Republic of Greece
Leader: Darion Kostas
Capital: Athens
Population: 21,300,000 (2045 census)
Manpower: 207,500
The country of Greece has had a long history. It is considered the birthplace of civilization, democracy and science, and her cities has seen countless eras, wars and periods in time fly by their doorstep. It seems as if time is slowing down for the Greeks during the modern era, has events become more and more tightened around the years that pass by. However, with the great civilizations of old, Greece has seen its fair share of overlords. The Romans and later the Byzantines ruled over them during the ancient times, different warlords and the Ottoman Empire had control of them for over five centuries and as with most of the Balkans it was invaded and occupied during World War II. Right before the First World War, Greece became the country it was today, the Republic of Hellas. But, even in modern times Greece would see a new occupation over their country; the European Union.
During the Cold War, between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the European Community grew and when the Warsaw Pact and Eastern Bloc fell, the recently created European Union remained the sole economic power on the continent. However, with that economy came a crisis. Plagued by corruption and debt, Greece fell into an economic crisis unlike that any had seen before. Riots in the streets, poverty, political uprising, it was all happening day-to-day inside Athens, and the police did the best they could in order to tame the violence. By 2020, the violence had escalated out of control, prompting the EU to dispatch its armed gendarmerie force EUROGENDFOR into the country for what was officially labeled as a peacekeeping operation. The remains of the crippled, ineffectual government were given no authority in their own lands, and soon the streets were occupied by foreign soldiers every hour. Detention facilities, unregistered arrests and police brutality became a common sight in Greece, creating the revolutionary nationalist group ‘Magale Hellas’, also known as the Great Greece movement. The Magale Hellas use the media, most notably the internet, in an attempt to gain the population’s trust and force the occupiers out of their country. What could be described as a proxy civil war started and the truth burrowed itself in peoples’ heads; Greece needed liberty once again.
The Athen Riots, 2022
When the GLA emerged and the Global War on Terror began, fighting in Greece had turned into a sluggish war between the former government’s loyalists, Magale Hellas and the foreign peacekeepers. With their own problems becoming more apparent, the EU decided to pull out of Greece, effectively chalking it off as a failed state within the community. Magale Hellas became victorious after eight bitter months of fighting, and those opposing them were either imprisoned or disappeared forever. Their very first act was to blame the European Union as an ill-conceived idea executed even worse, but, as much as they hated it they could not survive without it. The movement’s leader, Aegis Drakos, was heavily against the proposal to turn the EU into a de jure federal super-state, but his denial was overshadowed by the other politicians’ agreement. The controversial Treaty of Vienna was signed in 2023, creating huge amounts of political and social unrest in the streets. Rebel groups, terrorist organizations and secessions turned it for the worst for the EU, and Drakos took the liberty to cede Greece from the Union as well. Wanting the best for the people (as well as their own strategic interests in the vital Mediterranean region) the United States came forth with a proposal to Drakos. As the GLA drew ever closer to Europe, the US wanted to station a fleet element in the Aegean Sea for future operations in the theatre. Drakos agreed and the US dispatched the so-called Task Force Leonidas, consisting of several US Navy littoral combat vessels, a Marine Expeditionary Unit and the USS Ronald Reagan supercarrier.
Unfortunately, several GLA cells managed to make their way onto Crete, where the US had erected a Particle Uplink Cannon as part of the anti-missile shield they offerent to their chosen allies. They hijacked it and used it to cut the Reagan in half. Decimated and demoralized, the Task Force retreated mere months after they first arrived, leaving Greece vulnerable. Hundreds of GLA rebels managed to get into Greece and cause violence against the barely stabilized government, but they left after several weeks though, presumably realizing Greece was an unimportant target for their next big gambit. When the GLA invaded Germany in 2028, Greece and their military was unable to do anything, not only because they were far too weak, but because Drakos refused. He literally enjoyed watching EU burn after what they did to his country.
After the insurrection, the EU was left crippled. Greece managed to survive and rebuilt itself, and when the proposal to form the ECA appeared, Drakos turned great interest towards it, hoping to find common ground with some of the more nationalist minded governments that came out of Europe's revolutionary crisis. However, Magale Hellas was shunned by the west and decried as a quasi-fascist party due to the xenophobic attitudes of its more prominent members. This angered Drakos and he imposed propaganda all over Greece, telling the people how bad and unjustified the new ECA is. Even though they were alone, they believed they could make it, seeing as Greece was one of the most powerful nations of the ancient world. However, on the other side of the ocean, a new heat was stirring up. Turkey, left nearly unscathed by the war, grew an ever increasing ill-temper to the new Greece and its anti-Turkish posturing. Disputed islands and borders had been a common sight for several decades, but no one thought neither state would do something rash. That is until Turkey demanded Greece to hand over their part of Cyprus. Greece naturally disagreed, leading to a brief local war between them in 2035. The Turkish armada overwhelmed the weak Greek defenders, and Cyprus has been ruled by the Turks ever since.
Turkish navy sailors preparing for Operation 'Hammerhead', the invasion of Cyprus
Later the next decade, Greece and the Magale Hellas party was approached by Dusan Pasic, the President of Serbia. He, Drakos and several other leaders from countries in the Balkans met in Belgrade to discuss the political entity known as the Balkan Confederation. Russian Prime Minister Valentina Baranova attended as well, promising Russia’s support to the Confederation. A stable friendship between the countries of the Balkans and Russia grew, as Greece among other nations were provided stable economic and military support from both Russia and Serbia. Even though neither the Russians nor the Serbs were capable of talking Turkey to cede Cyprus back to Greece, the country still recovered. Through their economic boom the government was able to stabilize Greece into a new quasi-fascist single-party state with Magale Hellas and Aegis Drakos at the helm. The people of Greece saw this as an opportunity, to rebuild and reorganize their homeland into what it used to be during ancient times. Even the Parthenon, which had been sacked by rebels during the crisis, was rebuilt into a new shining Orthodox church for the people of Athens.
When the Russo-European War broke out, Athens and Moscow had stayed in touch for the last few months. Seeing as their country was ‘betrayed’ by the West, Drakos proposed the Russians would take the element of surprise and move through neutral Greek waters. When word got out of this, the ECA accused them of being non-neutral and sent them an ultimatum to surrender. Of course, they couldn’t hold up such a thing seeing as Russia was kicking down the door, but Serbia stepped in to help their Balkan brothers and ripped that ultimatum to shreds. The ECA didn’t respond.
Seeing as another fascist state had risen in the Mediterranean, people from around the world were not happy with the current situation in Greece. Multiple attempts on Drakos’ life were made through the years 2045-2047. He finally met his demise in 2047. During the battles of 2046-2047 in the Russo-European War, Serbia and Greece took the opportunity to expand their borders and invaded the lone Albania, most prominently the southern regions where the majority of the population was of Greek decent. During the short invasion, Drakos decided to visit his troops in the field one day. A sniper got him from far away. His successor was a man named Darion Kostas, who wanted to impose a milder political course and distance himself from the more controversial policies of Drakos. The population were a bit dubious at first, suspecting him of lying and shaping up to create a totalitarian empire. Currently, Greece stands with their allies in the Balkan Confederation ready to defend their homelands should the ECA or USA decide to step it up a notch and invade their nations. Relations with Turkey are holding fine, and people are adopting the more liberal policies and wait to see what the future holds for the Hellan Republic.
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I was having a writer's block, but then I thought I could write a story about Greece. I am even thinking of making one about Italy as well. Shoutout to The General for his fic the Balkan Confederation which is featured in this story.