Article about: I would like to share a photo of the oath and swords nomination ceremony of the 1938 class of 2nd Lieutenants of the Evelpidon military academy. The back is reading: "Oath of the new 2n
I would like to share a photo of the oath and swords nomination ceremony of the 1938 class of 2nd Lieutenants of the Evelpidon military academy.
The back is reading: "Oath of the new 2nd Lieutenants of the 1938 class and swords nomination by His Majesty King George II. Depicted are the King, the Heir Paul, Mr. Metaxas with the ministerial cabinet, the Commander General of the Evelpidon Military Academy Mr. N. Batas and others.
Athens, May 3, 1938"
King George II, bearing the Field Marshall rank, the heir and all officers, including the new 2nd Lieutenants, are wearing the "No1" uniform. The other students, seen as a detachment at the back, are wearing the academy's distinctive uniform (dark blue with yellow piping). I. Metaxas, the dictator after August 4, 1936, is the man in the tux on far right. The ceremony is taking place at the old building of the academy.
The photo is really representative of the royalist faction monopoly in the greek political life in the late 30s. Apart from the presence of the King and supreme commander of the armed forces and the heir (and later king Paul), General Batas had taken part in an earlier unsuccesful royalist coup. I. Metaxas, a General himself, had always been close to the royal family and had taken part in the same coup, before the one that brought him to power in 1936. The same goes for some of the men of the ministerial cabinet...
The photo dimensions are 24cmx18cm. I hope you 'll find it interesting!
Wonderful photograph and history Giorgos. Love him, or hate him, Metaxas definitely showed courage by telling Mussolini no. I'm sure some of these Lts. got quick on the job training a few years after this photo was taken.
Jay, these 2nd Lieutenants were indeed actually serving as platoon leaders in 1940-41, being among the youngest officers at the time. The Academy students also took part in the war, as they were positioned in Crete, following the King prior to the invasion. They did see action against the Germans there, wearing these exact blue uniforms pictured on the photo's background. Unfortunately I missed the opportunity of buying such a tunic of the era some years ago, that would make an interesting impression...
Wow Giorgos, that would have been nice to have one of these tunics with the photo too. These junior officers did very well with the British in Crete. They hit the Fallschirmjagers hard, and many say Hitler lost the war in the east due to the timing.
Greek 2nd lieutenants' oath, 1938
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