Sacred Band (World War II)

This article is about the World War II unit. For earlier units with the same name, see Sacred band.

Sacred Band

Unit insignia

Active| 1942-1945
Country|  Kingdom of Greece
Allegiance|  Greek government-in-exile
Branch|  Hellenic Army
Type| Special Forces
Size| Battalion, later Regiment
Engagements| World War II

* Tunisia Campaign
* Dodecanese Campaign
* Raid on Symi

Greek Civil War

* Dekemvriana

Decorations|  Commanders Cross of the Cross of Valour
War Cross First Class
Commanders
Commander| Christodoulos Tsigantes
Andreas Kalinskis

Military unit

The Sacred Band or Sacred Squadron (Greek: Ιερός Λόχος) was a Greek special forces unit formed in 1942 in the Middle East, composed mostly of Greek officers and officer cadets under the command of Col. Christodoulos Tsigantes.[1][2] It fought alongside the SAS in the Western Desert and the Aegean, as well as with General Leclerc's Free French Forces in Tunisia.[3][4] It was disbanded in August 1945 but is the precursor to the modern Special Forces of the Hellenic Army.[5]

A monument to the Sacred band in Athens.

## History

[edit]

### Establishment

[edit]

Further information: Military history of Greece during World War II

Immediately after the German occupation of Greece in April–May 1941, the Greek government fled to Egypt and started to form military units in exile.[6] The plethora of officers in relation to the number of ordinary soldiers, led Air Force Lt. Colonel G. Alexandris to suggest the creation of an Army unit, formed by officers, with soldier's duties.[7][8] This suggestion was approved by the Commander of the II Greek Brigade, Infantry Colonel Alkiviadis Bourdaras. Some volunteers that fled firstly to Turkey were told that they would not be accepted if identified as soldiers. Therefore, according to reports they claimed to be Greek officers and later joined the original group of officers. Firemen were also reported in that group. Thus, in August 1942 the "Company of Chosen Immortals" (Greek: Λόχος Επιλέκτων Αθανάτων) was formed under Cavalry Major Antonios Stefanakis in Palestine, with 200 men.[9] Initially, the unit was organized as a machine gun company and intended to be attached to the II Greek Brigade, then under formation.[9]

However, on September 15, 1942, the unit's new commander, Colonel Tsigantes, renamed the unit to "Sacred Band" after the Sacred Band of Thebes and the Sacred Band of the Greek Revolution, and successfully applied for its conversion into a special forces unit.[10]

### SAS Squadron

[edit]

In close cooperation with the commander of the British SAS Regiment, Lt. Colonel David Stirling, and with the approval of the Greek HQ, the company moved to the SAS base at Qabrit in Egypt to begin its training in its new role.[11] However, following the Second Battle of El Alamein, the speed of the Allied advance across Libya brought an end to the era of jeep-borne raiding.[8]

Nevertheless, this period provided a useful introduction to the SAS Regiment in general, and Major Jellicoe's squadron in particular. This squadron was being built upon the amphibious skills of the famous Commando unit, the Special Boat Section (SBS) and would become the Special Boat Squadron (SBS). With the end of the war in Africa, in May, the SAS split into two branches. The Special Raiding Squadron would serve in the central Mediterranean, before returning home to develop an airborne role, whilst the SBS would serve in the Aegean, operating alongside the Greek Sacred Squadron.[12]

### First actions in Tunisia

[edit]

On 7 February 1943, following Colonel Tsigantes' suggestion, the Commander of the British 8th Army, General Bernard Montgomery, put the Greek company under the command of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division, with the duties of Light Mechanized Cavalry.[13] On March 10, 1943, in the area of Ksar-Rillan in Tunisia, the Sacred Band gave its first battle against a German mechanized detachment, while covering the advance of the X British Army Corps that tried to by-pass the Mareth defence line from the South.[13]

