Petros Klados
Petros Klados (Greek: Πέτρος Κλάδος) was a Greek Army officer who reached the rank of lieutenant general and served as Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff.
Biography[edit]
Petros Klados was born in Piraeus in 1879,[1] and entered the Hellenic Army Academy, graduating as an infantry second lieutenant on 11 July[2] 1901. [3] He continued his education at the in France at the École supérieure de guerre, and quickly established himself as a competent and well-esteemed officer.[1][3]
He participated in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13,[1] and in 1915, he was appointed chief of staff of the 6th Infantry Division, a critical position at the time, as the unit was tasked with securing the new Greek border against Bulgaria and raids by pro-Bulgarian komitadjis, and erecting fortifications at Rupel Pass and Faia Petra.[1]
In 1916, the Bulgarians occupied eastern Macedonia and enforced the surrender of the Greek IV Army Corps, which was interned in Germany. Klados refused to surrender, and fought in the Macedonian front of World War I, as chief of staff of the Archipelago Division.[1][3]
He fought also in the Asia Minor Campaign, as chief of staff of the Smyrna Army Corps until the November 1920 elections, after which he was dismissed by the new royalist government.[3] He was reinstated in the army after the Greek defeat in Asia Minor, and went on to command divisions and army corps, as well as the Army Academy. In 1924, he served as Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff.[3]
He retired in 1934, and died in 1957.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Κλάδος Πέτρος". Μεγάλη Στρατιωτικὴ καὶ Ναυτικὴ Ἐγκυκλοπαιδεία. Tόμος Τέταρτος: Καβάδης–Μωριάς [Great Military and Naval Encyclopaedia. Volume IV: Kavadh–Morea] (in Greek). Athens: Ἔκδοσις Μεγάλης Στρατιωτικῆς καὶ Ναυτικῆς Ἐγκυκλοπαιδείας. 1929. pp. 149–150. OCLC 31255024.
- ^ Note: Greece officially adopted the Gregorian calendar on 16 February 1923 (which became 1 March). All dates prior to that, unless specifically denoted, are Old Style.
- ^ a b c d e f "Αντιστράτηγος ΚΛΑΔΟΣ ΠΕΤΡΟΣ του ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΥ, ΑΜ 4904". Συνοπτική Ιστορία του Γενικού Επιτελείου Στρατού 1901–2001 [A Concise History of the Hellenic Army General Staff 1901–2001] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army History Directorate. 2001. p. 149. ISBN 960-7897-44-7.
- 1879 births
- 1957 deaths
- 20th-century Greek military personnel
- Chiefs of the Hellenic Army General Staff
- Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars
- Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
- Greek military personnel of World War I
- Hellenic Army lieutenant generals
- Military personnel from Piraeus