Today in Hellenic History.

[Amarantos]

4 March 1827
Second day of the battle in Keratsini.Hellenic victory under Georgios Karaiskakis.

4 March 1851
Alexandros Papadiamantis, poet and writer, son of Adamantios Emmanouel and Aggeliki Moraitidi, is born in Skiathos island.


Alexandros Papadiamantis, the saint of the Greek Letters - ὁ Ἅγιος τῶν γραμμάτων (March 3, 1851 - 3 January 1911).

Αὐτὴ ἦτον ἡ Ἀκριβούλα
ἡ ἐγγόνα τῆς γριά-Λούκαινας.
Φύκιά ῾ναι τὰ στεφάνια της,
κοχύλια τὰ προικιά της...
Κ᾿ ἡ γριὰ ἀκόμα μυρολογᾷ
τὰ γεννοβόλια της τὰ παλιά.
Σὰν νἄχαν ποτὲ τελειωμὸ
τὰ πάθια κ᾿ οἱ καημοὶ τοῦ κόσμου.
(Τὸ μοιρολόγι τῆς φώκιας)

4 March 1913
The Acheron Detachment of the Hellenic Army liberates the town if Agioi Saranta in Northern Epirus.

[Amarantos]

5 March 1770
Maniates, assisted by the Russians, liberate Mystras and other towns in Lakonia.

5 March 1799
The Russians and the Turks jointly occupy Corfu island (Kerkyra).

5 March 1822
The first Ministry of Marine is founded.

5 March 1825
More troops from Egypt arrive to Methoni, Peloponnese, in order to assist the Turks in their attempt to suppress the Greek Revolution.

5 March 1826
A mediatory effort of the High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands (Eptanisa) Frederich Adams for the ending of the hostilities outside Mesolonghi fails.

5 March 1828
Colonel Fabvier is forced to vacate Chios island.

5 March 1829
Greek forces under the command of the British Philhellene Richard Church force the Turks blockaded in the fort of Vonitsa to surrender, after a siege that lasted many months.

5 March 1864
Resignation of the government under PM Dimitrios Voulgaris. New government under PM Konstantinos Kanaris.

5 March 1901
The chemist Othon Rousopoulos announces that the cleaning of the bronze items found in the region of the island of Antikythera has been almost completed.

5 March 1913
-The Cavalry Regiment, at the head of Infantry Division VIII, enters Tepeleni in Northern Epirus, where it captures five field guns left behind by the fleeing Turks.

-King Georgios I is murdered in Thessaloniki by Alexandros Schinas. He will be succeeded by the crown prince and commander in chief Konstantinos.


The assassination of King Georgios I (December 12, 1845 - March 5, 1913).


The corpse of King Georgios I.

5 March 1921
Persecutions by the Turks in Pontos.

5 March 1933
Elections and defeat of the coalition "National Alarm" - "Εθνικός Συναγερμός" under Eleftherios Venizelos by the "United Opposition" - "Ηνωμένη Αντιπολίτευση" under Panagis Tsaldaris.

5 March 1943
General strike and mass rally in Athens against the political mobilisation announced by the Nazi forces of Occupation.Dead and injured after the intervention of the German troops.

5 March 1950
In the national elections that take place no party assembles a remarkable parliamentary force (Popular Party: 63 seats, Party of the Liberals: 56, EPEK: 49).

5 March 1958
Government under PM Konstantinos Georgakopoulos.Resignation on May 17, 1958.

[Amarantos]

6 March 1802
British troops land in Corfu island (Kerkyra).

6 March 1910
Demonstrations of farmers break out in the railway station of Kileler, Thessaly.The army intervenes and two farmers are killed.


The representatives of the agricultural unions before the demonstration in Thessaly.


Monument in memory of the Kileler events.

6 March 1919
Troops of the 3rd, 5/42nd and 34th Infantry Regiments of the Greek Expeditionary Corps in southern Russia fight fierce battles in the environs of Odessa between 6-21 March 1919. The unrivalled heroism and self-sacrifice of the Greek officers and men impress both friend and foe.


