The uprisings of the Greeks

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Greek Uprisings during the 400 years of Ottoman occupation.
The War between Serenissima Republica (Venice) & the Ottoman Empire (1463). The first Greek uprising


La Serenissima Republica (the Most Serene Republic of Venice). The Doge's Palace, the republic's colours & CoA

By 1461, Greece (with the exception of some parts in the Peloponnese that were under Venice)

The Venetian Republic in 1470

was under Ottoman rule. In January 1463, Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II with his army, attacked & captured the Peloponnesian town of Argos (under the dominion of Venice). The Turkish aggressiveness directly challenged Venice, then the dominant seapower in the eastern Mediterranean. On January 25, 1463, a Venetian fleet under Luigi Loredano arrived to Argos. With this show of force, Venetians believed that the Ottomans would leave Argos without war. The Ottomans were not impressed. Thus, the first war between Venice & Ottoman Empire outbroke. Venetians immediately made a public proclamation, actively seeking the Greek uprise. Almost immediately, Spartans under Michael Rhalles-Drimes, Arcadians under Theodoros Bouas (or Bougas) & the Maniats under Crocodile (Crocodilos. Some sources name him Corcondilos or Acrocondylos) Kladas opted to fight in favor of Venice. Rhalles' men attacked & captured Mystras, while Kladas, raised a new flag, with a simple white cross on blue field


attacked & defeated the Ottomans in several battles in the SE Peloponnese. In 1466, a joint Venetian & Greek force, marched against Patras, the capital city of the Peloponnese & the seat of the Ottoman Bey (military commander of the region), under Rhalles & a Venetian officer named Barbarigo. 10,000 troops under Omar Bey, came out of the city & concentrated their attack on Rhalles' men. Though, outnumbered, the Greeks & Venetians rejected the Ottomans. Omar though, reorganized his army & with an encircling movement, surrounded the opposing forces & annihilated them. Bargarigo was lucky: he was killed in the battle. Michael Rhalles, was captured alive. The Ottomans tortured him & executed him by impalement.
The Greek & Venetian disaster at Patras, heartened the Turks. They immediately sent reinforcements & laid siege on the city.
Venetian CiC Bertoldo d'Este, alarmed at the Ottoman success, ordered his troops to wait the Ottomans at Hexamilion outside Corinth. 90,000 Turks, invaded Peloponnese in the coming months. D'Este & his troops, from Hexamilion, with sporadic attacks, tried to harry the enemy forces, gaining time for the arrival of more forces from Venice. During one of these attacks, d'Este was hit by a slingers' shell on the head & died a couple of days later. The Venetians, received word that their CiC was dead, left the fortress & withdrew to Argos. The Turks under Mahmud Pasha, attacked & captured Argos. Afterwards, Mahmud, with his forces, left Argos for Naphplion. During the siege of Naphplion (defended by Venetians, Greeks of the mainland, Cretans, Greeks of the Heptanese-Corfu, Zakynthos, Cephallenia, Ithaca, Paxi, Antipaxi, Lephkas-and Greeks of the Aegean isles), Mahmud lost 5,000 men. Outraged by his unsuccesful attempt to capture Naphplion, Mahmud left & began to pillage the Peloponnese.
The Ottomans then, advanced towards Sparta. Meanwhile, Crocodile Kladas, had become the symbol of the Greek resistance. Sultan Mehmet II tried to allure him with promises of land benefits. Kladas answered proudly: "I will never allow the Turks to step on the sacred soil of Mani".
On October 9, 1479, Kladas with 1,600 men, marched against the Turks of Mani. Reaching the Mystras castle, he hoisted the Byzantine flag & his personal banner. Thousands of Greeks, "dashed" delirious to enlist. Within the next month, Kladas had 16,000 men under his commands. With unabating enthusiasm & with the cry "Kyrie Eleison" the Greeks attacked the Turkish garrisons stationed in Mani (Megalochori, Oetylon, Trigophyllos, Castania, Gastela, Leptinion, Andrussa, Vaskos, Piaga, Papafingo). Mani was free yet again. Venice, though, exanimated after the long war, decided to show a good will sign: Venetian troops captured Kladas' family & held his wife & his children captive, serving a sentence of imprisonement. Then, Venice made a public proclamation, condemning Kladas' actions:
"January 23, 1480.
The case of this epistle is the behaviour of Crocodile Kladas, a most infidel & outrageous man, a diverter, who does not recognise the Turkish dominance over Mani. We, hereby, declare Kladas to be a mutineer. We send this letter of regret to the Turkish master of Mani as a proof of cordial discontent"