Immediately after the Allied forces captured the Tunisian city of Gabès, the Sacred Company was detailed to the 2nd New Zealand Division (29 March) and on 6 April a mixed Greek-New Zealand detachment fought against the Germans at Wadi Akarit. On 12 April the Sacred Band entered Sousse, and participated in the battle for Enfidaville between 13 and 17. April

### Commando actions in the Aegean

[edit]

Further information: Dodecanese Campaign

From May 1943, the Sacred Band, now composed of 314 men, moved to Palestine, in various camps.[14] In July, it went to Jenin for parachute training. There it also underwent a reorganization into an HQ Section, a Base Section, and Commando Sections I, II and III. After the Italian armistice on 9 September 1943, British forces moved into the Italian-occupied, but Greek-inhabited Dodecanese islands. Section I of the Sacred Band was dropped by air to the Greek island of Samos on 30 October, while sections II and III moved there on fishing boats. With the failure of the campaign after the battle of Leros, however, Samos was evacuated, and the men of the Sacred Band withdrew to the Middle East.

In February 1944, it was put under the command of the British Raiding Forces.[15] On 7 February Section I moved for combat operations to the islands of the northern Aegean Sea (Samos, Psara, Lesvos, Chios), while Section II moved to the Dodecanese with the same purpose.

In April 1944, the Sacred Band was expanded to regimental size, with a strength of around 1,000 men. This reflected the unit's effectiveness, and, from a British standpoint, political reliability in the face of mounting political tensions among the Greek forces in exile. Along with the British SBS, the Sacred Band took part in the successful Raid on Symi in July 1944 in which the entire German garrison was either killed or captured.[16][17]

### The Dekemvriana, end of war and disbandment of the unit

[edit]

After the Greek mainland was liberated (October 1944), the Sacred Band returned to Greece, where strains were becoming evident in the relationship of George Papandreou's British-backed national unity government and the leftist National Liberation Front (EAM), which controlled most of the Greek countryside. The crucial issue was the disarmament of the guerrilla forces and the formation of a new national army out of members of both the exiled armed forces and the guerrillas of ELAS and EDES. However, the Papandreou government wished to retain the Sacred Band and the 3rd Greek Rimini Mountain Brigade intact: faced with the far larger guerilla army of uncertain political intent, Papandreou and the British wished to keep these units and make them the core of the new army. Disbanding them would mean that their members would become individual recruits in a possibly EAM-dominated people's army. This tension eventually spilled over into the Dekemvriana events in Athens, where the Sacred Band fought against ELAS forces.

Throughout October 1944, and then again from February 1945, after the fighting in Athens had ended, the Sacred Band continued operating against the remaining German garrisons in the islands of the Aegean Sea until the war's end in May 1945.[18] In July, the unit returned to Egypt prior to its disbandment, which took place in a ceremony in Athens, on 7 August 1945.[19] During the ceremony the unit's flag was awarded with Greece's highest military awards, the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour and the War Cross First Class. The unit's casualties throughout its existence amounted to 25 dead, 56 wounded, 3 missing and 29 taken prisoner.

In the Hellenic Army, some of the Sacred Band's traditions are carried on by the Mountain Raiding Companies (LOK), founded at the end of 1946 and beginning of 1947.[20][21]

## See also

[edit]

* Walter Milner-Barry (officer of the Transjordan Frontier Force and SBS)
* Ian Lapraik (famous SBS and later 21 SAS officer)
* Wilfred Thesiger (officer of the Sudan Defence Force and, briefly the SAS, but best known as a desert explorer and author)
* Konstantinos Korkas (Greek general and was the last surviving member of the Sacred Band)

## Bibliography

[edit]

* The Sacred Squadron The struggles of an elite military unit from the deserts of Africa to the islands of the Aegean during WW2
* The Greek Sacred Squadron
* The complete operational history of the Sacred Band

