Greek Army: Organisation and Composition August 1913 - 1914
v.1.0 June 30, 2002
Alexis Mehtidis
Sources : Army History
Directorate, ' The Greek Army during the Balkan Wars, 1912 - 1913 ',
Volume C', 1988
Army History Directorate, The Greek Army during World War I 'Volume A',
1958
Any additions or corrections
welcome at : alexmehtidis@hotmail.com
Contents
I. Army Organisation, August
1913
II. Army
Organisation November, 1913
III. Army Organisation and Notes, December 1913 / January
1914
IV. Army,
1914
Introduction
This is a presentation of the
Greek Army between the end of the 2nd Balkan War and the beginning of
World War I. It does not pretend to be the complete presentation of the Greek
Army during that time, but - to my knowledge - the most complete yet. It is the
translation of parts in the aforementioned sources.
Before the Balkan Wars there
existed four Divisions ( I, II, III and IV ). During the Balkan Wars another six
were formed ( V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X ). After the end of the 2nd Balkan War
XI Division was raised too. Before and during the Balkan Wars there were no Army
Corps ; when the situation demanded it, Divisional Groups or Army Groups were
formed.
I. Army Organisation, August
1913
From August 17th/30th, 1913 it was
decided by a Royal Decree ( E.D.Y.S. No. 102104/17.8.1913 ) temporarily
to
'
...permanently retain the V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X Divisions - that
were formed during the Balkan War - , to form XI Division and the Cavalry
Brigade and to organise the Divisions into Army Corps. '
The Army Corps formed were six
:
1st Army Corps in
Larissa : I
Division in Larissa |
2nd Army Corps in
Athens II
Division in Athens |
3rd Army Corps in
Ioannina III
Division in Mesologgi
VIII Division in Korytsa ( Korce in Albania )
IX Division in
Ioannina |
4th Army Corps in
Thessaloniki IV
Division in Thessaloniki V Division in
Kilkis |
5th Army Corps in
Drama VI
Division in Serres
VII Division in Drama |
6th Army Corps in
Kozani X
Division in Veroia
XI Division in Kozani |
Cavalry Brigade in
Serres 1st
Cavalry Regiment 2nd Cavalry Regiment
3rd Cavalry
Regiment |
II. Army Organisation, November
1913
Five Army Corps and one Cavalry
Division were formed with Law No. 85 / 29-11-1913 ( E.D.Y.S. No.
167557/7.12.1913 ) ' About the Temporary Organisation of the Army '
:
A' Army Corps in
Athens : I
Division in Larisa
II Division in Athens
XIII Division in
Halkis |
B' Army Corps in
Patras : III
Division in Patras
IV Division in Nafplion
XIV Division in
Kalamata |
C' Army Corps in
Thessaloniki : X Division in Veroia
XI Division in
Thessaloniki XII Division in Kozani |
D' Army Corps in
Kavala : V
Division in Drama
VI Division in Serres
VII Division in
Kavala |
E' Army Corps in
Ioannina : VIII
Division in Preveza
IX Division in Ioannina |
Cavalry Division in
Thessaloniki |
III. Army Organisation, December
1913
On December 23rd 1913/ January 5th
1914 a Royal Decree ( E.D.Y.S. No. 168981/24.12.1913 ) divided the Greek State
in five Military Regions ( A', B', C', D' and E' ) for conscript recruiting. A',
B', C' and D' Military Regions were divided each into three military districts,
E' into two. Five Army Corps were formed ( A', B', C', D' and E' ) ,
corresponding to the five Mlitary Regions.
The fourteen military districts ( I - XIV )
corresponded to the Divisions they were recruiting for ( I - XIV
).
Another Royal Decree of the same
date ( E.D.Y.S. No. 168983/24.12.1913 ) established the organisation of the
future Army Corps and Divisions.
Infantry Regiments, Divisions and
Army Corps
Forty-two Infantry, Evzones and
Cretans Regiments were organised ( Nos 1 - 42 ) out of the existing Infantry
Battalions, each having three Battalions.
