The Battle for Athens: Strategy and Tactics," in the Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora, (Vol.22.2) P
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
“The Art of Manipulation”: British Foreign Policy in Greece and the Declaration of the Truman Doctrine: October 1944 to March 1947. By Simeon Spero Zachary Paravantes B.A, University College of the Cariboo, 2000 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History © Simeon Spero Zachary Paravantes 2009 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2009 All Rights Reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or by other means, without permission of the author. Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-59735-4 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-59735-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 Abstract From 1940 to 1945, Churchill's foreign policy in South-Eastern Europe was geared towards maintaining Greece in the British sphere of influence. Even after the election of a Labour government in the summer of 1945, for the next year and a half the Albion's policy focussed on the preservation of British influence in the tip of the Balkan Peninsula. However, in what appeared to be a major reversal of policy in February of 1947, the British informed the United States that they could do no more in Greece, and in so doing manipulated the Americans into assuming support for their interests through the declaration and implementation of the Truman doctrine. The reasons behind the British decision to surrender Greece to the United States after being determined to hold onto it for so long, and the question of whether or not they quietly manoeuvred the United States into assuming support for British interests are the central issues of this thesis. Furthermore, the fact that British troops remained in Greece into 1948 and beyond could indicate that their situation was not as desperate as they presented in February 1947. Additionally, this shift may not have been as significant as it seemed initially since the American intervention allowed British strategic interests in the Mediterranean to be preserved at a dramatically reduced cost. iii Dedication To Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Who had faith in me, When no one, Including myself, did. iv Acknowledgements First of all I would like to thank my wonderful mother Corinne, my father Dean, and my brother Nic, for their support and encouragement from the time that I began this program. I do not deserve to have been given such a wonderful family, and I fear that I will never be able to repay them for the love, support and friendship they have shown me. I have learned so much from each of you. I would also like to thank my uncle Ted Paravantes for his advice and encouragement throughout the process of finishing my Master’s Degree. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my many friends and coworkers who have lived through this process with me over the past six years. All of you have helped make the journey bearable, but I would like to single out the Howells. You have all become like my second family. Thank you for your support. I would also like to thank my instructors at UCC (now TRU) Drs. Michael Gorman, John Belshaw, John Fudge and Andrew Yarmie, for their instruction, letters of reference, and questions regarding my progress at Simon Fraser University. My thanks also go to Adrian Verenca and Eldon Larson, two of my best friends and two individuals who happen to be my employers. Their support and encouragement helped sustain me through many tough times, and their work ethic inspired me to keep going when everything inside of me was telling me to quit. I have also been very fortunate to have had such wonderful teachers from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of all Saints in Kamloops. Fathers Roman Tsaplan, Mykhaylo Pozdyk and Igumen Simeon Weare have, by their example, allowed me to begin to learn faith, humility and dedication. I would also like to thank Margaret Gardiner, Librarian at the SFU Kamloops Library, for always helping me to get the resources that I needed to complete the research for my Thesis. Your kindness and help did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. v Many thanks go to the members of my examination committee who made themselves available at great inconvenience to themselves, to read my work and offer valuable criticism and comments. Drs. Dimitrios Krallis and Lara Nettelfield’s thoughtful revisions were crucial to the finishing of this Thesis. My deepest thanks are reserved for my senior supervisor Andre Gerolymatos for seeing me through this process. His comments, revisions, suggestions, and guidance have made this thesis what it is. He has also helped gain a greater understanding of this dark period of Greek history and has reminded me, through his own work and through his help with mine, of the human cost that is paid conflicts such as these. Sadly it is a lesson that is seldom learned, and often not discussed. Additionally, his support, kindness and understanding during my mother's illness and death will never be forgotten and I will always be grateful. Khoritsi mou, Agapimene mou, my girl, my beloved. I am sorry that it took me so long to find you. Thank you for waiting for me. PS: My thanks for Rydley and Achilles, my running buddies, who give so much without saying a word, and who keep me company while the rest of the world is sleeping. vi Table of Contents Approval .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .................................................................................................................. iii Dedication ..............................................................................................................