In Egypt the forces transferred from Crete, and also a large part of the old Evros brigade that arrived through Turkey after the surrender of Macedonia, rallied around the Greek government that had settled there under Emmanuel Tsouderos, who had been prime minister since 21/04/41. To this initial core of VESMA (Greek Royal Army of the Middle East) numerous fugitives, mainly from the Aegean islands, signed up. Moreover, at the time the Greek government arrived there was already in Egypt the so-called Dodecanesian Phalanx, training for a surprise attack on the Dodecanese islands which were under Italian occupation. Around these free Greek forces rallied thousands of Greek seamen, along with other social groups on the run from Greece. In October 1941 ASO was founded, the Antifascist Military Organization, which attracted to itself people with anti-royalist feelings.
In January 1943, eminent people from the Greek community in Egypt founded the National Liberation Committee (ÅAS), which in its composition and aims was the counterpart of EAM in mainland Greece.
The Greek forces abroad participated in the operations of the Allies against the Axis in Africa and later in Italy. They fought in the major battles of El Alamein in Africa and Rimini in Italy, and later took part in the Normandy landings with the corvettes 'Tobazis' and 'Kriezis'.