He is best known as the commander-in-chief of the Army of Asia Minor at the time of the Turkish August 1922 offensive, which he failed to stop.

Relieved, he was later tried and condemned in the Trial of the Six as one of the main culprits of the Greek defeat in the Asia Minor Campaign, and executed.

He graduated from the Hellenic Army Academy as a second lieutenant in the Artillery on 25 July 1884 and continued his military studies in Imperial Germany.

[2] Following the Balkan Wars, Hatzianestis had his seniority restored by special legislation; disregarding his earlier three-year period of absence from the army.

[2] Shortly after his appointment, Hatzianestis began to show signs of mental instability, reportedly suffering from the delusion that his legs were made of glass and easily shattered.