Evripidis Bakirtzis
Evripidis Bakirtzis | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Ευριπίδης Μπακιρτζής |
| Birth name | Evripidis Bakirtzis |
| Nickname(s) | "The Red Colonel" |
| Born | 16 January 1895 Serres, Salonika Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Greece) |
| Died | 9 March 1947 Fournoi Korseon, Kingdom of Greece |
| Allegiance | Second Hellenic Republic |
| Branch | Hellenic Army |
| Years of service | 1911–1926 1928–1937 1940–1944 (ELAS) |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Army of Epirus ELAS-Divisional Group of Macedonia (DGM) |
| Commands | 2nd Staff Office 3rd Army Corps PEEA |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
| Alma mater | Hellenic Army Academy |
Evripidis Bakirtzis (Greek: Ευριπίδης Μπακιρτζής; 16 January 1895 – 9 March 1947), born in Serres, Ottoman Empire, was a Hellenic Army officer and politician. Dismissed from the army twice due to his participation in pro-republican coup attempts and sentenced to death, later during the Axis Occupation of Greece, in World War II he co-founded the National and Social Liberation (EKKA) resistance group along with Dimitrios Psarros and was the military head of the organization. He later joined and was a prominent member of the National Liberation Front (EAM) and its military wing the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS). He served as head of the Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA), a government of Greek Resistance-held territories also called the "Mountain Government", from 10 March to 18 April 1944. He was nicknamed "the Red Colonel", from his pen name in the newspaper of the Communist Party of Greece, the Rizospastis.
He was found dead in 1947 in exile, during the later Greek civil war, in Fournoi Korseon.