{{Infobox military person | name = Ioannis Karavitis<br />Ιωάννης Καραβίτης | caption = Ioannis Karavitis during the [[Macedonian Struggle]]. | birth_date = Autumn 1883 | death_date = 30 October 1949 | birth_place = [[Anopolis]], [[Ottoman Crete|Eyalet of Crete]], [[Ottoman Empire]] {{small|(now [[Greece]])}} | death_place = [[Athens]], [[Kingdom of Greece]] | burial_place = [[First Cemetery of Athens]] | native_name = Ιωάννης Καραβίτης | image = Ioannis Karavitis Postcard.jpg | nickname = | allegiance = [[File:State Flag of Greece (1863-1924 and 1935-1973).svg|25px]] [[Kingdom of Greece]]<br>[[File:Flag of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.svg|24px]] [[Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus|Aut. Rep. Northern Epirus]] | branch = {{army|Greece}} | service_years = 1904–1914 | battles = {{tree list}} *[[Macedonian Struggle]] *[[Balkan Wars]] **[[First Balkan War]] **[[Second Balkan War]] *[[Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus|North Epirote Struggle]] {{tree list/end}} | awards = }}
'''Ioannis Karavitis''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: ''Ιωάννης Καραβίτης'' 1883–1949) was a [[Greeks|Greek]] leader in the [[Macedonian Struggle]] from [[Crete]].
==Biography==
Karavitis was born in the autumn of 1883 in Anopolis in the area of [[Sfakia]] in Crete.<ref>I. Karavitis [Ι. Καραβίτης] (1994), Ο Μακεδονικός Αγών. Απομνημονεύματα, Αθήνα, p.24 (κδ).</ref><ref>[http://www.pagkritia.org/archive/Omilia_1903.htm Η σημασία της θυσίας των Κρητών Μακεδονομάχων (1903–1908)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819125310/http://www.pagkritia.org/archive/Omilia_1903.htm |date=2014-08-19 }} (Greek)</ref> In 1903, while he was in Athens, he learned about Cretan forces going to Macedonia to fight and he decided to participate himself.<ref>I. Karavitis, p. 7.</ref> After the Macedonian Struggle, he took part in armed conflicts in Crete and Samos, in the Balkan Wars and in the Epirote Struggle. He strongly disagreed with the outcome of the [[National Schism]] and the establishment of different states in [[Athens]] and [[Thessaloniki]] during the [[First World War]].<ref>I. Karavitis, p. 25 (κε).</ref>
Karavitis left Crete in 1929 and moved to Piraeus and later in Athens, where he rented the cafe "''Argolis''".<ref name=a>I. Karavitis, p. 26 (κστ).</ref> A few years earlier, the [[Evelpidon Military Academy|Hellenic Army Academy]] had established a guerrilla warfare lesson called "Karavitis’ Tactics", which included a surprising approach of the enemy, gathering information, swift attack and retreat.<ref name=a/>{{Better source|date=August 2019}}
At the end of 1939 and beginning of 1940, Karavitis published in the "''Kritikos Kosmos''" (Greek: «Κρητικός Κόσμος») details of his struggles with plenty descriptions of the feats of Cretans. Later, he published what he remembered about the war in the newspaper "''Ellinikos Vorras''" (Greek: «Ελληνικός Βορράς») in Thessaloniki. The publication was launched on May 22, 1949, and ended on March 25, 1950, with a total of 236 sheets.<ref>I. Karavitis, p. 21 - 22 (κα-κβ).</ref> In his memoirs more information about his participation in the Struggle were provided.
He died on 30 October 1949. The funeral was held at public expense, with the military funeral honours of a general at the [[First Cemetery of Athens]].<ref>I. Karavitis, p. 27 (κζ).</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Macedonian Struggle}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karavitis, Ioannis}} [[Category:1880s births]] [[Category:1949 deaths]] [[Category:People of the Macedonian Struggle]] [[Category:People from Sfakia]] [[Category:Military personnel from Crete]]