Georgios Katechakis was born in the village of Platanos, in then Ottoman-controlled Crete. His father was Antonios Katechakis, one of the main leaders of the Cretan Revolt of 1866–1869. The elder Katechakis also participated in the uprisings of 1878, 1889 and 1896 and was repeatedly elected to the Cretan Parliament until his death. Georgios Katechakis entered the Hellenic Army Academy and graduated in 1902, being commissioned into the Hellenic Army on 6 July 1902 with the rank of a Lieutenant of Infantry. He was one of the first officers to volunteer for the Macedonian Struggle against the Bulgarian-sponsored Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). Under the pseudonym of "K"apetan" Rouvas", he led an armed band in the regions of Grevena, Kastoria and Monastir. He returned to Greece in 1908, and was dispatched to Crete to assist in the establishment of a local national guard. By the time the Balkan Wars broke out in 1912, he had risen to the rank of captain. He participated in the wars as leader of various Cretan volunteer corps, fighting both in Macedonia and in Epirus.