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 ...

is the land force component of the

Hellenic Armed Forces The Hellenic Armed Forces ( el, Eλληνικές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις, Ellinikés Énoples Dynámis) are the military forces of Greece. They consist of the Hellenic Army, the Hellenic Navy, and the Hellenic Air Force. The civilian a ...

. It was officially founded in 1828 and still operates today as the main contributor to the

Balkan Battle Group The Balkan Battlegroup is an EU Battlegroup led by Greece. Originally referred to as HELBROC (an acronym of its first member States, namely HELlas, Bulgaria, ROmania, Cyprus), it consists of military units from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, ...

. This article details the history of the Hellenic Army in the form a of a timeline from its de facto founding to the modern day.

1821–1832

*September 1814 - The secretive Philiki Etaireia is founded at Odessa. From the start it is the locus of anti-Ottoman activity among Greeks. Members with military experience will form the core of Ypsilantis staff. *6 March 1821 -

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης, Aléxandros Ypsilántis, ; ro, Alexandru Ipsilanti; russian: Александр Константинович Ипсиланти, Aleksandr Konstantinovich Ipsilanti; 12 Dece ...

crosses the River

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

into

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

with two

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s of volunteer infantry and a

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

of cavalry raised in Russia. *23 March 1821 -

Petrobey Mavromichalis Petros Mavromichalis (; 1765–1848), also known as Petrobey ( ), was a Greek general, politician and the leader of the Maniot people during the first half of the 19th century. His family had a long history of revolts against the Ottoman Emp ...

is proclaimed "commander-in-chief of the

Spartan Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta refe ...

forces" by the newly founded Senate of

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

in the wake of the successful capture of

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

. *August, 1822 -

Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis ( el, Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης; 3 April 1770 – 4 February 1843) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. Kolokotronis's g ...

ambushes and destroys the army of

Mahmud Dramali Pasha Dramalı Mahmud Pasha, ( Turkish: ''Dramalı Mahmut Paşa''; c. 1770 in Istanbul – 26 October 1822, in Corinth) was an Ottoman Albanian statesman and military leader, and a pasha, and served as governor (''wali'') of Larissa, Drama, and the M ...

at the Dervenakia pass; the sultan turns to

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, Kavalalı İbrahim Paşa; ar, إبراهيم باشا ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Ottoman Albanian general in the Egyptian army and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Kh ...

for help in suppressing the Greek revolt. *March 1824 - the motley "Byron Brigade" composed of Greek and

Philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

volunteers begins to organize at

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

1833–1862

*1833 - The newly arrived King Othon creates battalions of line infantry on the West European model. Each battalion includes a company of native Greek sharpshooters or

Evzones The Evzones or Evzonoi ( el, Εύζωνες, Εύζωνοι, ) were several historical elite light infantry and mountain units of the Greek Army. Today, they are the members of the Presidential Guard ( el, Προεδρική Φρουρά , transli ...

. Othon also forms ten battalions of Greek

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

. *1836 - The number of Greek light infantry battalions is reduced from ten to eight. Four new Mountain Guard battalions are organized to patrol the Greco-Turkish frontier and hunt down bandits in the countryside. *1843 - The Mountain Guards are reorganized and expanded into four full

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s. *1867 - Four elite

battalions are formed. *1868 - The Royal Guard Detachment is formed, consisting of two Evzone companies and a troop of cavalry.

1897–1913

*1912 - The Hellenic Army fields its first Aviators Company, which will eventually become the Army Aviation branch.

1919–1922

*15 May 1919 - Greek troops land and occupy Smyrna (İzmir), meeting only token resistance: this will become the opening skirmish of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). *9–11 January 1921 - Greek and Turkish forces fight the inconclusive

First Battle of İnönü The First Battle of İnönü ( tr, Birinci İnönü Muharebesi) took place between 6 and 11 January 1921 near İnönü in Hüdavendigâr Vilayet (present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey) during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), also known as ...

. *March 1921 - Greek and Turkish forces fight to a stalemate at the

Second Battle of İnönü The Second Battle of İnönü ( tr, İkinci İnönü Muharebesi) was a battle fought between March 23 and April 1, 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), also known as the weste ...

. *June 1921 - The Greek advance is checked at

Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya ( tr, Sakarya Meydan Muharebesi, lit=Sakarya Field Battle), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios ( el, Μάχη του Σαγγαρίου, Máchi tou Sangaríou), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish W ...

. *26–30 August 1922. The Greeks are routed at the

Battle of Dumlupınar The Battle of Dumlupınar ( el, Μάχη του Τουμλού Μπουνάρ, translit=Máchi tou Toumloú Bounár, tr, Dumlupınar (Meydan) Muharebesi, lit=Dumlupınar (Field) Battle), or known as Field Battle of the Commander-in-Chief ( t ...

. Cut-off in a Turkish pincer movement, Major General Nikolaos Trikoupis and his men are taken prisoner. Surviving Hellenic Army units begin withdrawing to Smyrna. *September 1922 - The Turkish Army captures Smyrna.

1923–1940

*1925 - Production at Breda of the " Philipides" design for an improved

Mannlicher–Schönauer The Mannlicher–Schönauer (sometimes Anglicized as "Mannlicher Schoenauer", Hellenized as Τυφέκιον/Όπλον Μάνλιχερ, ''Óplon/Tyfékion Mannlicher'') is a rotary-magazine bolt-action rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher for t ...

rifle is cancelled.

1949–present

History of the Hellenic Army

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 ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

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