On December 6, 1944, British forces used a tank to seize the headquarters of EAM (National Liberation Front) at Korai Arcade in Athens. This marked their first significant intervention in the December Events (Dekemvriana), shifting the outcome of the Battle of Athens in favor of the government forces in the days that followed.

On the same day, the Battle of Makrygiannis began. ELAS (Greek People’s Liberation Army) launched an operation to capture the building complex housing the Athens Gendarmerie Regiment, located in the district named after the famous fighter of the 1821 Greek War of Independence. Positioned beneath the Acropolis, this area held strategic importance, providing direct access to the British forces’ headquarters at the Grand Bretagne Hotel.

By December 8, a KKE (Communist Party of Greece) delegation had traveled to Bulgaria seeking support in the form of arms and ammunition but faced refusal – a decision influenced by the Soviet Union.

Ten days later, on December 18, the ELAS siege of the Makrygiannis Regiment ended in failure. The gendarmes, supported by aircraft, mortars, and machine guns installed by the British on the Acropolis, as well as 15 Sherman tanks, repelled ELAS forces beyond Ardittos Hill, Syngrou Avenue, and as far as the Faliron district. The counteroffensive put KKE forces in Neos Kosmos and Nea Smyrni at risk.

A week later, on Christmas Day 1944, amidst ongoing battles but with the British gaining the upper hand, Winston Churchill himself arrived in Athens. He convened a meeting that included representatives of ELAS. When then-KKE Secretary Giorgis Siantos asked the British Prime Minister, “Why are we here?” Churchill responded curtly, “To surrender your weapons.”

Watch the third episode of this historical series, featuring journalist Pantelis Kapsis in conversation with historian Nikos Marantzidis. Marantzidis is a leading academic authority on the Greek Civil War, with an extensive body of published work.

Upcoming Episode:

Catch the fourth episode of “December Events, 80 Years Later” this Friday morning, December 6.