Nos 14, 21 and 37 were composed of Cretans (
1st Cretans Regiment / No 14 Infantry Regiment,2nd Cretans Regiment / No 21
Infantry Regiment, 3rd Cretans Regiment / No 37 Infantry Regiment - abbreviated
to 1/14 Cretans Regiment etc. - ).
Nos 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42 were composed of
Evzones ( 1st Evzones Regiment / No 38, 2nd Evzones Regiment / No 39, 3rd
Evzones Regiment / No 40, 4th Evzones Regiment / No 41, 5th Evzones Regiment /
No 42 - abbreviated to 1/38 Evzones Regiment etc. - ).
All the Battalions had four
Companies, each of three Platoons and one machine-gun Platoon.
These forty-two Infantry, Evzones
and Cretans Regiments were organised into fourteen Divisions ( I - XIV ), each
of three Regiments.
These fourteen Divisions were
organised into five Army Corps .
A', B', C' and D' Army Corps consisted of
three Divisions, one Field Artillery Regiment, one Cavalry Regiment, one Sappers
Regiment, one Transportation Battalion and one Nurses Squadron. E' Army Corps of
two Divisions, one Field Artillery Regiment, one Cavalry Squadron, one Sappers
Battalion, one Transportation Battalion and one Nurses Squadron.
Each of the Divisions consisted of
three Infantry Regiments and one Mountain Artillery Squadron.
Field and Mountain
Artillery
Five Field Artillery Regiments were
formed ( Nos 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 ) out of the existing Field Artillery
Squadrons.
Nos 1, 3,
5 and 7 consisted of three Squadrons, with three Batteries each ; the 9th had
two Squadrons, with three Batteries each.
Fourteen Mountain Artillery
Batteries ( I to XIV, corresponding to the Divisions with the same number ) were
formed out of the existing Mountain Batteries. Each had two
Batteries.
Sappers
Four Sapper Regiments ( A, B', C'
and D' ), each with six Companies and an independent Sapper Battalion ( E' ),
with four Companies, were formed out of the existing Sapper
Companies.
Cavalry
The nucleus of four non-Divisional
Cavalry Regiments ( A', B' , C' and D' ) - with three Troops each - and a
Battalion ( E' ) were formed out of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
Transportation
The nucleus of five Transportation
Battalions ( A', B', C' and D' with three Companies each and E' with two
Companies ) were formed out of the existing Transportation
Companies.
Nurses
Five Nurses Squadrons ( A', B', C',
D' and E' ) - with three Platoons each - were formed out of the three existing
Nurses Companies.
By ' Nurses ', male nurses are meant.
A' Army Corps in
Athens : I
Division in Larisa
II Division in Athens
XIII Division in
Halkis |
B' Army Corps in
Patras : III
Division in Patras
IV Division in Nafplion
XIV Division in
Kalamata |
C' Army Corps in
Thessaloniki : X Division in Veroia
XI Division in
Thessaloniki XII Division in Kozani |
D' Army Corps in
Kavala : V
Division in Drama
VI Division in Serres
VII Division in
Kavala |
E' Army Corps in
Ioannina : VIII
Division in Preveza
IX Division in Ioannina |
Independent
Units
- Fortress Artillery
Regiment
- Horse Artillery
Squadron
- Fortress Engineer
Regiment
- Telegraphists
Regiment
- Railway Battalion in
Thessaloniki
- Aviators Company in
Thessaloniki
- Bridgelayers Battalion in
Topsin
- Fortress Artillery Battalion in
Ioannina
- Fortress Engineer Battalion in
Ioannina
- Vehicles ( actually Car )
Battalion in Athens
- Cavalry Division of four
Regiments. Actually, due to lack of horses the Ist Cavalry Brigade was only
formed - with two Regiments -. In
Thessaloniki.
Some notes on the
December 1913 Army Organisation
- Mountain Composition of the
Army. It was decided, out of the experience gained in the two Balkan Wars,
that due to the mountaineous nature of Greece, formations of Mountain
Composition should be formed.
- So, all Divisional Troops
were of a Mountain Composition as were the Army Corps' Engineers and
Cavalry.
- One of the Army Corps' Supply
Columns was of Mountain Composition too, so it could supply the active Divisions
on mountaineous ground, in conjunction with the Divisional Transportation Corps'
units and the Army Corps' Supply Columns' detachments with cars and on
wheels.
