The migration of the Greek navy
In sharp contrast with the Greco-Italian War, where under any circumstances, the Greek navy carried out its duties, the situation changed dramatically on April 6, 1941, when the Germans launched their invasion against Greece.
From day 1, the Luftwaffe managed to gain air-supremacy (700 warplanes vs 250-300 British/ANZAC/Greek warplanes) and from the same day neutralized almost every major Greek port, either by destroying it, or by mining it, a feat that the Italian air force failed for 6 months. Especially the bombardment of Piraeus port, the largest of the county, minimized the operation capabilities of the allied army, as it negated any chance of further reinforcements.
Metaxas built a regime centralized around him and he didn’t provide for his succession. Therefore, after his death in January, the leadership and the state machinery started to disintegrate, from top to bottom. From the public services to the Army, the Air Force, the security forces, only the Navy kept its structure and its discipline, and finally left the country as a unified, coherent force. Already before the German invasion, Rear Admiral Alexandros Sakellariou, Chief of the Navy General Staff started to issue orders, from March 23, about the movement of materiel “to the south”.
After fierce but short fighting, the Metaxas Line was overrun, the Greek army in Albania retreated to avoid encirclement, and the British line in Haliacmon river was proved too thin for the Germans. Soon, the Greek generals sought to negotiate with the Germans, contrary to the orders of the Government and the General Staff, and the Greek army either collapsed or surrendered. In the chaos that followed, the British and ANZAC troops could only withdraw further south, until they reach Crete.
The navy, instead of leaving from the range of the Luftwaffe, was ordered to keep the ships, especially the new destroyers, near the capital, to facilitate the allied retreat and the transport of the cabinet members. So, most of the ships try to hide in estuaries and similar places, while they continue their escort duties for convoys.
As the military situation deteriorated, so was the civilian one. Most of the generals and the cabinet members were concerned about retaining the king’s favor to retain their positions post war and how they could leave the country with most of their possessions. So, it seems they stalled the fleet’s departure, and their presence in the ships, along with their valuables, caused the discontent of the crews and in some cases threatened mutinies.
Rear Admiral Sakellariou, by the April 10, presented a memorandum to the cabinet, concerning the migration of the navy to Alexandria, “ under the pressure of the development of the war ”. His proposals were accepted and in the next day the Supreme Naval Council issued top secret order No. 927. According to it:
(a) The main combat ships of the fleet (destroyers and submarines) would be prepared for Alexandria while the Averof and torpedo warships would be relocated to Souda.
b) By the signal “Messolonghi”, all fortresses and installations would be destroyed. However, it was explicitly stated that the facilities of the Radio Service, the workshops of the naval bases and the shipyards would remain intact in consultation with the allies.
c) By the signal “Hellas” the war files would be burned.
(d) By the signal “Hera” any personnel who could not leave would be dismissed and any vessel which could not sail would be destroyed.
An indicative of the situation was the fate of legendary armored cruiser George Averof, the flagship of the Greek Navy. When news reached that the navy command was about to scuttle the ship to prevent its capture, the crew mutinied, they cut through a closed harbor-boom with axes and handsaws to let the vessel escape, and their commanding officer dramatically embarked up a rope ladder to join them as the vessel was underway to Alexandria.
“RHNS Georgios Averof” in camo paint, RN Bombay Station, 1942, while serving under UK Royal Navy Command.
On April 18, Prime Minister Koryzis committed suicide, and Rear Admiral Sakellariou was appointed Minister of Naval Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, retaining his military office.
Most of the allied soldiers were successfully evacuated from the mainland to Crete, but the cost was terrible: From April 4 to 25, 20 units out of 36 of the Greek Navy, were sunk by the Stukas, amongst them the destroyers “King George”, “Psara” and “Hydra”, with hundreds of killed and injured.
Two exceptions were the destroyers Aetos and Spetsai. In Aetos, the captain and two senior officers of the ship resigned, and a mutiny ensued. Some of the mutineers damaged the anti-aircraft guns (not beyond repair). Lieutenant commander Ioannis Toumbas took over the ship, and told to the sailors that he wanted to arrest no one, but “ any member of the crew who does not understand his duty must leave the ship now. Whoever stays, he will continue to fight for the fatherland ”. All officers and NGOs, apart three petty officers, left, as half of the sailors. As he was leaving, the chief accountant of the ship was caught with a suitcase containing the ship’s money, he was arrested, tried and executed. In Spetsai, the mutiny was suppressed with harder measures.
Until late April, 16 ships managed to reach Alexandria and were thus placed under British command: The armored cruiser Averof, nine destroyers; Queen Olga, Spetsai, Aetos, Kountouriotis, Ierax, Panther, Aspis, Nike, and Sfendoni, five submarines; Nereus, Triton, Papanikolis, Glaucus and Katsonis and the repair ship Hephaestus. Despite the request of Rear Admiral Sakellariou for the participation of the Greek Navy in the forthcoming Battle of Crete, Andrew Cunningham deemed the vessels in poor condition from the war operations and having outdated equipment. So, they were sent to the dockyards of Bombay and Calcutta for repairs and update.
Those 16 ships, along with the remaining Greek merchant fleet, became the core of the Greek Navy-in-exile, which continued to fight around the globe until the final victory.
Queen Olga was the most modern ship of the Greek Navy which survived the battle of Greece. She continued to participate in war operations until she was sunk by German bombers at Leros island, on September 26, 1943, with the loss of 72 men