The Sultan, rest assured that Venice would not interfere with the Greeks of Mani, sent Ali-Boumikos with 6,000 men to finish off Kladas. On January 16, 1481 the Turks invaded Mani. On January 19 Kladas, having gathered his entire force, attacked the Turks at Oetylon. Protected by the mountainous area, Kladas' men, archers mostly, broke down all opposition. The Turks withdrew leaving behind 700 dead & hundreds wounded. Mehmet II, appointed Sancakbey Ahmet (the district governor), to attack Kladas' forces. Ahmet, gathered an army of 10,000 & on April 4, he attacked Kladas' troops. Kladas' men, withstood several attacks, before they launched a strong counter attack. More Turkish attacks continued until Kladas' men attempted a suicidal exodus: only 50 Greeks (Kladas was one of them) managed to escape. For 9 years Kladas & his men rouse a number of revolts in Epirus & the Peloponnese. In 1490 Kladas & his men were in Epirus, organising a new revolution by colluding with Venice. 3,000 Turkish troops, appeared out of nowhere & attacked Kladas & his men. Kladas was captured alive. The Sultan ordered that he would put to death by fragmentation.

By 1821 (the year the Greek war for independence began), Greeks revolted 90 times.
Major Greek uprisings during the Ottoman occupation:
1494, 1495, 1532, 1537, 1566, 1571, 1578, 1585, 1616 (a major uprising organized by the Bishop of Larissa Dionysius), 1617, 1659, 1688, 1771 (a major uprising organized by the Russian brothers Orlov), 1782, 1788 (a major uprising organized by Labros Katsones, a Russian Navy Officer), 1808.

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Introduction

In the context of ardent desire for independence from Ottoman occupation and with the explicit influence of secret societies from Europe, three Greeks met one another in 1814 in Odessa and decided the constitution of a secret organisation which would prepare the revolution of all Greeks. These men were 42-year-old Nikolaos Skoufas from Arta, Epirus


42-year-old Emmanuel Xanthos from the island of Patmos


and 26-year-old Athanassios Tsakalov from Ioannina, Epirus


They named their organization Society of Friends or Friendly Society (gr. Philiki Etaeria).
The growth of the Friendly Society was impressive. At the beginning during the 1814-1816 period, there were roughly twenty members. During 1817, the Society developed mainly between the Greeks of Russia and of Moldavia and Wallachia, but once again its membership does not exceed thirty. They started doing massive initiations in 1818. In 1820 the Society expanded in almost all regions of Greece and most Greek communities abroad. By the first months of 1821, the membership numbered around one thousand and the Society had exceeded her own limits. Among her members there were tradesmen, clergy, executives of the Ottoman Empire from Istanbul, chieftains like Theodore Kolokotrones, Odysseus Androutsos, Dimitris Plapoutas, the metropolite of Old Patras Germanos and more.
The Spartans declared war on the Ottomans on the March 17. On March 23 revolutionaries took control of Kalamata in Peloponnese. Simultaneous risings were planned across Greece, including in Macedonia, Crete and Cyprus. On 25 March, 1821 the revolutionaries declared the Revolution in the square of St.George in Patras. On the next day the leaders of the Revolution in Achaia sent a document to the foreign consulates explaining the reasons of the Revolution. According to the tradition, the Revolution in Greece and Peloponnese was declared on March 25, in the Monastery of St. Lavra by the archbishop of Old Patras, Germanos


The Battle of Dervenakia (July 1822)


A painting representing the battle of Dervenakia based on actual descriptions given by fighters who participated in the battle

