Page 299 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

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Greeks throughout Macedonia moved towards an organization in 1904, with a fervent
desire for active resistance. The population understood that this was the only way they could
confront the Bulgarian Committees. The spirit was ready; all that was lacking was the forma-
tion of a central authority that would be necessary for the coordination and direction of the
isolated and uncoordinated actions. This authority only could be provided by the independent
Greek state, and it was there that the Macedonians turned their sights. However, from the
beginning of 1904 the Hellenic Government decided to abandon its moderate attitude and
apply a more realistic policy, in conjunction with the contribution of the Army for the better
organisation and preparation for the armed struggle. In fact, in August 1904, a group led by
Second Artillery Lieutenant Paulos Melas , crossed the Greco-Ottoman border, signalling
16
with this action the intervention of the Hellenic State into the Macedonian issue. The begin-
ning of the armed struggle by Greek officers and Macedonian guerrilla leaders in Western
17
Macedonia in 1904, expanded into the central and eastern parts of the region in 1905. at
the beginning of 1906, despite the unpleasant situation that had been created by the bipolar
character that the struggle took on – centred in the Hellenic Consulate in Monastir and the
Macedonian revolutionary Committee in Athens – the actions of the Hellenic groups conti-
nued unceasingly. 18
During 1907, the struggle continued with unflagging intensity throughout Macedonia.
The Hellenic groups were further reinforced with the deployment of new units. In Thrace,
there had not been a Greek organization until the spring of 1907. The Greek consuls conduc-
ted their usual official work and the metropolitans performed their purely religious duties.
The Greek population of Thrace, clearly outnumbered the Bulgarian. The Bulgarians had not
assumed any armed activity since 1903 and thus the Greeks essentially remained nationally
inert, as they had not been molested. Bulgarian religious propaganda and proselytism to the
Exarchy continued, and the Greek government therefore decided in early 1907 to dispatch
two officers to the Thrace consulate as well, in order to organize the Greek population of
Thrace. They developed significant activity and managed in a very short while to establish
athletic and educational societies in the main cities of the region, thus organizing the Greek
populations and boosting the national feeling. They found supporters and valuable assistants

16 Paulos Melas (nickname Mikes Zezas) was born in Marseilles in 1870. In 1876 his family settled in Athens,
where his father was active as treasurer of the National Defense in 1878. This organization instigated and
supported the insurrections in Crete, Epirus and Macedonia. He was nurtured since childhood by the princi-
ples of the Megale Idea. He opted for the military profession, entered the military academy and graduated as
a Second Lieutenant. He participated actively in the organization of the National Society and became one of
its Board members. He participated in the War of 1897. He was one of the forerunners of the Greek Struggle
in Macedonia and was killed by a Turkish detachment in the village of Statista (Mela) in the area of Korestia
in 13 October 1904.
See, Maraveleas G., Paulos Melas, Thessaloniki 1959, Mela Natalia, Paulos Melas, Athens 1963, Papakyria-
kides Petros, O Makedonikos Agonas-O Paulos Melas, e thysia kai oi pente taphoi tou, Thessaloniki 1992,
Romoudis Vassilis, Paulos Melas, To symvolo tou ethnous ston Makedoniko Agona, Malliares Paideia,
athens 2003.
17 Description of military and political developments during 1904-1905, HAGS/AHD, The Struggle…, o.c.,
pp. 122-198.
18 Description of military and political developments during 1906, HAGS/AHD, The Struggle…, o.c., pp. 201-
231.