The British general who commanded the Battle of Athens
On 1 December 1944, Scobie ordered ELAS to disarm.
Ronald Scobie was a British Army general who served in both world wars and commanded forces at Tobruk, Malta, and later III Corps. After Greece was liberated in 1944, he became the military commander who embodied Britain's intervention in the country's contested transition. His 1 December order for ELAS to disarm helped precipitate the Dekemvriana, and he directed British operations during the fighting in Athens.
Career Timeline
- 1914–1918Royal Engineers officer, serving on the Western Front
- 1920–1924Officer of a cadet company at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
- 1939Deputy Director of Mobilisation at the War Office
- 1941Commander of the 70th Infantry Division and commandant of Tobruk fortress
- 1942General Officer Commanding the Troops in Malta
- 1943–1944Chief of the General Staff, Middle East, then commander of III Corps
- 1944–1946Commander of British forces in Greece
- 1947Retired from the Army