Doukas Gaitatzis ( el, Δούκας Γαϊτατζής) also known under the

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

as Kapetan Zervas (

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 ...

: Καπετάν Ζέρβας) was a significant

chieftain of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...

Biography

Doukas Gaitatzis was born around 1879 in

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Nort ...

, to one of the richest families of the area. In 1900, he joined the ''Macedonian Defense'' and collaborated with the Greek Consul of Serres, Ioannis Stournaras. He became an agent and informant of the ''National Center of Serres'', trying to limit the early terrorist activity of the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

komitadji Komitadji, Comitadjis, or Komitas ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and sr, Комити, Serbian Latin: ''Komiti'', ro, Comitagiu, gr, Κομιτατζής, plural: Κομιτατζήδες, tr, Komitacı, sq, Komit) means in Turkish "committee mem ...

s. After a failed attempt to exterminate the Bulgarian agent Stoyan in Rahovitsa (now Marmaras), he was forced to flee to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, where he met with

Georgios Tsontos Georgios Tsontos ( el, Γεώργιος Τσόντος) (1871-1942) also known with the ''nom de guerre'' Kapetan Vardas (Καπετάν Βάρδας), was a Greek guerrilla fighter, general, and later politician from Crete. Early life Georgios T ...

. He arrived in

Western Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen Modern regions of Greece, regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western ...

in 1904 as a deputy in the armed group of

Georgios Katechakis Georgios Katechakis ( el, Γεώργιος Κατεχάκης; 1881–1939) was a Hellenic Army officer and politician. He distinguished himself with his participation in the Macedonian Struggle under the nom de guerre ''Kapetan'' Rouvas (Καπε ...

(Captain Rouvas) along with Dimitrios Dalipis and

Simos Ioannidis Simos Stogiannou Ioannidis ( el, Σίμος Στογιάννου Ιωαννίδης) was a Slavophone Greek revolutionary of the Macedonian Struggle known as well by the nom de guerre Armenskiotis. Biography Ioannidis was born in the 1880s in ...

. He soon assumed command of guerrilla forces operating throughout Western Macedonia and in the

Giannitsa Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit ...

area. In 1905, head of an armed group of 20 people, he moved his area of activity to Eastern Macedonia. There he managed to confront the Bulgarian komitadjis and participated in various battles in the areas of

Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient Gr ...

Nea Zichni Nea Zichni ( el, Νέα Ζίχνη) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, of Central Macedonia region, Greece. Population 12,397 (2011). Nea Zichni is also the name of the administrative seat of the municipality, population 2,530 (2011). ...

, Nevrokop (now

Gotse Delchev Georgi Nikolov Delchev ( Bulgarian/Macedonian: Георги/Ѓорѓи Николов Делчев; 4 February 1872 – 4 May 1903), known as Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (''Гоце Делчев'', originally spelled in older Bulgari ...

Sintice Sintice or Sintike (Greek: Σιντική) was an ancient region and later district of the kingdom of Macedon. It was located north of Bisaltia and Odomantike up to Messapio mount and west of Crestonia and South Paeonia to Strymon river and ...

and

Pangaion Hills The Pangaion Hills (; ; Homeric Greek: Nysa; also called Pangaeon, Pangaeum) are a mountain range in Greece, approximately 40 km from Kavala. The highest elevation is 1,956 m at the peak of Koutra. The Aegean Sea lies to the south and ...

). He also took part in the battle of Gratsiani (now Agiochori), where the komitadji Todor Panitsa was exterminated. He also took part in both

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 defe ...

, head of 100 soldiers in Pangaion Hills. With decisive actions he succeeded in liberating Pravi (now

Eleftheroupoli Eleftheroupoli ( el, Ελευθερούπολη, katharevousa: Ελευθερούπολις - ''Eleftheroupolis'', until 1929 Πράβι - ''Pravi'', bg, Правище; tr, Pravişte) is a town and a former municipality in the Kavala regional u ...

) 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 r ...

. In 1936, he was elected Member of the Prefecture of

with the

Freethinkers' Party The Freethinkers' Party or Free Opinion Party () was a Greek nationalist and monarchist party founded and led by Ioannis Metaxas who was the Prime Minister and dictator of Greece from 1936 to 1941. It was formally founded in November 1922 after t ...

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; el, Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12th April 187129th January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for t ...

. He died in 1938 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

.Δημοτική Βιβλιοθήκη Σερρών, Δούκας Γ. Δούκας (καπετάν Ζέρβας) (1879-1938)
erres Municipal Library, Doukas G. Doukas (captain Zervas) (1879-1938)/ref>

Biography

References

Further reading