The Roman Legion (), also known as the Vlach Legion () in later bibliography, was a pro-
Axis
An axis (: axes) may refer to:
Mathematics
*A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular:
** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system
*** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
political and paramilitary organization active in Greece in 1941–1942, in the regions of
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 ...
and
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 ...
. It was created by
Alcibiades Diamandi
Alcibiades Diamandi (13 August 1893 – 9 July 1948, sometimes spelled ''Diamanti'' or ''Diamantis''; ; ) was an Aromanian political figure of Greece and Axis collaborator, active during the First and Second world wars in connection with the I ...
, an
Aromanian (Vlach) from
Samarina
Samarina (, ) is a village and a former municipality in Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Grevena, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population primarily consis ...
(, or ) who served as an agent of Italy and Romania.
[Οι Κουτσόβλαχοι, Εθνολογική και λαογραφική μελέτη, Α. Κολτσίδας (Antones Mich Koltsidas), 1976, σελ. 115 "...στον πράκτορα των ιταλορουμανικών συμφερόντων Αλκιβιάδη Διαμάντη]
/ref> The Roman Legion initially had around 2,000 members, and was supported by a small part of the local Aromanians. It consisted of the dregs of the local population, such as former criminals.[ Davide Rodogno. ''Fascism's European empire: Italian occupation during the Second World War''. Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 326. ] It was dissolved in 1942.
History
Diamandi was active in the Greek regions of 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 ...
and 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 ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, supporting the Italian and German occupation forces and promoting the creation of an autonomous Aromanian (Vlach) state, envisioned as the " Principality of the Pindus", a name also used for a similar attempt in 1917, in which Diamanti had also been involved. Calling himself a leader and a representative of the Aromanians of the Balkans, Diamanti established an organization named the Roman Legion and helped the Italian forces collect weapons that Greeks had hidden after the surrender of the Greek Army. Diamanti left Greece by the summer of 1942 for Romania and Nicolaos Matussis
Nicolaos Matussis, also spelled as Nicolae Matussi (; 1899–1991), was an Aromanian lawyer, politician and leader of the Roman Legion, a collaborationist, separatist Aromanian paramilitary unit active during World War II in central Greece.
Ea ...
, an Aromanian lawyer, already active as second-in-command, replaced him in the organization. Another important figure in the Roman Legion was the Aromanian Vassilis Rapotikas, who led the paramilitary units. After action from several resistance groups in 1942 and the response of the ELAS against members of the Roman Legion, and the withdrawal of Italian forces, the Legion ceased to exist in September 1943, while Matussis fled to Athens.
The fate of the leading figures and the members of the Roman Legion is the following:
* Alcibiades Diamandi
Alcibiades Diamandi (13 August 1893 – 9 July 1948, sometimes spelled ''Diamanti'' or ''Diamantis''; ; ) was an Aromanian political figure of Greece and Axis collaborator, active during the First and Second world wars in connection with the I ...
left for Romania in 1942, where he was later jailed when the Allies won and the new Communist government took power. He died in jail in Romania in 1948.Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestați, torturați, întemnițați, uciși. Dicționar D-E, Vol.3: Dicționar D-E
Lucrare revizuită de dr. Mihaela Andreiovici. Editura Mașina de scris, 2002, p. 73 In Greece he had been condemned to death by the Special Collaborationist Courts (Ειδικά Δικαστήρια Δοσιλόγων) set up in 1945–1947.
*
Nicolaos Matussis
Nicolaos Matussis, also spelled as Nicolae Matussi (; 1899–1991), was an Aromanian lawyer, politician and leader of the Roman Legion, a collaborationist, separatist Aromanian paramilitary unit active during World War II in central Greece.
Ea ...
also left Greece for Romania, one year later in 1943. He was also jailed and was handed over to the Greek authorities in 1964. In Greece, he began to serve the sentence he had received ''in absentia'' from the Special Treason Court after the war, but asked for a re-trial and was found not guilty. (At the time, several people had been pardoned for their crimes, if they could demonstrate that they were not communists, and as he had been jailed in a communist country, he had a certain presumption of good faith.) He was released and his civil rights were completely restored by a Greek court. He lived in
Larisa until his death in 1991. Until his death, Matussis denied of ever being a collaborationist or a member of the legion.
*
Vassilis Rapotikas was captured by the ELAS and killed on the way to ELAS headquarters at the end of May or in the beginning of June 1943.
[Σταύρος Παπαγιάννης (Stavros Papayiannis), , 1999, 2004, p. 183]
* The members of the Roman Legion who did not flee to Romania were tried in the Treason Courts in 1945–1947 and sentenced. Of 617 people accused, 152 were found guilty, 91 of whom did not receive a sentence since they were already imprisoned for treason in other cases. For 55 there was no outcome due to their prior death (many of them killed by the
Greek resistance). Some 319 were found innocent.
[Τα παιδιά της λύκαινας. Οι "επίγονοι" της 5ης Ρωμαϊκής Λεγεώνας κατά τη διάρκεια της Κατοχής (1941–1944), (The children of the she-wolf, the "descendants" of the 5th Roman Legion during the period of the Occupation of Greece) (1941–1944), Σταύρος Παπαγιάννης (Stavros Papayiannis), Εκδόσεις Σοκόλη. , 1999, 2004, p. 434]
There are varying accounts regarding the number of members of the legion. According to a recent estimate by Kostas Verros, 400-450 men were enlisted (200 under Rapotikas, 200 under smaller units in Thessaly, 40 under the command of Georgios Metsiobounas, who was a close associate of Diamandis, and 12 high school students who received arms from the Italians). Nevertheless, this is impossible to confirm with reliable contemporary figures.
According to an estimate by Georgios Exarchos, based on an interview of Matussis, there were only 126 opportunists enlisted, mostly of
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
descent. According to
Ioannis Koliopoulos, this claim would be part of a late tendency among Greeks of Aromanian descent to minimize the appeal that Italian propaganda and an Aromanian principality caused among their people and to question the very existence of the Roman Legion.
Koliopoulos states that the members numbered as many as 2,000 during the first half of 1942.
Leaders of the Roman Legion
* 1941–July 1942:
Alcibiades Diamandi
Alcibiades Diamandi (13 August 1893 – 9 July 1948, sometimes spelled ''Diamanti'' or ''Diamantis''; ; ) was an Aromanian political figure of Greece and Axis collaborator, active during the First and Second world wars in connection with the I ...
* July 1942–autumn 1942:
Nicolaos Matussis
Nicolaos Matussis, also spelled as Nicolae Matussi (; 1899–1991), was an Aromanian lawyer, politician and leader of the Roman Legion, a collaborationist, separatist Aromanian paramilitary unit active during World War II in central Greece.
Ea ...
(denied by Matussis
)
References
Further reading
*Τα παιδιά της λύκαινας. Οι "επίγονοι" της 5ης Ρωμαϊκής Λεγεώνας κατά τη διάρκεια της Κατοχής (1941–1944) (The children of the she-wolf, the "descendants" of the 5th Roman Legion during the period of the Occupation of Greece) (1941–1944), Σταύρος Παπαγιάννης (Stavros Papayiannis), Εκδόσεις Σοκόλη. , 1999, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Legion
History of the Aromanians
Aromanian nationalism
Paramilitary organizations based in Greece
Pindus
Italian occupation of Greece during World War II
Secessionist organizations in Europe
Collaboration with Fascist Italy
Aromanians in Greece
Separatism in Greece
1941 establishments in Greece
1943 disestablishments in Greece