air Battalion (2ο ΤΕΑΣ), based at Megara,

*** 3rd Army Air Battalion (3ο ΤΕΑΣ), based at Alexandreia, Macedonia *** 4th Army Air Battalion (4ο ΤΕΑΣ), based at Megara,

Emblem and Motto

The Corps' emblem depicts an Ancient Spartan shield over crossed spears. It symbolizes strength, militancy and determination of the ancients. The motto of the II Army Corps is "Either With It, or On It" ( el, Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς, ''I tan i epi tas''). Spartan mothers would utter the phrase to their sons before they went to war, reminding them to return victorious with the shield, or be brought back dead upon it. Returning home without a shield meant the soldier deserted (A hoplite could not escape the field of battle unless he tossed away the heavy and cumbersome shield).

References

{{Greece army corps 2 1913 establishments in Greece Military units and formations of Greece in the Greco-Italian War Military units and formations established in 1913 2013 disestablishments in Greece Military units and formations disestablished in 2013 Military units and formations of Greece in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)