Konstantinos Kallaris (; 1858–1940) was a senior

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 ...

officer who distinguished himself 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 1912–1913. Born 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 1858, Kallaris studied at 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 ...

and was commissioned into the Army on 28 July 1880 as an Ensign of Engineers. He 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 ...

. Due to his extensive education, he was placed in the General Staff Corps upon its creation in 1905. In early 1911 he was placed as commander of the 2nd Infantry Division at Athens, which quickly became a model formation under the supervision of the French military mission to Greece. Promoted to Major General, he led his division in 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 ...

, where he lost one of his sons, Spyridon, during the

Battle of Bizani The Battle of Bizani (, ''Máchi tou Bizaníou''; ) took place in Epirus on . The battle was fought between Greek and Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the app ...

(his second son Angelos fell in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

in 1922). Kallaris led the 2nd Division 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 ...

as well, first in the attack against the Bulgarian garrison in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

and thereafter in the battles of

Kilkis Kilkis () is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2021 there were 24,130 people living in the city proper, 27,493 people living in the municipal unit, and 45,308 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the regional un ...

and

Kresna Kresna ( ) is a town and the seat of Kresna Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria. It is located in the southwestern part of Bulgaria. History The archaeological findings found testify that the area has been inhabited since ancient ...

. In 1914, promoted to Lieutenant General, he assumed command of the newly established I Army Corps. He served briefly as Minister of Military Affairs in the summer of 1916, and retired from service on 29 June 1918. He died in 1940.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kallaris, Konstantinos 1858 births 1940 deaths Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Military personnel from Athens Ministers of military affairs of Greece