Product Description

As commander of the Allied Military Mission to the Greek guerrillas in Greece in 1943-4, C.M. Woodhouse has to hold an uneasy balance between the communist and government sides. Against a background of conflicting communist doctrine, shifting foreign alliances, territorial disputes and personality differences, the communist struggle for Greece unfolded in three rounds. The first began in 1941 with the German occupation of Greece when the National Liberation Front attempted to regain control of the country and overthrow the monarchy. In the second round, the communists tried to seize power at the end of the German occupation in December 1944 and were frustrated by the intervention of British forces. The third round (1946-9) was marked by US intervention, UN fact-finding missions, and the shift from guerrilla tactics to conventional warfare. The communists were weakened by internal feuding and overcome by the US forces. The author based his research on interviews with participants, documentary sources and his own experience. He analyzes the characters, ideologies and events behind one of the longest and most bitter civil wars of modern times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #332915 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 324 pages

Review
'As a political account of Greek resistance and civil war and their international dimension it will not be superseded.' -Times Literary Supplement

About the Author
C.M. Woodhouse (1917-2001) was the author of several standard works on modern Greek history. Richard Clogg, Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford, contributes an introduction, which also surveys C.M. Woodhouse's career.

Customer Reviews

The best account, by a man who saw it himself
A comprehensive, even-handed account of the conflict full of hundreds of details you won't find anywhere else: Woodhouse was there and saw much of it for himself. Throughout he avoids the judgemental tone of many secondary sources about the conflict and displays remarkable insights into the particular mindset of the Greek communists. Ignore any disparaging comments you may have heard that Woodhouse was a British officer and so couldn't possibly produce a balanced account. If anything, the conclusion that British mistakes were largely to blame undermines those criticisms, and even the briefest glance shows remarkable maturity and depth of analysis. This is THE book to read about the Greek Civil War.

An insider's view of Greece in the 1940s
This book provides a very clear account of the turmoil in Greece during the occupations in WW2 and the subsequent Civil war. As a researcher, it gave me genuine insight into not only the events themselves, but the complex relationships that divided and almost destroyed the country. This is a must for anyone who wants to or needs to get behind the holiday version of Greece, and come to understand the tensions that still emerge from time to time. Woodhouse's personal experiences also show the British perspectives on the time, and the contradictory appproaches which contributed to the tragedy of the Civil War

Bogged down in detail!
I was hoping for clarification of the events and the personalities involved in the Greek resistence and the subsequent Civil War. Richard Clogg provides a very good introduction and attempts to put events over the tumultuous years of resistence and post war Civil War in perspective. However, Woodhouse's book is so bogged down in detail, jumping from one subject to the next, the apparent arbitrary mention of key players and all the numerous minor persons involved in those years, makes it practically impossible to gain a clear understanding of the chronolgy, the significance of specific events, the ebb and flow, the ascendancy and decline of the various factions involved that came to define Greece's modern history, to the extent that one is just left with a sense of immense frustration and disappointment. It seems as if Woodhouse transcribed his notes taken during this period, adding official communiques, without making sufficient attempt to edit his notes and to put them into a meaningful context.