Spyros Spyromilios

Spyros Spyromilios
Nickname(s)	Eagle of Himara (Greek: Ο Αϊτός της Χειμάρρας)
Born	1864 Himara, Ottoman Empire
Died	19 May 1930 Athens, Greece
Allegiance	Greece Auton. Rep. of Northern Epirus
Service/branch	Gendarmerie
Years of service	1896–1926
Rank	Colonel
Commands held	Civil governor and military commander of Himara (1914)
Battles/wars	Greco-Turkish War (1897) Greek struggle for Macedonia First Balkan War Northern Epirus Autonomy Struggle
Other work	Member of the Greek Parliament (1915-1917)

Spyros Spyromilios (Greek: Σπύρος Σπυρομήλιος; 1864–1930) was a Greek Gendarmerie officer who took part in the Greek struggle for Macedonia and the Balkan Wars. In 1914 proclaimed the Autonomy of his native town, Himara, and joined the autonomist struggle of Northern Epirus against its inclusion within the newly established Principality of Albania.

Spyromilios was born in Himara, then Ottoman Empire. In May 1905 he led one of the first armed groups to be assembled for the developing Macedonian Struggle. Adopting the nom de guerre "Athalis Bouas" or "Kapetan Bouas", he led his own group of 35 men in the region of Vermio in Ottoman-held Macedonia. He was however wounded in his leg within days, in an exchange of fire with pro-Bulgarian komitadjis, and was forced to go to Thessaloniki to be treated. By 1909 he had risen to the rank of Captain, and took part in the Goudi military coup d'état.

At the outbreak of the First Balkan War in October 1912, he was positioned at the Ionian island of Corfu. There, he assembled a small corps of volunteers from his home region, augmented by 200 Cretan volunteers. On 5 November, Himara rose in revolt and his force landed and occupied this coastal region, without facing initially resistance. Spyromylios then suggested to the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos that the Greek Army should immediately capture the city of Vlorë, north of Himara. However, on November 28, the Albanians declared their independence in Vlorë and formed a provisional government. The Greek headquarters expected full-scale attack in the area and ordered him to retreat. He rejected the order and remained in the region organizing the local defense.

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