Antonis Vratsanos

Who was Antonis Vratsanos?

Antonis Vratsanos, was a saboteur of the Greek People's Liberation Army, the military branch of the National Liberation Front, and the Democratic Army of Greece.

On February 1944, he blew up a German train, full of soldiers and officers, on their way to the Eastern Front. This cost the Wehrmacht 450 dead, including 150 officers and a general with all his staff. This action is considered as one of the biggest sabotages in Europe, against the German occupation. After the Communists' defeat in the Greek Civil War, he spent 33 years in exile in Romania.

On February 28, 2007, he was awarded by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, the "Grand Commander of the Order of Honor" for his actions in the Greek Resistance in the years 1941-44.