Greek Civil War

[The Living Red]

Calling on anyone who knows anything about the the internal conflict in Greece between the nationalist/royalists and the communist partisans that lasted from around 1946 until 1949.

My question is: Why do you think the communists lost? That is, what do you think was the main reason: the extent of the external pressures on the communists (i.e. US/British funding to royalists) or due to the internal fractures within the KKE (Communist Party of Greece)?

Was it Tito's decision to, after his split with Stalin, to withdraw his support for the Greek communists or maybe it was the disastrous decision of Zachariades (Greek KKE leader) to switch from unconventional guerilla warfare to conventional open war tactics against their enemies at a time when they lacked the military advantage necessary?

I would be grateful for any ideas on this area.

[ComradeR]

Well i don't remember much, but i do remember reading about how Stalin played a large role in it's failure by refusing to support the Greek communists because it might risk upsetting the western powers. In the end i think it was a combination of several things, but the fact that the communists were largely on they're own while their enemy's were fully backed and armed by the US and UK made it a rather impossible task.

[bootleg42]

At that time, the U.S. gave a TON of money to Greece and Turkey to prevent revolution. And when I say a TON of money, I mean A TON!!!!

[Random Precision]

My answer is "all of the above". The KKE was already up against an opposition made truly formidable by the Marshall Plan grants. Tito's decision to cut funding certainly didn't help, although it was indeed the direct result of the leadership to support Stalin in the split. But Stalin had never intended to give full support to the DSE, only to test the resolve of the Western Allies. In fact, it was Stalin who prevented the ELAS takeover of Greece BEFORE the civil war, as he ordered the KKE not to do this out of fear for jeapordizing post-war Allied unity. It was truly a boneheaded decision to support their ideological leader instead of their closest friend and ally, and they could not have expected anything less than what happened. Their support of Stalin also led to witch-hunts for "Titoites" within the party, which led to the demoralization within the DSE, and a loss of support for the KKE in urban areas. Also, the turn to full-scale conventional war was certainly unwise, as guerilla tactics are advantageous for any rebel force centered in the rural areas and without control of any major cities/towns.

For those who aren't familar with the conflict:

DSE= Democratic Army of Greece, communist armed unit
ELAS= National People's Liberation Army, main Greek anti-Nazi resistance organization, led by the communists

[bombeverything]

Britain (and later the United States who took over) sent weapons to the Greek National Army to fight EAM/ELAS even before the war against the Germans was over. Stalin did not support the Greek Communists because of a pact he had made with the western powers around spheres of influence after the war. Greece was ceded to the west.

[Saint Street Revolution]

I would think the main reason is that the Greek communists didn't get Soviet support.

edit:
I have to start reading whole threads, this has been said already. Sorry :(

[Labor Shall Rule]

What catbert836 says basically covers it.

Stalin, wishing to seek allies in imperialist countries, demanded that they would not go 'too far'; he was competing amongst state capitals over their military strength, and as so, he did not want to bring about any hostilities that would bring forth any unwanted conflict. As so, he prevented the armed resistance from obtaining control throughout the country. Later on, the Stalinist and Social Democratic leadership derailed the entire resistance. They made bogus "peace agreements" with the Plastiras dictatorship and the British, allowing them to gain control over strategic locations during the later years of the war.

Papandreous, with his People's Front that was composed of several other "Socialist" and "Communist" parties cooled down the revolutionary struggle also, while the KKE unwisely pursued guerilla warfare. The results were catastrophic - the peasantry and workers became reliant on parties that lead them to their grave. The KKE purged out "Titoists", as was mentioned, which disconnected them from the trade unions and other members from the cities, which lead them to fight a suicidal war that pushed them out of the mountains of Greece.

[Random Precision]

I'd also like to say that the victory of the Communists in Greece certainly would not have had the result of establishing socialism, unlike victory in the Spanish Civil War might have had. Given the material conditions of the struggle and what was required to win, Greece probably would have just ended up another Stalinist dictatorship with an orbit around Yugoslavia instead of the USSR.

If anyone else is interested in the conflict, the books "Eleni" by Nicholas Gage, which tells the personal story of the author's mother, who was eventually executed by the Communists, and "Red Acropolis, Black Terror" by Andre Gerolymatos, which gives deserved focus to the atrocities perpetrated by the Nationalists as well as placing the conflict within the context of the Cold War.

[вор в законе]

Well, I'm a Greek.

