The Greek Sacred Band was steeped in the epic military history of the ancient hoplite warriors.
Established in 1942, the unit was trained to follow the footsteps of the British SAS and the Special Boat Service.
For over two years, the seasoned Greek commandos conducted land and sea-based raids against the Axis forces. Having honed their skills to perfection, they were now ready to reconquer the Aegean islands.
During moonless nights, the commandos boarded their small boats, stealthily approached the Dodecanese islands, and launched hit-and-run attacks from multiple sectors to overwhelm the enemy.
By the time the Axis forces could retaliate, they were already encircled and cut off by several commandos.
This strategy cemented the reputation of the Greek Sacred Band as the corsairs and liberators of the Aegean…
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As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. –
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Truly men who loved their country and its traditions. Greece was the first democracy, now a constitutional republic. Sound familiar?
i always end up back on your channel every few months to binge the what i missed. I never get your videos reccomended but I always come back <3
I have the luck to coming one of this island Symi and i now exactly where the komandos coming the night time and kets them all of them the night time!!!!
Hard “PROUD” men indeed… Bless them all…
No attacks were carried out in Samoa because Samoa is in the Polynesia. Probably those attacks took place in Samos hehe…
Όχι 🖐😁
Samos (Σάμος)…Samoa? wtf! 🤔
Let that be a lesson to ya, don't fuq with the Greeks!
The modern day Greek Special Forces 1st Mountain Raiders/Paratroopers Brigade ( ''LOK'') still carries on the tradition of the ''Sacred Band'' and their unit insignia is similar to the one of the British SAS with the Wings & Sword and they also share the motto: ''Who Dares Wins" written in Greek "Ο Tολμών Nικά"
("O Tolmon Nika").
Greece, though still quite limited in territory, gained its independence in 1830, not in the beginning of the 20th century ! Meanwhile,big part of the video is depicting the Greek Civil War ! Besides that, the narration is interesting and accurate.
Greek independent 1830 85 years before ww1
Google " Battle of Rimini " Greek Mountain brigade was the first Aly force enter Italian City of Rimini after 25 days fighting with the Germans
The Theban Sacred Band was wiped out by the Macedonians, not the Spartans.
A gutsy unit that kicked the axis out of Greece , Bravo !!
Poor and minimal effective unit. Never acted in Greece.🤣
Samoa is in the Pacific. Samos is in Greece. Good video nonetheless. In terms of the Pacific theater, Greeks served in Korea in 1950-52. I think that’s the farthest east Greek army units had ever served.
We will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks!
Winston Churchill
My wife's uncle was a sergeant radio operator who transferred to the SBS and his team worked in the Greek Islands, His group became part of the Greek Sacred Squadron (alternate name to Sacred Band). I have his medals, a copy of the Sacred Squadron insignia and a lot of letters etc about his exploits.
It's a sad fact and actually a disgrace at least for all the European nation and I would add also our American friends not acknowledging Greece's contribution to slowdown the axis forces in order that their attack to the Russia was got stuck due to winter to outskirts of Moscow due to the transformation of all fields to swamps stucking both their tanks and infantry. That fact turned the tide of war slowly but visibly into favor of all the powers that fought axis powers. Greece should have been the first to seat on the peace table and be fully refunded economically cause it lost not only great numbers of its population but also all its gold as a nation it's infrastructures being destroyed by both sides and the majority of livestock that had in agricultural sector and 3 crops of food at least. In 1941 more than 200.000 Greeks were led to death due to famine and another 2.000.000 at least to serious malnutrition something that didnt happened to any other country fighting axis nor to any occupied by axis forces.
Also all the Greek commercial fleet of the time that was huge aided the effort of convoys sending all kind of help from USA to UK until the D Day landing and even more. If those ships hadn't participated it was pretty sure that Britain would be conquered by the axis making the D-Day landing impossible.
Somoa is in the Pacific … The Sacred band attacked the Island of Samos!!!
Greece was not a young state when Italy declared war on her in WW2…! It was already 110 years old…! Greece got its independance via the London Treaty of 1829…
OK, I am Greek also, proud for the bravery or my ancestors and all that, but at some point we must all stop being proud for the worst thing of all, WAR, and build a world upon respect and justice.
great video
The Greek contribution the military and the civilian resistance against the forces of the axis was determined for the outcome of the Second World War
The truth is that King, Pangiotis kanelopoulos and the Greek Government fled Greece and went to Egypt and the democratic people of Greece under EAM and ELAS with Aris Velouhiotis leading the resistance against the Germans from day one. and the leberation of Athens on October 12 was by ELAS.
Greece is the only country that the allied forces went against the resistance fighters and with their involvement they put Greece in a civil war for their interests
Nice work, but on an interesting side note. Most of the footage is of the British HOSTILE Invasion of Athens in December of 1944. The allies became enemies and invaders on the drop of a dime, fearing that the Greek Liberation Army, would take political command in Athens after successfully driving the Germans out of most of Greece. Churchill ordered General Skoby to "act as if invading a hostile country". Hundreds, if not thousands of Greek unarmed citizens were killed over the following 2 months. Over 4000 bombs were dropped on Athens alone.
Even Stalin of USSR, thanked, eventually, greeks for that battle, that delayed nazi/german troops to invade russia long enough to form a better resistance, that would lead to nazis trap in stalingrad. After that the general defeat of the axis would start.
mussolini didn't come up with fascism… gentile did no?
You forgot to mention Italy, the Gothic line. I thought this was where Greek exiled troops earned most of their laurels.
Watching from Greece.hi everybody.
Interesting video.(It's Samos not Samoa).
1:51 Greece achieved independence from the Othomans in 1830 , not before WWI
🇭🇲😀👍🍻🍻🇬🇷
The thumpnail photo is actually from the first balkan war and specifically from the Epirus front.
Hello from Greece🥂
Brave German soldiers! 😎👍💪🐺
Greece 🇬🇷 ❤ !
Make and a video for the genocid they have done in Albania in the end of the wor they killed the cildren the old pople
My aunt vividly remembers when Italian soldiers pillaged the family's farm, stuffing live chickens into their packs.
They retreated to a mountain cave to escape any further danger.
To this day Greek Special Forces coat of arms still includes the original ancient Greek short sword with the original SAS moto "Who dares wins" in Greek (Ο Τολμών Νικά)….as was used during WW2 .
Too bad they named themselves after a band of homosexual lovers.
No such place as palestein. Say Israel you anti-semite