Stavros Kotsopoulos () 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 ...

revolutionary chieftain 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 the North Epirote Struggle, an irregular fighter 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 ...

, and a member of the resistance in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was also known by his

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'' France it would be adopted by each new recruit (or assigned to them by ...

, Kapetan Banitsiotis.

Biography

He was born and raised in Banitsa (now

Vevi Vevi (, before 1926: Μπάνιτσα – ''Banitsa''; Macedonian Language, Macedonian and , ''Banica'' or ''Banitsa'') is a village located in the municipal unit of Meliti (municipal unit), Meliti in Florina (regional unit), Florina regional uni ...

) of

Florina Florina (, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the Florina regional uni ...

in the 1870s. He started his armed activities very early against the Bulgarian

Komitadjis 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 the ...

. After he performed several operations, he was wanted by the Ottoman authorities and chased by Bulgarian armed groups. For this reason, he fled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1905. His intense actions against the Bulgarians (immigrants from

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 ...

) and the constant clashes in which he participated made him wanted even in the United States. He escaped back to Macedonia. He was enlisted in the group of chieftain Nikolaos Andrianakis for the period 1907–1908. In 1908, he was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and imprisoned in Monastir (now

Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...

). He was sentenced to death by the Ottoman court, but before his execution he managed to escape again and flee abroad. In 1909 he returned to Macedonia, head of an armed group consisting of 6 Cretans. His squad acted against the Bulgarian groups until the liberation of the region in 1912, killing the most dangerous Komitadjis in the area of his hometown, Banitsa. Later, he fought for the Independence of Northern Epirus (1914), during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and during the

Axis occupation of Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...

, developing strong resistance actions against the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

(who occupied the

Prespa Prespa (, , ) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Greece and Albania. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Resen in North Macedonia with 9,000 inhabitan ...

region) and the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

from 1941 to 1944."Ιστορικά Βεύης", Σ. Τριανταφυλλίδης, Florina 1958, p. 35-41

Sources & References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotsopoulos, Stavros Greek people of the Macedonian Struggle Greek people imprisoned in the Ottoman Empire Greek Macedonians Macedonian revolutionaries (Greek) People from Meliti (municipal unit) 1870s births Year of death missing