The Greek First Army (, ''Proti Stratia''), is the highest formation 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 ...

and its only extant field army. Various English and German-language sources erroneously mention the existence of a First Army during 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 ...

and the Battle of Greece (1940–41). The Greek Army did not employ an army-level command in this period. Leo Niehorster's website shows the higher organisation of the Greek Army on 15 August 1940, with the General Staff of the Army directly supervising five corps, three divisions, and the Thessaloniki Fortress. The First Army was created in March 1947, during 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 ...

. It controlled the II and III Corps, with

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 ...

as its headquarters. It was abolished on 10 February 1948, and re-established in 1951 with its HQ at Larissa, where it remains to this day. Its CO is always a lieutenant general.

Structure

* First Army (''1η Στρατιά''), based at Larissa,

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 ...

which includes ** IV Army Corps (Δ' Σώμα Στρατού - Δ' ΣΣ), based at

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope m ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

** I Infantry Division (''I ΜΠ''), based at

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 ...

, Macedonia ** II Mechanised Infantry Division (''II Μ/Κ ΜΠ''), based at Edessa, Macedonia

Emblem and Motto

The emblem of the 1st Army is an Ancient Macedonian shield, emblazoned with the sun of Vergina. It symbolizes determination, strength and the will of the First Army. The motto is ''"As long as (the sun) follows his course"'' ( el, εστ' αν (ο ήλιος) την αυτήν οδόν ίη, ''est' an (o ilios) tin aftin odon ii''). Before the Battle of Plataea, Mardonius offered the Athenians peace terms, with the hope of dividing the Greek forces. The Athenians responded with "As long as the sun follows his course, as he does now, we shall not come to a compromise with Xerxes".

Sources

* Field armies of Greece 1951 establishments in Greece Larissa {{Greece-mil-stub