Major General Constantine Nither head of the Hellenic Army Corps with his staff.

6 March 1933
The military coup attempted by General Nikolaos Plastiras after the victory in the elections of the anti-Venizelists fails.He will flee abroad,firstly in Italy and then in France.On the same day a government is formed under General Alexandros Othonaios who four days later will hand the power over to the legally elected government.

6 March 1943
Reinforcement of the Greek positions in the Trebeshin front.

6 March 1943
The people of Siatista and the surrounding region, with the guidance of the local Resistance chapter attack a convoy of Italian occupation troops at Fardykampos near Siatista, Macedonia. They capture 600 prisoners and huge war material.


The Battle of Phardykampos (4-6 March 1943).


Siatistan Resistance guerillas.


The Phardycampos Monument.

6 March 1964
Death of King Pavlos.


King Pavlos of The Hellenes (December 14, 1901-March 6, 1964).

6 March 1994
Death of Melina Mercouri actress, singer, and politician.She served as Minister of Culture and dedicated great part of her forces to the return of the Parthenon Marbles, removed from the Acropolis by Lord Elgin during the Ottoman Occupation, now in the British Museum collection.


Melina Mercouri on Never on Sunday.


Melina Mercouri (October 18, 1920 – March 6, 1994).

[Amarantos]

7 March 322 BC
Death of Aristotle, one of the most eminent figures of Greek philosophy and teacher of Alexander the Great.

Aristotle (Stageira, Chalkidiki 384 BC- March 7, 322 BC Chalkida, Euboea)


Τhe statue of Aristotle in Aristotelous Square, Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece.


Aristotelous Square, Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece.

7 March 961
General Nicephorus Phocas captures Chandax (Herakleion) in Crete. The Arabs resist tenaciously, but are forced to yield to the bravery of the Byzantines. After this event, Crete is liberated and comes under Byzantine rule.

7 March 1907
Marinos Antypas, a pioneer socialist, an advocate of the agrarian reform, is assassinated in Pyrgetos ,Rapsani, Thessaly.


Marinos Antypas (Feredinata, Pylaros, Kefalonia 1872-Pyrgetos ,Rapsani, Thessaly 1907).

7 March 1947
The islands of the Dodecanese are officially incorporated into the Greek state, after many years under Turkish and Italian rule.

7 March 1951
The EKSE (Greek Expeditionary Forces) Battalion captures Hill 326, near the Yongdu-ri, after a fierce battle. This action is widely praised in the international press.


Hellenic Forces in Korea.

7 March 1986
The revision of the Constitution of 1975 in its not fundamental articles is completed. According to the revised one, many of the powers of the President of the Republic are transfered to the Prime Minister and the government.

7 March 2004
In the elections that take place the party of New Democracy wins with 45,36% of the votes. PASOK follows with the 40,55%, KKE with 5,90% and, finally, Coalition with 3,26%.

[Amarantos]

8 March 1822
A force of 300 rebels under Kasomoulis, Diamantis and Ditzias try to capture from the Turks the fort at Kolindros in Pieria. With this act the Greek Revolution spreads to the area of Olympus mountain.

8 March 1848
Georgios Kountouriotis becomes Prime Minister of Greece.

8 March 1849
Georgios Vizyinos, writer, is born in Vyzo (Vizyi) in Eastern Thrace, from where he took his pen name.His real name was Georgios Syrmas.Vizyinos distinguished himself as a prose writer who cultivated the study of mores and psychology in a lively katharevousa (formal Greek), drawing material from every day life in Thace. His works have a autobiographical flavour and are inspired by his family life and surroundings in Vizyi and Constantinople.


Georgios Vizyinos (1849 - 1896).

8 March 1865
Parliamentary elections are announced for the 14th of May.

8 March 1907
Konstantinos Karamanlis ,Prime Minister of Greece and President of the Hellenic Republic, is born in Proti, Serres, Macedonia.


