During the period of the Axis Occupation of Greece in the Second World War, a multitude of Resistance organizations sprang up. A May 1943 report of the Intelligence Bureau of the Greek government in exile mentioned 33 active groups,[1] a number that increased to 79 in a joint British report of 17 October 1943.[2] According to some sources, the number was as high as 140. These numbers include groups of vastly different natures, which can be roughly divided in three categories: the major organizations, which displayed significant regional or nationwide action, including guerrilla operations against the Occupation authorities; the small political groupings, mainly active in Athens, with a limited following and engaged mainly in political propaganda and small-scale sabotage; and a small number of groups focused on intelligence and sabotage operations, in direct cooperation with the British secret services in the Middle East.
- ^ ΔΙΣ/ΓΕΣ (Army History Directorate): Αρχεία Εθνικής Αντίστασης (1941-44) (Archives of the National Resistance), Athens 1998, Vol. 7, pp. 51-53
- ^ Greek Resistance Organisations and Connected Political Parties, Appendix A, WO204/8897; This report includes all active groups, including those gathered within the framework of EAM and others which co-operated closely