Christodoulos Tsigantes

Christodoulos Tsigantes
Christodoulos Tsigantes
Native name	Χριστόδουλος Τσιγάντες
Born	(1897-01-30)January 30, 1897 Tulcea, Romania
Died	October 12, 1970(1970-10-12) (aged 73) London, United Kingdom
Cause of death	Illness
Service / branch	Hellenic Army
Years of service	1916-1935 1940-1948
Rank	Major General
Unit	National Defence Army Corps Serres Division French Foreign Legion
Commands	Sacred Band
Battles / wars	World War I Macedonian front Battle of Skra-di-Legen Russian Civil War White movement Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) World War II Western Desert campaign Tunisian campaign Dodecanese campaign
Alma mater	Phanar Greek Orthodox College Hellenic Military Academy French school of war
Spouse(s)	Maria Drakouli ​ (m. 1921)​
Children	2
Relations	Ioannis Tsigantes (Brother)
Other work	Article writer/ commentator

Christodoulos Tsigantes (Greek: Χριστόδουλος Τσιγάντες; 30 January 1897 – October 11, 1970) was a Greek general who distinguished himself as the commander of the Sacred Band during the Second World War. He was born in Tulcea, Romania to Greek parents of Kefalonian origin and died in London, where he was cremated.

Following the failure of the 1935 Greek coup d'état attempt Lieutenant Colonel Christodoulos Tsigantes, his brother Captain Ioannis Tsigantes, Colonel Stefanos Sarafis and other participants of the coup were cashiered in a public ceremony.^[1]

Military career

1913-1915 period:

After his graduation, he returned to Athens and entered the Evelpidon Military Academy from which he graduated in 1916 with the rank of Second Lieutenant of Infantry.^[2]

As soo as he left the School, he took part in the pro-Venizelos National Defense Movement in 1916 and fought on the Macedonian Front (1917-18) against the Germans and Bulgarians during the First World War.^[3][4] Subsequently, he took part in the Greek military mission in the Crimea in the context of the Russian Civil War, as well as in the Asia Minor Campaign as a Captain.^[5]

On January 17, 1921, he married Maria Drakoulis, a native of Ithaca but a permanent resident of Romania, with whom he later had two boys, Gerasimos in 1924 and Eleftherios in 1935.^[6]

On December 15, 1923, he was promoted to the rank of Major and then studied at the French War School in Paris and upon his return to Greece served in various staff positions.^[7]

In 1934 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

1935 coup attempt:

Main article: 1935 Greek coup attempt

He took part, as a main member of the secret revolutionary "Hellenic Military Organization" (1933-1935), in the Venice movement of March 1, 1935. After the failure of the movement, he was arrested and tried, on March 31, 1935, by the Extraordinary Military Court of Athens on high treason along with other Venizelian officers.^[8] He was sentenced to life imprisonment with the consequent penalty of military demotion, to a common soldier, held publicly on April 2, 1935 in the then infantry barracks (today's Liberty Park).^[9]

However, after the restoration, King George II granted him a pardon, which stopped the further serving of the sentence.

World War II:

From 1940 to 1941 he served in the French Foreign Legion in Libya and Eritrea.^[10]

In 1942, after appearing before the exiled Greek government in Cairo, he was recalled to the ranks of the Hellenic Army.^[10]

During the period September 15, 1942 - August 7, 1945, he assumed command of the Sacred Band, taking part both in the operations of Libya and Tunis, as well as the Dodecanese.^[11][12]

After World War II:

With the end of the war, in 1945, he assumed military command of the Archipelagos and, until 1947, head of the Greek Military Mission to the Dodecanese, preparing their integration into the Greek state where that period he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.^[13][14]

Finally, he assumed military command of Evia, where he was retired at his request, on May 1, 1948, receiving the rank of Major General.^[15]

He was honored with many decorations, Greek and allied, as well as by kings George II and Paul.^[16]

Later life

After his retirement he was a columnist and commentator for various centrist newspapers (The Nation, Ta Nea, Eleftheria).

In 1950, he was appointed general manager of the (then) National Radio Foundation (EIR, later Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) at the suggestion of the vice-president of the government, Georgios Papandreou. He remained in this position until early 1953, when he was replaced by the Papagos government.

Also in the parliamentary elections of 1950, 1956 and 1958, he ran as a candidate with the Liberal Party, but without success.

