Active 1942–1945 | ||
Strength ~1,200 men, ~100 mostly small armed boats Part of National Liberation Front Allies Soviet Union, SNOF, Albanian Partisans, Bulgarian Partisans, Yugoslav Partisans, SOE Opponents German Army, Royal Italian Army, Kingdom of Bulgaria, Collaborationist government, Security Battalions | ||
The Greek People's Liberation Navy (Greek: Ελληνικό Λαϊκό Απελευθερωτικό Ναυτικό; Elliniko Laiko Apeleftherotiko Naftiko), commonly abbreviated as ELAN (ΕΛΑΝ), was the naval force of the communist-led Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) resistance movement during World War II, and later during the Greek Civil War.
ELAN was essentially an auxiliary coastal force, operating mostly caïque and other small vessels near the coasts of the Greek mainland and between the islands. By mid-1944 however it had grown to about 100 mostly small armed boats and over 1,200 men, divided into seven squadrons of three or four flotillas with up to six vessels each.
Structure
By the time of Liberation in late October 1944, ELAN was organized into six squadrons and a number of independent detachments, named after their areas of operations. These were: