Doukas Gaitatzis () also known under the

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

as Kapetan Zervas (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Καπετάν Ζέρβας) was a significant

chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle.

Biography

Doukas Gaitatzis was born around 1879 in

Serres Serres ( ) 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 Northern Greece. The c ...

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

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, where he met with Georgios Tsontos. He arrived in

Western Macedonia Western Macedonia (, ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional units of Greece ...

in 1904 as a deputy in the armed group of Georgios Katechakis (Captain Rouvas) along with Dimitrios Dalipis and Simos Ioannidis. He soon assumed command of guerrilla forces operating throughout Western Macedonia and in the Giannitsa 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, Nea Zichni, Nevrokop (now Gotse Delchev, Sintice and Pangaion Hills). 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 were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

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

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

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

with the Freethinkers' Party of

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; 12 April 187129 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as th ...

. He died in 1938 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

.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