Trial of the Six
Encyclopedia
The Trial of the Six or the Execution of the Six was the trial for treason
, in late 1922, of the officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor. The trial culminated in the death sentence and execution of six of the nine defendants.
)
On September 9, 1922, Turkish military and guerilla forces entered the city of İzmir
in Asia Minor
, which was previously mandated to Greece by the Treaty of Sèvres
. The retreating Greek "Army of the East" abandoned Smyrna, on September 8, the day before the Turkish Army moved in. Hundreds of thousands of Greek residents of Asia Minor had fled to Smyrna seeking transportation across the sea in order to flee. However, transportation arrived late and in too small numbers relative to the number of people trying to flee, resulting chaos and panic. The military loss of the Asia Minor land mandate by Greece to Turkey and the chaotic and bloody evacuation of Greeks previously living in the area, who spent the rest of their lives as refugees, is known as the "Asia Minor Catastrophe" (Greek
: Μικρασιατική Καταστροφή, Mikrasiatiki Katastrophi).
unfolded in Athens and the Aegean Islands, partly as an angry civil response to the defeat in the fields of battle. On September 11, 1922, Colonels Nikolaos Plastiras
and Stylianos Gonatas
formed a "Revolutionary Committee" that demanded the abdication of the King
, the resignation of the Royalist government, and the punishment of those responsible for the military disaster. The coup was aided by venizelist
General Theodoros Pangalos
, then stationed in Athens. Backed by massive demonstrations in the capital, the coup was successful: two days later, when Plastiras and Gonatas disembarked in the port of Laurium
with the military units they commanded, King Constantine
abdicated in favour of his first-born son, George
, and sailed for Sicily
, never to return; the government ministers were arrested and the new king consented to a new administration, one favorable to the coup.
", which convened on October 31 and carried out a two-week-long trial, in which the five senior-most members of the overthrown administration (Dimitrios Gounaris
, Georgios Baltatzis, Nikolaos Stratos
, Nikolaos Theotokis, and Petros Protopapadakis
) and General Georgios Hatzianestis
(last commander-in-chief of the Asia Minor campaign) were tried for high treason
, convicted, and sentenced to death. They were executed a few hours after the verdict was handed, and before its publication, on 15 November 1922. Two defendants, Admiral Michael Goudas and General Xenophon Stratigos, received a life imprisonment sentence. Τhe ex-king
's brother, Prince Andrew
, also a senior commanding officer in the failed campaign, had been indicted as well but was in Corfu
at the time. He was arrested, transported to Athens, tried by the same tribunal a few days later, and found guilty of the same crimes, but was recognised as being "completely lacking in military command experience", a mitigating if ironic circumstance. He was sentenced to banishment from Greece for life. The prince and his family (which included his infant son Prince Philip, later the Duke of Edinburgh
) were evacuated on a British warship
on December 4, leaving Corfu
island for Brindisi
.
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, in late 1922, of the officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor. The trial culminated in the death sentence and execution of six of the nine defendants.
Background
(See also: 1922 in Greece1922 in Greece
See also:1921 in Greece, other events of 1922, 1923 in Greece and the Timeline of Greek history.----The year 1922 was the most calamitous in the whole history of modern Greece...
)
On September 9, 1922, Turkish military and guerilla forces entered the city of İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, which was previously mandated to Greece by the Treaty of Sèvres
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
. The retreating Greek "Army of the East" abandoned Smyrna, on September 8, the day before the Turkish Army moved in. Hundreds of thousands of Greek residents of Asia Minor had fled to Smyrna seeking transportation across the sea in order to flee. However, transportation arrived late and in too small numbers relative to the number of people trying to flee, resulting chaos and panic. The military loss of the Asia Minor land mandate by Greece to Turkey and the chaotic and bloody evacuation of Greeks previously living in the area, who spent the rest of their lives as refugees, is known as the "Asia Minor Catastrophe" (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Μικρασιατική Καταστροφή, Mikrasiatiki Katastrophi).
Coup
During this time a coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
unfolded in Athens and the Aegean Islands, partly as an angry civil response to the defeat in the fields of battle. On September 11, 1922, Colonels Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras
Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier and known for his personal bravery, he was known as "O Mavros Kavalaris" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922...
and Stylianos Gonatas
Stylianos Gonatas
Stylianos Gonatas was a Greek military officer and Venizelist politician and Prime Minister of Greece between 1922 and 1924.- Early life and military career :...
formed a "Revolutionary Committee" that demanded the abdication of the King
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
, the resignation of the Royalist government, and the punishment of those responsible for the military disaster. The coup was aided by venizelist
Venizelism
Venizelism 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...
General Theodoros Pangalos
Theodoros Pangalos (general)
Major General Theodoros Pangalos was a Greek soldier and politician. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading role in the September 1922 revolt that deposed King Constantine I and in the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic...
, then stationed in Athens. Backed by massive demonstrations in the capital, the coup was successful: two days later, when Plastiras and Gonatas disembarked in the port of Laurium
Laurium
Laurium or Lavrio is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Lavreotiki...
with the military units they commanded, King Constantine
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
abdicated in favour of his first-born son, George
George II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
, and sailed for Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, never to return; the government ministers were arrested and the new king consented to a new administration, one favorable to the coup.
Trial
On October 12, 1922, the junta constituted an "extraordinary military tribunalMilitary tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
", which convened on October 31 and carried out a two-week-long trial, in which the five senior-most members of the overthrown administration (Dimitrios Gounaris
Dimitrios Gounaris
Dimitrios Gounaris was the Prime Minister of Greece from March 10, 1915 to August 23, 1915 and April 8, 1921 to May 16, 1922...
, Georgios Baltatzis, Nikolaos Stratos
Nikolaos Stratos
Nikolaos Stratos was a Prime Minister of Greece for a few days in May, 1922. He was later tried and executed for his role in the Catastrophe of 1922.-Early political career:...
, Nikolaos Theotokis, and Petros Protopapadakis
Petros Protopapadakis
-Life and work:Born in 1854 in Apeiranthos, Naxos, Protopapadakis studied mathematics and engineering in Paris but was keenly interested in politics. He was a professor at the Scholi Evelpidon, the military academy of Greece....
) and General Georgios Hatzianestis
Georgios Hatzianestis
Georgios Hatzianestis was a Greek general. He was born in Athens. From May 1922 to the end of the war that September, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Greek armies during the last months of the Greco-Turkish War .Following the Trial of the Six, Hatzianestis was executed for...
(last commander-in-chief of the Asia Minor campaign) were tried for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, convicted, and sentenced to death. They were executed a few hours after the verdict was handed, and before its publication, on 15 November 1922. Two defendants, Admiral Michael Goudas and General Xenophon Stratigos, received a life imprisonment sentence. Τhe ex-king
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
's brother, Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. He was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark.He began military training at an early age, and was...
, also a senior commanding officer in the failed campaign, had been indicted as well but was in Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
at the time. He was arrested, transported to Athens, tried by the same tribunal a few days later, and found guilty of the same crimes, but was recognised as being "completely lacking in military command experience", a mitigating if ironic circumstance. He was sentenced to banishment from Greece for life. The prince and his family (which included his infant son Prince Philip, later the Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
) were evacuated on a British warship
HMS Calypso (D61)
HMS Calypso was a C class cruiser of the Caledon sub-class of the Royal Navy, launched in 1917 and sunk in 1940 by the Italian submarine Bagnolini.HMS Calypso was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company...
on December 4, leaving Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
island for Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
.