Konstantinos Karamanlis (March 8, 1907 - April 23,1998).
Visit to his birthplace, Proti; in front of the family home.

8 March 1913
Crown Prince Konstantinos after the assassination of his father becomes King of Greece with the name Konstantinos I.


Konstantinos sworn in as King of Greece.

8 March 1941
Georgios Vlachos, founder of Kathimerini publishes his article titled "Open letter to Hitler".

An open letter to His Excellency Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of the German State
Excellency,

As you are aware, Greece wanted to stay out of the current war. When it broke out, Greece was just recovering from a series of great wounds caused by wars abroad and domestic division; it had neither the strength nor the desire nor any reason to get involved in a war whose outcome will certainly have serious consequences for the whole world but whose onset did not present direct dangers to Greece.

Even if one does not take into account Greece’s direct statements, nor the documents that it published, nor the many speeches and documents certifying its intention to stay out of the war, one should pay heed to the following: That when the Greeks found the fragments of the torpedo that sank the light cruiser Elli in the port of Tinos (on August 15, 1940) and they confirmed that it was Italian, they hid the fact.

Why? Because if they had revealed this they would have been obliged to declare war or to accept the declaration of war. Greece did not want war with the Italians, neither on its own nor as part of an alliance, nor with other Balkan countries nor with the English. All it wanted was to live peacefully in this small corner of the world, because it was exhausted, because it had fought much and because its geographical position is such that it does not wish to have as its enemy the Germans on land nor the English at sea. Until that moment, the moment that the Elli was sunk, in addition to its pacifist inclinations, Greece also had the additional security of two signatures: An Italian non-aggression agreement and an English one guaranteeing Greece’s territorial integrity.

And so, shortly after the attack on the Elli, which provided tangible proof of future Italian aggression, convinced that the one signature was worthless, Greece still did not turn to the other side, as it ought to have done. Instead, it turned to you, Excellency. Do you recall? And it requested your protection. And what reply did Greece receive? I am not well-informed as to the reply. I know, however, according to our now-deceased prime minister, that Germany replied that we should not provide a pretext — that we should not mobilize, in other words — and for us to remain quiet. So we did not provide cause, we did not mobilize, we remained quiet. Or rather, we should say we slept quietly because a day earlier the Italians had hosted a dinner for us, when the Italian ambassador presented the ultimatum.

And so, to whom would you expect Greece to turn? To the Italians, in the knowledge of where the torpedo came from, and the worthless signature? But they had declared war on Greece. Toward you? But you, unfortunately, were in Florence that very morning, on October 28. Should Greece stand alone? But it had neither an air force nor materiel nor money nor a fleet. So it turned toward the only other power whose signature it held. The English. And they, even though their homeland was burning, who were on wary guard on the Channel’s shores, who did not have enough means for their own security, heeded our call. They came immediately. Without demands, without negotiations, without documents. And after a few days, on the front that the brutal Italian surprise attack had established in the mountains of Epirus, the first Greek soldiers and the first English airman fell.

You and the whole world know what happened after those hours. The Italians were defeated. And they were defeated in man-to-man fighting by us — the small, the weak. Not by the English. Because no English soldier set foot in Albania. The Italians were defeated. Why? Because they had no ideals, because they did not have the heart for this. Because... — But that is not our issue here.

You remained a spectator of this battle, and we were told that you said: “This issue does not concern me. It is an Italian problem. I will not intervene unless English soldiers disembark in Thessaloniki in large numbers.” Since then, Excellency, we could ask you: “What about Florence? When, on the day that the Italians attacked Greece, you met with them on the banks of the Arno and handed over Greece?” But we did not wish to pose the question. Along with the fragments of the Italian torpedo we also hid in our pocket the meeting in Florence. And when some indiscreet voices would remind us of this we would reply: “The Germans disagreed. The Italians tricked them.” Why?