The Civil War was lost in the Yalta Conference, when Churchill and Stalin divided Europe in the zones of influence. Greece would have been 90% British, in exchange of Romania which would have been 90% Soviet.

The Greek Communist Party could have easily taken over the country at 1944, that is just after the liberation and prior the arrival of the British troops in Athens (who were there to prevent a communist takeover in the midst of the WWII). Athens was at their feet, ELAS-EAM had an incredibly popular support while the post-WWII political elite (the King etc) had little credibility since they all left the country instead of contributing to resistance. But they didn't took the power, even if they could. It blows my mind.

The reason why they didn't seized the power was because they knew about the result of the Yalta conference and they didn't want to disrupt the (temporary) alliance between USSR and Britain. And since they did whatever Kremlin told them, they stayed idle.

That is how the power was lost.

Now the Civil War was never about taking over the country. The Communist Party only wanted to secure better terms for itself. To have some ministers and participate legally in bourgeois politics like in Italy or France. But Churchill wanted zero influence of the Communist Party in Greek political scene and for this reason he vigorously wanted to restore the King, and so he did eventually by conducting a rigged 'referendum' for his restoration.

The Security forces had their guns pointing your face while the referendum when you were voting. (in case you voted against the restoration of the King)

Meanwhile the Communists had signed an armistices treaty and they were completely defenseless. It was then when the former Nazi collaborators begun persecuting the communists. This period is remembered as the White Terror.

So what is important to understand is that the Civil War was about not about taking over the country but about the political and physical survival of the Communists who were being persecuted en mass.

Today in Greece nobody question the mistreatment of the communists and anti-communism isn't tolerated by the political establishment, even by the far-right party. Quite the contrary, the communists are actually being hailed for fighting for the (bourgeois) democracy. 'Right-wing' is a dirty word. This ideological dominance of the Left in Greece seems quite hilarious & unique but it also reveals bourgeois nature of much of the Left here.

It also explains why the Anarchists can organize riots every once in a while and not get shot.

I hope this was helpful!

http://www.marxists.org/subject/greek-civil-war/daily-worker/1946/03/12.jpg
The Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Sofoulis, the Greek Deputy Prime Minister, two other Cabinet Ministers, the Greek Left and Centre Parties, the E.A.M., the Greek General Confederation of Workers and seventy British Labour M.P.s all protest against the date of the Greek elections fixed to take place in a situation of Royalist terrorism. Mr. Bevin sees no good reason why the elections should be postponed.

http://www.marxists.org/subject/greek-civil-war/daily-worker/1946/05/07.jpg
Political murders take place every day, say two former Greek Prime Ministers; 116 murders have taken place since the election, says the newspaper Rizospastis; we denounce the unbridled Royalist terror, raids and round-ups, says Athens Trade Council.

http://www.marxists.org/subject/greek-civil-war/daily-worker/1946/09/03.jpg
The Greek Plebiscite, conducted in conditions of terror and trickery, was, as everyone expected, a vote in favour of the King's return. With the old gang firmly in the seat, democratic trade unions banned, and militant left-wingers driven to the mountains, the way is open once more for the imposition of the old oppression on the people.

Copyright: Morning Star (UK)

[Eleftherios]

First of all, I'm very glad a discussion is going on about this topic. I have also just finished a book about the Nazi occupation of Greece and it did include a section about the Civil War at the end of the book, so I know a little more about it now.

The reasons why the Greek Communist lost the civil war are many, but I am only going to mention two important ones:

Right after he broke-off ties to the Soviet Union, Tito stopped giving support to ELAS, leaving the Greek Communists in a much more difficult and isolated position.

US economic and military aid from the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine greatly strengthened the anti-communist government forces.

Also, as Red Brigade stated, right after the liberation of Greece the Communist forces were in a much more favorable situation and could have easily taken over Greece. Instead, they left the likes of Aris Velouchiotis up there in the mountains to die, probably because they thought they would be accepted into the new government.

[Random Precision]

Red Brigade: Thank you for the insight, and I apologize for the errors I made in my posts.

[Red Rebel]

It is never the fault of foriegners for a failed revolution. Should the imperialist aid the local bourgeoisie, the people can overcome that. Revolutionaries should not depend on friendly socialist nations for support. It is the people's job to obtain freedom, not someone elses.

That being said, not having a strong enough class consciousness and the Tito-Stalin split hurt the KKE.