he was born in the island of andros in 1869. he entered the hellenic military academy and graduated on 8 august 1891 as an artillery 2nd lieutenant. in the greco-turkish war of 1897, he fought as a battery commander in thessaly. from 1904 until its end in 1908, he participated in the macedonian struggle with the cover name antoniou. he roamed across central macedonia under various guises, among others a teacher or a salesman, working as a spy and liaison with greek communities and armed bands.