The Greek field marshal who staked the war on the Albanian front
When German forces invaded across the northern frontier, the main Greek army was still tied down on the Albanian front.
Alexandros Papagos was a career officer loyal to the Greek monarchy and the Metaxas dictatorship, and the commander of the Hellenic Army during the Second World War. In 1940 he coordinated the defence against Italy's invasion from Albania and the Greek counteroffensive, but kept the army's main strength on the Albanian front as German intervention approached, weakening the defence of the Metaxas Line. During the occupation he helped form a resistance organization, was arrested and imprisoned by the Germans, and later commanded government forces in the Greek Civil War before becoming prime minister.
Also known as: Alexander Papagos
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1906Commissioned as a cavalry second lieutenant in the Hellenic Army
- 1935–1936Minister for Military Affairs and Inspector-General of the Army
- 1936–1940Chief of the Army General Staff, strengthening the military basis of the Metaxas regime
- 1940–1941Commander-in-Chief of the Greek Army, directing operations on the Albanian front and at the Metaxas Line
- 1943–1945Helped form the Military Hierarchy resistance organization, then arrested and imprisoned by German authorities
- 1949–1951Commander-in-Chief of government forces in the Civil War, directing the final offensive against the communist army
- 1952–1955Prime Minister of Greece
Related historical events
Field marshalship and the Cold War premiership
With the civil war over, Papagos was awarded the rank of field marshal in October 1949, the first Greek career officer to hold it, and remained Commander-in-Chief until 1951. After the Ministry of National Defence was created on 11 April 1950, he helped organize the unified ministry replacing the separate war, naval and air ministries, and became the first chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. He left the army in May 1951, founded the right-wing Greek Rally on 6 August 1951, and after winning 49 percent and 238-240 seats in the 16 November 1952 election became prime minister.
His premiership (1952-1955) was set in Cold War terms. Greece joined NATO on 18 February 1952, allowing U.S. bases on Greek territory, and the drachma was devalued by half in April 1953, aligning the economy with the Bretton Woods system.
But the record also shows a state built on the suppression of the left. The security apparatus of the premiership was a powerful anti-communist machine, and the opposition criticized his government for doing little to restore social peace in a country still scarred by the civil war.
An unresolved succession followed. In 1955 Papagos named Stephanopoulos as his intended successor, but after his death King Paul intervened and ordered Konstantinos Karamanlis to form a government, showing that party politics operated under royal and military influence.