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Executive （S。O。E。） in London； despatched two small groups of saboteurs
（about a dozen men altogether） under the command of Brigadier Eddie
Myers and Major Chris Woodhouse who had the task of linking up with
the various bands of ‘Andartes' （Resistance movement fighters） which had
started forming in the mountains。
Unfortunately； the British officers were told nothing at all about the
bitter rivalries between the various groups； most probably because H。Q。 in
Cairo were themselves ignorant about the real situation。 It didn't take
Meyers and Woodhouse long to discover that by far the largest group was
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E。L。A。S。 （the Popular Liberation Army） under Aris Velouhiotis； about 120
ill…equipped men operating in the Pindus mountains。 Another smaller
group of about 60 men had rallied round a regular officer of the Greek
army； Colonel Napoleon Zervas。 They called themselves the National
Republican Greek League （Greek initials E。D。E。S。）
I met Zervas personally years later when he was Minister of the
Interior （and therefore responsible for the Police）。 I was then acting as
interpreter for the Assistant…Head of the British Police Mission to Greece。
I remember vividly with what relish he described to Colonel Prosser his
method of torturing E。L。A。S。 prisoners； which left no physical marks on
any part of the body。
It was in the course of a secret visit to Athens that young Chris
Woodhouse found out the real chain of command； when he was introduced
to George Siantos； the Secretary of the Greek Communist Party （Greek
initials K。K。E。）。 The K。K。E。 controlled E。A。M。； the National Liberation
Front which； in turn； ran E。L。A。S。 But with a title like that （National
Liberation Front） it was easy to see why E。A。M。 enjoyed such widespread
support； not only in the countryside； but also among the intelligentsia in
Athens。
But the task of the S。O。E。 officers was made very difficult for various
reasons： Winston Churchill had given orders that they were to support； as
far as possible； only those guerrilla leaders who favoured the King … but
there were none； or very few。 The S。O。E。 units had orders to cause the
maximum disruption to the German occupation of the country。 And that
was impossible without the support of E。L。A。S。； which was controlled by
the Communists。 At the outset； it became obvious to the S。O。E。 officers
that military and political priorities were already in conflict。
E。L。A。S。 forces were getting stronger every day and very soon they
began attacking fellow Greeks in non…communist Andarte units。 The
successful attack on the railway bridge over the Gorgopotamos river on
the 26th of November was the first and last time that ELAS and EDES co…
operated against the common enemy under the coercion and technical
guidance of the British。
1943： Friction between EDES and ELAS continued to increase。
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The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
When Eddie Myers told them that he had been instructed to destroy the
bridge over the Asopos river； ELAS said it was too dangerous a target and
refused to help； so this became an all…British operation。 A 24…year…old
demolition expert of the Royal Engineers Captain Ken Scott； was sent
from Cairo。 He was dropped by parachute； and planned the successful
attack on the bridge。 It took the Germans four months to rebuild it。
On the 11th of September 14；000 Italian troops in the north…west
surrendered to the Andartes with all their arms。 A month later ELAS
seized the weapons and attacked EDES。 The civil war had begun。
1944： The friction between the various groups of the Resistance
movement erupted into full…scale war； described as the 'civil war' or the
'guerrilla war' depending on whose side you were on。 ELAS were
determined that they alone would be in control when the Allies arrived。 As
a result of intense negotiations on the part of the British officers； all the
Andarte leaders signed an Armistice document on the 29th February 1944
agreeing to stop fighting each other and to concentrate all their efforts
against the common enemy … the Germans。 Unfortunately； barely a month
later ELAS attacked and completely annihilated the smallest andarte group
E。K。K。A。 Now only EDES and the 200…strong S。O。E。 force stood between
the 40；000 ELAS Communists and total control of the Greek countryside。
In the Middle East； the Lebanon Conference； attended by delegates
from all parties； including representatives of the Andartes； elected George
Papandreou （father of Andreas Papandreou； recently Prime Minister of
Greece）； to act as Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity in
exile。 In September the government moved temporarily to Italy。 In
October； following the withdrawal of the Germans from Athens； British
troops began landing in Greece from Greek and British warships。 By far
the largest contingent landed near the port of Piraeus and tens of thousands
of Greeks turned out to cheer and welcome the British forces as they
marched through the streets。
On October 18 the members of the Greek government returned to
Athens under the leadership of the Premier George Papandreou； who was
accompanied by Lt。 General Ronald Scobie； the Allied military
commander。
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Sadly though； in December ELAS marched on Athens。 The British
troops； so recently feted and garlanded now found themselves fighting on
the same streets of their earlier welcome。 S。O。E。 had been warning Cairo
for two years that this might happen。 After three or four weeks of intense
fighting in the streets of Athens and in the suburbs； ELAS withdrew。
Winston Churchill came to Athens on Christmas Day to mediate。 A
couple of ELAS snipers hiding in a school a few hundred yards away