Georgios Tombras was born in the then mostly Greek-speaking Asia Minor city of
Kydonies (also known as Aivali, present-day Ayvalık). He was commissioned a lieutenant and served in the Greek Army as a
pharmacist. He went to Macedonia in 1905 as a secretary in the detachment of
Stavros Rigas ("Captain Kavodoros"), later he was with rebel
Georgios Katechakis ("Captain Rouvas") in
Kastoria. In September 1906 he was the lieutenant of
Konstantinos Saros during the fighting at
Giannitsa Lake. Later that year he returned to Greece, according to sources, after entering into a serious dispute with Saros. After his furlough, he returned to Macedonia, this time active in the
Nestorio sector. He cooperated with
Stefos Grigoriou, and along with the guerrilla bands of
Ioannis Terzis and
Nikolaos Platanias ("Captain Lachtaras") gave battle on 3 July 1907 against a detachment of
IMRO, in which the Bulgarian chieftain
Atanas Krshakov was killed. During the
Balkan Wars (1912–1913) he operated for a year in Western Macedonia as the lieutenant of
Georgios Katechakis, taking part in one of the so-called First Battle of
Nicopolis (known by its ancient name) in the area of
Preveza in
Epirus. The main action occurred on 19 October 1912, after Greek troops began marshalling on the 16th, prefatory to Greece's declaration of war on the 17th. Tombras as a lieutenant led the centre of the Greek line in support of Captain Katechakis and 2nd Lieutenant Zoudianos who advanced in a
pincer movement backed by a number of Greek volunteer corps under various leaders while,
counter-battery fire under a Lieutenant Khavikis suppressed the Turkish
artillery, much of which was later captured, along with other equipment The main battle lasted ten hours. In November 1912, one Georgios Tombras
alias "
Polyhniatis" joined others in sending a letter detailing the state of Turkish defences at
Moudros that led to the
Hellenic Navy taking part in the Liberation of Lemnos (the annexation of the Greek-speaking island by the
Kingdom of Greece) under
Pavlos Kountouriotis. It is not clear whether this Georgios Tombras was the same person as the
makedonomahos fighter, whether he was a spy for the Greek military, or what other role, if any, he played in the subsequent fighting. Image:Georgios Tombras.jpg |Tombras Image:Georgios Tombras 2.jpg |Tombras ==References==