Athanasios Frangou

Athanasios Frangou
Born	1 January 1864 Sourpi, Magnesia
Died	20 September 1923
Allegiance	Kingdom of Greece
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1882–1917, 1920–1923
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	Greco-Turkish War of 1897, Balkan Wars, Asia Minor Campaign

Athanasios Frangou or Frangos (Greek: Αθανάσιος Φράγκου/Φράγκος, 1864–1923) was a Greek Army officer who reached the rank of Major General.

Biography

He was born on 1 January 1864 in the village of Sourpi in the modern Magnesia Prefecture (then under Ottoman rule). He joined the Hellenic Army on 5 November 1883, and later enrolled in the NCO School, from where he graduated in 1893 as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. He participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and the Balkan Wars. As a royalist, he was dismissed from the Army in 1917–1920 during the National Schism. He was reinstated with the electoral defeat of Eleftherios Venizelos in November 1920 which brought the royalist opposition to power, and assumed command of the 1st Infantry Division in Anatolia, where he led it in all the battles of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. He played a crucial role during the collapse of the Greek front in the Battle of Dumlupınar in August 1922, trying to rally the collapsing Greek forces: he assumed command of the remainders of I and II Corps, forming them together in the so-called "Southern Group" and led their retreat towards Çesme, where they embarked on ships for the islands of Chios and Lesbos. Following the outbreak of the Venizelist-led 11 September 1922 Revolution among the surviving Army units, he was dismissed from service. He died on 20 September 1923.

Sources

• Μεγάλη Στρατιωτική και Ναυτική Εγκυκλοπαιδεία. Τόμος Στ′: Σαράντα Εκκλησίαι – Ώχρα [Great Military and Naval Encyclopedia. Volume VI] (in Greek). Athens. 1930. p. 517.