Nikolaos Zorbas

Nikolaos Zorbas (Greek Νικόλαος Ζορμπάς, born September 27, 1844 in Athens, † June 12, 1920 ) was a Greek officer. He was the leader of the military uprising at the League of Goudi in 1909.

Zorbas attended the military academy and finished his education in France and Belgium. He participated as a lieutenant and chief of artillery unit part of the Greek -Turkish War of 1897. 1905/ 06 he was the director of the Military Academy and in 1907 commander of the artillery.

Zorbas was an opponent of the Commander Crown Prince Constantine, who had been passed over for promotion.

As mostly young officers conspired in 1909 to opposition military league and demanded the replacement of the heir to the throne as supreme commander and military reform to Zorbas joined them. It was the beginning of August 1909, then already almost 65 years old and high-ranking as a colonel and looked to their leader. Under his leadership, it came in the night of 15 August 1909 uprising: the supporter of the Military League gathered at the barracks of Goudi, a neighborhood in the east of Athens. Several hundred officers, followed by about 2,000 soldiers, policemen and civilians, threatened with the invasion of the city, if not their ultimate demands would be met. These included not only the replacement of the crown prince as commander in chief and all princes from their military positions and an amnesty for participants in the revolt of the reconvening of the dismissed in recent months officers, the dismissal of certain officers such as Ioannis Metaxas, who were regarded as followers of the crown prince, a military reform, but also in general - political populist reforms such as tax relief.

The uprising in the resignation of the government of Georgios Rallis result. The new Prime Minister Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis accepted the demands of the Military League, in the result, there was, however, on its implementation to disputes with the Parliament, to which the Military League exerted strong pressure. Through the mediation of Eleftherios Venizelos early 1910, it was agreed to form a transitional government under Stephanos Dragoumis, the Zorbas belonged as Defense Minister. The Military League broke up at the instigation of. The government Dragoumis was from January 31, 1910 to October 18, 1910 at the office. After Venizelos came to power.

Zorbas went to the rank of major general in retirement and wrote his memoirs of the events of the rebellion of Goudi in 1911. They were not published until after his death.

Works

Απομνημονεύματα ή πληροφορίαι περί των συμβάντων κατά την διάρκεια της Επαναστάσεως της 15ης Αυγούστου 1909 Apomnemonevmata ke pliroforie peri ton symvanton kata tin diarkian tis tis epanastaseos 15Es Avgoustou 1909 memories and information about the events during the revolution of August 15, 1909, Athens 1925