Leonidas Paraskevopoulos ( el, Λεωνίδας Παρασκευόπουλος; 7 October 1860 – 16 May 1936) was a senior officer of 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 ...

and politician. He played a major role in Greece's war effort during

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 was 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 ...

in 1919–20. In later life he was a member of the

Greek Senate The Greek Senate ( el, Γερουσία, '' Gerousia'') was the upper chamber of the parliament in Greece, extant several times in the country's history. Local senates during the War of Independence During the early stages of the Greek War of ...

and served as its speaker in 1930–32.

Life

Leonidas Paraskevopoulos was born on 7 October 1860 on the island of Kythnos. His family hailed from

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 ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. He entered 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 ...

and graduated in November 1881 as an Artillery 2nd Lieutenant. During 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 ...

, he served in the expeditionary corps sent to

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

under Colonel

Timoleon Vassos Timoleon Vassos or Vasos ( el, Τιμολέων Βάσσος or Βάσος; 1836–1929) was a Hellenic Army officer and general. He was born in Athens in 1836, the younger son of the hero of the Greek Revolution Vasos Mavrovouniotis. He studied ...

. During 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 ...

of 1912–13, he initially served as the commander of the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, but already at the Battle of Sarantaporo he was appointed with the supervision of the entire artillery establishment of the Army of Thessaly, a post he held until the capture of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. He then succeeded Konstantinos Kallaris as commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, when the latter was transferred to the

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

front. There again, however, he was after a few days appointed as Chief of Artillery of the

Army of Epirus The following is the order of battle of the Hellenic Army during the First Balkan War. Background Greece, a state of 2,666,000 people in 1912,Erickson (2003), p. 70 was considered the weakest of the three main Balkan League, Balkan allies, since ...

, playing a crucial role in the successful Battle of Bizani and the capture of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

. In April 1913 he was placed in command of the newly formed 10th Infantry Division, which he led during 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 Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, from the Battle of Doiran to the area of Pečkovo. In

, Paraskevopoulos became commander of I Army Corps on the Strymon sector on the eastern flank of 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 ...

in 1917–18, before being appointed commander-in-chief of the Greek Army in October 1918. After World War I, Paraskevopoulos took over direct command of the Greek forces that occupied

in 1919 in accordance with the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...

. Under his command, the Hellenic Army successfully extended their occupation zone, from the greater Smyrna area, south to Aydın and north to

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

. With the electoral victory of the pro-monarchist United Opposition in November 1920, he was dismissed on 25 November 1920. After the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), Paraskevopoulos entered politics. He was appointed to the

in 1929 "on merit", and served as President of the Senate in 1930–32. He died on 16 May 1936 in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, aged 75. He was awarded Serbian Order of the White Eagle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paraskevopoulos, Leonidas 1860 births 1936 deaths 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 Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Liberal Party (Greece) politicians People from Kythnos Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament Members of the Greek Senate 1929–1932 Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)