Warsaw Pact Greece

I was reading about the Greek Civil war and wondered what would have happened if the Soviets had sent some forces (not Bulgarian) to liberate Greece during the Second World War. The Greek communist guerilla would welcome them with open arms and probably form the next government. What effect would having a Warsaw pact member with direct access to the mediterranean have on Cyprus, the Near East and Turkey?
 

MacCaulay

Banned
I don't know how likely it'd be. The British were in Greece until 1940 or 41, I believe, then they evacuated out. But they definitely maintained close ties with some of the Greek groups.

However, just for the sake of argument, had the Soviet Union managed liberate Greece after WWII, then I can see that it would be very likely that the northern end of the Bosporus (Turkey had both ends under it's territorial control) would probably be more heavily militarized, even to the point of the US sponsoring a Keyseri-level NATO base there.

Also, in my opinion willing to bet the Turkish invasion of Cyprus wouldn't have happened at all. The US and the Soviet Union would probably have clamped down hard and made sure that, even though it was bound to make for some emotional, shoe-slamming speeches, neither the US nor the USSR would want 2 of their Allies to get into a shooting war in the Med.
 
If the Soviets liberate mainland Greece during WW2, surely the British would land in Crete and some other Greek islands. The Dodecanese Italians would presumably surrender to the Brits?

Post WW2, a communist revolution in mainland Greece - surely some sort of similar scenario.

Maybe there would be a North Greece (red) and a South/Island Greece (capitalist). Think China/Taiwan if you want a similar scenario.

Greek Cypriots might also not be so keep on Enossis if the option is union with Communist mainland, or capitalist remanant. Maybe independence without Enossis is universally accepted, so there's no trigger for a Turkish invasion anyway. Cyprus is also probably not neutral in this scenario (it was historically despite all 3 guarantor powers being NATO members)
 
I believe a communist Greece would be more like Yugoslavia than Bulgaria or Romania. After the British withdrawal, Communist partisans did more of the fighting than the royalists who received most of the Allied aid- much like in Yugoslavia. Communist Greece would be a case of WW2 partisans taking over like Yugoslavia, rather than communism imposed from outside on a defeated state like countries further east.

However, I don't think there was a Greek equivalent of Tito- they had some good commanders, but no leaders on that scale. The specific events that led to Albanian-style isolationism are also unlikely. Greece probably wouldn't be a Soviet satellite, though- perhaps it might align itself with Yugoslavia.

And Sunil, as for Enosis, the Cypriot communist party (which has always been quite large, and is currently in power there) has been in favour since 1940 or so.
 

Valdemar II

Banned
It could be interesting if the Kingdom survived on Crete and later received the Dodecanese Islands and maybe Cyprus later.
 
I wonder if a communist Greece would acknowledge Tito's ambitions in Macedonia.

As for the Dodecanese, the Turks wanted it too. Britain might be inclined to divide the islands between capitalist Greece (which I expect to secure the Peloponnese, BTW) and Turkey. That could pave the way for dividing Cyprus between them later on.
 
Given that Tito was the greatest backer the Greek Communists had, if they win, we could certainly see United Macedonia within Yugoslavia.
 
And Sunil, as for Enosis, the Cypriot communist party (which has always been quite large, and is currently in power there) has been in favour since 1940 or so.

Ah, but in this timeline, enosis with which of the Greeces is the question?

In this timeline perhaps George Grivas is the regent of the rump (island-based) non-communist Kingdom of Greece? EOKA may even be a party that the British welcome and encourage into government when Cyprus eventually joins the Kingdom?
 
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