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Ιερός Λόχος: Οι πρώτοι Έλληνες καταδρομείς σε Αφρική και Αιγαίο (vid.) | History-point.gr". www.history-point.gr. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
2. ^ "Χριστόδουλος Τσιγάντες : Ένας σπουδαίος Έλληνας". in.gr (in Greek). 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
3. ^ "B' ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟΣ ΠΟΛΕΜΟΣ". History War Museum (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-09-07.
4. ^ "Ιερός Λόχος 1942-1945".
5. ^ Ιωάννου, Δημήτρης (2019). Λοκατζήδες Εναντίον Συμμοριτών (in Greek). p. 61\. "From the start of August 1945, shortly before the disbanding of the Sacred Band, he contributed to the idea of creating a commando force of brigade size."
6. ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, The Far East, Volume V - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
7. ^ "The Sacred Squadron - an Elite Greek Commando Unit".
8. ^ a b Nikoulidis, Nikolas. "The Sacred Squadron in Tunisia".
9. ^ a b "Αφιέρωμα στον Ιερό Λόχο | Army gr". army.gr. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
10. ^ Ntokas, Lampros (2017-12-08). "Ο αξιωματικός που ήταν επικεφαλής του "Λόχου Επίλεκτων Αθανάτων". Υπήρξε ο πρόδρομος των ΛΟΚ και των ελληνικών ειδικών δυνάμεων. Τσιγάντες ο διοικητής του Ιερού Λόχου". ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-09-07.
11. ^ Theotokis, Nikolaos (2020-07-30). Airborne Landing to Air Assault: A History of Military Parachuting. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-5267-4700-6.
12. ^ "Terror by night - The official history of SBS and the Greek sacred squadron in the Aegean (1943-1945), by Alan Ogden". 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
13. ^ a b "The Greek Sacred Band sees action in Tunisia, 1943 – WW2Wrecks.com". Retrieved 2023-09-07.
14. ^ Ιωάννου, Δημήτρης. Λοκατζήδες εναντίον Συμμοριτών (in Greek). p. 14.
15. ^ Nikoloudis, Nikos. "The Sacred Squadron - The struggles of an elite military unit from the deserts of Africa to the islands of the Aegean during WW2" (PDF).
16. ^ "British and Greek raiders on Symi, 1944".
17. ^ "Ὁ Ἱερὸς Λόχος στὴ Σύμη (12 – 14 Ἰουλίου 1944)". Cognosco Team (in Greek). 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
18. ^ "The Sacred Squadron - an Elite Greek Commando Unit". www.combinedops.com. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
19. ^ Nikoloudis, Nikos. "The Sacred Squadron - The struggles of an elite military unit from the deserts of Africa to the islands of the Aegean during WW2" (PDF).
20. ^ "1η ΤΑΞ Κ/Δ ΑΛ | Army gr". army.gr. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
21. ^ Vlassis, Savvas (2021-11-09). "Τελετή διαλύσεως της Δ΄ Μοίρας Καταδρομών (1947-2021)". Δούρειος Ίππος. Retrieved 2023-09-07.

* v
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Greece during World War II

1940-1941 Balkans Campaign

| Greco-Italian War
(1940-1941)|

| Battles|

* Pindus
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* Korytsa/Korcë
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|

Leaders|

|  Greece|

* Ioannis Metaxas
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|

Italy|

* Benito Mussolini
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Units|

|  Greece|

* 8th Infantry Division
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|

Italy|

* 9th Army
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German invasion
(April-May 1941)|

| Battles|

* Operation Lustre
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|

Leaders|

|  Greece|

* King George II
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|

British Commonwealth|

* Henry Maitland Wilson
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Germany|

* Wilhelm List
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Units|

|  Greece|

* Eastern Macedonia Army Section
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British Commonwealth|

* 1st Armoured Brigade
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Germany|

* XVIII Army Corps
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Occupation and collaboration

| Occupying
powers|

| Leaders and
commands|

|  Germany|

* Günther Altenburg
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* Hubert Lanz
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* Max Merten

|

Italy|

* Angelico Carta
* Pellegrino Ghigi
* Piero Parini
* Carlo Geloso and Carlo Vecchiarelli
* 11th Army
* III Army Corps [it]
* VIII Army Corps
* XXVI Corps

