Georgios Hatzianestis ( el, Γεώργιος Χατζηανέστης, 3 December 1863 – 28 November 1922) 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 ...

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He is best known as the commander-in-chief of the

Army of Asia Minor The Army of Asia Minor ( el, Στρατιά Μικράς Ασίας, links=no) was the field army-level command controlling the Greek forces in Asia Minor (Anatolia) during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. History 1919 Following the Gree ...

at the time of the Turkish August 1922 offensive, which he failed to stop. Relieved, he was later tried and condemned in the

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 ...

as one of the main culprits of the Greek defeat in 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 ...

, and executed.

Life

Hatzianestis was born in

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 ...

on 3 December 1863. His father was Nikolaos Hatzianestis, the

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Attica and Boeotia Attica and Boeotia Prefecture ( el, Νομὸς Ἀττικοβοιωτίας) was a prefecture of Greece. History Attica and Boeotia Prefecture was first established in 1833, abolished in 1836 and split up into Attica and Boeotia Boeotia ( ) ...

, and his mother was Maria Pitsipios, daughter of the

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

Iakovos Pitsipios. He graduated from 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 ...

as a second lieutenant in the Artillery on 25 July 1884 and continued his military studies in

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. After a period of service in the newly founded

Hellenic Military Geographical Service The Hellenic Military Geographical Service or HMGS ( el, Γεωγραφική Υπηρεσία Στρατού or Γ.Υ.Σ.), is the Hellenic Military's mapping agency. History Established in 1889 as the “Geodetic Mission” with the purpose o ...

, he served 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 ...

as a staff officer of the 3rd Brigade under Col.

Konstantinos Smolenskis Konstantinos Smolenskis or Smolents ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Σμολένσκης/Σμόλεντς, 1843–1915) was a Hellenic Army officer. Descendant of a family that had settled in the Habsburg monarchy and returned to Greece after the ...

, before assuming command of the 2nd Mountain Artillery Battery on 27 April 1897. In 1904, he was one of the first officers appointed to the Staff Officers Corps, but resigned following the

Goudi coup 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 ...

in 1909. In 1912 he returned to service as a Major of the Reserves and participated in the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

(1912–13) against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

as chief of staff of the

6th Infantry Division 6th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 6th Division (Australia) * 6th Division (Austria) *6th (United Kingdom) Division * Finnish 6th Division (Winter War) *Finnish 6th Division (Continuation War) * 6th Division (Reichswehr) * 6th Divisi ...

and the 5th Infantry Division, returning to the 6th Division as chief of staff in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

against Bulgaria. Following the Balkan Wars, Hatzianestis had his seniority restored by special legislation; disregarding his earlier three-year period of absence from the army. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel and became Director of the Hellenic Military Academy in August 1914. With the Greek mobilization in 1915, he was placed in command of the 5th Infantry Division at

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, but after a mutiny among his troops in early 1916 he was shifted to command the 15th Infantry Division. As a royalist, Hatzianestis was subsequently dismissed from the army by the

Venizelists Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid-1970s. Main ideas Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were: *Greek irredentism: T ...

, spending the period 1917-20 abroad. He was however recommissioned following the Venzelist electoral defeat in November 1920. In April 1922 he was named commander of the

Army of Thrace The Army of Thrace ( el, Στρατιά Θράκης) was a field army of the Hellenic Army in 1920–1922. It was created out of the National Defence Army Corps on 3 June 1920, and proceeded to occupy Eastern Thrace, defeating the local Ottoman f ...

, and on 19 May as commander of the main Greek military force, the

. Shortly after his appointment Hatzianestis began to show signs of mental instability, reportedly suffering from the delusion that his legs were made of glass and easily shattered. He was unable to respond effectively to the Turkish August 1922 offensive, and was replaced on 24 August by Lt. General

Georgios Polymenakos Georgios Polymenakos ( el, Γεώργιος Πολυμενάκος) was a Hellenic Army officer who reached the rank of lieutenant general. Biography Born in Areopolis on 1 July 1859, he enlisted in the Hellenic Army on 21 June 1880. Marked ou ...

. Hatzianestis was the only military leader to be prosecuted during the

for his role in the

Asia Minor Catastrophe 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 ...

. By the last stages of the trial, he had developed serious mental problems and depression. Found guilty of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, Hatzianestis was executed by firing squad, along with five politicians, on 15 November 1922. Hatzianestis' last words were ''"my only shame is that I commanded an army of deserters"'' ("Η μόνη εντροπή μου είναι ότι υπήρξα αρχιστράτηγος φυγάδων") implying that the soldiers under his command were cowards.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatzianestis, Georgios 1863 births 1922 deaths 20th-century executions by Greece 20th-century executions for treason 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) Executed military personnel Executed Greek people Hellenic Army generals Military personnel from Athens People executed for treason against Greece