In the summer of 1822, Greek revolution was going extremely well for the Greeks. In June of 1822, Odysseus Androutsos, Ioannes Gouras, Ioannes Makriyiannes and other Greeks of Eastern Rumeli (i.e. eastern Greek mainland) blocked the way to the supplies that were sent to Dramali Pasha

Mahmud Dramali Pasha

who with a huge army of 40,000 men had reached Corinth, Peloponnese, ready to crush the revolution.
Mahmud-Dramali Pasha, had already suppressed the revolution in Thessaly, burned the town of Thebes and seized the Castle of Corinth. The govenrment had appointed as garrison commander a certain Achilles Theodorides , who fled when he saw the enemy soldiers approaching. Initially all went well for Dramali. His next objective was to occupy the town of Argos and to relieve the Turks besieged in Naphplion . All the members of the government proved to be cowards as they fled and embarked on the ships which were outside Naphplion. Greeks were in desperate position and only one man could help them; this man was Theodore Kolokotrones

Theodore Kolokotrones is depicted here as Major of the 2nd Greek Light Infantry of the British Army (Ionian Islands).
He served in the Greek Light Infantry of the Ionian Islands, that were under the British Crown, as an Officer in the British Army (1810-1816). He is considered by many to be the best strategist & the military mastermind of the Greek Revolution


Kolokotrones, when he was informed about the coming of Dramali he reached Argos, and gave orders to burn all the crops and contaminate the wells, around the town . He left a garisson in the castle of Argos, and left for Mylloi, a place outside Naphplion. Dramali, having reached Corinth and occupied its citadel so easily, was now faced with a choice. This was debated at a council of war which was joined by Yussuf Pasha , the Ottoman commander at Patras and Ali , commander of Argos. They proposed that, provided that the army should split into three sections, one to press on towards Tripolis, a second to occupy the region around Kalavryta and a third to move to Patras. Thus the Turks would be marching on the Peloponnese on a far broader front, which would force the Greeks to divide their much smaller forces, and crucially would have a better chance of finding provisions. But Dramali insisted to lead the whole army to Tripolis. So he entered Argos on 12 July and spent his time besieging the citadel which was defended by a Spartan named Kariyiannes . Kolokotronis also had a meeting with the other commanders and suggested that they all should wait Dramali at Dervenakia, which was a narrow passage, because he propably would return to Corinth to get provisions for his men. Peter Mavromichales insisted that Dramali would advance to Tripolis, according to a letter that they had seized from a prisoner. But Kolokotronis had sensed that the letter was false. So, Kolokotrones left, accompanied with Nikitas Stamatelopoulos, Demetrios Ypsilantes and Gregorios Dikaeos for Dervenakia, while he heard the other leaders mocking him saying that he is fleeing to the mountains. Meanwhile Dramali's difficulties were multiplying. The army had lack of food and water and diseases had spread to the soldiers. The supplies from Rumeli were cut off, and the other pashas didn't help him especially because he would gain the Sultan's favor if he succeded. The fires that Kolokotrones had set on the route to Tripolis made Dramali believe that the road to Tripolis was blocked. His only choice was to lead his army back to Corinth.
On 26th of July the troops started to advance to Corinth. The army was so huge that when the forefront reached Dervenakia, the last soldiers were getting out of Argos. The Greeks were waiting and when the Ottoman column was well inside the passage they opened fire from the rocks above with devastating effect. Hand to hand fighting followed, in which Nikitas took the lead. Some of the Turks got through and some retreated towards Argos, leaving in the ravine abandoned weapons, dead horses and human corpses. Dramali lost his sword and his turban but he managed to reach Corinth. More than 3,000 Turks were killed and the Ottoman army was dissolved. Of the 40,000 men only 6,000 survived and Dramali himself died of fever at Corinth, while Hursit Pasha the overall commander of Turkish forces fearing of the sultanic rage, commited suicide and died at Larissa, Thessaly. Halet bey, a general in Istanbul, had accused him to the sultan for the failure to suppress the revolt of the Greeks. Later, the Sultan beheaded Halet bey too.
The success at Dervenakia, turned the war in favor of the Greeks. Yet, in a couple of years time, the situation turned for worse, due to a civil war that broke among the revolted Greeks. Greeks were fighting Greeks & all together were fighting Turks & Egyptians (a real "Greek tragedy").
A folk song, sang even today in the Greek province, describes the outcome of the battle of Dervenakia:
"Blow, ye chilled wind, coming from the sea,
blow, and carry with you the news to Dramali's mother:
All the Rumeli's beys & Dramali's agas
lie at Dervenekia, they lie on the ground,
they use for bed the black soil, they use for pillow
hard rocks,
they use for cover the moonlight.
A little bird flies by & is asked:
-little bird, how the war goes, is the klefte's rifle working?
-Ahead goes Nikitas, beside him, Kolokotrones,
followed by the Greeks, with bear swords in their hands"