Bulgaria|

* Ivan Markov [bg]
* Trifon Trifonov [bg]
* Asen Sirakov

Atrocities|

* Kondomari
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* 200 of Kaisariani
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Economic
exploitation|

* Great Famine
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* Compulsory loan
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The Holocaust|

* Bulgarian-occupied Greece
* Thessaloniki
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* Baron Hirsch ghetto
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* Rescue of the Jews of Zakynthos

Collaborationist
government|

| People|

* Georgios Tsolakoglou
* K. Logothetopoulos
* Ioannis Rallis
* Sotirios Gotzamanis
* Georgios Bakos
* Georgios Poulos
* Friedrich Schubert
* Nikolaos Bourantas
* George S. Mercouris
* Ioannis Plytzanopoulos
* Dionysios Papadongonas

|

Organizations|

* Security Battalions
* Hellenic Socialist Patriotic Organisation (ESPO)
* National Union of Greece (EEE)
* Greek National Socialist Party

Secessionists|

* Roman Legion
* Alcibiades Diamandi
* Nicolaos Matussis
* Vassilis Rapotikas
* Ohrana
* Andon Kalchev
* Cham collaboration
* Këshilla
* Xhemil Dino

Atrocities|

* Paramythia
* Executions of Kokkinia

Resistance and Free Greece

| National Liberation
Front (EAM)|

| People|

* Aris Velouchiotis
* Stefanos Sarafis
* Andreas Tzimas
* Georgios Siantos
* Alexandros Svolos
* Ilias Tsirimokos
* Markos Vafeiadis
* Evripidis Bakirtzis

|

Organizations|

* Communist Party of Greece (KKE)
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* Greek People's Liberation Navy (ELAN)
* Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA) and National Council
* United Panhellenic Organization of Youth (EPON)
* National Solidarity (EA)
* Organization for the Protection of the People's Struggle (OPLA)
* Slavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front (SNOF)
* Anti-Fascist Committee for a Free Germany (AKFD)

Operations|

* Drama uprising
* Ryka
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* Gorgopotamos Bridge
* Meritsa
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* Porta
* Sarantaporos
* Kournovo Tunnel
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Atrocities|

* Feneos executions
* 5/42 Regiment dissolution
* Meligalas
* Kilkis
* Red Terror (Greece)

Non-EAM resistance|

| People|

* Napoleon Zervas
* Georgios Kartalis
* Dimitrios Psarros
* Komninos Pyromaglou
* Antonis Fosteridis
* Kostas Perrikos
* Ilias Degiannis
* Vasileios Sachinis
* Lela Karagianni
* Konstantinos Ventiris
* Manolis Paterakis
* Petrakogiorgis
* Kimonas Zografakis

|

Organizations|

* National Republican Greek League (EDES)
* National Bands of Greek Guerrillas (EOEA)
* National and Social Liberation (EKKA)
* 5/42 Regiment
* Defenders of Northern Greece (YVE)/Panhellenic Liberation Organization (PAO)
* Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths (PEAN)
* Prometheus II
* Apollo
* National Organization of Crete (ΕΟΚ)
* Hellenic Army (ES)
* Northern Epirus Liberation Front (MAVI)
* others...

