ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base
"Versis, Constantinos"
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Konstantinos Versis (Athens 1901-Rapista Janin (nom) 1941) is an artillery officer of the Greek army of World War II, revered today in Greek artillery as an example of loyalty to the Military Oath.
Biography
Versis was born in Athens in 1901. He entered the Evelpid Military School, which he graduated with the rank of junior lieutenant of artillery, after which he was sent to Asia Minor, where he took part in the hostilities of the last year of the Asia Minor campaign of the Greek army (1922). According to reports, the command distinguished himself several times on the battlefield.
World War II
On October 28, 1940, Greece rejected the Italian ultimatum and was attacked by its army from Albania.
Versis served in Epirus during the attack and commanded a division of the 5th Artillery Regiment, which was subordinate to the 8th Infantry Division. During the Greco-Italian War, Versis took part in the Battle of Elea Calamas.
At the end of the battle, Greek forces pushed the Italian troops back, developing an offensive deep into Albanian territory.
The contribution of the Versis Division to this victory was significant.
In the following months, he took part in the persecution of Italian troops in Northern Epirus, Albania.
On April 6, 1941, Germany invaded Greece from German-allied Bulgaria.
The few Greek units on the Greek-Bulgarian border initially successfully repulsed the German invasion (see Metaxas Line). After that, German tank divisions passed from Bulgaria to the south of Yugoslavia, and from there, through the unprotected Greco-Yugoslav border, came to the city of Thessaloniki. The group of divisions of Eastern Macedonia (4 divisions) was cut off from the main forces of the Greek army, conducting military operations against the Italians in Albania, where 16 of the total number of 22 Greek divisions were located.
At the same time, German troops withdrew from Yugoslavia and Western Macedonia to the rear of the main forces of the Greek army in Albania. On April 12, the army in Albania was ordered to retreat. In fact, the Greek generals no longer believed in the possibility of continuing the war and “preferred to maintain a clean victory over Italy by agreeing to a ‘fair’ defeat at the hands of Germany.”
In an atmosphere of defeatism and manifestations of Germanophilism by some generals, a meeting of the ministerial council chaired by Corizis took place on April 18. The government and King George decided to leave mainland Greece and move to Crete and then to Cyprus. Most members of the government thought it unworthy of the Greek army to stop fighting. Corisis left the meeting devastated and committed suicide in his home.
Corizis' suicide is attributed to his reluctance to live with the Prime Minister's stain of defeat. Historian A. Gerosis believes that Korisis kept the word given to the German ambassador in response to the ultimatum: "Better to die."
On April 19, the king and his government left the capital.
April 20, General Tsolakoglu, Georgios subp