In 1970 he fell seriously ill and was taken to London where he died on October 12, 1970 and his body was cremated in the British capital.^[17][18]

References

1. "Δημόσια καθαίρεση αξιωματικών του κινήματος 1ης Μαρτίου" [Public cashiering of the officers of the 1 March coup]. Kathimerini (in Greek). 3 April 1935. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
2. Dimellas, Manolis (2021-10-11). "Ο Διοικητής του Ιερού Λόχου Χριστ. Τσιγάντες κι ένα άρθρο του - 12. 10.64 στην εφ. Ελευθερία". karpathiakanea.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
3. "«Υπηρετώντας την πατρίδα» | Στέφανος Καβαλλιεράκης". Amagi (in Greek). 2017-09-03. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
4. "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΔΟΥΛΟΣ ΤΣΙΓΑΝΤΕΣ: Ο ΙΔΡΥΤΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΙΕΡΟΥ ΛΟΧΟΥ ΜΕΣΗΣ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗΣ". Active News - Ειδήσεις από την Ελλάδα και όλο το κόσμο (in Greek). 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
5. "Χριστόδουλος Τσιγάντες : Ένας σπουδαίος Έλληνας". in.gr (in Greek). 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
6. Καρυπίδης, Σταύρος (2017-01-23). "46 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΘΑΝΑΤΟ ΤΟΥ ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΟΥ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΔΟΥΛΟΥ ΤΣΙΓΑΝΤΕ, ΤΟΥ ΘΡΥΛΙΚΟΥ ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΙΕΡΟΥ ΛΟΧΟΥ". Νέα, Ειδήσεις, Εκδηλώσεις στην Ξάνθη (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
7. "Χριστόδουλος Τσιγάντες: Ο «γενάρχης» του Ιερού Λόχου Μέσης Ανατολής". HuffPost Greece (in Greek). 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
8. "Δημόσια καθαίρεση αξιωματικών του κινήματος 1ης Μαρτίου - ΔΕΚΑΕΤΙΑ 1930 - 100 Χρόνια Κ". www.kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
9. Ζαούσης, 2004, page. 106.
10. Vlachistathopoulos, Anastasios (2006). Ιερός Λόχος, 1942-1945 [Sacred Squadron, 1942-1945] (in Greek). Athens: Eleftheri Skepsis Publications. p. 24. ISBN 9789608352919.
11. Lila (2018-10-03). "Ιερός Λόχος. Η πρώτη εκστρατεία των νεοϊδρυθέντων ελληνικών ειδικών δυνάμεων στην Τυνησία. Η καταδίωξη του γερμανικού στρατού και οι σκληρές μάχες". ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
12. Nikoloudis, Nikos. The Sacred Squadron: The struggles of an elite military unit from the deserts of Africa to the islands of the Aegean during WW2. The first was the assumption of its command by Colonel Christodoulos Tsigantes, who had been dishonourably discharged after the March 1st, 1935 coup
13. Dimellas, Manolis (2021-10-11). "Ο Διοικητής του Ιερού Λόχου Χριστ. Τσιγάντες κι ένα άρθρο του - 12. 10.64 στην εφ. Ελευθερία". karpathiakanea.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
14. "Οδός Χριστόδουλου Τσιγάντε: Η μικρή οδός ενός μεγάλου ήρωα". www.rodiaki.gr (in Greek). 2024-10-27. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
15. Christou S. Fotopoulou, Lieutenant Gen. (Ret.) (2002). Υποστράτηγος Χριστόδουλος Τσιγάντες [Major General Christodoulos Tsigantes] (in Greek). Army General Staff. p. 26. Τόσο η εκτίμηση, όσο και η απόφαση του Ταξιάρχου Χριστόδουλου Τσιγάντε να υποβάλει την παραίτηση του αποδείχτηκαν πέρα για πέρα σωστές, γιατί την 1η Μαΐου 1948, και χωρίς να του δοθεί απάντηση στην αίτηση του, υπογράφτηκε το Βασιλικό Διάταγμα της αυτεπάγγελτης αποστρατείας του, προαγόμενος στο βαθμό του Υποστρατήγου.
16. "Αποκαλυπτήρια προτομής Χριστόδουλου Τσιγάντε στην 13η ΔΕΕ". Pronews.gr (in Greek). 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
17. "Τσιγάντες, ο επικεφαλής του «Λόχου των Επίλεκτων Αθανάτων» που τον μετονόμασε σε «Ιερό Λόχο»" (in Greek). 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
18. Almonds Windmill, Lorna (19 March 2006). A British Achilles: The Story of George, 2nd Earl Jellicoe KBE DSO MC FRS. Pen & Sword Military. ASIN B00O3GWPGY. ISBN 9781781597262. General Tsigantes died in England during the Colonels' dictatorship