Georgios Leonardopoulos (; 1867–1936) was a

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 ...

army major general who fought 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 (), was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the O ...

, the

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 ...

World War I 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 ...

, and the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, and led a failed coup attempt in 1923.

Life

He was born in

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

in 1867, and entered the

Hellenic Army Academy The Hellenic Army Academy (, ΣΣΕ), 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 Greece. It was founded in 1828 in Nafplio by Ioa ...

in 1884, graduating in 1889 as an Engineers Second Lieutenant. He quickly earned a reputation as a good and industrious officer. He fought in the

, and after promotion to Lieutenant was appointed to teach architecture at the Army academy from 1902 to 1907.

Balkan Wars

During the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

in 1912–1913 he commanded a bridge-laying company, and was wounded in battle. Subsequently, he was posted to the General Headquarters as Director of Engineers. 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 ...

against Bulgaria, he served as chief of engineers in the 3rd Infantry Division. After the end of the war, he served in the commission that drew the border between Greece and the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

World War I

Leonardopoulos was then appointed as chief of staff of the 8th Infantry Division in 1915–1916, before joining the

Provisional Government of National Defence The Provisional Government of National Defence (), also known as the State of Thessaloniki (Κράτος της Θεσσαλονίκης), was a parallel administration, set up in the city of Thessaloniki by former Prime Minister Eleftherios Ve ...

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...

in September 1916. There he was appointed chief of staff of the National Defence army corps and then head of the personnel office in the Provisional Government's Ministry of Military Affairs. After the country was reunified under Venizelos' leadership in June 1917, he became deputy chief of the general staff.

Thrace and Asia Minor

In 1918 he was assigned as commander of the 9th Infantry Division, which he led during the occupation of

Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace (, '' ytikíThráki'' ), also known as Greek Thrace or Aegean Thrace, is a geographical and historical region of Greece, between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country; East Thrace, which lie ...

and of

Eastern Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

against the Turkish forces of Cafer Tayyar in July 1920. He was then appointed commander of the 10th Infantry Division, which he led during the

Second Battle of İnönü The Second Battle of İnönü () was fought between March 23 and April 1, 1921 near İnönü, Eskişehir, İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), also known as the western front of the larg ...

in March 1921. LEONARDOPOULOS-1921

Subsequently, he was named commander of the newly formed Independent Division, which he led as a reserve formation during the

Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya (), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios (), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The battle went on for 21 days from August 23 to September 13, 1921, close to the banks of the Sakar ...

in 1921. He fell ill and was invalided to Greece.

1922 Revolution and coup attempt

After the Greek defeat in Asia Minor in August 1922, he joined the

11 September 1922 Revolution The 11 September 1922 Revolution () was an uprising by the Greek army and navy against the government in Athens, which installed a "Revolutionary Committee" in its place. The uprising took place on 24 September 1922, although the date was "11 Se ...

, and was appointed commander of the IV Army Corps and later of the V Army Corps. In October 1923, however, he changed stance and along with

Panagiotis Gargalidis Panagiotis Gargalidis (; 1870–1942) was a Hellenic Army general who fought in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Balkan Wars, World War I, and the Asia Minor Campaign, and leader of a failed coup attempt in 1923. Life He was born in Messini in ...

, he led an abortive coup attempt with pro-royalist officers. Defeated and captured, he was condemned to death by the military tribunal. The sentences of the condemned for this affair were commuted, and Leonardopoulos was amnestied after a few months, but dismissed from the army. In 1935, with the restoration of the monarchy, he was rehabilitated and his rank was restored. He died in 1936.Modern Encyclopaedic Dictionary "Helios", Vol. 12, p. 216.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardopoulos, Georgios 1867 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Greek military personnel 20th-century Greek military personnel Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1897) Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of World War I Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek monarchists Greek prisoners sentenced to death People convicted of treason against Greece Prisoners sentenced to death by Greece Hellenic Army major generals People from Corinth