Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαζαράκης-Αινιάν, 1874–1943) was a Hellenic Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He served thrice as Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, occupied various important ministerial positions and became president of the Academy of Athens.


Life


Early life and career

Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian was born in Athens in 1874. He entered the
Hellenic Army 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 ...
in 1890 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Artillery on 30 June 1895. He participated 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 ...
commanding an artillery battery, and served for three years in the newly founded Geographical Service. In 1905, during the Greek Struggle for Macedonia against the Bulgarian-sponsored Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), he was attached to the Greek Consulate-General in Thessaloniki under the cover name Ioannidis. He served there for three and a half years, until the end of the Struggle in 1908. In 1906, he was promoted to lieutenant.


Balkan Wars and World War I

After returning from Macedonia, he came first in a contest for further studies in the '' École Supérieure de Guerre'' in France. 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 ...
he served as a staff officer in the 7th Infantry Division. In 1914, he was promoted to major and became chief of staff of the 5th Infantry Division at Drama. In September 1916, he joined the
Venizelist 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 ...
Movement of National Defence in Thessaloniki. Promoted to lieutenant colonel and full colonel, he served in various General Staff departments during World War I. He then accompanied Prime Minister
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 ...
as a military expert to the
Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...
, and prepared ethnological and military studies to support the Greek claims.


Division commander in Asia Minor

He returned to Greece in July 1919, and assumed command of the
Smyrna Division The Smyrna Division ( el, Μεραρχία Σμύρνης) was an infantry division of the Hellenic Army, active in 1919–1920 during the Asia Minor Campaign. Following the Greek landing at Smyrna on 2 May 1919, and the establishment of an occup ...
in Asia Minor. In 1920 he was promoted to major general, and led his division to the capture of Balıkesir and in the advance towards
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 ...
during the Greek summer offensive. From there he and his division were recalled to be used in a landing operation in support of the occupation of Eastern Thrace: Mazarakis commanded the landings of troops ferried from Asia at Ereğli and Rodosto, and thence advanced north. After overcoming Turkish resistance at
Lule Burgas Lule may refer to: * Lule people, an indigenous people of northern Argentina * Lule language, a possibly extinct language of Argentina * Lule Sami language, a language spoken in Sweden and Norway * Luleå, also known as Lule, a town in Sweden * Lul ...
,
Babaeski Babaeski is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The countyship has a population of 29,342 and the total area of the district is 652 km2. Name The name Babaeski is believed to have originated accordin ...
and Çorlu and capturing the local Turkish commander, Cafer Tayyar, his units reached
Adrianople Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
. Returning to Asia, he led his division to new positions around Bursa, and commanded a series of raids against Turkish territory. Following the Venizelist defeat in the November 1920 elections, he resigned his commission. In 1921, he published a series of articles criticizing the new government's conduct of the war in Asia Minor, recommending the stabilization and fortification of the then-held lines instead of an advance into the interior of Turkey. Following the Greek defeat and retreat from Asia Minor in August 1922, he was appointed Greek representative at the armistice negotiations at Mudanya, but initially refused to sign the Armistice of Mudanya when it was revealed that Greece would have to evacuate Eastern Thrace. He was subsequently recalled to active service and placed as chief of staff of the
Army of Evros The Army of the Evros ( el, Στρατιά Έβρου) was a field army of Greece, stationed in Western Thrace between December 1922 and August 1923. History The Army of the Evros was formed following the defeat and evacuation of the Army of Asi ...
in
Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace ( el, υτικήΘράκη, '' ytikíThráki'' ; tr, Batı Trakya; bg, Западна/Беломорска Тракия, ''Zapadna/Belomorska Trakiya''), also known as Greek Thrace, is a Geography, geograp ...
, and then participated in the Greek mission to Conference of Lausanne as a military adviser.


Senior military commands in the Interwar period

In 1924, he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, beginning the process for its reorganization and re-equipment following the Asia Minor Disaster. He was dismissed from his position following the coup d'état of general
Theodoros Pangalos Lieutenant General Theodoros Pangalos (; 11 January 1878 – 26 February 1952) was a Greek general, politician and dictator. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading role in the Septemb ...
in June 1925, but was reinstated in September 1926, following the overthrow of the Pangalos dictatorship. He served as
Minister for Military Affairs This is a list of Greek war and defence ministers. Ministers of Military Affairs, 1899–1946 Ministers for Military Affairs, Naval Affairs & Aviation, 1946 Ministers of Military Affairs, 1946–1950 Ministers for Military Affairs, Naval ...
in the 1926–1928
Alexandros Zaimis Alexandros Zaimis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Ζαΐμης; 9 November 1855 – 15 September 1936) was a Greek politician who served as Greece's Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He serve ...
cabinets, and in September 1928 he was elected a member of the Academy of Athens for his historical studies. He was appointed as Inspector General of Military Schools in March 1929 and soon after again as Chief of the Army General Staff, occupying the post until June 1931. In the March 1933 emergency cabinet of Lt. General
Alexandros Othonaios Alexandros Othonaios ( el, Αλέξανδρος Οθωναίος, Gytheio, 1879 – Athens, 20 September 1970) was a distinguished Greek general, who became briefly the acting Prime Minister of Greece, heading an emergency government during an ab ...
, Mazarakis occupied the portfolio of National Education, as well as, as interim holder, of Foreign Affairs (6/7 March) and Aviation (9/10 March). In 1935, following the outbreak of a pro-Venizelist coup attempt, he was suspended from active service, and finally retired in 1937 due to the age limit. In the same year, he served as president of the Academy of Athens.


Later life

Following the suicide of Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis on 18 January 1941, amidst the German invasion of Greece, King
George II of Greece George II ( el, Γεώργιος Βʹ, ''Geórgios II''; 19 July Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S.:_7_July.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O.S.:_7_July">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="nowiki/ ...
gave Mazarakis the mandate to form a new government. The latter refused to formally accept before being briefed on the military situation in Epirus, and on the 20th returned the mandate to the King, both due to the rapid German advance, as well as due to his refusal to form a government with the widely loathed security minister of the Metaxas Regime,
Konstantinos Maniadakis Konstantinos Maniadakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Μανιαδάκης; July 25, 1893 in Sofiko, Corinthia – February 28, 1972 in Athens) was a Greek Army officer and politician who became notorious as head of the internal security service ...
. Mazarakis died in Athens in 1943. He was married but childless.


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazarakis-Ainian, Alexandros 1874 births 1943 deaths Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Hellenic Army generals Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Military personnel from Athens Greek military personnel of the Macedonian Struggle Ministers of Military Affairs of Greece Recipients of the Medal for Bravery (Serbia) Members of the Academy of Athens (modern)