The
Divisional Ammunition Supply Service was composed of Infantry and Mountain
Artillery Supply Units of a Mountain Composition, while the Army Corps' of a
Field Composition. There were no vehicle - lorry - detachments for ammunition
supply due to a lack of lorries.
- Medical formations were completely
of a Mountain Composition. These formations were small and staffed with many
soldiers so they could follow and tend to the dispersed units of every formation
on the mountains.There were two disadvantages in this system, namely that there
was a need for an extraordinary number of staff for the medical units and that
they couldn't be controlled as well ; but it was the best way to tend to the
medical needs of fighting on mountains. A distance of 500 m. on maps would take
a two-hours march, for example.
The Divisional Medical Parks were of a
Mountain Composition while the Army Corps' Medical Parks were of a Field
Composition.
Infantry
One hundred and forty Infantry
Battalions would be formed in mobilization, according to the Staff Service
calculations.
The one
hundred and twenty-six of them formed the fourteen Divisions.One Battalion would
be formed in mobilization to guard the General Headquarters, four would be
formed as border guarding battalions in places where no operations were intended
and five Independent Battalions were to guard islands ( Lemnos, Hios, Samos and
Mytilini ).
Four
battalions wouldn't be formed due to a lack of infantry weapons for
them.
Existing
infantry weapons of that time were : 166.000 Manlicher-Schonauer rifles, 44.000
Mauser and Manlicher rifles out of Bulgarian war booty, 77.000 old Gras rifles,
240 Schwarzlosse and 34 Maxim machine guns and a big number of various types out
of war booty.
Cavalry
There was a great lack of horses so
the Cavalry Division was composed of two Regiments, only. The Army Corps'
Cavalry Regiments also had two Troops only.
Artillery
Divisions were equipped with
mountain artillery and Army Corps with field.
Field Artillery weapon pieces were one
hundred and sixty-eight and could complete the composition of the Field
Artillery Regiments. Mountain Artillery weapons were ninety-eight 75mm
Schneider-Dagli pieces instead of the hundred and twelve needed, though. So,
some of the Mountain Artillery Squadrons only had one Battery, until they would
be supplied with weapons ordered in France.
Engineers
There was a serious lack of officers
- specially of the Lieutenant's grade -.
Medical Service
Army Corps' Nurses Squadrons would
complete all the Army Corps medical units in mobilization.
Each Nurses Squadron consisted of
:
- For the Army
Corps : One Stretcher- bearers Squadron, three Mountain Operating Theatres, one
Medical Park on carts and one Hygiene and Protection Unit by the Army Corps
Headquarters.
- For
the Divisions : One Stretcher- bearers Squadron, three Mountain Operating
Theatres and four Medical Units of Mountain Composition.
Transportation
Corps
Each Army Corps Transportation
Battalion had a disproportionate number of officers because it would complete
its composition in mobilization. Supply Columns, Parks - except Artillery Parks
- and all Transportation Corps units not needing soldiers with a specialty would
be completed by the Transportation Battalions.
Ammunition Supply Units and Parks would be
completed by Artillery Units, using artillery reserve officers and privates of
older drafts.
