Evangelos Koukoudeas (1887 – 1935)

Evangelos Koukoudeas (1887 – 1935)

From the Greek town of Astraion – latterly known as Stromnitsa – in Macedonia, he was a Greek military hero, a Macedonian Fighter and hero of the Macedonian Struggle (1904-08), the Balkan Wars (1912-13), Northern Epirote Liberation Struggle (1914), WW1 (1914-18) and the Greco-Turkish War (1919-22).

He fled to Athens in 1905 to escape the Bulgarian komitatzides and their attacks on his home town and the surrounding Greek villages, eventually joining the Macedonian Struggle.

Koukoudeas fought all over Macedonia – Giannitsa, Pella, Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki – up until the cessation of hostilities in 1908.

In 1912, Koukoudeas played an important role and fought on the Aegean island of Ikaria, where the island ousted the Turk occupation and denied the Italians from capturing it. He also fought in the Balkan Wars (1912-13) in Samos and Chios.

Koukoudeas also later fought with distinction in Northern Epirus, WW1, where he eventually reached the rank of Lieutenant and also in Asia Minor, where he was captured by the Turks and later released.

He eventually reached the rank of Colonel in the Greek Army.