Born in
Larissa on 1 January 1879, he enlisted in the
Hellenic Army as a volunteer in 1901, after finishing school. He then entered the NCO School and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry in 1909. He was a fellow student of
Nikolaos Plastiras, who became a close friend. He participated in the
Goudi Coup of the same year. In the
First Balkan War of 1912–13 he served as a staff officer in the
4th Infantry Regiment and in the
Metsovo Brigade in the
Army of Epirus. He participated in the
Second Balkan War as a company commander in the 4th Regiment, and fought in the battles of
Kilkis and
Kresna Gorge. As an ardent follower of
Eleftherios Venizelos, during the
First World War and the
National Schism he joined the
Provisional Government of National Defence and fought in the
Macedonian front in 1916–18. His crowning moment was the victory at the
Battle of Skra in May 1918, where he participated as chief of staff of the
Archipelago Division. For his service he was promoted from Major to Lt. Colonel. In 1919 Protosyngelos participated in the unsuccessful
Allied intervention in Ukraine, before going to serve in the staff of the
Army of Asia Minor, where he was among the planners of the
Greek summer offensive of 1920, which led to the capture of
Prussa. He was then placed in command of the
3rd Infantry Regiment (later renamed as the 48th Regiment), a post he held until the
defeat and collapse of the Greek front in August 1922. In the subsequent retreat to the coast of Asia Minor, he was able to successfully evacuate his unit to
Lesbos. Protosyngelos was among the leaders of the
11 September 1922 Revolution, and became one of the twelve members of the Revolutionary Committee. He served as
Minister for Public Order in 1924, Inspector-General of Infantry (1926), Commander of the
2nd Infantry Division (1926–28) and of the Athens Garrison (1929), before becoming Director-General of the Ministry of Military Affairs (1930–34), Deputy Chief of the
Hellenic Army General Staff (1934–35), and finally Commander of the
Supreme War School (1935–36). He was discharged from service on 16 July 1936 with the rank of Lt. General. An opponent of the subsequent dictatorial
4th of August Regime of General
Ioannis Metaxas, Protosyngelos joined the Secret Revolutionary Organization (MEO), which aimed to overthrow the regime. Protosyngelos was married, but died childless at his home in
Athens on 15 December 1943, during the
Axis occupation of Greece. ==References==