Georgios Tsolakoglou (Greek: Γεώργιος Τσολάκογλου, Agrafa, April 1886 - Athens, May 1948) was a Greek military officer who became the country's first quisling Prime Minister during the Axis Occupation in 1941-1942. The Breathtakingly colossal Mountains of the Agrafa District. ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Greece and the birthplace of democracy. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Quisling, after Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling, is a term used to describe traitors and collaborationists. ... The Prime Minister of Greece (Πρωθυπουργός in Greek) is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. ... German soldiers raising the Swastika over the Acropolis. ... This article is about the year. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...

Military career

As an officer in the Greek Army, heparticipated in the Balkan Wars, the First World War, the 1919 Allied expedition to the Ukraine and the Asia Minor Campaign. With the rank of Lt. General, he led III Army Corps in the Greco-Italian War. After the German invasion and capture of Thessaloniki on April 9, 1941, the withdrawal of the Greek Army from Northern Epirus was belatedly ordered on April 12. The German motorized units, however, succeeded in reaching the vital Metsovon Pass on April 18, overcame local Greek resistance and captured Ioannina on the following day, thereby effectively cutting off the Greek Army. The Hellenic Army, (Greek: Ελληνικός Στράτος) is the land force of Greece (The Hellenic Republic). ... The outcome as of April 1913 Boundaries on the Balkans after the First and the Second Balkan War (1912-1913) Distribution of races in the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor in 1923, Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, New York (The map does not reflect the results of the 1923... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Greece Turkish Revolutionaries Commanders Gen Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Gen Anastasios Papoulas, Gen Georgios Hatzianestis Ali Fethi Okyar, Ismet Inonu, Mustafa Kemal Strength 120,000 men 450,000 men [1] Casualties 30,000 dead; 20,820 captured 20,000 dead; 10,000 wounded The Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, also... The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece from October 28, 1940 to April 6, 1941. ... Combatants Germany, Italy, Bulgaria Greece, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand Commanders Wilhelm List, Maximilian von Weichs Alexander Papagos, Henry Maitland Wilson, Thomas Blamey Strength Germany: 680,000 men,[1] 1200 tanks, 700 aircraft, Italy: 529,000 men Greece: 350,000 men, British Commonwealth: 58,000 men Casualties Italy: 13,755... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... Northern Epirus, (Greek: Βόρειος Ήπειρος, Voreios Epiros) is the name by which the Greeks call the region of southern Albania, which while, alledgely, being predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians, is home to strong Greek and Aromanian minorities. ... Metsovo (Greek: Μέτσοβο, Aromanian: Aminciu) or Metsovon is a town in Epirus on the mountains of Pindus in Northern Greece, between Ioannina to the north and Meteora to the south. ... Ioannina (Greek: [Ιωάννινα], often Γιάννενα /janena/ or Γιάννινα /janina/; anglicized to Janina or Yanina) is a city in Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of approximately 100,000 including suburbs. ...

Tsolakoglou discusses the third and final protocol of surrender of the Greek Army of Epirus with German General Alfred Jodl and Italian General Ferrero. Thessaloniki, 23 April 1941.

When the hopelessness of resistance became apparent, Tsolakoglou, along with several other senior generals began considering surrendering to the Germans. Thus, on April 20, with the cooperation of the commanders of I Corps, Lt. Gen. Panagiotis Demestichas and II Corps, Lt. Gen. Georgios Bakos, and the metropolitan of Ioannina, Spyridon, he relieved and replaced Gen. Ioanis Pitsikas, the commander of the Army of Epirus. He immediately sent messengers to the Germans proposing surrender, and on the same day signed a surrender protocol with the commander of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler brigade, Sepp Dietrich. Generaloberst Alfred Jodl Alfred Jodl (May 10, 1890 - October 16, 1946) was a Wehrmacht leader. ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... When the word metropolitan (from the Greek metera = mother and polis = town) is used as an adjective, as in metropolitan bishop, metropolitan France, or metropolitan area it can mean: of or characteristic of a metropolis; see also metropolitan area, Metropolitan Police, Metropolitan Railway of or belonging to the home territories... The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (Lifeguard Standarte of the SS Adolf Hitler) was a Waffen SS guard and combat formation which saw action on both the Eastern and Western fronts during the Second World War. ... SS-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich Josef Sepp Dietrich also known as Ujac (May 28, 1892–April 21/22, 1966) was a German Waffen-SS general, an SS-Oberstgruppenführer, and one of the closest men to Hitler. ...

Despite urgent orders by Greek Commander-in-chief Alexandros Papagos, that he be relieved and resistance continued to the last, the next day, at Larissa, the surrender was formalized, with Tsolakolglou signing the unconditional surrender of the Greek Army to the Germans. The protocol made - deliberately - no reference to the other invading Axis partner, Italy, whom the Greeks considered as having defeated and wished to, in the words of John Keegan, "...deny the Italians the satisfaction of a victory they had not earned...".^[1] However, at Mussolini's insistence, the surrender ceremony was repeated a third time to inlude Italian representatives on April 23. Alexander Papagos (in Greek:Αλέξανδρος Παπάγος, Alexandros Papagos). ... Larissa (Greek: Λάρισα, Lárisa) is the capital city of the Thessaly periphery of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. ... Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ...

Tsolakoglou himself wrote in his memoirs: "I found myself before a historic dilemma: To allow the fight to continue and have a holocaust or, obeying the pleas of the Army's commanders, to assume the initiative of surrendering... Having made my decision to dare, I did not consider responsibilities... Until today I have not regretted my actions. On the contrary, I feel proud."^[2]

Quisling Prime Minister

On April 30, 1941, Tsolakoglou was appointed Prime Minister by the Occupation authorities, a position which he retained until December 2, 1942. Several other "Albanian" Generals featured in his government, including Generals Demestichas and Bakos, as well as his successor, Konstantinos Logothetopoulos. April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... German soldiers raising the Swastika over the Acropolis. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...

After Liberation, he was arrested, tried by a Special Collaborators Court in 1945 and sentenced to death. His penalty was commuted to life imprisonment, and he died of leukaemia in prison in 1948. 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Leukemia (leukaemia in Commonwealth English) is a group of blood diseases characterized by malignancies (cancer) of the blood-forming tissues. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

Footnotes

See also

• Greco-Italian War
• Battle of Greece
• Axis Occupation of Greece during WWII

This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article in the Greek Wikipedia, as of October 14, 2006. The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece from October 28, 1940 to April 6, 1941. ... Combatants Germany, Italy, Bulgaria Greece, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand Commanders Wilhelm List, Maximilian von Weichs Alexander Papagos, Henry Maitland Wilson, Thomas Blamey Strength Germany: 680,000 men,[1] 1200 tanks, 700 aircraft, Italy: 529,000 men Greece: 350,000 men, British Commonwealth: 58,000 men Casualties Italy: 13,755... German soldiers raising the Swastika over the Acropolis. ... Note on Greek names: There is no firm convention for the rendering of Greek personal names into English. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...