By utilizing a range of new unpublished data on the battles of the Civil War and the post-war economic environment in Greece and Europe, the book attempts an analysis of the armed conflicts that took place during the period 1946-1949 and their consequences in terms of social, economic, and political aspects. The failure of the opposing parties to prevent the conflict - or at least negotiate its end before it escalated - is examined as a comprehensive failure of the institutions in Greek society, the consequences of which are still evident today in many aspects of political and social activity. Alongside the significant loss of human resources and the divisive political system it inherited, the Civil War demanded increased military expenditures at the expense of productive investments and education, thus causing enduring distortions in an economy already devastated by the triple Occupation. Greece - although it was on the side of the victors against the Axis - lost almost all the expected national benefits and was placed on the sidelines of the reconstruction that other European countries experienced after World War II. The price was so heavy that it makes the Civil War of 1946-1949 by far the most catastrophic and irrational act of self-destruction in modern Greek history.