Military parade marks Greek War of Independence anniversary

The military parade commemorating the 202nd anniversary of Greece’s War of Independence from the Ottoman empire got underway in central Athens Saturday morning.

Taking part in the parade are members of the armed forces, including military academy students, as well as police.

Among the motorized units joining the parade, German-made Marder 1A3 tanks appeared for the first time; “Patriot” and “Arrow” air defense missile systems also joined.

Overflikghts were made by Rafale, Mirage 2000-5, F-16 Viper Fighting Falcon, F-4E fighters as well as a World War II-vintage Spitfire MJ755 plane. Also flying above Athens were several types of Army, Navy and police helicopters  (Apache, NH-90, Kiowa Warrior, UH-1H, Chinook and Sikorsky S-70 Aegean Hawk).

The Greek War of Independence lasted from 1821 to 1829. Greece’s independence was formally recognized by the London Protocol in February 1830. Greece was much smaller then; it expanded through a series of treaties and wars until 1947; an attempt to gain a foothold in western Asia Minor, sanctioned by the victorious allies in the aftermath of World War I ended in a disastrous military defeat in 1922 and a mass exodus of ethnic Greek populations to the Greek mainland.

Source: ekathimerini.com