Georgios Leonardopoulos (; 1867–1936) 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 ...

army

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

who 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 def ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, and leader of a failed coup attempt in 1923.

Life

He was born at

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

in 1867, and 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 ...

in 1884, graduating in 1889 as an Engineers Second Lieutenant. He quickly earned a reputation as a good and industrious officer. He fought in the

, and after promotion to Lieutenant was appointed to teach architecture at the Army academy from 1902 to 1907.

Balkan Wars

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 ...

in 1912–1913 he commanded a bridge-laying company, and was wounded in battle. Subsequently, he was posted to the General Headquarters as Director of Engineers. 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 ...

against Bulgaria, he served as chief of engineers in the 3rd Infantry Division. After the end of the war, he served in the commission that drew the border between Greece and the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Prin ...

World War I

Leonardopoulos was then appointed as chief of staff of the 8th Infantry Division in 1915–1916, before joining the

Provisional Government of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ven ...

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 move ...

in September 1916. There he was appointed chief of staff of the National Defence army corps and then head of the personnel office in the Provisional Government's Ministry of Military Affairs. After the country was reunified under Venizelos' leadership in June 1917, he became deputy chief of the general staff.

Thrace and Asia Minor

In 1918 he was assigned as commander of the 9th Infantry Division, which he led during the occupation of

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 geographic and historica ...

and of

Eastern Thrace Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

against the Turkish forces of Cafer Tayyar in July 1920. He was then appointed commander of the 10th Infantry Division, which he led during the

Second Battle of İnönü The Second Battle of İnönü ( tr, İkinci İnönü Muharebesi) was a battle fought between March 23 and April 1, 1921 near İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), also known as the weste ...

in March 1921. Subsequently, he was named commander of the newly formed Independent Division, which he led as a reserve formation during the

Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya ( tr, Sakarya Meydan Muharebesi, lit=Sakarya Field Battle), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios ( el, Μάχη του Σαγγαρίου, Máchi tou Sangaríou), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish W ...

in 1921. He fell ill and was invalided to Greece.

1922 Revolution and coup attempt

After the Greek defeat in Asia Minor in August 1922, he joined the

11 September 1922 Revolution The 11 September 1922 Revolution ( el, Επανάσταση της 11ης Σεπτεμβρίου 1922) was an uprising by the Greek army and navy against the government in Athens. The revolution took place on 24 September 1922, although the date wa ...

, and was appointed commander of the IV Army Corps and later of the V Army Corps. In October 1923, however, he changed stance and along with

Panagiotis Gargalidis Panagiotis Gargalidis ( el, Παναγιώτης Γαργαλίδης; 1870–1942) was a Hellenic Army general who fought in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Balkan Wars, World War I, and the Asia Minor Campaign, and leader of a failed coup a ...

, he led an abortive coup attempt with pro-royalist officers. Defeated and captured, he was condemned to death by the military tribunal. The sentences of the condemned for this affair were commuted, and Leonardopoulos was amnestied after a few months, but dismissed from the army. In 1935, with the restoration of the monarchy, he was rehabilitated and his rank was restored. He died in 1936.Modern Encyclopaedic Dictionary "Helios", Vol. 12, p. 216.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardopoulos, Georgios 1867 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Greek people 20th-century Greek people Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1897) Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) People convicted of treason against Greece Hellenic Army generals People from Corinth