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Greek Democratic Army (1945-1949)

Dimokratikos Stratos Elladas

Last modified: 2016-09-24 by ivan sache
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History of the Greek Democratic Army

The Greek Democratic Army was formed from the reorganization of the irregular forces of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) in 1947, at the height of the Greek Civil War, and (unfortunately) they fought against Greeks.
This "Army" lasted until the final campaigns of the Government troops in 1949.
The ELAS (Ellinikos Laikos Apeleyterotikos Stratos, Greek People's Liberation Army) was a broad left partizan group, the largest in Greece during the Second World War, but it was disbanded after the bloody events of December 1944 and the Varkiza agreement. The later irregular forces of the KKE when the Civil War started in 1946 were to a great extent drawn from ELAS, but the two groups should not be confused.

Constantine Plakidas, 18 April 2003


Flag of the Greek Democratic Army shown on a stamp

[Flag of Greek Democratic Army]

Flag of the Greek Democratic Army - Image by António Matins, 17 March 2016

Adonation stamp was issued in spring 1949 in the Soviet-occupied Germany. Theme of donations stamp was the Greek Civil War 1948/49. The legend of the stamp is Verteidigt den Frieden, helft dem demokratischen Griechenland (Defend peace, help democratic Greece).
The stamp shows the flag of the Greek Democratic Army, as blue with a large white cross, its arms thick as one third of the flagÕs height, and in the center a red disc tangent to the four blue fields, charged with a white equilateral triangle, pointing up and tangent to the edge of the disc, voided to a thickness of about 5% of the flagÕs height, making a Greek letter Δ.

Other versions of the flag featured a star in the middle (images, Potsdam, 1948; photos, Zwickau, 1948).
The correct logo of the Democratic Army of Greece (images) was a red letter Δ in a blue circle. There were also versions with a red Δ and a red circle, or with a white Δ on a red disk.

Jens Pattke & António Martins, 18 March 2016


Other reported flag of the Greek Democratic Army

[Flag of Greek Democratic Army]

Flag of the Greek Democratic Army - Image by Ivan Sache, 1 March 2001

The flag of the Greek Democratic Army was white with a white triangle with a red border, inscribed in a blue ring, itself inscribed in a white triangle with a red border.

Alexander Fragkos, 1 March 2001