Dekemvriana The Dekemvriana ( , " December events " ) refers to a series of clashes fought in Athens from 3 December 1944 to 11 January 1945 between the Greek left - wing Resistance forces ( EAM - ELAS , KKE ) and the British Army supported by the Greek Government , the Cities Police and the far - right Organization X of Georgios Grivas . The conflict was the culmination of months of tension between the left - wing EAM - ELAS , the country ' s largest resistance movement which controlled most of Greece , and the British - backed government , which had returned from exile upon the Germans ' withdrawal in October 1944 . Although EAM had initially participated in the government , mounting differences with the traditional bourgeois parties led to the resignation of its ministers . On 3 December , a huge pro - EAM rally in central Athens was shot upon by the Police on orders from Angelos Evert , leaving 28 protesters dead 148 wounded . The killings ushered a full - blown armed confrontation between EAM and the British , under General Ronald Scobie . The clashes were limited to Athens , and elsewhere in Greece the situation remained tense , but tranquil . The " Dekemvriana " ended with the defeat of EAM - ELAS , leading to its disarmament in the Varkiza Agreement . This first defeat broke the power of EAM , and was followed by a period of " White Terror " that contributed to the outbreak of the Greek Civil War in 1946 . Background : Greece in 1944 . By 1944 , the two major resistance movements in occupied Greece , EDES and EAM - ELAS , each saw the other to be their great enemy . They both saw the Germans were going to be defeated and were a temporary threat . For the Left , the British represented their major obstacle , and for the most of the Greeks , the British were their major hope . By the summer of 1944 it was obvious that the Germans would soon withdraw from Greece , as Soviet forces were advancing into Romania and towards Yugoslavia , with the retreated Germans at risk being cut off . In September , Gen . Fyodor Tolbukhin ' s armies advanced into Bulgaria , forcing the resignation of the country ' s pro - Nazi government and the establishment of a pro - Communist regime , while Bulgarian troops withdrew from Greek Macedonia . The government - in - exile , now led by prominent liberal George Papandreou , moved to Italy , in preparation for its return to Greece . Under the Caserta Agreement of September 1944 , all resistance forces in Greece were placed under the command of a British officer , Gen . Ronald Scobie . The Western allies arrived in Greece in October , by which time the Germans were in full retreat and most of Greece ' s territory had already been liberated by Greek partisans . On October 13 British troops entered Athens , the only area still occupied by the Germans , and Papandreou and his ministers followed six days later . The king stayed in Cairo , because Papandreou had promised that the future of the monarchy would be decided by referendum . At this point there was little to prevent ELAS from taking full control of the country . With the German withdrawal , ELAS units had taken control of the countryside and of most cities . However , they did not take full control because the KKE leadership was instructed by the Soviet Union not to precipitate a crisis that could jeopardize Allied unity and put Joseph Stalin ' s larger postwar objectives at risk . KKE ’ s leadership knew this , but ELAS ' fighters and rank - and - file communists did not , which became a source of conflict within both EAM and ELAS . Following Stalin ' s instructions , KKE ’ s leadership tried to avoid a confrontation with the Papandreou government . The majority of ELAS members saw the Western Allies as liberators , although some KKE leaders , such as Andreas Tzimas and Aris Velouchiotis , did not . Tzimas was in touch with Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito , and he disagreed with ELAS ' cooperation with the Western Allied forces . The issue of disarming the resistance organizations was a cause of friction between the Papandreou government and its EAM members . Advised by British ambassador Reginald Leeper , Papandreou demanded the disarmament of all armed forces apart from the Sacred Band and the III Mountain Brigade , which were formed following the suppression of the April 1944 Egypt Mutiny , and the constitution of a National Guard under government control . EAM , believing that this would leave ELAS defenseless against right - wing militias , submitted an alternative plan of total and simultaneous disarmament . Papandreou rejected this plan , causing EAM ministers to resign from the government on December 2 . On December 1 Scobie issued a proclamation calling for the dissolution of ELAS . Command of ELAS was KKE ' s greatest source of strength , and KKE leader Siantos decided that the demand for ELAS ' dissolution must be resisted . Tito ' s influence may have played some role in ELAS ' resistance to disarmament . Tito was outwardly loyal to Stalin but had come to power through his own means and believed that the Communist Greeks should do the same . His influence , however , had not prevented the EAM leadership from putting its forces under Scobie ' s command a couple of months earlier , in accordance with to the Caserta Agreement . In the meanwhile , following Georgios Grivas ' instructions , Organization X members had set up outposts in central Athens and resisted EAM for several days , until British troops arrived , as their leader had been promised . The " Dekemvriana " . According to the Caserta Agreement , all Greek forces were under Allied command . On December 1 , 1944 , the Greek government of " National Unity " under Georgios Papandreou and Gen . Scobie ( British head of the Allied forces in Greece at that time ) announced an ultimatum for the general disarmament of all guerrilla forces by 10 December , excluding those allied to the government ( the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade and the Sacred Squadron ) and also a part of EDES and ELAS that would be used in Allied operations in Crete and Dodecanese if it was necessary . As a result , on December 2 six ministers of the EAM , most of whom were KKE members , resigned from their positions in the " National Unity " government . The EAM called for a general strike