Because we wanted to believe this. Because it was in our interest. Later, as we advanced into Albania, so did relations between Germany and Greece improve. The swastika flew above your Embassy in Athens at the start of the new year. It was lowered to half-staff when Prime Minister (Ioannis) Metaxas died. Your ambassador visited to congratulate the new prime minister. Trade relations between our two countries had resumed. And you protested vigorously when an American newspaper reported that German tanks had appeared in Albania. So all was well. We were in Albania, you were spectators and our English allies took part only with their aircraft and their fleet.

Only. You know how hard we tried to keep their participation at that. We need only recall that when a British airplane crashed in Thessaloniki we requested of the British that they not be the ones to recover it. So that not even 10 English soldiers be seen there. So that we do not provide a pretext. You laugh?... You should.

But at this time, even though we had relations, even though Germany’s position created a sense of some calm, you started to assemble forces in Romania. At first they were intended to train Romanians. Then they were to protect the oil there. Then they were to protect that country’s borders. Then — then they were 400,000. At that time, the undersigned visited Bulgaria on a journalistic mission and passed along the route that your troops are now passing. On his return, he told our late prime minister: “The road to Sofia has been widened. The wooden bridges have been recently fortified with supports. The shavings from the timber are still there. It is clear that the Bulgarians have worked hastily to prepare the road for an army to pass upon it...”

After this, what was Greece to do? To request assistance? Not to request assistance? To show trust? Not to show trust? Could Greece remain unmoved when it saw the Germans on the Bulgarian border, when it counted them crossing the Danube, when it saw them entering Sofia and forging an alliance with the Bulgarians, when it heard the Bulgarians talk about the national goals that they wanted to achieve? Could Greece believe that the Germans were in Koula (on the Greek-Bulgarian border) in order to protect Romanian oil?

But even so, let us leave all these incidents and declarations and history aside and let us come to the present. It appears, according to all the world’s radio stations, that the Germans want to invade Greece. And we ask you: Why? If the operation against Greece were deemed necessary for the Axis from the start, then (Italian ambassador Count Emmanuele) Grazzi would not have appeared on his own (to Metaxas) four months ago at 3 o’clock in the morning. Italy and Germany together would have presented another ultimatum, with different contents, with different deadlines.

So, the operation against Greece was not deemed necessary for the Axis at the start. But is it now? Why? So that there may not be a new front against Germany in the Balkans? But that is nonsense.

Neither Greece, which is at war, nor England (it clearly says as much in the official statement of two days ago, on March 6, but common sense argues for this even more strongly), nor Serbia, nor Turkey have any reason to provoke the further spread of the war. The war as it is is enough for them. In which case, why? Is it so that the Italians can be rescued in Albania? But what kind of rescue will this be? Will the Italians not be seen by the whole world to have been defeated totally, finally and for all time the moment the first German soldier sets foot in Greece? Will the whole world not cry out that all 45 million of them attacked our small nation of 8 million and they now call on the help of another 85 million to save them?

And in the end, they may want to be rescued, but why should others come to their rescue in a way that is so demeaning? When we can help rescue them without making fools of them? Let the Italians leave Albania of their own accord... Let them tell everyone that they beat us, that they got tired of chasing us around, that they have had their fill of glory and are now leaving. We will help them.

But you may ask, Excellency, “All this is well and good, but what about the English?” However, Excellency, we did not bring the English to Greece, the Italians did. Can we now tell those whom the Italians brought to go? And let us say that we tell them to leave. Who do we address this to? To the living. But how do we ask for the removal of those who have died? Those who fell in our mountains, those who — wounded — landed their planes in Attica and left their last breath here, those who, though their own country was in flames, came and fought here and fell here and found their grave here?

Listen, Excellency, there are shameful deeds that are not committed in Greece. And that would be a most shameful deed. We can chase out neither the living nor the dead. We will not chase out anyone. We will stand with them, here, until there is a ray of sunshine and the storm is over.

