The Balkan Wars, 10�

The 1912-1913 period is characterized by two wars in the Balkan area that are known as �The Balkan Wars�. The reason for those was the Balkan nations� desire to free themselves from the �weak at that point- Ottoman Empire and form autonomous and independent nations.

The Naval Battle of Elli took place in 3-16 of December 1912 and was the first from the two great battles between the Hellenic Navy and the Ottoman Fleet during the First Balkan War and took place in the strait of the Dardanelles (or Hellespont). The battle ended with the Hellenic fleet�s victory and the confinement of the Ottoman in the strait. The main figures of the battle were the Averof battleship and admiral Kountouriotis.

The Naval Battle of Limnos took place in January 5th 1913 and was the second of the two great battles between the Hellenic Navy and the Ottoman Fleet during the First Balkan War and took place in the area of Limnos Island. The battle ended with the Hellenic fleet�s victory and the confinement of the Ottoman in the strait for the following decades. Footage from both of these naval battles are presented shot by cameramen who were on the Greek ships as well as footage from the areas were these events took place.

The War in Asia Minor, 15�

Greece, as the winner by Entente�s side during the World War I, was rewarded with the concession of several territories from the Bulgarian and the Ottoman Empire, countries which during the war had taken the side of the central forces.

The Arrival of the Greek Forces

In May 15th 1919 the Greek Army reached Smyrna (İzmir) and took over the city and the surrounding areas, with the support of the Greek, French and British navy. At the same time the Greeks had taken over East Thrace and Greek and Armenians of Smyrna welcomed them like saviors. The better part of the Turkish army in the area surrendered in the allies or escaped in the countryside. Footage from the arrival of the Hellenic Army, operations, Turskish captives.

Greek expansion,

In October 1920, the Greek Army moved in East Asia Minor with the support of the West that wanted the Turkish government to sign the Treaty of S�vres. The Greek Forces had a mission. To defeat the Atat�rk army and force Turks into negotiations. Footage from the onward march, Eskişehir and the Greek Army�s life in Asia Minor.

The End - The Great Fire of Smyrna,

The Greek storming parties were held down in the banks of Sangarius River and a year later the great Turkish counter-attack took place (august 1922).

Within a few weeks time, the Greek Army only owned Smyrna.

The disaster took place from the 13th till the 17th of September 1922 after the breakaway of the last Greek storming party from Asia Minor and the onrush of the Kemal Atat�rk�s guerillas in the city. Atat�rk�s army reached and conquered Smyrna. In their way in the city, the Turkish army and the chetas murdered hundreds of thousands of Greeks, men, women, even children. Footage from the catastrophe and the fire in Smyrna.

Greco-Italian War, 7�

DUCE NARRATES (1942)

 By Stamatis L. Polenakis (1908-1997)

The first Greek animation that S. Polenakis left us. A unique film inspired by Benito Mussolini�s pratfalls.

He made this animation during the Italian occupation in Sifnos Island. Concerning the creation of it, he narrates:

�After the Germans� onrush in Athens, I, along with my family went to Sifnos, in Cyclades, were I originally come from, and lived in my family�s house. The island was occupied by the Italians, and there were around one hundred soldiers there, along with officers, carabinieri etc.

They went into people�s houses using various excuses. I had my back covered of course. First of all, no one else, apart from my family, knew nothing and secondly, I had a hiding place right next to me in order to hide my drawings. As for my colors etc I had an unfinished landscape next to me.�

German Occupation and Greek Resistance, 5�

Footage from the war in the Aegean Sea and from operation �MERKUR� in Crete from the German film archive

Athens during the Occupation (footage from the amateur film of Aggelos Papanastasiou), 10�

Aggelos Papanastasiou is the first war correspondent of the Occupation. He bought a small movie camera. He hid it in a tin box and walked around Athens in Hospitals, Cemeteries, the market and filmed images from city life during Occupation.

The Sacred Band of the Middle East, 10�

The Sacred Band was a Greek �Special Forces Unit� that formed during the World War II in 1942 in the Middle East, and consisted from Greek Officers of all three forces.

Footage from the training and its action in the Middle East, Libanon and Isma�lia as well as in the Islands of the Dodecanese is presented.

Operations in the Aegean � Rigas Rigopoulos, 15�

Rigas Rigopoulos was a first lieutenant of the Sacred Band and captain of a sponge divers� ship which took part in the operations. As part of the Anglo-Hellenic Flotilla he transferred army men and ammunition in the Aegean and the East Mediterranean with a speed of 8mph.

�They told us that ours would be a guerilla war, that we would be pirates. We would raise the Turkish flag in Turkish waters and pretend to be fishermen in the German ones� said Rigopoulos. �One day another captain conquered a much bigger German ship, jumping on it like a pirate.

He brought it to us when we were celebrating Easter, within Turkish waters, Allah�s watchful eye.� His operations took place in the islands of the Dodecanese and mainly in Rodos.

The action of the 122 Order of the Greek Americans in the occupied Greece of 1943, 10�
The team of the expatriate guerillas was named 122 Order, as it was formed 122 years after the Greek Revolution of 1821.

Peter Dimosthenis Klenos, the first Greek graduate from the West Point Military School, became in charge of the Order and the mission to defeat the German forces.

His success was beyond expected.

They are described in full detail in an archive that was sealed and remained confidential for many decades.

Now that the archive has been opened by the War Museum, the production of a documentary has already begun.