Georgios Hatzianestis

Georgios Hatzianestis (Greek: Γεώργιος Χατζηανέστης, 1863 – 28 November 1922) was a Greek artillery and general staff officer who rose to the rank of General. He was born in Athens, to a prominent family. His father was Nikolaos Hatzianestis, the Prefect of Attica and Boeotia, and his mother was Maria Pitsipios, daughter of the scholar Iakovos Pitsipios.

He graduated from the Hellenic Military Academy and continued his military studies in Imperial Germany. He enjoyed the patronage of the Royal Family and of powerful politicians, and as a result was not popular with his peers. In 1904, he was one of the founders of the Staff Officers Corps (Soma Genikon Epitelon). Following the Goudi coup in 1909, he was forced to resign from the Army because of his ties to the old political class, but was soon readmitted. In the First Balkan War (1912–1913), he was chief of staff in the 6th Division and won victories against the Turks; in the Second Balkan War (1913), he was chief of staff in the 5th Division, again winning victories, this time against the Bulgarians. Hatzianestis then became Director of the Hellenic Military Academy (Scholi Evelpidon).

From May 1922, he was Commander-in-Chief of Greek armies during the last months of the Greco-Turkish War (known in Turkey as the Turkish War of Independence). Following the Trial of the Six, Hatzianestis was executed in 1922 for high treason, along with five politicians, as responsible for the defeat of Greece in that war. Hatzianestis himself said "my only shame is that I commanded an army of deserters" ("Η μόνη εντροπή μου είναι ότι υπήρξα αρχιστράτηγος φυγάδων") implying that the soldiers under his command were cowards. By the last stages of the trial, he had developed serious mental problems and depression.