Greek People's Liberation Navy

Greek People's Liberation Navy
Ελληνικό Λαϊκό Απελευθερωτικό Ναυτικό
Greek People's Liberation Navy; Ελληνικό Λαϊκό Απελευθερωτικό Ναυτικό
	An ELAN ship seizes a vessel during patrol
Dates of operation	1942–1945
Size	~1,200 men, ~100 mostly small armed boats
Part of	National Liberation Front
Allies	Soviet Union, SNOF, Albanian Partisans, Bulgarian Partisans, Yugoslav Partisans, Yugoslavia (Until July 1949), SOE
Opponents	German Army, Royal Italian Army, Kingdom of Bulgaria, Collaborationist government, Security Battalions, Kingdom of Greece
Battles and wars	Greek resistance; Greek Civil War

The Greek People's Liberation Navy (Greek: Ελληνικό Λαϊκό Απελευθερωτικό Ναυτικό; Elliniko Laiko Apeleftherotiko Naftiko), commonly abbreviated as ELAN (ΕΛΑΝ), was the naval force of the communist-led Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) resistance movement during World War II, and later during the Greek Civil War.^[1]^[2]

ELAN was essentially an auxiliary coastal force, operating mostly caïque and other small vessels near the coasts of the Greek mainland and between the islands. By mid-1944 however it had grown to about 100 mostly small armed boats and over 1,200 men, divided into seven squadrons of three or four flotillas with up to six vessels each.

Structure

By the time of Liberation in late October 1944, ELAN was organized into six squadrons and a number of independent detachments, named after their areas of operations. These were:

1st Squadron operating in the western Peloponnese and Zakynthos
2nd Squadron operating in western Continental Greece and the northern Ionian Islands
3rd Squadron operating in the Euboic, Saronic and Malian gulfs
4th Squadron operating on the coasts of Pelion and the Pagasetic Gulf
5th Squadron operating on the coasts of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
6th Squadron operating in the Thermaic Gulf and Chalcidice
Independent Squadron operating in the Argolic Gulf
ELAN of Chios
ELAN of Lesbos

References

^ Elaine Thomopoulos (2012), The History of Greece, ABC-CLIO, pp. 130–, ISBN 978-0-313-37511-8
^ American University (Washington, D.C.). Special Warfare Research Division; Doris M. Condit (1961), Case Study in Guerrilla War: Greece During World War II, Special Warfare Research Division, Special Operations Research Office, American University, pp. 332–