Sabotage in Greece and Operation «Noah’s Ark»: An interview with author Bernard O’ Connor

Bernard O’ Connor is the author of the book «Sabotage in Greece», which offers a unique insider’s view on the Operations conducted in occupied Greece by the Allies during World War II.

Many are aware of the Operation to blow up Gorgopotamos bridge, which was the one and only event that united all Greek guerilla forces under a common goal, to destroy a vital rail transport network that fed the German Afrika Korps in northern Africa.

Relatively few know though that a series of other sabotage operations were constantly organised mainly by British operatives, such as the daring Asopos viaduct destruction and the operations against mines that produced mineral ore, such as chrome, in order to disrupt the German military machine.

World War II Liberation of Greece: British Landings (October 1944)

Figure 1.–This RAF photograph was taken October 5, 1944. The caption reads, «RAF lands in Greece: The first arrival on the mainland of Greece of our firces, which included British labd forces and units of the Royal Air Force Regiment; met with a wildly enthusiastic welcome from the inhabitants. On a beach in Greece, BAC. Frank Harper, 160 Canongate, Edinburgh (left), and BAC Edward Carswell, Ivy Cottage, Stanley, Stoke-on-Trent, members of the RAF Regiment, share their early morning breakfast rations with a little Greek boy.» He seem to be enjoying breakfast with his new friends. Notice what looks to be a landing craft in the background.

The British Government was concerned about a Communist take over in Greece. The British wanted to invade Greece in early 1944, but were unable to interest the Americans who were focused on Normandy. They planned a series of small actions in the Agean. Operation Accolade focused on the Dodecanese Islands. Operation Hercules was planned to assault Rhodes.

The Greek Civil War 1943-1949,

Major Jeffrey Kotora, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 16 Apr 1985

Since the end of the Second World War, the frequency with which nations have fallen victim to communist insurgencies has not abated. Why have some nations been able to resist while others succumbed to wars of national liberation? The object of this paper is to examine one such conflict with a view towards analyzing the events of the war and the causative factors that made it a successful counterinsurgency.
This study of the Greek Civil War begins with a discussion of the roots of the conflict in the German occupation of Greece in 1941. Included in this discussion is the growth of the resistance and the rise of the Greek communists. The major portion of the paper deals with three separate stages, or «Rounds» of the civil war. The First Round occurred in late 1943 and was an attempt by the communists to eliminate rival resistance groups. The Second Round was precipitated by the overt attempt of the communists to seize control of Greece shortly after liberation by the Allies in late 1944.

The Greek Civil War: from liberation to catastrophe

A far greater tragedy than the ancient Greek playwrights Euripides, Aeschylus or Sophocles could ever have written befell the Greek people between 1941 and 1949.

From the German Nazi occupation of Greece in April 1941 and the consequent food shortages which killed 300,000 people, to the valiant struggle by the resistance which led to the liberation of Greece, there were many twists and turns in the struggle.

During those years, what could easily have turned into a democratic socialist revolution became the antithesis — concentration camps full of partisans and the murder and decapitation of anti-Nazi fighters (their severed heads were stuck on tall poles to terrorise others out of resisting the Nazis).

In September 1941, the National Liberation Front (EAM) and its army, ELAS, were formed. They were led by the Stalinist Communist Party of Greece (KKE), but their memberships were much broader than the party.

While Greece’s bourgeois politicians fled into exile or collaborated with the Nazis, the communists stayed and fought.

Civil War of Passion

During World War II, Greek partisan groups of opposing political extremes suppressed their differences to fight their common enemy. The end of German occupation unleashed a civil conflict of savage violence and brutality in which there would be few neutrals. by Barry M. Taylor

 Life did not change much in the villages of Greece. Although the Germans had invaded the country in 1941, the peasants seemed to go about their business undisturbed, the rhythms of the seasons passing as they had always done since the time of the gods of myth.

One morning in June of 1942, therefore, the villagers of Domnitsa, a hamlet about 185 miles from Athens, were startled to see a group of 15 heavily armed men suddenly appear. Their black-bearded leader gave a short speech.

Greek Democratic Army Order of Battle

The Greek Democratic Army (GDA) was in a state of constant organizational change throughout the Greek civil war of 1945–1949. Moreover, units were frequently transferred from one region to another to meet strategic and tactical requirements. There was considerable cross-attachment, and units were frequently reassigned permanently from one major headquarters to another. The commanders changed over time as individuals became casualties, were dismissed, or rose in rank and responsibility.

Greek Democratic Army Order of Battle as of 30 June 1949

Charles R. Shrader-The Withered Vine_ Logistics and the Communist Insurgency in Greece, 1945-1949-Praeger (1999).pdf

(ΜΟΝΑΔΕΣ-ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΕΣ-ΚΑΙ-ΔΥΝΑΜΙΚΟ-ΤΟΥ-ΔΣΕ-ΣΤΙΣ-30-ΙΟΥΝΙΟΥ-1949)

The Greek Democratic Army (GDA) was in a state of constant organizational change throughout the Greek civil war of 1945-1949. Moreover, units were frequently transferred from one region to another to meet strategic and tactical requirements. There was considerable cross-attachment, and units were frequently reassigned permanently from one major headquarters to another. The commanders changed over time as individuals became casualties, were dismissed, or rose in rank and responsibility. The strength of individual units also varied according to the casualties taken and the success of recruiting efforts. No comprehensive order of battle generated by the GDA general command ap¬pears to have survived, and the GDA order of battle must be reconstructed from often inaccurate and incomplete Greek government and U.S. intelligence estimates. For all of these reasons, it is difficult to present a completely accurate picture of the GDA order of battle at any given time. However, the following depiction of the GDA order of battle on 30 June 1949, the eve of its destruction, should provide some rough idea of the structure of the GDA as it evolved in the last year of the war.
The GDA order of battle presented here has been compiled from a number of sources, the most important of which are Greek General Staff, Intelligence Directorate, Staff Study, Ref. No. F8206/95/2-12-50, Athens, 12 February 1950, subject: Guerrilla Warfare: The Organization and Employment of Irregulars; and United States Military Attache- Greece (Capt. C. R. Meltesen), Intelligence Report R-298-49 (ID No. 589129), Athens, 8 August 1949, subject: Guerrilla Order of Battle—Strength, Organization and Dispo¬sition [in Box 3781, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Intelligence, Numerical Series of Intelligence Document File (“ID Files”), 1944-1955, Record Group 319 (Records of the Army Staff), National Archives II, College Park, MD].