And you? You — they always say — will try to invade Greece. And we? We are a naive nation still and we do not believe this. We do not believe that an army with a long history and tradition — which even its enemies do not deny — will want to soil itself with a horribly wretched act. We do not believe that a heavily armed State of 85 million people fighting to create “a new world order” will ask for an attack on a small Nation that is fighting for its freedom against an Empire of 45 million. Because, what will this army do, Excellency, if instead of infantry, artillery and divisions Greece sends to its borders 20,000 wounded — without legs, without arms, in their bloodied bandages — to meet it? Is there an army anywhere that could attack such border guards?

But no, this will not happen. If called upon, the army of Greece, whatever it is that remains free, will stand in Thrace they way it stood in Epirus. It will fight in Thrace as it did in Epirus. It will fight hard. It will die. And it will await the return from Berlin of the runner who came here five years ago and took with him the flame from Olympia, only to return with a torch to light a fire that threatens this land which may be small but is also great. This land that taught the world to live will now teach it how to die.







8 March 1970
An assassination attempt against the life of Archbishop Makarios III fails.

8 March 1995
Kostantinos Stephanopoulos is elected President of the Hellenic Republic after been nominated by the Political Spring party (Politiki Anixi) and supported by ruling PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement).


Kostantinos Stephanopoulos (Patras August 15, 1926)

[Amarantos]

9 March 1821
Patriarch Gregorios V of Constantinople is ordered by the Ottoman Empire to send as hostages eight high priests to the Sublime Porte.

9 March 1822
Turkish that had assembled in Patras under Mehmet pasha launch a surprise attack against the forces of Theodoros Kolokotronis in Saravali. The battle is concluded with the defeat of the Turks, who flee abandoning 1.000 killed and wounded in the field.

9 March 1825
The first conflict of Ibrahim pasha with the Greek Revolutionary forces under Ioannis and Konstantinos Mavromichalis in the region of Neokastro ends with the absolute predominance of the egyptian forces.

9 March 1834
The foundation stone of the palace is placed by King Othon between nowdays Saint Konstantinos and Zinonos streets, according to the urban plan of Kleanthis - Shaubert. This place will be abandoned one year later.

9 March 1855
Death of the Revolutionary Fighter Kitsos Tzavelas.

Kitsos Tzavelas (Souli, 1800 - Athens, March 9, 1855)

9 March 1897
The Great Powers decide the occupation of the Cretan forts by international forces.

9 March 1904
A committee of military officers consisting of Captains Anastasios Papoulas and Alexandros Kontoulis, First Lieutenant Georgios Kolokotronis and Second Lieutenant Pavlos Melas, accompanied by a ten-man escort, cross the Haliacmon river into western Macedonia. The committee is charged by the Greek government with investigating the local situation with regard to the formation of an armed defensive organization in Macedonia, in order to counter Bulgarian activity against Hellenism there.

9 March 1924
Dimitris Horn, one of the greatest Greek theatrical and film performers, is born.


Dimitris Horn (March 1921- 16 January 1998).

9 March 1924
Death of Panagiotis Danglis general and politician.He served in the Macedonian Struggle under the nom de guerre of Parmenion.


Panagiotis Danglis (1853 – March 9, 1924).

9 March 1941
The Italian "Operazione Primavera" (Operation Springtime) begins at the Albanian front. The offensive is planned and supervised by Mussolini himself who arrived in Albania on March 2. The strategic importance Height 731 , stands at the center of the Italian attack. This attack will finally fail after the tenacious and heroic resistance of the Hellenic Army.


Τhe Italian offensive.


Benito Mussolini supervises "Operation Springtime" in the front.


The order issued by Lt.Col. Ketseas on March 9:
"Hold on to your posts at all costs. I'm expecting reports, either by liaison or by phone, for the tactical situation to your left, to your right and upfront. Nobody will abandon his position or move to the rear. We will all die here.
The Battalion CO"


Height 731 after the end of all operations.

9 March 1956
Archbishop Makarios III is arrested by the British colonialist authorities in Cyprus and is exiled with three other Greekcypriots to Seychelles islands up to March 1957.