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The most decisive naval battles of the Greek revolution

Introduction

From the beginning of the Revolution it was clear that the small and inadequately equipped Greek ships were not capable of confronting successfully the Ottoman ships in an open conflict. Thus, other forms of action which resulted in the wear and obstruction of the movement of the Ottoman fleet were adopted. The main targets were the convoys which transported troops and provisions to the besieged forts of the Peloponnese and the mainland. Moreover, the attempts of the Greek fleet to raise the siege of the forts and reinforce the besieged Greeks with provisions and armed men were frequent. Finally, the Aegean islands had to be defended against the action of the Ottoman fleet.
In these operations the damage of the Ottoman fleet was achieved by a war tactic that balanced the supremacy in weaponry of the Ottoman fleet. This tactic was the attacks at night with fireships (pyrpoliko/pyrpolika in plural)-small ships loaded with inflammable and explosive materials-which were attached to the Ottoman ships and blown up with them. The most famous in the use of this tactic was Demetrios Papanikoles (Papanikoles survived the war & in 1843 became the first Psarian-from the island of Psara-representative in the Greek parliament. In 1927, Greece named one of the newly acquired French made S/M, after him. In 2004, another S/M, class 214, built from HDW in Kiel, Germany, was the second Greek S/M named after him)


These hazardous attacks, which demanded agile manipulation so that the fireship could be attached to the Ottoman ship and luck so that the operation would not perceived by the Ottomans, resulted in certain impressive actions. The most characteristic blowing up was that of the flagship of the Ottoman fleet off Cesme in July 1822 by Kanares. Such actions provoked fear to the crew of the Ottoman ships and frequently the movements of the Ottoman fleet were hesitant from fear of the fire-raisers

The blowing-up of the Ottoman flagship by Constantine Kanaes

Naval battles were also carried out, some of which were successful for the Greek side as the one off Hydra and Spetses in October 1822, in the gulf of Gherontas in August 1824 and in Cavo-Doro in May 1825. In those battles, Admirals Andreas Pipinos, Andreas Miaoules and Georgios Sachtoures were distinguished respectively

The Naval battle of Spetses (September 8, 1822)

In september 1822, the Ottoman fleet, was en route to Naphplion in the Peloponnese. Naphplion was under siege for quite some time now, by the land forces of Alexander Ypsilantes & by the Laskarina Bouboulina's fleet

Laskarina Bouboulina

While sailing the straights between the islands of Trikeri & Spetsopoula, the Ottomans were suddenly attacked by three squadrons of the Greek fleet (the Hydrean squadron, the Psarian squadron & the squadron from Spetsae)

The Naval Ensign of Spetsae


The Naval Ensign of Hydra


The naval Ensign of Psara

Miaoules, ordered the Greek squadrons back into the gulf of Argolis in order to close off the entry of the Ottomans into the gulf. Spetseans Ioannes Tsourpas, Demetrios Lambrou & Ioannes Koutses, with the Spetsean squadron though, together with the Hydrean Anthonios Kriezes, ignored Miaoulis' signals & attacked the center of the Ottoman line. The battle was so fierce that the inhabitants of Hydra thought that an earthquake had hit the island while Spetseans thought that the nearby island of Hydra was on fire. Spetsean Kosmas Barbatses, crying "with the help of the Holy Cross, attack!", onboard his fireship, runned to the Ottoman flagship. He managed to attach the fireship to her & blew her up. Barbatses' action was decisive. The Ottoman fleet set sail back to the Aegean. Naphplion fell to the Greeks, 2 months later.
Every year, on September 8th, a re-enactment of this historic battle, takes place at Spetses

