Viktor Dousmanis ( el, Βίκτωρ Δούσμανης, 1861–1949) 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 Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

. He distinguished himself as a staff officer during 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 ...

and became a leading monarchist during the

National Schism The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos regarding the forei ...

, serving three terms 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 ...

Life

He was born in

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

in 1861, a descendant of a branch of the Dushmani family that had emigrated to the island in the 15th century; he is the elder brother of Sofoklis Dousmanis and grandson of Antonio Dusmani. 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 ...

, from which he graduated on 11 July 1883 as an Engineer 2nd Lieutenant. Promoted to Lieutenant in 1886 and Captain in 1890, 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 ...

as an officer in the staff of the

Army of Thessaly The Army of Thessaly ( el, Στρατιά Θεσσαλίας) was a field army of Greece, activated in Thessaly during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and the First Balkan War in 1912, both times against the Ottoman Empire and commanded by Crown Prin ...

under the Greek Commander-in-Chief, Crown Prince Constantine. After the war, he was charged with writing the official report. In 1899–1904, he served as section head of the Staff Service of the Greek Ministry of Military Affairs, and in 1904, with the foundation of the Army General Staff, he was transferred to the newly created General Staff Corps. Among his duties there was the organization of the National Defence Fund (Ταμείον Εθνικής Αμύνης). He was promoted to Major in 1906 and Lt. Colonel in 1909. 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 1912–1913 against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, he was chief of operations for the main Greek force, the

, again under Crown Prince Constantine. In 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 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 Macedo ...

in the summer of 1913, he served as chief of staff to the field army, again under Constantine, who had by now become King. In the same year, he was promoted to Colonel and then to Major General. In early 1914 he was appointed Chief of the General Staff Service, but resigned in November after a quarrel with 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 move ...

over the issue of Greece's entry into

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, ...

. Venizelos favoured siding with the Entente Powers, especially Britain, for the upcoming Gallipoli Campaign while Dousmanis, a believer in the victory of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, advocated neutrality. In February 1915, however, Venizelos was forced to resign over the same issue by King Constantine, and Dousmanis resumed his post, which he held until mid-August 1916. Having sided with Constantine during the

, in June 1917, when Venizelos assumed the governance of the country and led it to war on the side of the Entente, Dousmanis, along with other prominent monarchists, was deported to

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. Returning to Greece after the end of the war, in 1919 he was sentenced by a

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: ...

court martial to life imprisonment for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Following Venizelos' downfall in the November 1920 elections, he was released from prison, and, promoted to Lt. General, he was re-appointed as Chief of the General Staff in April 1921, during 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 ...

against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. He held this post until October 1921, and again from 22 August 1922, when the Greek front in

Anatolia 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 ...

collapsed in the face of the Turkish offensive, until 15 September, when he was forced to resign along with the government by the Venizelist-led

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 ...

from the defeated Greek troops. He was permanently discharged on 2 November 1922, and dedicated his last years to writing on military and historical issues. He died in 1949. He was awarded Serbian Order of the White Eagle among other decorations.

Works

*''Γεωδαισία'' ("Geodesy") *''Στρατηγικαί τακτικαί οδηγίαι'' ("Strategic tactical instructions") *''Ιστορία του πολέμου του 1913'' ("History of the War of 1913") *''Iστορία και Γεωγραφία της Θεσσαλίας'' ("History and Geography of Thessaly") *''Η Εσωτερική Όψις της Μικρασιατικής Εκστρατείας'' ("The Inner View of the Asia Minor Campaign")

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dousmanis, Viktor 1861 births 1949 deaths Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff Viktor 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 Greek military writers Greek monarchists Greek prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Hellenic Army generals Greek exiles People convicted of treason against Greece Military personnel from Corfu