Georgios Tsontos () ( 1871–1942) also known with 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 ...

'' Kapetan Vardas (Καπετάν Βάρδας), 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 ...

guerrilla fighter, general, and later politician from

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Early life

Georgios Tsontos was born in the village of Askifou in

Sfakia Sfakiá () is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in about 1871. His father Charalambos had distinguished himself as a rebel leader during the Cretan Revolt (1866–69) against the

, was assassinated in

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 ...

in 1874. Georgios entered the

Hellenic Military 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 Io ...

in 1888, graduating in 1893 as an Artillery Second Lieutenant.

Military career

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 ...

, he participated in the Greek expeditionary force to Crete under Colonel

Timoleon Vassos Timoleon Vassos or Vasos ( or Βάσος; 1836–1929) was a Hellenic Army officer and general. He was born in Athens in 1836, the younger son of the hero of the Greek Revolution Vasos Mavrovouniotis. He studied at the Hellenic Military Academ ...

. There he would assist in the

Cretan Revolt (1897-1898) Cretan Revolt may refer to one of the following uprisings in Crete: Under Venetian rule * Cretan Revolt (1212) of the Hagiostephanites family * Cretan Revolt (1217) of the Skordiles and Melissenos families * Cretan Revolt (1222) of the Melissenos f ...

which would lead to the establishment of the

Cretan State The Cretan State (; ) was an autonomous state governing the island of Crete from 1898 to 1913, under ''de jure'' suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire but with ''de facto'' independence secured by European Great Powers. In 1897, the Cretan Revolt (18 ...

. In 1904 he went to Ottoman-ruled

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

as part of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

, and spent two and a half years leading guerrilla detachments in the Monastir area to fight the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

and Bulgarian

Komitadji Komitadji, Comitadji, or Komita (plural: Komitadjis, Comitadjis, or Komitas) ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and , , , , pl. , , ) was a collective name for members of various rebel bands ( chetas) operating in the Balkans during the final period of th ...

s. It was in

where operated under the ''

'' of ''Kapetan Vardas''. He also fought in 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 ...

of 1912–13 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 ...

. In 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 in particular, he once more led irregular forces to clear out eastern Macedonia from Bulgarian irregulars (

s). In 1914 he temporarily resigned his commission to join the armed forces of the

Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus () was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars on 28 February 1914, by the local Greek population in southern Albania ( Northern Epirotes). The area, known as ...

. During the North Epirote autonomy, he was named military and civil governor of Korytsa. During

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 ...

, he organized guerrilla groups in

Northern Epirus Northern Epirus (, ; ) is a term used for specific parts of southern Albania which were first claimed by the Kingdom of Greece in the Balkan Wars and later were associated with the Greek minority in Albania and Greece-Albania diplomatic relation ...

in order to operate against Albanian bands that were raiding the Greek populated areasLeon George B.
''Greece and the Great Powers, 1914-1917''
Institute for Balkan Studies, 1974, p. 443. In the

National Schism The National Schism (), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Kingdom of Greece, Greece's foreign policy from 19 ...

, he supported the monarchists, and as a result found himself dismissed from the army in 1917–20.

Later career

Following the electoral victory of the monarchists in November 1920 he was reinstated, and served as commandant of the

and garrison commander of Athens. He retired from the army in February 1923 with the rank of major general. He was restored to inactive service in 1927 and finally in 1935, reaching the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

. He also served as MP for

Florina Prefecture Florina (, ''Perifereiakí Enótita Flórinas'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia, in the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Macedonia, Greece. Its capit ...

in 1932-33 and for Kastoria Prefecture in 1933-35. He died in

in 1942.

Early life

Military career

Later career

References

Further reading