Dimitrios Psarros

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Major General

Dimitrios Psarros
Dimitrios Psarros photo
Dimitrios Psarros in uniform.
Native name
Δημήτριος Ψαρρός
Bornc. 1893
Chryso, Phocis, Kingdom of Greece
Died17 April 1944
Kingdom of Greece
Allegiance
Service/branch
Rank
Major General
Battles/warsBalkan Wars

World War I

Russian Civil War

Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
World War II

  • Battle of Greece
    • Greco-Italian War
  • Greek Resistance
Greek Civil War (First Phase) Executed
Alma materHellenic Military Academy
Spouse(s)Niki Psarrou

Dimitrios Psarros (

National Republican Greek League
(EDES). In 1944, he was executed by Greek communist forces.

Life

Psarros was born in 1893 in the village of Chryso, in the province of Parnassida,

Second Lieutenant
of Artillery.

Psarros first saw action in the

Army of Evros
, which played a critical role to Greek strategy and politics during these years. Subsequently, he taught in the newly created Greek War Academy. Later, he was among the organizers of the new Ministry of Aviation and served as Chief of Staff of an Army division.

In March 1935 he took part in the

Greek monarchy in October. When Greece entered World War II, he sought re-appointment into the armed forces but was refused by the Ioannis Metaxas
dictatorship.

Following the collapse of the front through the

triple occupation by Germany, Italy and Bulgaria, Psarros first attempted to organise a resistance group in Amfissa with the help of Lt. Andreas Mitalas, but without success. Next he went to Macedonia. There, in July 1941, he co-founded the organization Freedom (Greek: Ελευθερία, Eleftheria) with communists members, which deployed guerilla forces in the area of Nigrita, Lachana, and Kalokastro of Central Macedonia, to fight the Bulgarians
, who had followed the Germans into Greece, occupied much of northern Greece and had set their sights on permanent annexation. Unfortunately, Psarros was betrayed to the Axis Forces and was chased by them.

He fled to Athens, where in April 1942 he founded

ELAS
(with 50,000 fighters at its peak) and EOEA (military arm of EDES, about 14,000 fighters).

Execution

On

ELAS (controlled by the Communist Party of Greece), who sought to have a monopoly in the political future of Greece after liberation, to disarm EKKA and further strengthen its dominant military and political position after the anticipated liberation of Greece. His regiment was dissolved by ELAS and Psarros was executed while in captivity. According to testimonies his executor was the career colonel Efthimios Zoulas (Ευθύμιος Ζούλας). His body lay unburied for several days before it was interred at the local cemetery.[citation needed
]

The assassination of Colonel Psarros was a dark point of Greek Resistance era. People of all resistant groups were shocked in the announcement of his death.

Major General
.

References

  1. ^ "Δημήτριος Ψαρρός: η χαμένη ευκαιρία". 2007-05-05. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-03.

Sources

  • Solon Grigoriadis, History of Modern Greece 1941–1974, Athens, Polaris
  • Dionisis Charitopoulos, Aris, the Leader of the Rebels, Athens, Ellinika Grammata
  • Ioannis Papathanasiou, Resistant organization of EKKA
  • Special edition of Greek newspaper Eleftherotipia, Occupation and Resistance 1941–1945, 2008
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dimitrios_Psarros&oldid=1176625218"