IV. Army, 1914
( E.D.Y.S. No 168983/24.12.1913
)
A' Army Corps, in
Athens
I Division |
|
Larisa |
|
4th Infantry
Regiment 5th
Infantry Regiment
1/38 Evzones Regiment
I Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Larisa
Trikkala
Karditsa
Larisa |
II Division |
|
Athens |
|
1st Infantry
Regiment 7th
Infantry Regiment
34th Infantry Regiment
II Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Athens
Athens
Athens
Athens |
XIII
Division |
|
Halkis |
|
2nd Infantry
Regiment 3rd
Infantry Regiment
5/42 Evzones Regiment
XIII Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Halkis
Halkis
Lamia Halkis |
Non-divisional
Troops |
1st Field Artillery
Regiment A'
Cavalry Regiment A' Sappers Regiment
A' Transportation
Battalion A'
Nurses Squadron |
Athens
Athens
Athens
Athens
Athens |
B' Army Corps, in
Patras
III Division |
|
Patras |
|
6th Infantry
Regiment 12th
Infantry Regiment
2/39 Evzones Regiment
III Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Patras
Patras
Mesologgi
Patras |
IV Division |
|
Nafplion |
|
8th Infantry
Regiment 11th
Infantry Regiment
35th Infantry Regiment
IV Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Nafplion
Tripolis
Korinthos
Nafplion |
XIV Division |
|
Kalamata |
|
6th Infantry
Regiment 36th
Infantry Regiment
1/14 Cretans Regiment
XIV Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Kalamata
Kalamata
Hania Kalamata |
Non-divisional
Troops |
3rd Field Artillery
Regiment B'
Cavalry Regiment B' Sappers Regiment
B' Transportation
Battalion B'
Nurses Squadron |
Korinthos
Argos Korinthos Korinthos
Korinthos |
C' Army Corps, in
Thessaloniki
X Division |
|
Veroia |
|
29th Infantry
Regiment 30th
Infantry Regiment
4/41 Evzones Regiment
X Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Edessa
Giannitsa
Veroia
Veroia |
XI Division |
|
Thessaloniki |
|
13th Infantry
Regiment 27th
Infantry Regiment
28th Infantry Regiment
XI Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki |
XII Division |
|
Kozani |
|
31st Infantry
Regiment 32nd
Infantry Regiment
33rd Infantry Regiment
XIII Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Kozani
Anaselitsa ( Lapsista
) Florina
Kozani |
Non-divisional
Troops |
5th Field Artillery
Regiment C'
Cavalry Regiment C' Sappers Regiment
C' Transportation
Battalion C'
Nurses Squadron |
Thessaloniki
Giannitsa
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki |
D' Army Corps, in
Kavalla
V Division |
|
Drama |
|
22nd Infantry
Regiment 23rd
Infantry Regiment
3/37 Cretans Regiment
V Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Drama Drama Drama Drama |
VI Division |
|
Serres |
|
16th Infantry
Regiment 17th
Infantry Regiment
18th Infantry Regiment
VI Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Serres
Serres
Demir Hisar ( Sidirokastron
) Serres |
VII Division |
|
Kavalla |
|
19th Infantry
Regiment 20th
Infantry Regiment
2/21 Cretans Regiment
VII Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Kavalla
Pravi Kavalla Kavalla |
Non-divisional
Troops |
7th Field Artillery
Regiment D'
Cavalry Regiment D' Sappers Regiment
D' Transportation
Battalion D'
Nurses Squadron |
Drama Serres Drama Serres
Serres |
E' Army Corps, in
Ioannina
VIII
Division |
|
Preveza |
|
10th Infantry
Regiment 15th
Infantry Regiment
24th Infantry Regiment
VIII Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Kerkyra ( Corfu
) Lefkas
Preveza
Preveza |
IX Division |
|
Ioannina |
|
25th Infantry
Regiment 26th
Infantry Regiment
3/40 Evzones Regiment
IX Mountain Artillery
Squadron |
Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina |
Non-divisional
Troops |
9th Field Artillery
Regiment E'
Cavalry Squadron E' Sappers Battalion
E' Transportation
Battalion E'
Nurses Battalion |
Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina |
Cavalry Division, in
Thessaloniki
I Cavalry
Brigade |
|
Thessaloniki |
|
1st Cavalry
Regiment 3rd
Cavalry Regiment |
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki |
Independent
Units
Fortress Artillery
Regiment |
Thessaloniki |
Fortress Artillery
Battalion |
Ioannina |
Horse Artillery
Squadron |
Thessaloniki |
Fortress Engineer
Regiment |
Thessaloniki |
Fortress Engineer
Battalion |
Ioannina |
Telegraphists
Regiment |
Thessaloniki |
Railway
Battalion |
Thessaloniki |
Vehicles ( actually Car )
Battalion |
Athens |
Bridgelayers
Battalion |
Topsin ( Gefyra
) |
Aviators
Company |
Thessaloniki |
Notes :
1. When double dates are
mentioned it is because the first is with the Old Calendar and the second with
the New Calendar.
2. Army 1914 is essentialy the Army December 1913, sources do not
specify the month in 1914, but we can safely asume that it was the Greek Army at
the beginning of World War I.