Konstantinos Ventiris ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Βεντήρης, 1892–1960) was a

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 th ...

officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He served twice as Chief of the

Hellenic Army General Staff The Hellenic Army General Staff ( el, Γενικό Επιτελείο Στρατού, abbrev. ΓΕΣ) is the general staff of the Hellenic Army, the terrestrial component of the Greek Armed Forces. It was established in 1904. Since 1950, the HAGS ...

and was one of the senior government commanders during 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 and ...

. He is also one of the few recipients the country's highest wartime decoration, the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour.

Life

He was born in

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

in 1892, the second of seven children. His brothers became journalists, and the eldest, Georgios, was an associate of the Liberal leader Eleftherios Venizelos. After completing his school studies, he joined the

as a volunteer on 1 April 1910, and fought in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. He entered the NCO Academy and graduated in March 1914 as an Infantry Second Lieutenant. 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 ...

, he served in the Macedonian front, being promoted to lieutenant in 1917 and acting as a company commander during the 1918 Allied offensive. In 1919 he was promoted to major, and fought as battalion commander and CO of the 23rd Regiment 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 subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

of 1919–1922. In late 1922 he was appointed as chief of staff of the 7th Infantry Division, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1923. He then served as CO of the 1st and 41st Infantry Regiments. In 1930 he was promoted to full colonel, serving as military attaché to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, Director of the General Staff's Second Bureau (Intelligence) and as Deputy Commandant of the War College. As a confirmed

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: ...

and Republican, he was dismissed from the army in the aftermath of the failed Republican March 1935 coup attempt. During the Axis Occupation of Greece, he founded the RAN resistance group, but in 1943 he fled to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and rejoined the Armed Forces of the

Greek government in exile The Greek government-in-exile was formed in 1941, in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece and the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The government-in-exile was based in Cairo, Egypt, and hence it is also referr ...

. He also participated in the spring 1944 Lebanon conference of all Greek resistance and political factions. With the rise of the Communist-controlled National Liberation Front to a dominant position in the Greek Resistance, Ventiris, like many other Venizelist officers, increasingly moved to right-wing and pro-monarchical views. In the Middle East and later in Greece, he became the leader of the anti-communist "Officers' League", one of the three major political groupings within the Army. Despite his ardent anti-communism, as an ex-Liberal he was a rare figure among the monarchist army leadership, and was often the target of right-wing newspapers for his former Republican views. In June 1944 he was appointed as Chief of the Army General Staff for the Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East, being promoted to Major General (backdated to 1943) at the same time. He organized the repatriation of the Army, returning to Athens on 12 November. Thereafter he served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and with the outbreak of the

he was appointed CO of III Army Corps. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1946, he became again Chief of the Army General Staff in 1947, then served as CO of the First Army, as Inspector-General of the Army and as CO of 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 Heinri ...

West Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional unit ...

Headquarters until his retirement on 24 March 1951. His role in the final victory of the National Army in the Greek Civil War was considerable; according to US general

James Van Fleet General James Alward Van Fleet (March 19, 1892 – September 23, 1992) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and gradu ...

, who commanded the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group to Greece, he was "often rated the best military commander in Greece". In the same year, he was awarded with the Commander's Cross of the Cross of Valour, one of only three career Army officers to receive it alongside

Anastasios Papoulas Anastasios Papoulas ( el, Αναστάσιος Παπούλας; 1/13 January 1857 – 24 April 1935) was a Greece, Greek general, most notable as the Greek commander-in-chief during most of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22. Originally a fi ...

and

Alexandros Papagos Alexandros Papagos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος; 9 December 1883 – 4 October 1955) was a Greek army officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. The only Greek caree ...

. In August 1951, he was also named General Adjutant to King

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. Ventiris was unmarried, and died in 1960 in Athens.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ventiris, Konstantinos 1890s births 1960 deaths People from Kalamata Hellenic Army generals of World War II Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek anti-communists Greek Resistance members Greek military personnel of the Greek Civil War Commander's Crosses of the Cross of Valour (Greece) 20th-century Greek people