Operations|

* ESPO bombing
* Gorgopotamos Bridge (Operation "Harling")
* Agia Kyriaki
* Milia
* Skala Paramythias
* Execution of Josef Salminger
* Xirovouni
* Trahili
* Menina
* Dodona

Atrocities|

* Expulsion of Cham Albanians

British Military Mission (SOE)|

| People|

* Eddie Myers
* Monty Woodhouse
* Patrick Leigh Fermor
* Bill Stanley Moss
* Themis Marinos
* George Psychoundakis
* Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz

|

Operations|

* Operation "Albumen"
* Gorgopotamos Bridge (Operation "Harling")
* Operation "Animals"
* Asopos Bridge (Operation "Washing")
* Kidnapping of Heinrich Kreipe
* Damasta sabotage

Greek government-in-exile

| Greek government
in exile|

| Events/Battles|

* Mareth Line
* El Alamein
* Wadi Akarit
* Dodecanese
* April 1944 mutiny
* Rimini
* Symi
* Santorini

|

People|

* King George II
* Emmanouil Tsouderos
* Sofoklis Venizelos
* Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
* Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos
* Christodoulos Tsigantes
* Pafsanias Katsotas

Greek Armed Forces
in the Middle East|

* 3rd Mountain Brigade
* Sacred Band
* Vasilissa Olga
* Adrias
* Katsonis
* Papanikolis
* 13th Squadron
* 335th Squadron
* 336th Squadron

Liberation and road to the civil war

| Prelude to Civil War|

| Events|

* National Bands Agreement
* Plaka agreement [el]
* Red Terror
* Lebanon Conference
* Caserta Agreement
* Operation "Manna"
* Percentages agreement
* Dekemvriana
* Treaty of Varkiza
* White Terror

|

People|

* Ronald Scobie
* Georgios Papandreou
* Archbishop Damaskinos
* Georgios Grivas
* Angelos Evert
* Nikos Zachariadis

Commemoration

| Events|

* Ohi Day

|

Museums|

* Athens War Museum
* Holocaust Museum of Greece
* Kalavryta Massacre Museum
* Kalpaki War Museum
* Museum of the Battle of Crete and the National Resistance
* Thessaloniki War Museum

Popular culture|

* Aera! Aera! Aera!
* Captain Corelli's Mandolin
* film
* Ill Met by Moonlight
* film
* Ipolochagos Natassa
* Mediterraneo
* The 11th Day: Crete 1941
* The Guns of Navarone
* film
* What Did You Do in the War, Thanasis?

* v
* t
* e

Recipients of the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour

Individuals|

* Constantine I of Greece
* George II of Greece
* Paul of Greece
* Epameinondas Kavvadias
* Pavlos Kountouriotis
* Alexandros Papagos
* Anastasios Papoulas
* Alexandros Sakellariou
* Konstantinos Ventiris
* Petros Voulgaris

Units|

* 1st Infantry Regiment
* 2nd Infantry Regiment (twice)
* 3rd Infantry Regiment (twice)
* 4th Infantry Regiment
* 5th Infantry Regiment
* 6th Infantry Regiment (twice)
* 7th Infantry Regiment
* 8th Infantry Regiment
* 9th Infantry Regiment
* 11th Infantry Regiment
* 12th Infantry Regiment
* 14th Infantry Regiment (twice)
* 16th Infantry Regiment
* 17th Infantry Regiment
* 19th Infantry Regiment
* 20th Infantry Regiment
* 21st Infantry Regiment
* 22nd Infantry Regiment
* 23rd Infantry Regiment
* 25th Infantry Regiment
* 26th Infantry Regiment
* 27th Infantry Regiment
* 28th Infantry Regiment
* 30th Infantry Regiment
* 33rd Infantry Regiment
* 34th Infantry Regiment (twice)
* 35th Infantry Regiment
* 37th Infantry Regiment
* 1/38 Evzone Regiment
* 2/39 Evzone Regiment (twice)
* 3/40 Evzone Regiment
* 41st Infantry Regiment
* 5/42 Evzone Regiment (twice)
* 43rd Infantry Regiment
* 44th Infantry Regiment
* 45th Infantry Regiment
* 46th Infantry Regiment
* 1st, 2nd, 3rd Bts of 3rd Mountain Brigade
* Greek Reinforced Battalion in Korea
* Hellenic Air Force Academy
* Hellenic Army Academy
* Hellenic Naval Academy
* Sacred Band

Recipients are in alphabetical, not chronological, order

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany

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