Dimosthenis Dialetis ( el, Δημοσθένης Διαλέτης; 1869–1954) was a

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 ...

soldier who rose to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. Born in Dervista,

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece. A combination of the histor ...

, Dimosthenis Dialetis enlisted in the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

on 23 September 1885, enrolling in the NCO preparatory school, from which he graduated as a sergeant on 23 July 1887. After attending the NCO officer academy and being commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant on 10 August 1901. He fought in the

Greco-Turkish War of 1897 The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War ( el, Ατυχής πόλεμος, Atychis polemos), was a w ...

, 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 ...

of 1912–13, 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 ...

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 ...

, and 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 subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, being promoted to lieutenant in 1909, captain in 1912, major in 1914, lieutenant colonel in 1917, and colonel in 1919. He particularly distinguished himself for his bravery and leadership as commander of the 34th Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Dumlupınar (1921), fighting off the attacks of three Turkish divisions for two days. For his bravery, he was promoted to major general in 1923. In 1928 he was promoted to lieutenant general, assuming the position of Chief of the

Greek Gendarmerie The Hellenic Gendarmerie (, ''Elliniki Chorofylaki'') was the national gendarmerie and military police (until 1951) force of Greece. History 19th century The Greek Gendarmerie was established after the enthronement of King Otto in 1833 as the ...

. In 1929, he retired from service on his request. He briefly served as Deputy Minister of National Defence in the collaborationist government of

Ioannis Rallis Ioannis Rallis ( el, Ιωάννης Δ. Ράλλης; 1878 – 26 October 1946) was the third and last collaborationist prime minister of Greece during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II, holding office from 7 April 1943 to 12 Oct ...

in 1943, during the Axis occupation of Greece. He died in 1954, at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dialetis, Dimosthenis 1869 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Greek people Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1897) Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of World War I People from Aetolia-Acarnania