9 March 1978
PM Konstantinos Karamanlis departs for Montreux Switzerland where he will meet with his Turkish counterpart Bülent Ecevit.The discussions that take place in the next days are characterized as "constructive".


Karamanlis meeting with Ecevit at Montreux.

[Amarantos]

10 March 1821
Alexandros Ypsilantis forms the Sacred Company, which is constituted mainly by Greek students of European universities and students of the Greek School of Odessa.

10 March 1854
The Greek-Turkish diplomatic relations are interrupted due to the action of guerrilla corps in Thessaly and Macedonia.

10 March 1905
Eleftherios Venizelos at the head of 600 men takes refuge to Therissos in Chania from where he issues a proclamation declaring union of Crete with its motherland Greece.


K. Foumis, E. Venizelos and K. Manos at Therisso 1905.

10 March 1925
Manolis Anagnostakis, poet, is born in Thessaloniki.


Manolis Anagnostakis (March 10, 1925 - June 23, 2005).

10 March 1933
After the failure of the military movement of general Nikolaos Plastiras aiming to prevent the rise of anti-venizelist parties into power, Panagis Tsaldaris forms a government, supported by a powerful parliamentary majority.

10 March 1943
French, British and Greek commandos repulse fierce German attacks at Ksar Rhilane in Tunisia.The Germans suffer heavy casualties.

10 March 1944
The Political Committee of National Liberation [Πολιτική Επιτροπή Εθνικής Απελευθέρωσης (ΠΕΕΑ)] the so called "Government of the mountain" is formed under Evripidis Bakirtzis.


K Gavriilidis,St. Chatzimpeis, A. Aggelopoulos, M. Mantakas, G. Siantos, P. Kokkalis, A. Svolos, Metropolitan Ioakeim , E. Bakirtzis ,I. Tsirimokos, N. Askoutsis.

10 March 1970
Death of the comedian Vasilis Avlonitis.


Vasilis Avlonitis (January 1, 1904 - March 10, 1970).In the photo with Georgia Vasiliadou.

10 March 1978
Tobacco advertisements are prohibited on TV.

10 March 1985
Konstantinos Karamanlis resigns from the presidency following the surprise backtracking of the Prime Minister, who had initially proposed to nominate him for re-election as President of the Hellenic Republic.The chairman of the Parliament, Yannis Alevras, exercises the duties of the President up to March 29, when Christos Sartzetakis is elected to the presidential rank.

10 March 1992
Death of Giorgos Zabetas.


Giorgos Zabetas (1925 - March 10, 1992).

[Amarantos]

11 March 1822
Declaration of the Revolution in Chios island. Lykourgos Logothetis at the head of 2.500 Samiots and Bournias leading 150 Chians, who were in Samos, land in Chios and force the Turks to withdraw into the fort in the capital of the island.


Lykourgos Logothetis (Karlovasi,Samos 1772 - Αthens 1850).

11 March 1854
Papakostas Tzamalas, at the head of 2.000 rebels, attack the village of Platanos, near Almyros in Thessaly, which is held by a garrison of 200 Turk-Albanians. When half of the village is seized by the rebels, 500 Ottomans from Almyros rush in to help the local garrison, but they are blocked by Nikolaos Ziakas and Angelos Leventis and are forced to withdraw.Thus the seizure of Platanos is completed after the remaining Turk-Albanians have surrendered. The Greek flag is raised.

11 March 1912
Victory of the Liberals under E. Venizelos in the national elections winning 146 parliamentary seats out of 181.

11 March 1919
The Greek 2nd Infantry Regiment, which has landed in Sevastopolis and has assumed the defense of the city's western sector, clashes with Red troops. The Greek soldiers prove to be the best fighters of the Allied 1st Group of Divisions

11 March 1941
Division I forces repulse Italian attacks in the Trebeshine area, especially on Hill 731 and result victorious in this battle. The Italians abandon 250 of their dead on the battlefield while 501 are taken prisoner, including 23 officers. Division I has 46 men KIA and 135 WIA.

