Tsolakopoulos, Christ

Christos Tsolakopoulos was born on January 1, 1868 in Epidaurus , in the family of the customs officer Nikolis Tsolakopulos and Anti John. He graduated from elementary school in the nearby town of Nafplion . Volunteer joined the Greek army on August 15, 1886, after which he was enrolled in the school of non-commissioned officers. While still a cadet of the school of non-commissioned officers, he took part in the short-lived, how strange and Greek-Turkish war of 1897, where he received his first wound. On August 9, 1899, he graduated from the College of Non-Commissioned Officers with the rank of junior infantry lieutenant ^[1]

At the beginning of the 20th century, on the territory of Macedonia still occupied by the Turks, the Greek population was faced with yet another threat. Bulgarian claims for Macedonia and the violent actions of supporters of the Bulgarian exarchate , with the indulgence of the Turkish authorities, against supporters of the Patriarchate of Constantinople , forced the Macedonian Greeks to create self-defense units and conduct military operations against both the Turks and the Bulgarians. Several dozen junior officers left the Greek army and volunteered for Macedonia. Among them, Lieutenant Tsolakopulos ^[2] . At the same time, given the fact that officially Greece did not take part in the events, they acted under pseudonyms. Tsolakopulos became known under the pseudonym Captain Rembelos (Καπετάν Ρέμπελος) ^[1] Soglano K. Mazarakisu, a detachment of Tsolakopoulos (Rembelos), formed in the Greek kingdom from volunteers, arrived in Macedonia in March 1905 ^[3] and joined N. Kalomenopoulos (captain Nidas) ^[4] . In April 1905, a detachment of Kalomenopoulos was surrounded by Turkish troops near the village of Belkamen (Drosopigi). Since the struggle on Ottoman territory was mainly military propaganda in nature, in order to prevent the violence of the Bulgarian couple against the Greek and faithful Constantinople Patriarch of Macedonia, the installation given to Kalomenopoulos did not exclude military clashes with the Bulgarian Chetniks, but recommended avoiding clashes with the Ottoman troops if possible. Following the instructions, Kalomenopoulos decided to give up. But his deputies Anthony Tsituras and the wounded captain Rebelos (Christ Tsolakopoulos) broke through with a battle with part of the fighters. The wounded Tsolakopulos was rescued by the locals and took refuge in their homes for a long time. Kalomenopoulos was transported to Monastir , where he was convicted ^[5] and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Subsequently, Captain Kalomenopoulos became a lieutenant general of the Greek army and a famous historian. However, the Greeks of the Macedonians sang not Kalomenopoulos, but Captain Rembelos (Tsolakopoulos), who later received the name "March of Rembelos" in the song:

Mountain peaks, snow

Rembelos, good fellow

Rifle, sword in hand

Never lose feast

The bust of Captain Rembelos (Tsolakopulos) was installed today in the village of Drosopigi (Belkamen) ^{[6] [7]} .

In the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), Tsolakopoulos fought as part of the 8th Infantry Regiment and was wounded during the siege of Iannin . In particular, Tsolakopoulos distinguished himself in the battle of Kilkis during the Second Balkan War against the Bulgarians, when as an adjutant to the regiment commander, Colonel Kambanis, he hid the colonel’s death from the soldiers and commanded the regiment until the battle ended with victory for the Greek weapon ^[1] . At the same time, his comrades-in-arms recall that he commanded a regiment in battle on horseback, never once trying to hide from enemy fire. At the same time, and under enemy fire, he found the moment and picked up the seriously wounded lieutenant I. Mudzuridis (future Minister of Internal Affairs) from the battlefield. In 1917–18, he commanded the 34th Infantry Regiment in the Strimonas River sector on the Macedonian Front of World War I. ^[1] In 1919, leading his regiment, he took part in an expedition to the south of Russia undertaken by the Greek army at the request of the Entente in support of the White Movement ^[1] Escorting the regiment to Russia, Colonel P. Gargalidis told the soldiers: “You know the road to glory. In addition, your heroic colonel will remind you of it. ” On January 5, the French Tigre transport, with a 34th regiment on board, on its way to Odessa, stood in Constantinople occupied by the Allies. Like all the soldiers of the regiment, Tsolakopoulos was excited at the sight of the “City” and St. Sophia: “I have been fighting for the Fatherland for 25 years. My body is full of wounds for its Honor and Glory. At that moment, when my eyes caress the city of dreams of our kind, all my labors and shed blood are justified. ” The 34th regiment in the II division arrived in Odessa on February 17. Soon, however, the chief of the division, Sbarunis, demanded that the command recall Tsolakopoulos, due to the terrible state of his health. Tsolakopoulos left Odessa on March 6, 1919. The regiment took command of Petros Caracassson ^[8] .

Tsolakopulos was finally demobilized in 1920 with the rank of colonel. Fellow workers arranged a farewell to him at the headquarters of Thessaloniki garrison, where the garrison orchestra performed the “March of Rembelos”.

Tsolakopoulos intended to devote himself to politics, but his life after demobilization was short. He died at Nafplion on February 10, 1923. ^[9] He was posthumously awarded the rank of Major General. ^[1]