Tsiavaliaria

Vasileios Tsiavliaris, son of Ioannis, from Pialeia, Trikala, was the first Greek soldier to fall in the Greco-Italian War of 1940. Serving as a machine gunner in the 51st Infantry Regiment, he was stationed at Outpost 21 on the Greek-Albanian border. At 5:00 a.m. on October 28th, just moments after exiting the outpost on Gkolio Hill, he was shot in the forehead by an Italian soldier’s bullet and killed instantly. Greece mourned its first war casualty on the very day it said “No” to fascism. Every year, the Municipality of Pyli, in collaboration with local associations of Pialeia, organizes a commemorative event in honor of hero Vasileios Tsiavliaris, paying tribute to his sacrifice and keeping the memory of his courage alive.