Page 418 - 1992 - XVIII Congresso Internazionale di Storia Militare

384 ANGELO$ LAZAJIJS
on rhc condirions ~Lnder which ics army was formed, as is the case wich former
colonies which followed che sysrem incroduced by che powers wh.ich once conaoUed
che m.
Tbe blocs which were creaced especially after che Second World War bave
bridged parr of che gap aod have give.n che greac powers more opporruoiries co
influeoce and impart cheir rnilicary chinkiog co che smaJler scates. Naro is a cypical
example. The sma!Je.r scaces feJl i neo li ne more easily, though not complecely, while
che grearer sraces prese n t imponanr deviarions. As an e.xample l would like co me n·
rio n char che Erench Army has accepced and applies che mechod of che "alli ed evalu-
ation ofche siruarion" on che Naro leve!, whereas on a narionallevel irapplies another,
purely French, mechod. Wirh regard co organizarion, l wo~Lid only remind you chac
che cerms "Divislon", "'Regirnenc'', etc, have a rorally differenr meaning in almosc
ali che Allied Armies.
The role of external influences on the shaping of che Greek Army

Greece belongs ro che caregory of srares which bave limited economie and in-
dusrrial capabilities, yer at che same rime she enjoys the sad privilege of baving
had co face chroughour her hiscory, for 3000 years, chrears which are dispropor-
tionare.ly large. To confine myself only co recenc biscory, l would like co mencion
chat during tbe 52 years, from 1897 co 1949, my country had to fìghr 7 times on
her own cerr.ìtory, and each cime facing co che oorrh or co che easc. The rotai dura-
tion of chose wars was 18 years. In sue h condirions Greece was, and still is, forced
to rely o n a!Eaoces with otber powets co che fulfil no t only of rhe defensive needs,
bur also of che purely milicary needs which che Greek economy could noc, and slill
cannor, meec. Therefore che excernal intluences o n tbc sbaping not only of Gree.k
milicary thinkiog, bue also on the saucrure of che Greek Army, ha ve been imporrane.
The geostraregic locatioo of Greece, a long with her liberai aod democratic tra·
ditions, bave led her in che pasr, and are still le.ading her coday. rowards the great
democracies of the west. Thus che councry has always rurned to chem for tbe or-
ganization of her Army.

From independence (l827) co che end of che Second World War (1945)
Greece won ber independence afrer 400 years of Tucl<ish occupacion and af.
rer a most bloody struggle for liberation which scarred in 1821 and formally ended
in 1827 wich che signing ofche Treacy ofl ondon. Those four cencuries ofTu.rkish
occupation were charaaerized by cominuous rebellions of Greeks based on guer-
rilla groups wh.ich opemced rhroughouc d1e period of occupacion in che mouncainous
regions of che country. Those gmups formed che oucleus of tbe revoluciooary forces
of 1821 which foughc with no milirary training or discipline, bue whose sole. "cre-
do" was "Freedom o r Deach"'. There was no regular army excepc for some units