The naval battle of Gherontas (August 29, 1824)



In 1824, Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II


unable to supress the revolted Greeks, asked for help from Mehmet Ali Pasha the Vali (Regent) of Egypt, Syria & Arabia (Egypt, Syria & Arabia were subject to the Ottomans back then)

Mehmet Ali Pasha

Mehmet Ali, assigned his son Ibrahim to handle the Greek question according to his wills. Ibrahim brewed a bold plot with determination:
Ibrahim's plan envisaged an annihilating victory of the combined Ottoman-Egyptian fleet over the revolted Greeks in the Aegean, as requirement for a succesful landing operation on Greece (on the Peloponnese). Thus, on June 6 , the Ottoman fleet destroyed completely the island of Kassos & on the 21st, under Hosref-Pasha the island of Psara. According to Ibrahim's plan, the next "victim" would be Samos,
Hosref-Pasha, with 40 frigates & corvettes, set sail for Samos & on July 17 the Ottoman fleet was sighted off Samos. The Greek fleet, with only 21 warships & 4 fireships, did its best to avoid the Ottomans draw close to Samos, engaging them in a series of harassing battles for a week. Hosref withdrew his fleet & returned to Bodrum, in Minor Asia. There he waited for the Egyptian fleet to arrive


And indeed, on August 19 , the Egyptians arrived as planned. Ibrahim divided his fleet into two groups. One group (under the Egyptian Ismael-Gibraltar) would attack sections of the main Greek line and destroy them before other ships could come to their aid. The other group (under Hosref-Pasha) would attack the enemy, break through their lines and then cut off the retreat of the enemy fleet. The Ottoman-Egyptian fleet had 25 frigates, 25 corvettes, 50 brigs & 300 freighters with 2,500 guns, assembled along the Bodrum coast.
The Greek fleet assembled around the islands of Patmos, Leros & Lipsi with 70 warships (800 guns). The ships came from Hydra, Spetses & Psara. On August 22, Admiral Andreas Miaoules arrived from Hydra onboard his flagship "Kimon"


Andreas Miaoulis & his "Polaka" type threemast sailship, "Kimon"

The first gun-shots were fired at the Greek ships in the morning of August 24. The Greeks were sailing the straights between the island of Kos & the Bodrum coast. The Greeks immediately fled for refuge to the gulf of Gherontas on the coast of Minor Asia. On August 28, early in the morning, 22 Greek warships left the Gherontas bay, searching for the Ottoman flagship. Guessing that the rest of the Greek fleet must be nearby, Ismael-Gibraltar with his fleet, set out from Bodrum to engage the Greeks (his plan was to break through the Greek line & with his massive force-compared to the force that confronted them-to crush the Greeks). As he did so, Miaoules with the rest of the Greek fleet appeared out of the blue. Ismael-Gibraltar, immediately made the signal to change routes & ordered his ships to attack the Greek flagship. Papanikoles, with his fireships, runned to the enemy frigates to defend the flagship. The Ottomans broke the line, trying to avoid the visible danger. Papanikoles' effort to burn the enemy frigates, failed though (due to the wind). Spetsean Lekkas Matrozos on a fireship, tried to attach his vessel on a Turkish brig but he failed too. In a similar effort, Andreas Pipinos was seriously wounded.
Hosref-Pasha, with his fleet, entered the battle, trying to block the Greeks combine their forces. The two Greek forces united though & the battle started


