Vasileios Melas (; 1879 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 ...

– 1956) was a Lieutenant General of the

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 ...

. He was Pavlos Melas' younger brother.

Biography

Vasileios Melas was born in

and was the last of the seven children of the jurist, merchant and politician Michail Melas and Eleni G. Voutsina from

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. When he finished secondary school, Vassileios studied in the Hellenic Military Academy. At the age of 17, he discontinued his studies, joined the cavalry as a corporal and took part in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. By the end of the war, he continued his studies and graduated from the academy with the rank of second lieutenant.Pavlos Drandakis, «'' Μεγάλη Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια''», vol. ΙΣΤ΄, p. 862. Later he continued his military studies at the Infantry and Cavalry School in

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and then he studied as lieutenant in the Cavalry School at Saumur (

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) (1910–11). He 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 and in the Northern Epirote autonomy struggle in 1914. In 1915–16, Melas studied at the Captains School. He took part in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22 as Commander of the Cavalry Division (1920).Maria Papanastasiou, ''Αρχείο Βασιλείου Μιχαήλ Μελά'', p. 78. As colonel, he also served as adjutant of King Alexander of Greece. From 1923 until 1925, Melas served as military attaché of

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and later in

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and

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.Giorgos Sakagiannis, ''Απόστρατος, κοινωνία & πολιτική από το μεσοπόλεμο στη μεταπολίτευση'', Master Thesis,Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 2010, p. 39.
/ref> In 1926 Melas was promoted to the rank of major general and in 1930 he became a lieutenant general.''Encyclopedia Papyrus Larousse Britannica'', Athens 2001, vol. 41, p. 210. Although, at his request, he retired in 1936. However, he took part in the Greco-Italian War, when he was appointed as senior military commander of Argyrokastro. At the end of the war, he retired. For this period of his life, he wrote the “''Αναμνήσεις και εντυπώσεις αντιστρατήγου Βασ. Μιχ. Μελά από την διοίκησίν του εν Αργυροκάστρω κατά τον Ιταλικόν πόλεμον 1940-1941''” (“''Memories and impressions of the Lieutenant General Vas. M. Melas from his command in Argyrokastro during Italian War 1940-1941''”). During his military career he was injured 3 times. Melas was honored many times for his heroism. He participated in many associations and unions. He was also president of the ''Athenian Club'' (1938–41 and 1949–56), the ''Management Committee of Vasileios G. Melas'', the ''Philippos Union'' and the ''Epirote Society of Athens'', of which he was founding member. Melas was also collaborator in writing the '' Great Greek Encyclopedia''. After his retirement, he participated in many public welfare activities. Vasileios Melas was a mason in Skenderbeis lodge of Athens, while 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 ...

he was imprisoned by the German forces. He died in 1956 in Athens. His personal archive has been deposited in the National Historical Museum of Greece. He married Eleni Soutsou, daughter of Alexandros Soutsos (General and President of the Athenian Club) and Sophia Nikolaou Mavrokordatou.

References

Bibliography

*Pavlos Drandakis, «Μεγάλη Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια», vol. ΙΣΤ'. *Olga Palaiologou, Το Νηπιακόν Επιμελητήριον Μελά/ Η ίδρυση και τα πρώτα χρόνια (1893-1922), Society for Epirotic Studies, Ioannina 2011. *Maria Papanastasiou, Αρχείο Βασιλείου Μιχαήλ Μελά, από το επιστημονικό περιοδικό Τεκμήρια Ιστορίας/Μονογραφίες, Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece, Athens 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Melas, Vasileios 1870s births 1956 deaths 20th-century Greek people Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1897) Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars Greek military personnel of World War II Greek Freemasons Military personnel from Athens