There’s an abundance of traitors everywhere, it seems.

 

This incident (and everything that follows) is actually a real event, usually referred to as “the traitor Kalambouras’ end”. It not only exists as a (very frugal) entry in Napoleon Zervas’ diary, but also in other accounts, both from ELAS and the EDES. And for it being just a line in the text of a great many things, it’s actually quite divisive in what I call “partisan historians” (people giving accounts from a very biased, political party POV). For EDES/ right-wing accounts it’s treated as evidence to the mountain resistance brutality. For ELAS/left-wing accounts, it’s treated as evidence the right wing nurtures traitors. I think in the coming pages it’ll be evident why, even in the version I present which I find the most likely to have happened.

 

HOWEVER, this divisive narrative (and the over-abundance of details that come with it) started in 1949, at the end of the Civil War.  Before that, accounts on both sides are negligible and frugal, and Zervas, who was part of this along with Velouhiotis (and an eye-witness) makes no mention of those details, nor comments on it at all. And one would expect to since other altercations much lighter than what right-wing accounts claim in 1949, are clinically penned down in Zervas’ diary.  Either way, I chose to include this incident because of one single reason: it’s evidence that in 1942, the Greek Resistance was still willing to operate in unison, as Kalambouras was tried and executed by BOTH EDES and ELAS. 
2 historical inaccuracies I’ve allowed for the sake of the narrative: The incident took place a day early, and in a different village named Kolokythia (Κολοκυθιά), as the generals traveled often (and separately) from village to village in the area. 

Lastly, it has come to my attention that it’s likely both generals had light-colored eyes, most likely blue. So now, they both have blue eyes 🙂

 

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