World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAlexandros Papagos studied at the Brussels Military Academy and the Cavalry School at Ypres, joining the Greek Army in 1906. He was a veteran of the First Balkan War, but was dismissed from the Army twice due to his loyalist stance to King Constantine. In Oct 1935, as the Chief of the Army, he participated in a coup d'etat that restored the monarchy. For the remainder of the inter-war years, he devoted his efforts to preparing the Greek Army amidst the growing tension with Italy.

ww2dbaseWW2 started for Greece in Sep 1940 when Italy entered the Balkans. As the commander of the Greek forces along the Albanian border, Papagos was able to halt the Italian advance and later efficiently and ruthlessly drive the Italian forces back into Albania. The second Italian campaign in Mar 1941 was similarly driven back. However, when the Germans intervened in Apr 1941, the Greek Army was no longer able to hold their grounds. Less than a month later, the Greek government fled to Crete, but Papagos remained behind to slow the Axis advance. He was captured in Jul 1943 and was imprisoned in a German concentration camp until the end of the war.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, Papagos returned to the Greek Army and participated in the civil war against the communist forces. He was awarded the rank of Field Marshal on 28 Oct 1949. In May 1951 he resigned from the Army and became active as a politician. He founded the Greek Rally party and held the post of Prime Minister from 1952 until his death in 1955.

Photographs

Alexandros Papagos Timeline

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