Konstantinos Sapountzakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Σαπουντζάκης; 1846–1931) 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. He is notable as the first head 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 as the first commander of the Army of Epirus 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 ...

Early career

The son of Lieutenant General Vasileios Sapountzakis, he was born in

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

in 1846. 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 ...

, graduating as an artillery adjutant in 1865. He became a second lieutenant on 9 May 1867, a lieutenant in 1873, captain II class in 1878, captain I class in 1880, major in 1882, lieutenant colonel in 1890, and full colonel in 1896. In 1867 he returned to Crete and with his father and fought in the ongoing

Cretan uprising 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 ...

. Following the failure of the revolt, he was sent for studies abroad, in Germany, Britain and France. He was appointed professor of military technology at the Army Academy, as well as tutor and aide de camp to Crown Prince Constantine. At the outbreak of 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 ...

, with the rank of colonel, he assumed the duties of chief of staff to the Crown Prince, who exercised the overall command of the main Greek field force, the Army of Thessaly. Badly trained and led, the Greek Army was defeated and forced to retreat. Sapountzakis was subsequently dismissed from his duties.

Chief of the General Staff and Balkan Wars

In 1899, he was named head of the Personnel Department in the Ministry for Military Affairs, and in 1901 he was made chief of staff of the Army General Command, which became the

in 1904, with Sapountzakis its first head. From this position, he supervised the reorganization of the Army under the

Georgios Theotokis Georgios Theotokis ( el, Γεώργιος Θεοτόκης, 1844 in Corfu – 12 January 1916 in Athens) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece, serving the post four times. He represented the Modernist Party or ''Neoteristikon Ko ...

cabinets.

Promoted to major General in 1909, in 1910–12 he was Chief of the Army Staff Service of the Ministry for Military Affairs. On 9 April 1912 he was appointed prospective commander-in-chief of the Army of Thessaly in wartime, as well as chairman of the Revisionary Military Tribunal. In the same year he was promoted to lieutenant general. With the outbreak of the

, on 5 October 1912, he was placed in charge of the Army of Epirus, a post he held until 11 February 1913. The Army of Epirus was by far the smaller of the two field armies fielded by Greece and effectively comprised a small infantry division, with 8,197 men and 24 guns. Faced with superior Ottoman forces (some 15,000 men with 32 guns of the 23rd Regular and 23rd Reserve Divisions) as well as the strongly fortified position of Bizani, which guarded the southern approaches to Ioannina, its mission was entirely secondary to the main Army of Thessaly, led again by Crown Prince Constantine. Nevertheless, the Greeks advanced and took

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

on 21 October 1912, and repulsed an Ottoman counteroffensive in the Battle of Pente Pigadia on 24–30 October. Operations subsequently stalled as both sides awaited reinforcements. With the arrival of the 2nd Infantry Division, the Greeks resumed their offensive towards Ioannina on 12 December. Despite early success and the capture of Aetorrachi ridge, the Greek assault faltered against the guns of Bizani and successive Ottoman counter-offensives. The offensive was over by December 10, and operations degenerated into positional warfare. As more forces were being pulled from Macedonia towards Epirus, Crown Prince Constantine came to assume command in Epirus in January 1913, while Sapountzakis was relegated to command a detachment comprising the 6th and 8th Infantry Divisions. From this post he participated in the final capture of Bizani and Ioannina on 22 February 1913. Following the fall of Ioannina, Sapountzakis retired from the Army. He was appointed director of the Army Pension Fund in 1926–29, and died in 1931. He was married but had no children.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapountzakis, Konstantinos 1846 births 1931 deaths People from Nafplion 19th-century Greek people 20th-century Greek people Hellenic Army generals Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1897) Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars