Eastern Mediterranean 1946: Resumption of the Greek Civil War

In March 1946 Communist partisans reignited the civil war in Greece after denouncing the legitimacy of British and American-backed national elections. The conflict would rage for over three years, eventually ending when the Communists, having lost Soviet and Yugoslav support, agreed to make peace with the Greek government.

This map has in-depth notes in the Journal, exclusive to Patrons on Classical Tier and above. Find them in the events descriptions, marked with the Journal icon .

Main Events

7 Jun 1945–30 May 1953 Soviet territorial claims against Turkey

On 19 March 1945, at the end of World War II, the Soviet Union denounced its 1925 Treaty of Friendship with Turkey, pushing for a new treaty. Vyacheslav Molotov then outlined the Soviet terms for the new treaty in June: Turkey would restore former Russian lands in the Caucasus—ceded by the Soviet Union in 1921—to the Soviet republics of Armenia and Georgia; and would consent to joint Soviet–Turkish control of the Turkish Straits. With the assurance of the United States and Britain, Turkey quickly rejected these terms and in 1953, after the death of Stalin, the Soviet government officially renounced its demands. in wikipedia

26 Jun 1945 United Nations Charter

In June 1945 the United Nations Charter was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, by fifty of the original fifty-one founding members (Poland, the only founding member not present, would sign the charter two months later). The treaty entered into force on 24 October 1945, after being ratified by the five permanent members of the security council—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and a majority of the other signatories. in wikipedia

31 Dec 1945 Allied withdrawal from Italy

At the end of 1945 the Allied Military Government in Italy ended, except for the British Commonwealth forces in Udine and Venezia Giulia, and Yugoslav forces in the disputed territory of Istria. Despite the troop withdrawal, the Allied Commission continued to oversee the Italian government until January 1947, when Italy’s sovereignty was fully restored. in wikipedia

30 Mar 1946 Greek Civil War

During the Axis occupation of Greece, the Greek contingent of the allied war effort became divided between the government-in-exile of King George II’s and the predominantly Communist partisans of the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS) which oversaw the German withdrawal in 1944. Fighting resumed in March 1946 when a group of 30 ex-ELAS members attacked a police station in the village of Litochoro, killing the policemen, the night before national elections. Operating in Greece’s mountains, ELAS reorganized into the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) and fought a guerilla war against the Kingdom before eventually collapsing in 1949 due to lack of foreign support. in wikipedia