Rank Lieutenant General Service/branch Hellenic Army | Parents Leonidas Smolenskis Name Konstantinos Smolenskis Allegiance Kingdom of Greece | |
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Battles/wars Greco-Turkish War of 1897 Died September 27, 1915, Athens, Greece Other work Minister for National Defence | ||
Battles and wars Greco-Turkish War | ||
Konstantinos Smolenskis or Smolents (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Σμολένσκης/Σμόλεντς, 1843–1915) was a Hellenic Army officer who distinguished himself in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897.
He was born in 1842 in Athens, the son of general Leonidas Smolenskis, a Greco-Polish officer who had come to Greece as a volunteer during the Greek War of Independence.
He enrolled in the Hellenic Army Academy, graduating in 1862 as an artillery warrant officer. He later served as a professor in the Academy and in various positions, including field command of the 1st Infantry Division during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, two tenures as Minister for Military Affairs, and Member of Parliament. His successful resistance during the Battle of Velestino in 1897 was the only Greek success in the war, and helped to catapult him to the status of a national hero, as well as a field promotion to major general.
He retired on 27 March 1912 with the rank of lieutenant general, and died on 27 September 1915.