Alexander Papagos (in Greek:Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος, Alexandros Papagos). Born December 9, 1883 (Athens, Greece); died in October 4, 1955 (Athens, Greece), was a Greek Field Marshal who led the Greek Army in the Greco-Italian War and the later stages of the Greek Civil War and became the country's Prime Minister. Alexander Papagos (in Greek:Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος, Alexandros Papagos). ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... City flag. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... City flag. ... Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ... The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece from October 28, 1940 to April 6, 1941. ... Combatants Hellenic Army, Royalist forces, British troops Communist guerillas (ELAS, DSE) Commanders Alexander Papagos Markos Vafiadis Strength 100,000 men 20,000 men and women (plus thousands more volunteers) Casualties 12,777 killed 37,732 wounded 4,527 missing 38,000 killed 40,000 captured or surrendered An ELAS soldier... Note on Greek names: There is no firm convention for the rendering of Greek personal names into English. ...

Military career

He studied in the Brussels Military Academy and the Cavalry School at Ypres, joining the Greek Army in 1906 as a Cavalry 2nd Lieutenant. Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Brussels City Hall Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, pronounced ; French: Bruxelles, pronounced in Belgian French and often by non-Belgian speakers of French; German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium, the... The Belfry of Ypres Ypres (French, generally used in English;1 Ieper official name in the local Dutch) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

In the First Balkan War he served as a junior officer in the General Staff of King Constantine. As a captain, he held successive staff positions as well as taking part in the Siege of Yannina (Ioannina) and fighting in Macedonia from November 1912 until March 1913. He was a confirmed royalist, so in 1917, along with many other officers, he was dismissed from the Army. He was recalled after the return of King Constantine in 1920, when he successfully served as operations officer to the Cavalry Brigade in the Asia Minor Campaign. Combatants Ottoman Empire Balkan League (Serbia), (Montenegro), (Greece), (Bulgaria) Commanders Nazim Pasha, Zekki Pasha, Esat Pasha, Abdulach Pasha Constantine I of Greece, Vladimir Vazov, Petar Bojovic, Radomir Putnik, Pavlos Kountouriotis Strength 350,000 men Greece 115,000 men, Bulgaria 300,000 men, Serbia 220,000 men, Montenegro 35,000 men... Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (2 August 1868 - 11 January 1923), ruled Greece from 1913-1917 and from 1920-1922. ... Ioannina (Greek: [Ιωάννινα], often Γιάννενα /janena/ or Γιάννινα /janina/; anglicized to Janina or Yanina) is a city in Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of approximately 100,000 including suburbs. ... Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy. ... Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (2 August 1868 - 11 January 1923), ruled Greece from 1913-1917 and from 1920-1922. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ... Combatants Greece Turkish Revolutionaries Commanders Gen Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Gen Anastasios Papoulas, Gen Georgios Hatzianestis Ali Fethi Okyar, Ismet Inonu, Mustafa Kemal Strength 120,000 men 450,000 men [1] Casualties 30,000 dead; 20,820 captured 20,000 dead; 10,000 wounded The Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, also...

In 1923 he was again decomissioned by the Revolution of 1922, but was recalled in 1927 with the grade of Major General. He was promoted to Lieutenant General and later Corps Commander in 1934, Papagos was eventually appointed to higher Army commands. In October 1935, as a Lieutenant General and Chief of the Army, along with the chiefs of the Navy and the Air Force, he helped topple the government of Panagis Tsaldaris and declared the restoration of the monarchy. He was appointed Minister of War in the Georgios Kondylis, Konstantinos Demertzis and Ioannis Metaxas governments. From his position, he employed the Army to support(disputed—see talk page) Metaxas' declaration of dictatorship in August 4, 1936. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Panagis Tsaldaris (1868-1936) (or Panagiotis Tsaldaris or Panayotis Tsaldaris, Greek: Παναγής Τσαλδάρης) was a revered conservative politician and leader for many years (1922-1936) of the dominant before the World War II Peoples Party. ... Georgios Kondylis Georgios Kondylis (Greek: Γεώργιος Κονδύλης) (1878 - February 1, 1936) was a general of the Greek army and Prime Minister of Greece. ... Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (Greek Ιωάννης Μεταξάς, April 12, 1871 – January 29, 1941) was a Greek General and the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death. ... Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (Greek Ιωάννης Μεταξάς, April 12, 1871 – January 29, 1941) was a Greek General and the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death. ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

As Commander-in-Chief of the Greek Army, General Alexander Papagos was featured on the cover of Time Magazine on December 16th, 1940.

