Alexandros Othonaios ( el, Αλέξανδρος Οθωναίος,
Gytheio
Gytheio ( el, Γύθειο, ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion ( grc, Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government ...
, 1879 –
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, 20 September 1970) was a distinguished
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
general, who became briefly the acting
Prime Minister of Greece
The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ ...
, heading an emergency government during an abortive coup in 1933.
Early life and career
Othonaios was born at
Gytheion
Gytheio ( el, Γύθειο, ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion ( grc, Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government ...
in 1879, and enrolled in the
Hellenic Military Academy
The Hellenic Army Academy ( el, Στρατιωτική Σχολή Ευελπίδων), commonly known as the Evelpidon, is a military academy. It is the Officer cadet school of the Greek Army and the oldest third-level educational institution in G ...
. He participated in the
Macedonian Struggle
The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...
with the ''
nom de guerre
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
'' of ''Kapetan'' Palamidis, and was a member of the
Military League
The Goudi coup ( el, κίνημα στο Γουδί) was a military coup d'état that took place in Greece on the night of , starting at the barracks in Goudi, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Athens. The coup was a pivotal event in mod ...
. He fought in the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
, and sided with
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...
during the
National Schism
The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizel ...
, commanding the
7th Cretan Regiment
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...
in the
Macedonian front
The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...
of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He also took part in the
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War or Allied Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions which began in 1918. The Allies first had the goal of helping the Czechoslovak Leg ...
in 1919 with the rank of Colonel. Subsequently, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the
Kydoniai Division The Kydoniai Division ( el, Μεραρχία Κυδωνιών) was an infantry division of the Hellenic Army, active in 1920 during the Asia Minor Campaign.
Following the Greek landing at Smyrna on 2 May 1919, and the establishment of an occupatio ...
and participated in the occupation of the
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
district in the early stages of the
Asia Minor Campaign
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Afr ...
. After the
electoral defeat of Venizelos in 1920, he was dismissed from the army and fled to
Allied-occupied Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, where he joined several other Venizelist officers.
Later career
He was recalled after the
catastrophic defeat and evacuation of the Greek forces in Asia Minor, which led to a
military revolt led by Colonels
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he b ...
and
Stylianos Gonatas
Stylianos Gonatas ( el, Στυλιανός Γονατάς; 15 August 1876 – 29 March 1966) was an officer of the Hellenic Army, Venizelist politician, and Prime Minister of Greece from 1922 and 1924.
Early life and military career
Gonatas was ...
in September 1922. Othonaios was appointed chief judge of the military tribunal that tried and convicted several prominent leaders of the anti-Venizelist camp to death (the infamous "
Trial of the Six
The Trial of the Six ( el, Δίκη των Έξι, ''Díki ton Éxi'') or the Execution of the Six was the trial for treason, in late 1922, of the Anti-Venizelist officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor. The tria ...
"). He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1923, commanding
II and
III Army Corps, but resigned after the coup of General
Theodoros Pangalos in 1925.
He returned to the Army in 1928 as head of the Second Army Inspectorate. In 6–10 March 1933, he led the military government that was formed to confront an attempted coup by Plastiras. An outspoken Venizelist and Republican, he was again removed from the Army, along with many Republicans, in the aftermath of another failed
Venizelist coup two years later. Subsequently, the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
was restored, and eventually a
conservative dictatorship was established in Greece by General
Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas (; el, Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12th April 187129th January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for t ...
. During this period, and the
Axis Occupation that followed, Othonaios remained in Greece, but engaged in no political activity. After Liberation in October 1944, he was placed as nominal commander-in-chief because of his democratic credentials, but the virulent political atmosphere, which soon led to the
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
, forced him to permanently resign in 1945.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Othonaios, Alexandros
1879 births
1970 deaths
20th-century prime ministers of Greece
People from East Mani
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece
Ministers of Military Affairs of Greece
Hellenic Army generals
Greek military personnel of World War I
Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
Greek military personnel of the Macedonian Struggle
Greek military personnel of the Russian Civil War