The Greek First Army (, ''Proti Stratia''), is the highest formation 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 ...

and its only extant

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

. Various English and German-language sources erroneously mention the existence of a First Army during the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...

and the

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasi ...

(1940–41). The Greek Army did not employ an army-level command in this period. Leo Niehorster's website shows the higher organisation of the Greek Army on 15 August 1940, with the General Staff of the Army directly supervising five corps, three divisions, and the Thessaloniki Fortress. The First Army was created in March 1947, during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

. It controlled the II and III Corps, with

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

as its headquarters. It was abolished on 10 February 1948, and re-established in 1951 with its HQ at

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 ...

, where it remains to this day. Its CO is always a lieutenant general.

Structure

* First Army (''1η Στρατιά''), based at

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 ...

which includes ** IV Army Corps (Δ' Σώμα Στρατού - Δ' ΣΣ), based at

Xanthi Xanthi is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope mountain chain, the city is divided ...

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

** I Infantry Division (''I ΜΠ''), based at

Veroia Veria (; ), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Beroea or Berea, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of Imathia. It is located north-nort ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

** II Mechanised Infantry Division (''II Μ/Κ ΜΠ''), based at

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

Emblem and Motto

The emblem of the 1st Army is an Ancient Macedonian shield, emblazoned with the sun of Vergina. It symbolizes determination, strength and the will of the First Army. The motto is ''"As long as (the sun) follows his course"'' (, ''est' an (o ilios) tin aftin odon ii''). Before the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Polis, Greek city-states (including Sparta, Cla ...

, Mardonius offered the Athenians peace terms, with the hope of dividing the Greek forces. The Athenians responded with "As long as the sun follows his course, as he does now, we shall not come to a compromise with Xerxes".

Sources

* Field armies of Greece 1951 establishments in Greece Larissa {{Greece-mil-stub