During the next years, as Chief of the General Staff, he actively tried to reorganize and reequip the Army for the oncoming war. With the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in September 1940, he was named Commander-in-Chief and directed Greek operations against Italy along the Albanian border. After the Italian attack on October 28, his forces managed to halt their advance by November 8 and forced them to withdraw to Albania between November 18 and December 23. The successes of the Greek Army brought him fame and applause, but his conduct of the campaign has recently been criticized^{[citation needed]}. A second Italian offensive during March 9-16 1941 was repulsed. Despite this success, Papagos was forced to maintain the bulk of the Greek Army in Albania, and was unwilling to order a gradual withdrawal to reinforce the north-eastern border as German intervention came closer. Image File history File links Alexander_Papagos_on_cover_time_magazine. ... Image File history File links Alexander_Papagos_on_cover_time_magazine. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece from October 28, 1940 to April 6, 1941. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... 1628 - The Siege of La Rochelle, which had been ongoing for 14 months, ends with Huguenot surrender 1664 - The Duke of York and Albanys Maritime Regiment of Foot later to be known as the Royal Marines is established. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar with 43 days remaining. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ...

After the German invasion on April 6, 1941, Greek forces in Macedonia fiercely resisted the German offensive, but were outflanked and Papagos endorsed their surrender. Soon after the Army of Epirus capitulated and by April 23 the Greek government was forced to flee to Crete. Papagos remained behind and in July 1943, together with other generals, he was arrested and sent to concentration camps in Germany. In 1945 he was repatriated, rejoined the Army and reached the rank of full General in 1947. On January 29, 1949, he was once again appointed Commander-in-Chief, to defeat the Communists in the Greek Civil War, which he achieved, with extensive American aid and using the deployment of Special Forces (LOK), during the Grammos-Vitsi campaign between February to October of that year. As a reward, he, alone of all Greek career officers, was promoted to Field Marshal on October 28, 1949. April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Combatants Hellenic Army, Royalist forces, British troops Communist guerillas (ELAS, DSE) Commanders Alexander Papagos Markos Vafiadis Strength 100,000 men 20,000 men and women (plus thousands more volunteers) Casualties 12,777 killed 37,732 wounded 4,527 missing 38,000 killed 40,000 captured or surrendered An ELAS soldier... Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ...

He continued to serve in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief while Greece was in a state of political instability, with splinter parties and weak politicians unable to provide a firm government.

Political career

In May 1951 he resigned from the Army, as to become involved in politics. He founded the Greek Rally (Ελληνικός Συναγερμός), modelled after De Gaulle's Rassemblement du Peuple Français and won the September elections with 36,53% of the vote, largely due to his popularity, his image as a strong and determined leader, and the communist defeat in the civil war, which was attributed in great part to his leadership. Despite this victory, Papagos was unable to form a government on this majority, and had to wait until the November 16th, 1952 elections, where his party tallied an impressive 49% of the popular vote, gaining 239 out of 300 seats in Parliament. The Field Marshal, with his popular backing and support from the Americans was an authoritative figure, leading to friction with the Royal Palace. Papagos' government successfully strived to modernize Greece (where the young and energetic Minister of Public Works, Constantine Karamanlis, first distinguished himself) and restore the economy of a country ruined by 10 years of war, but was criticized by the opposition for doing little to restore social harmony in a country still scarred from the civil war. 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ) (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970), in France commonly referred to as le général de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman. ... The Rally of the People of France (French Rassemblement du Peuple Français or RPF) was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle. ... The Greek legislative election of 16 November 1952 resulted in victory for General Alexander Papagos and the party he had founded a year ago, the Greek Rally party. ... Constantine Karamanlis (Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής in Greek; March 8, 1907 - April 23, 1998) was a towering figure of Greek politics. ...

One of the major issues faced by Papagos was the Cyprus problem, where the Greek majority had begun clamouring for Enosis (Union) with Greece. In response to demonstrations in the streets of Athens, Papagos reluctantly, as this would put Greece in confrontation with Great Britain, ordered Greece's UN representative in August 1954 to raise the issue of Cyprus before the UN General Assembly. When the EOKA armed struggle began in 1955, Papagos was in declining health and unwilling to act. The clashes in Cyprus, however, led to a deterioration of Greco-Turkish relations, culminating in the Istanbul Pogrom in September. By that time, Papagos was ill, and on October 4, 1955, he died. The Cyprus Dispute is the conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and also Republic of Cyprus and Turkey over Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. ... EOKA (Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (Greek National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that fought for the expulsion of British troops from the island, for self-determination and for union with Greece in the mid to late 1950s. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Istanbul Pogrom, also known as the Istanbul Riots, or the Σεπτεμβριανά in Greek and the 6-7 Eylül Olayları in Turkish (both literally Events of September), was a pogrom directed primarily at Istanbul’s 80,000-strong Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Athens suburb of Papagou, where the Ministry of Defence is located, is named after him. City flag. ... Papagou, uncommonly Papagos or Pappagos (Greek: Παπάγου) is a suburb in the northeastern part of Athens, Greece. ... The Hellenic Ministry of Defense (Greek Υπουργείο Εθνικής Άμυνας, abbreviated (ΥΠΕΘΑ), is the civilian cabinet organization responsible for managing the Military of Greece. ...