Georgios Grivas (; 6 June 1897 – 27 January 1974), also known by his nickname Digenis (), was the Cypriot founder and leader of the Greek and Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisations Organization X (1942–1949), EOKA (1955–1959) and EOKA B (1971–1974).
A specialist of guerilla and asymmetric warfare, he was one of the main actors in the Cypriot War of Independence, securing the independence of Cyprus against the British Empire. He died only six months prior to the 1974 Cypriot coup d'état by the EOKA-B.
Early life
Grivas was born in Trikomo on 23 May 1898, the fourth child of Greek Cypriot parents Kalomira Hatzimichael and Theodoros Grivas. He grew up in Trikomo. After attending his village school, he studied at the Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia from 1909 to 1915, living with his grandmother during this time.
Early military career
In 1916, Grivas moved to Greece; according to his obituary in The Times of London, he had left the family home after learning that his father intended him to become a physician. He took Greek citizenship and enrolled at the Hellenic Military Academy. He completed his military studies at the École Militaire in Paris. He graduated in 1919, and joined the Hellenic Army with the rank of Sub-Lieutenant and was immediately posted on the Asia Minor front of the Greco-Turkish War. He served in the Hellenic Army's 10th Division and participated in its advance from Smyrna to Panormos (today Bandirma) and Eskişehir, past Bursa and the Battle of Sakarya. With the subsequent retreat of the Hellenic Army from Asia Minor in 1922 (because of the Treaty of Lausanne), he was placed at Redestos in Thrace. He was decorated for his bravery and promoted to Lieutenant. He was later selected to study at the French Military Academy and upon his return to Greece he served in a number of posts, including that of a lecturer at the Hellenic Military Academy. He was promoted to captain in 1925 and to Major in 1935. Two years later he married Vasiliki Deka, the daughter of an Athenian pharmacist.
World War II and German occupation
With the beginning of World War II, Grivas was transferred to the operations department of the central headquarters of the Hellenic Army, working on the strategic defensive plans for Northern Greece. When the Greco-Italian War broke out, Grivas was deployed to the Albanian front in December 1940, and served as Chief of Staff of the 2nd Division.
Following the German-Italian-Bulgarian occupation of Greece during World War II, Grivas founded and led the Organisation X, a minor far-right guerrilla organisation made up of officers of the Greek Army whose influence was limited to certain neighbourhoods of Athens. It played a minor role in the Greek Resistance to the Axis occupation of Greece. Its activities included spying for the Allied powers and launching minor attacks and sabotage operations against the occupiers. During the events of December 1944, members of Organisation X, using weapons recovered from the retreating Germans, fought at the Theseon alongside British and Greek monarchist forces to prevent EAM/ELAS fighters to take control of Athens.
In 1946, he retired from the Hellenic Army on his own request. His subsequent attempts to enter politics were unsuccessful.
The EOKA guerrilla campaign
Following his retirement, Grivas focused on the idea of ridding Cyprus of British colonial rule and uniting it with Greece (Enosis). As a member of the secret Committee for the Cyprus Struggle he took the oath of Enosis together with the newly elected Archbishop Makarios III, with whom he collaborated for preparing the armed struggle. He arrived secretly in Cyprus in November 1954 and began immediately the formation of his guerrilla organisation EOKA. On 1 April 1955 with a declaration that he signed as DIGENIS and a number of bombings against various targets in the four major cities and military installations, he announced the beginning of his campaign for Self Determination – Union with Greece.