Aris Velouchiotis

Aris Velouchiotis (born Thanassis Klaras) was the brilliant guerrilla commander who organized the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) to resist the German, Italian, and Bulgarian occupation of Greece.

Operating from the rugged mountains of Central Greece, Velouchiotis orchestrated the iconic Gorgopotamos viaduct sabotage alongside British commandos and EDES fighters in November 1942, severing Rommel's vital supply line to North Africa.

Revered by peasants across the highlands as an indomitable mountain chieftain, he refused to surrender his weapons after the Varkiza Agreement, dying heroically in the mountains of Mesounta.