In March 1946, a Communist guerrilla raid upon a town is seen in hindsight as the start of the Greek Civil War, yet it would be many months before most Greek people realised they there was a civil war in the country as attacks in 1946 were usually small in scale. However in December 1946, the Communist set up the Democratic Army commander by Vapiadis an experienced guerrilla commander. A biography of Mark Vapiadis. A Communist civilian support system was established to aid the guerrillas, known as the self defence organisation. A review of the geography of Greece and its recent history.