Early Military Career
According to his obituary in The Times of London, his father intended him to become a physician. On learning this, Grivas fled his home and Cyprus in 1916 to study at the Athens Military Academy. He completed his military studies at the École Militaire in Paris. He graduated in 1919 with the rank of sub-lieutenant and was immediately posted on the Asia Minor front. Grivas served in the 10th Division of the Greek Army and participated in its advance from İzmir to Panormos and Eskişehir, past Bursa and the Sakarya River. With the subsequent rout and defeat of the Greek Army and its complete withdrawal from Asia Minor in 1922 he was placed at Redestos, Thrace. He was decorated for his bravery and promoted to lieutenant. He was later selected to study at the French Military Academy and upon his return to Greece he served in a number of posts, including that of a lecturer at the Military School of Greece. He was promoted to captain in 1925 and to major in 1935. Two years later he married Vasiliki Deka, the daughter of a pharmacist, in Athens.
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