Dimitrios Itsios

Dimitrios Itsios
Photograph of Dimitrios Itsios
Native name	Δημήτριος Ίτσιος
Born	1906 Ano Poroia, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Greece)
Died	April 1941 Metaxas Line, Kingdom of Greece
Allegiance	Kingdom of Greece
Rank	Master sergeant
Battles/wars	World War II Greco-Italian War German invasion of Greece Battle of the Metaxas Line †
Spouse(s)	Anna Nanopoulou
Children	Maria Anastasios

Dimitrios Itsios (Greek: Δημήτριος Ίτσιος; 5 April 1906 – 6 April 1941) was a Hellenic Army non-commissioned officer of the reserves and war hero of World War II.

Biography

He was born in the family of Efstathios Itsios in 1906, in the village of Ano Poroia in Central Macedonia, which was then still within the Ottoman Empire. The village was liberated by the Hellenic Army after victories over the Turks and Bulgarians in the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), when Dimitrios was just 6 years old. The border with Bulgaria was established two dozen kilometers north of the village, along the ridge of Kerkini.

During the First World War, the village was once again occupied by the Bulgarians. After the defeat of Bulgaria and during the Greek-Bulgarian population exchange, the Bulgarian-speaking part of the population left the village.

Dimitrios Itsios was married to his fellow villager Anna K. Nanopoulou, with whom he had two children, Maria and Anastasios.

In April 1941, during the German invasion of Greece, Itsios was a sergeant in command of a five man machine gun crew, consisting of Pillbox P8. He inflicted heavy losses on the invaders, ultimately running out of ammunition. Itsios surrendered to the German troops, but was executed by order of general Ferdinand Schörner.

Dimitrios Itsios was posthumously promoted to master sergeant.