Georgios Hatzianestis

Who was Georgios Hatzianestis?

Georgios Hatzianestis 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. 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, he was chief of staff in the 6th Division and won victories against the Turks; in the Second Balkan War, 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. As a royalist, he was dismissed from the army by the Venizelists in 1917–1920, but was recommissioned following the Venzelist electoral defeat in November 1920.