Mamarelis, Argyrios
(2003)
Rise and fall of the 5/42 regiment of evzones: A study on national resistance and civil war in Greece, 1941-1944.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This thesis addresses a neglected dimension of Greece under German and Italian occupation and on the eve of civil war. Its contribution to the historiography of the period stems from the fact that it constitutes the first academic study of the third largest resistance organisation in Greece, the 5/42 regiment of evzones. The study of this national resistance organisation can thus extend our knowledge of the Greek resistance effort, the political relations between the main resistance groups, the conditions that led to the civil war and the domestic relevance of British policies. The thesis seeks to establish the nature of the 5/42, the factors behind its rise and fall and its significance within the national resistance movement. The research for this thesis has been based on various sources. A large number of personal interviews (forty-seven) were conducted with veterans of the 5/42 and EAM- ELAS. This was placed alongside extensive archival research and documentary analysis. Both types of sources were supplemented by secondary sources on the history of the period. This thesis distinguishes the history of the 5/42 regiment across three levels of analysis: The micro-level analysis highlights the agents, the circumstances and the events that influenced the emergence of the 5/42 in the Fokida region. It looks at the group dynamics of the 5/42. It examines the social political and economic environment within which the 5/42 was formed, the group's structure and internal politics, the strategies and objectives of the group's leaders. The meso-level analysis looks at the 5/42 in the context of the civil war between different resistance groups and highlights the role that the regiment played in the political antagonisms. It discusses the domestic politics of the 5/42 and the strategies that the regiment's leaders adopted against EAM-ELAS, it depicts the actual military and political causes behind the regiment's disbandment and it assesses the impact of Colonel Psarros' murder during the last months of the occupation. The macro-level looks at the place of the 5/42 in the context of the British policies in Greece during the occupation. It focuses on the political and military relationship between the British and the 5/42 and on the attitude that the British adopted against the regiment during the last 5/42-ELAS crisis that led to the final disbandment.
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