Dimitrios Psarros was a
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
army officer and resistance leader.
Psarros was born in 1893 in the village of Chryso,
PhocisPhocis is an ancient district and a modern prefecture of Greece, located in Central Greece, stretching from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth.-Geography:Ancient Phocis was about 1,619 km² in area, bounded on...
. He graduated Greek military school in 1916 and became a
Second LieutenantSecond Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /lɛf'tɛnənt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu'tɛnənt/ ....
in the artillery.
Psarros first saw action in the
Balkan WarsThe Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913. The First Balkan War broke out on 8 October 1912 when Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia , having large parts of their ethnic populations under Ottoman sovereignty, attacked the Ottoman Empire, terminating its five-century...
as a volunteer. He also took part in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, the
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil WarThe Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during the Russian Civil War and World War I. The intervention involved fourteen nations and was conducted over a vast expanse of territory...
and the
Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, also called the War in Asia Minor or the Greek campaign of the Turkish War of Independence or The Asia Minor Catastrophe, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May 1919 and October 1922...
where, thanks to his bravery, his men were able to pass into Greece from Asia Minor without many casualties. Following that war, he furthered his studies in France and taught in the Greek Military Academy while rising to the rank of colonel.
Psarros took part in the 1935
VenizelistVenizelism was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid 1970s.- Ideology :Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:*Opposition to Monarchy...
plot and attempted
coup d'étatA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
and, after its failure, was dismissed from the
Hellenic ArmyThe Hellenic Army is the land force of Greece. The Army of the modern nation of Greece has a history of nearly 190 years and came to its present form, gradually through those years....
. When Greece entered
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he sought re-appointment into the armed forces but was refused by the
Ioannis MetaxasIoannis Metaxas was a Greek General, appointed Prime Minister of Greece between April-August 1936 and dictator during the 4th of August Regime, from 1936 until his death in 1941.- Military career :...
dictatorship.
Following the collapse of the front, during the German occupation, Psarros attempted to organise a resistance group in
AmfissaAmfissa is a municipality and the capital town of the prefecture of Phocis, in Greece. It is also known as Salona , which was the medieval name of the town. Amfissa sits on the northern edge of the farmlands of the Crissaean plain, and lies between two mountains; Giona to the west and Parnassus to...
with the help of Lt. Andreas Mitalas. Next, he went to
MacedoniaMacedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in southeastern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
and organised armed groups there to fight the Bulgarians, who had followed the Germans into Greece, occupied much of northern Greece and had set their sights on permanent annexation. The Axis occupation of Greece during World War II would last from May, 1941 to October, 1944
Psarros returned to southern Greece and founded the resistance group National and Social Liberation (EKKA) along with politician Georgios Kartalis, officers Dimitrios Karachristos, Dimitrios Georgantas and others. The organisation's aims were to fight the
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
occupation forces as long as the occupation lasted and, after liberation, work for social change. EKKA had followers and were active mainly in
Central GreeceContinental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the peripheries of Central Greece, Attica, and one prefecture of West Greece...
but on Easter Monday, April 17, 1944, were attacked by the Communist forces of
ELASELAS may refer to:* The Greek People's Liberation Army, World War II Greek Resistance group* The Equitable Life Assurance Society , a life insurance company in the United Kingdom* located in Romania...
who sought to have a monopoly in the political future of Greece after liberation. Psarros was captured, shot, stabbed and beheaded. His body lay unburied for several days before it was interred at the local cemetery.