The 1/38 National Guard Command "Bizani" () is an infantry unit of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

, based in

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

island as part of the 95th National Guard Higher Command. It carries on the traditions of the elite 1/38 Evzone Regiment (1/38 Σύνταγμα Ευζώνων, 1/38 ΣΕ).

History

The 1/38 Evzone Regiment was formed in

Karditsa Karditsa ( ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of the region of Thessaly. Climate Karditsa has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: '' ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

, as the 1st Evzone Regiment (1° Σύνταγμα Ευζώνων) shortly before the outbreak of the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, from the 8th and 9th independent

Evzone The Evzones or Evzonoi (, ) were a type of light infantry units in the Hellenic Army. Today, they are the members of the Presidential Guard (), a ceremonial unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier () and the Presidential Mansion ...

battalions. It participated in the Balkan Wars, initially as part of the 6th Infantry Division, fighting in the battles of Sarantaporos,

Giannitsa Giannitsa ( , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit Giannitsa has an area of 2 ...

Bizani Bizani () is a village and a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 91.3 ...

(where it played a distinguished role under Major Ioannis Velissariou), Kilkis–Lachanas and Kresna–Djumaya (where the regiment lost almost half its strength and all three of its battalion commanders). After the Balkan Wars, the regiment was based in

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

. In May 1917, during the

National Schism The National Schism (), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Kingdom of Greece, Greece's foreign policy from 19 ...

, the French Army, in support of the

Venizelist Venizelism () was one of the major political movements in Greece beginning from the 1910s. The movement first formed under Eleftherios Venizelos in the 1910s and saw a resurgence of support in the 1960s when Georgios Papandreou united a coaliti ...

Provisional Government of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ve ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, entered

and ordered the disarmament of the Greek military units in the region, still loyal to the royal government in Athens. The regiment refused to obey the command to surrender its weapons, and retreated west towards the mountains. The French launched a pursuit of the unit, encircling it and forcing it to surrender. The unit was disbanded and most of its officers were imprisoned until August, when, after the exile of King

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

and the assumption of the government by Venizelos, Greece formally entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on the side of the

Entente Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

. The 1/38 Regiment was re-formed at Larissa as part of the 1st Infantry Division, and participated in the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

operations in 1918, recapturing the city of

Serres Serres ( ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northern Greece. The c ...

. The regiment subsequently fought in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

from the

Greek landing at Smyrna The Greek landing at Smyrna (; , Occupation of İzmir) was a military operation by Greek forces starting on May 15, 1919 which involved landing troops in the city of Smyrna and surrounding areas. The Allied powers sanctioned and oversaw the p ...

on 2 May 1919 until its final retreat from Asia Minor on 1 September 1922. On 10 November 1921, the regiment was awarded the highest Greek military distinction, the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour, for its performance in the field. After its return from Asia Minor, the regiment demobilized and returned to its peacetime garrison at Larissa. It remained there, under the 1st Infantry Division, until the Army reorganization of 1929, when it was disbanded. In December 1975, the 121st Special Covering Regiment (121 ΕΣΠ) at Ano Kalamonas in Rhodes, was renamed into the 38th Hellenic Gendarmerie Command (38η Διοίκηση Ταγμάτων Ελληνικής Χωροφυλακής, 38 ΔΤΕΧ), reviving the traditions of the 1/38. This connection was further emphasized in September 2000, when the unit received its current name, 1/38 National Guard Command "Bizani" (1/38 Διοίκηση Ταγμάτων Εθνοφυλακής «ΜΠΙΖΑΝΙ»).

Order of battle

Until 2005

* 211 Infantry Battalion (211 ΤΠ) * 299 Infantry Battalion (299 ΤΠ) * 548 National Guard Battalion (548 ΤΕ) * Ano Kalamonas National Guard Battalion *

Tilos Tílos (; ) is a small Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, and lies midway between Kos and Rhodes. In 2021, the island had a population of 746 people. Along with the uninhabited ...

Island Defence Command (ΔΑΝ Τήλου), added in 2004

Since 2005

* 211 Mechanized National Guard Battalion (211 Μ/Κ ΤΕ) * 542 Mechanized National Guard Battalion (548 Μ/Κ ΤΕ) * Ano Kalamonas National Guard Battalion * Tilos Island Defence Command (ΔΑΝ Τήλου)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1 38 National Guard Command Military units and formations established in 1912 Military units and formations disestablished in 1929 Military units and formations established in 1975 Rhodes 1912 establishments in Greece Commander's Crosses of the Cross of Valour (Greece) Infantry regiments of Greece