Collaboration, 1941 - 1944
II Evzone Battalion Service Certificate
Service certificate of the II Evzone Battalion, stationed in Nafpaktos. The text reads:
II Nafpaktos Evzone Battalion
Certificate
I, the signing Infantry Major Georgios Kapetzonis, Commanding Officer of the aforementioned Battalion, certify that Infantry Major Andreas Farsaris has served in the Security Battalions since December 1, 1943 and in the Battalion commanded by me until September 31, 1944, when he followed the Battalion to the concentration camp of Araxos until the present day. The aforementioned Major is led by Nationalistic Ideals - and has also displayed an Outstanding Conduct, having supported the work undertaken by us against the anarchist elements acting in Greece.
Araxos, November 1944
The Commanding Officer of the Battalion
(signature)
The CO of the Battalion, Major Kapetzonis, initially served in the 5/42 Regiment, led by Resistance organization EKKA. At the same time, he was a member of the "Military Hierarchy", led by Alexandros Papagos and objected to a possible cooperation with ELAS, by creating an anticommunist core within the unit. After the clashes which led to the destruction of 5/42 by ELAS in April 1944, Kapetzonis and about 100 of his men retreated to the Corinthian Gulf, where they surrendered to the Germans and later joined the Evzone Regiment of Patras. According to another certificate, which was offered for sale to the collectors' market by the same source, Major Farsaris also served in this formation, whose 5th Company -alongside with the 5th and 6th ones of the Agrinio Battalion- was transferred to Nafpaktos in late June 1944, as the core for the organization of the town's new Battalion. Farsaris is also listed in the officers' cadre as a Treasurer.
Kapetzonis arrived in Nafpaktos in July 1944, commanding a further force of the Patras Regiment, consisting of men of 5/42, in order to reinforce the recently raised Nafpaktos Battalion, which had already had its first battle with the forces of ELAS. He assumed command of the unit and improved the defensive positions of the town. In the following period, a series of small-scale battles and skirmishes took place between the besieged Battalion and ELAS, with the former being supported by the Germans.
After the retreat of the Germans from the area on September 12, 1944, the situation could be characterized as a stalemate. The Collaborators lacked support and could not break the encirclement, while ELAS could not take the heavily fortified town. After negotiations, the Evzones joined the newly instituted National Army on September 15 and were transported with small boats to Peloponnese three days later, after an agreement with ELAS. There, they surrendered to a force of the British SBS and were confined in the Barracks of Araxos. The certificate was issued during this period, a few days before the Battle of Athens, and is characteristic of the climate of this time period.
Kapetzonis, alongside with most officers and a few men of the Battalion, were first transported to Patras, later to Piraeus and, finally, from there, to Taranto, Italy. They were repatriated and released in March 1945.
II Nafpaktos Evzone Battalion
Certificate
I, the signing Infantry Major Georgios Kapetzonis, Commanding Officer of the aforementioned Battalion, certify that Infantry Major Andreas Farsaris has served in the Security Battalions since December 1, 1943 and in the Battalion commanded by me until September 31, 1944, when he followed the Battalion to the concentration camp of Araxos until the present day. The aforementioned Major is led by Nationalistic Ideals - and has also displayed an Outstanding Conduct, having supported the work undertaken by us against the anarchist elements acting in Greece.
Araxos, November 1944
The Commanding Officer of the Battalion
(signature)
The CO of the Battalion, Major Kapetzonis, initially served in the 5/42 Regiment, led by Resistance organization EKKA. At the same time, he was a member of the "Military Hierarchy", led by Alexandros Papagos and objected to a possible cooperation with ELAS, by creating an anticommunist core within the unit. After the clashes which led to the destruction of 5/42 by ELAS in April 1944, Kapetzonis and about 100 of his men retreated to the Corinthian Gulf, where they surrendered to the Germans and later joined the Evzone Regiment of Patras. According to another certificate, which was offered for sale to the collectors' market by the same source, Major Farsaris also served in this formation, whose 5th Company -alongside with the 5th and 6th ones of the Agrinio Battalion- was transferred to Nafpaktos in late June 1944, as the core for the organization of the town's new Battalion. Farsaris is also listed in the officers' cadre as a Treasurer.
Kapetzonis arrived in Nafpaktos in July 1944, commanding a further force of the Patras Regiment, consisting of men of 5/42, in order to reinforce the recently raised Nafpaktos Battalion, which had already had its first battle with the forces of ELAS. He assumed command of the unit and improved the defensive positions of the town. In the following period, a series of small-scale battles and skirmishes took place between the besieged Battalion and ELAS, with the former being supported by the Germans.
After the retreat of the Germans from the area on September 12, 1944, the situation could be characterized as a stalemate. The Collaborators lacked support and could not break the encirclement, while ELAS could not take the heavily fortified town. After negotiations, the Evzones joined the newly instituted National Army on September 15 and were transported with small boats to Peloponnese three days later, after an agreement with ELAS. There, they surrendered to a force of the British SBS and were confined in the Barracks of Araxos. The certificate was issued during this period, a few days before the Battle of Athens, and is characteristic of the climate of this time period.
Kapetzonis, alongside with most officers and a few men of the Battalion, were first transported to Patras, later to Piraeus and, finally, from there, to Taranto, Italy. They were repatriated and released in March 1945.