-40%

WW2 Original ACME Telephoto First Photo Of Allies Return to Greece RAF 10/6/44

$ 261.36

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Condition: excellent photo, the paper has yellowed
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
  • Item must be returned within: 30 Days
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Restocking Fee: No

    Description

    An incredibly historic photo for the people of Greece!
    An original WW2 period rare photo showing the Men, Women and Children lending helpful hand to the British Royal Air Force in filling in the craters on an airfield in Greece. 
  This was following the withdrawal of German troops to Athens.  They would completely withdraw by the end of the month and the ensuing Greek civil war would commence.  The photo is indicated in the caption as being on the first day of the allied invasion.
    With help of some of my Greek friends, I was able to identify the mountains in the background and positively identify the airfield they were at as Araxos.  This is the history of the "invasion" below:
    "British Expedition to Greece
    September 1944 to January 1945
    Theatre: Mediterranean
    Location: Greece
    Players: Allies: Force 140 under Lieutenant General Ronald Scobie, including 2nd Brigade, Parachute Regiment and 23rd Armoured Brigade (later reinforced by 4th Indian Division and 4th British Division); Force 120 (Royal Navy). Communist EAM/ELAS forces in Athens.
    Outcome: Operation Manna was sent to prevent the Communist EAM/ELAS from seizing power in Greece after the German withdrawal.
    'Do not hesitate to act as if you were in a conquered city where a local rebellion is in progress.' - Winston Churchill to General Scobie on the uprising in Athens, December 1944
    Local resistance to the German occupation of Greece emerged in the form of the communist EAM/ELAS movement and the royalist EDES party. During the winter of 1943-4, civil war broke out between the two groups and the British became alarmed at the prospect of communist rule in Greece after the war.
    Following the German withdrawal from Greece in 1944, Churchill arranged for a small British force to accompany the Greek government back home.
    In late September 1944, Scobie's Force 140 began landing on the Peloponnese while the Special Boat Squadron (SBS) captured Araxos airfield. Parachute troops were dropped at Megara on 4 October and entered Athens on 14 October. The rest of Force 140 landed soon afterwards.
    The Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, arrived in Athens on 18 October. However, confrontation with EAM/ELAS loomed. After 15 communist protesters were shot dead, fighting broke out between ELAS and the British on 3 December. Scobie's troops were outnumbered and clinging onto a small section of the city, but once reinforcements arrived they regained the initiative and suppressed the uprising.
    On Christmas Eve, Churchill and his foreign secretary Anthony Eden flew to Athens to resolve the situation. A ceasefire was agreed on 11 January and a political settlement reached in February. It was not to last - Greece fought a bitter civil war from 1946-9.
    The fact files in this timeline were commissioned by the BBC in June 2003 and September 2005. Find out more about the authors who wrote them."
    Text of the attached caption below:
    Radiophoto
    Row 1 739303.......New York Bureau
    First Photo of Greek Invasion
    Greece—Men, Women and Children of Greece lend willing and helpful hands at filling in the craters on and airfield in Greece after the arrival of RAF forces. Early today, swarms of allied invasion forces were reported pouring into the country and threatening the German Garrison at Athens.
    BU #1 DJH FOR 70 MGS LV SEA CAN
    Credit ( British official radiophoto via OW1 from
    Acme) 10/6/44 (RM)
    Radiophoto
    Acme Newspictures, INC.
    461 Eighth Ave., New York City
    Please credit “Acme Photo”
    This picture is sold to you for your publication only and must not be loaned, syndicated or used for advertising purposes without written permission from us.
    The photo measures 9 x 7 inches.
    1 oz
    J1119-A