Ibrahim ordered his ships to steer and take advantage of the gap created between enemy vessels. Hosref-Pasha, watching this, and to show that the Turks are no less courageous than the Egyptians, ordered his ships to do the same. Thus, the Ottoman & Egyptian ships, engaged with the Greeks in a general melee. The Ottomans though, were unaware that they were about to put themselves against the most skilful sea captain of the Aegean-Andreas Miaoules.
Miaoules, knowing that the Greek vessels are smaller & more agile than the large ships of the Turks, signaled his ships to divide into two squadrons. The first squadron would engage with the Egyptians, the second with the Turks. He also ordered the 17 fireships to enter the battle. Spetsean fireships under Lazaros Moussous, attacked the Egyptians. Hydrean fireships, under Georgakes Theochares, attacked the Turks. Hydrean Georgios Vatikiotes on a small fireship, blew up a large Turkish frigate with 1,100 crew. No one survived. Panic spread among the Ottoman fleet. In the evening, Hosref-Pasha accepted his defeat & sailed back to Bodrum. Ismael-Gibraltar, withdrew to Crete. Thus, Samos was saved. The combat was so unequal (The Ottomans had bigger vessels & a massive force compared to the Greek fleet), that the French Admiral & writer Julien de la Graviere, comments on the battle of Gherontas:
"Perhaps, seamanship has nothing more interesting to display other than the events that took place at the Gherontas battle"

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In 1805, the British blockade of the French and Spanish harbours was broken by Miaoules' ships, providing with wheat the French. In one such attempt the British arrested Miaoules & brought him before the British Admiral, the famous Horatio Viscount Nelson . The British questioned the 36-year old Miaoules (in Maltese, the lingua franca of the Mediterranean Seamen):
-"Are you a Turk?"
-No, said Miaoules
-Are you a Barbarine Pirate?
-No
-Are you Maltese?
-No, I'm Greek;
-What would you do then, you dog, if your country was at war & someone dared to help your enemies?
-Well, if I had a country & someone would dare to help the enemies of my country, do you see that big mast? I'd have hung him from there!"
Nelson was touched by his straight answer & let him go free.
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In 1912, the grand-son of the famous Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotes of the Greek Revolution, Vice-Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotes, c-i-c of the Greek Navy in the Balkan wars, when asked why did he face the Ottoman fleet alone, onboard his flagship Averoff, without waiting for the rest of the Greek fleet to arrive, he answered:
"I was watching my grand-father standing on the bow & Miaoules standing on the stern, telling me: Pavlos, you must die for your country"

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Independence was finally granted by the Treaty of Constantinople in July 1832 when Greece was recognized as a free country. The Greeks were the first of the subject peoples of the Ottoman Empire to secure recognition as a sovereign power. Greeks celebrate their independence day annually on March 25.
Ioannes Makriyannes, a chieftain of the Greek Revolution, writes in his memoirs:
"We did not find Freedom as a stray, wandering the streets. We gained her, shedding Blood and Tears"
Theodore Kolokotrones writes:
"When we raised arms, we did it for our Holy Faith in Christ and for the Freedom of our Country"

[Ordie]

In 1912, the grand-son of the famous Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotes of the Greek Revolution, Vice-Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotes, c-i-c of the Greek Navy in the Balkan wars, when asked why did he face the Ottoman fleet alone, onboard his flagship Averoff, without waiting for the rest of the Greek fleet to arrive, he answered:
"I was watching my grand-father standing on the bow & Miaoules standing on the stern, telling me: Pavlos, you must die for your country"

Was this the same vessel that was based in Bombay during WW2 escorting Allied shipping?

[AK-Lover]

Great heroes! The Hellenic people paid for their freedon dearly.

[Douros81]

Great heroes! The Hellenic people paid for their freedon dearly.


No ****. They gave a lot . I also Georgios Sachtoures great great grand what every grand son, he lives in New York

[AK-Lover]

No ****. They gave a lot . I also Georgios Sachtoures great great grand what every grand son, he lives in New York

You are his great great grandson?

[Douros81]

You are his great great grandson?


No, my sister's boyfriend is. He lives in New York. :)

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Was this the same vessel that was based in Bombay during WW2 escorting Allied shipping?

Yes, the same.
If you're interested, click here: The 1st Balkan War-The Naval Battle of Lemnos (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103266)
Battleship "G.Averof"-Sailing through History (http://www.bsaverof.com/uk/history.htm) (The official site of the Naval Museum "G.Averof")

[Douros81]

My friend sent me two pictures of Georgios Sachtoures, I don't know how to post since they are in my email account. :) Kindy looks like him.