The manning of the Greek guerilla corps

The armed Macedonian Struggle was a guerilla war, mainly between the Greeks and the Bulgarians. The distinction between Patriarchists, i.e. believers in the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Exarchists, i.e. adherents to the Bulgarian church (Exarchy), was characteristic of the period. The strategic goal of each faction in the cities and the countryside was to revive the national mindset of its followers and to discourage its opponents. Toward this purpose, armed groups, as well as support, supply and information networks were organised, manned by members of all social classes, in the cities and in the countryside.

The Greek struggle relied on the pan-Hellenic willingness of civilians and soldiers to enlist in the armed forces. Many soldiers served in the Consulate General as “special clerks”, who were the organizers of the struggle and therefore regularly travelled in various regions of Macedonia. Vlach-speaking Greeks in cities and towns, who resisted the proselytizing of Bulgaria and Romania, sided with them. United, they fought together with volunteers from the free Greek state (Pelion, Mani, the Ionian Islands etc.), but also from areas outside of Greece (Crete, Epirus, Eastern Rumelia, Cyprus). Plans were drawn up to ensure the successful action of these corps, which took into account the priorities of the national policy, as well as the geography and morphology of the soil. Their aim was to control the roads and passages, which was necessary for the supply of the guerilla groups, but also for the overall control of the countryside.