The Trial of the Six or the Execution of the Six was the trial for treason, in late 1922, of the Anti-Venizelist officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor. The trial culminated in the death sentence and execution of six of the nine defendants.
The bench of the accused: from left to right, Goudas, Baltatzis, Stratigos, Gounaris, Stratos, Theotokis, Protopapadakis
Nikolaos Plastiras
Theodoros Pangalos
Alexandros Othonaios
Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served twice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he became famous as "The Black Rider" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, where he commanded the 5/42 Evzone Regiment. After the Greek defeat in the war, along with other Venizelist officers he launched the 11 September 1922 Revolution that deposed King Constantine I of Greece and his government. The military-led government ruled until January 1924, when power was handed over to an elected National Assembly, which later declared the Second Hellenic Republic. In the interwar period, Plastiras remained a devoted Venizelist and republican. Trying to avert the rise of the royalist People's Party and the restoration of the monarchy, he led two coup attempts in 1933 and 1935, both of which failed, forcing him to exile in France.
Nikolaos Plastiras as a colonel, c. 1923
Nikolaos Plastiras as colonel, painting by Georgios Prokopiou (1921).
Nikolaos Plastiras on horseback with two Evzones. Asia Minor, 1922.
In Athens after the 1922 revolution.