Christodoulos Tsigantes (; 30 January 1897 – October 11, 1970) was a Greek

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who distinguished himself as the commander of the Sacred Band during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was born in

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by #Names, alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 65,624 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. It is one ...

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to Greek parents of Kefalonian origin and died in

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, where he was cremated. Following the failure of the 1935 Greek coup d'état attempt Lieutenant Colonel Christodoulos Tsigantes, his brother Captain Ioannis Tsigantes, Colonel Stefanos Sarafis and other participants of the coup were cashiered in a public ceremony.

Military career

1913-1915 period: After his graduation, he returned to Athens and entered the Evelpidon Military Academy from which he graduated in 1916 with the rank of Second Lieutenant of Infantry. As soo as he left the School, he took part in the pro-Venizelos National Defense Movement in 1916 and fought on the Macedonian Front (1917-18) against the Germans and Bulgarians during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Subsequently, he took part in the Greek military mission in the

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in the context of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, as well as in the Asia Minor Campaign as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. On January 17, 1921, he married Maria Drakoulis, a native of Ithaca but a permanent resident of

, with whom he later had two boys, Gerasimos in 1924 and Eleftherios in 1935. On December 15, 1923, he was promoted to the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and then studied at the French War School in

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and upon his return to Greece served in various staff positions. In 1934 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. 1935 coup attempt: He took part, as a main member of the secret revolutionary "Hellenic Military Organization" (1933-1935), in the Venice movement of March 1, 1935. After the failure of the movement, he was arrested and tried, on March 31, 1935, by the Extraordinary Military Court of Athens on high treason along with other Venizelian officers. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with the consequent penalty of military demotion, to a common soldier, held publicly on April 2, 1935 in the then infantry barracks (today's Liberty Park). However, after the restoration, King George II granted him a pardon, which stopped the further serving of the sentence. World War II: From 1940 to 1941 he served in the French Foreign Legion in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and

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. In 1942, after appearing before the exiled Greek government in Cairo, he was recalled to the ranks of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

. During the period September 15, 1942 - August 7, 1945, he assumed command of the Sacred Band, taking part both in the operations of Libya and Tunis, as well as the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; , ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally define ...

. After World War II: With the end of the war, in 1945, he assumed military command of the Archipelagos and, until 1947, head of the Greek Military Mission to the

, preparing their integration into the Greek state where that period he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. Finally, he assumed military command of Evia, where he was retired at his request, on May 1, 1948, receiving the rank of Major General. He was honored with many decorations, Greek and allied, as well as by kings George II and Paul.

Later life

After his retirement he was a columnist and commentator for various centrist newspapers (The Nation, Ta Nea, Eleftheria). In 1950, he was appointed general manager of the (then) National Radio Foundation (EIR, later

Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly shortened to ERT (), is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Greece. History Overview ERT began broadcasting in 1938 as the Radio Broadcasting Service or YRE (). Followin ...

) at the suggestion of the vice-president of the government, Georgios Papandreou. He remained in this position until early 1953, when he was replaced by the Papagos government. Also in the parliamentary elections of 1950, 1956 and 1958, he ran as a candidate with the Liberal Party, but without success. In 1970 he fell seriously ill and was taken to

where he died on October 12, 1970 and his body was cremated in the

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capital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsigantes, Christo 1897 births 1970 deaths Hellenic Army generals Greek military leaders of World War II People from Tulcea People from Cephalonia