and announced the reorganization of the Central Committee of ELAS , its military wing . A demonstration was organized by EAM on December 3 . The demonstration involved at least 200 , 000 people marching on Panepistimiou Street towards the Syntagma Square . British tanks along with police units had been scattered around the area , blocking the way of the demonstrators . The shootings began when the marchers had arrived at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , above the Syntagma Square . They originated from the building of the General Police Headquarters , from the Parliament ( Βουλή ) , from the Hotel Grande Bretagne ( where international observers had settled ) , from other governmental buildings and from policemen on the street . Among many testimonies , N . Farmakis , a member of the Organization X participating in the shootings , described that he heard the head of the police Angelos Evert giving the order to open fire on the crowd . Although there are no accounts hinting that the crowd indeed possessed guns , the British commander Woodhouse insisted that it was uncertain whether the first shots were fired by the police or the demonstrators . More than 28 demonstrators were killed , and 148 were injured . This signaled the beginning of the " Dekemvrianá " ( , " the December events " ) , a 37 - day period of full - scale fighting in Athens between EAM fighters and smaller parts of ELAS , and the forces of the British army and the government . At the beginning the government had only a few policemen and gendarmes , some militia units , the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade — distinguished at the Gothic Line offensive in Italy , which , however , lacked heavy weapons — and the royalist group Organization X , also known as " Chítes " , which was accused by EAM of collaborating with the Nazis . Consequently the British intervened in support of the government , freely using artillery and aircraft as the battle approached its last stages . On December 4 Papandreou gave his resignation to the British Commander , Gen . Scobie , who rejected it . By December 12 ΕΑΜ was in control of most of Athens and Piraeus . The British , outnumbered , flew in the 4th Indian Infantry Division from Italy as emergency reinforcements . Although the British were openly fighting against EAM in Athens , there were no such battles in the rest of Greece . In certain cases , such as Volos , some RAF units even surrendered equipment to ELAS fighters . Conflicts continued throughout December with the forces confronting EAM slowly gaining the upper hand . ELAS forces in the rest of Greece did not attack the British . It seems that ELAS preferred to avoid an armed confrontation with the British forces initially and later tried to reduce the conflict as much as possible , although poor communication between its much independent units around the country might also have played a role . This might explain the simultaneous struggle against the British , the large - scale ELAS operations against trotskyists , anarchists and other political dissidents in Athens , and the many contradictory decisions of EAM leaders . Videlicet , KKE ' s leadership , was supporting a doctrine of " national unity " while eminent members , such as Stringos , Makridis and even Georgios Siantos , were creating revolutionary plans . Even more curiously , Tito was both the KKE ' s key sponsor and a key British ally , owing his physical and political survival in 1944 to British assistance . This outbreak of fighting between Allied forces and an anti - German European resistance movement , while the war in Europe was still being fought , was a serious political problem for Churchill ' s coalition government of left and right , and caused much protest in the British press and the House of Commons . To prove his peace - making intentions to the public , Churchill went to Athens on December 25 to preside over a conference , in which Soviet representatives also participated , to bring about a settlement . It failed because the EAM / ELAS demands were considered excessive and , thus , rejected . Meanwhile , the Soviet Union remained passive about developments in Greece . True to their " percentages agreement " with Britain relating to Greece , the Soviet delegation in Greece did not encourage or discourage EAM ' s ambitions , as Greece belonged to the British sphere of influence . The delegation ' s chief gained the nickname " sphinx " among local Communist officers for not giving any clues about Soviet intentions . " Pravda " did not mention the clashes at all . It is speculated that Stalin did not interfere because Soviet Union would profit no matter the outcome . If EAM rose to power , he would gain a country of major strategic value . If not , he could use British actions in Greece to justify similar actions in countries in his own sphere of influence . By early January EAM forces had lost the battle . Despite Churchill ' s intervention , Papandreou resigned and was replaced by Gen . Nikolaos Plastiras . On January 15 , 1945 , Scobie agreed to a ceasefire in exchange for ELAS ' withdrawal from its positions at Patras and Thessaloniki and its demobilization in the Peloponnese . Despite this severe defeat , ELAS continued to exist and the KKE had an opportunity to reconsider its strategy . Aftermath and impact . KKE ' s defeat in 1945 was mainly political but the exaltation of terrorism in the whole country made a political settlement even more difficult . The hunting of " collaborators " was extended to people who were supporting the Greek government . It is remarkable the cruelty that Organization for the Protection of the People ' s Struggle ( OPLA ) and other minor communist groups showed during the events against their opponents ( including policemen , professors , priests etc . ) , something that increased the anti - communist fury on the other side . In the area of ULEN refineries were executed hundreds of non - communists . Also , several Trotskyists had to leave the country in fear for their lives ( Cornelius Castoriadis fled to France ) . As a result of the fighting in Athens , most of the prominent non - communists of EAM left the organization and KKE support declined sharply . After the ceasefire , ELAS under the leadership of Siantos left Athens , taking thousands of captives .