11 March 1943
The Italian garrison in Karditsa, surrounded by powerful Resistance groups, is forced to evacuate the city and to withdraw to Larissa. On the next day, elements of ELAS enter Karditsa and declare the town capital of Free Greece. The town will remain free until the end of October 1943, when it will be recaptured by the Germans. Karditsa, and the Resistance airport in the adjoining Neuropolis plateau, played a significant role during this entire period in the struggle against the occupation forces.

11 March 1978
Death of Sofia Vembo ,the singer of Victory during the Greek-Italian war.


Sofia Vembo (Kallipolis,Eastern Thrace 1910 - Athens March 11,1978).

11 March 1991
The trial for the Bank of Crete scandal begins

[Amarantos]

12 March 1449
Constantine XI Palaeologοs arrives from Mystras in Constantinople as the Emperor of Byzantium.

12 March 1822
A force of 240 rebels under the warlord of Vermio mountain Karatasos, clash with 4.000 Turks led by Mehmet Aga at the monastery of the Virgin in Dovras, Naousa. After being reinforced by Theodosios Zapheirakis, from Naousa, and the deputy commander of western Macedonia Petros Gatsos from Edessa. Karatasos forces the Turks to withdraw abandoning in the battlefield 300 killed and many wounded.

12 March 1873
The company Lavrio Mine Workings is founded.

12 March 1910
The Armored Cruiser GEORGIOS AVEROFF is launched at the Cantieri Orlando Shipyard in Livorno, Italy.


G.Averoff

12 March 1921
The First Army Corps of the Hellenic Army captures the heavily fortified Turkish city of Toumlou Bounar, as well as the strategically important surrounding region in Asia Minor.

12 March 1924
Government under PM Alexandros Papanastasiou.Resignation on July 25, 1924.

12 March 1947
The President of the USA Harry S. Truman proclaims the Truman Doctrine stating with it that his government will support the Greek one in its struggle against the communist guerrillas and preventing this way the fall of the country into the Soviet sphere.

12 March 1992
The sale of the cement factory Aget Heracles to the Italian company Calcestrucci rises a storm of reactions from the side of the Opposition (PASOK). Its leader declares that when PASOK becomes government it will not recognize the legality of the sale.

12 March 2002
Death of Spyros Kyprianou, former President of Cyprus.


Spyros Kyprianou (October 28, 1932 – March 12, 2002).

12 March 2005
Death of Stavros Kougioumtzis, one of the most significant Greek music composers. Famous songs: Μη μου θυμώνεις μάτια μου (Don't be angry with me, my love), Κάπου νυχτώνει (Somewhere the night falls), Οι ελεύθεροι κι ωραίοι (The free and beautiful), Το κόκκινο φουστάνι (The red dress).


Stavros Kougioumtzis (Thessaloniki 1932 - Thessaloniki March 12, 2005).
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6amlxJoOcAI[/YOUTUBE]

[Amarantos]

13 March 1822
Grigorios Salas, as a representative of Dimitrios Ypsilantis, declares the Revolution in the Skala region of Eleftherochori in Olympus.

13 March 1829
Abdi Aga or Abtaga, the Ottoman commander of the Antirrio fort, surrenders to Kitsos Tzavellas, Chatzichristos and Miaoulis, who on the previous day began to besiege the fort by land and by sea. Thus Nafpaktos, that was occupied by Ibrahim, is surrendered to the Greeks. The Greek flag is raised amidst festivities in the Antirrio fort.

13 March 1913
Lambros Konstantaras is born in Athens.


Lambros Konstantaras [in the middle] (March 13, 1913 - June 28, 1985).

13 March 1922
The kemalist government of Ankara on an offer of a ceasefire declares that there will not be any discussion on a truce before the evacuation of Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace by the Greek troops.

13 March 1959
The end of the armed struggle by EOKA. The leader of EOKA, Lieutenant Colonel Georgios Grivas - Digenis, orders the end of the struggle by the liberation army of Cyprus and calls on its fighters to return to their peacetime pursuits.