Battle of Agios Dometios
Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Battle of Agios Dometios is located in Cyprus
Agios Dometios
Agios Dometios
Battle of Agios Dometios (Cyprus)
Date14–17 August 1974
Location
Agios Dometios, Cyprus
Result Greek victory
Territorial
changes
  • Turkey eventually captures ELDYK camp
Belligerents
 Turkey
Northern Cyprus Turkish Cypriot fighters		  Greece
 Cyprus
Commanders and leaders
Turkey Brigadier General Sabri Demirbağ
Turkey Colonel Eşref Bitlis
Turkey Colonel Mustafa Katırcıoğlu

Cyprus Colonel Georgios Azinas
Greece Lieutenant Colonel Panagiotis Stavropoulos

Cyprus Major Dimitrios Alevromagiros
Units involved

Turkey Turkish Armed Forces

Northern Cyprus Turkish Cypriot militias

Greece Hellenic Army

Cyprus Cypriot National Guard

  • 211 Infantry Battalion
  • 212 Infantry Battalion
  • 336 Reserve Battalion
Strength
7,000+ [1] 1,850+ [2][3]
Casualties and losses
600+ killed [4] 83+ killed or injured [5]

The Battle of Agios Dometios (Greek: Μάχη του Αγίου Δομετίου), was an engagement between Hellenic, Cypriot, Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces between 14 and 17 August 1974. It was part of the Attila-2 (Second phase of the invasion) operation as described by Turkey and the wider battle for Nicosia as described by Cyprus.[6][7]

Initial Turkish assault

In the early morning on 14 August 1974, Turkey violated the ceasefire agreement signed on 23 July by massing an assault against on all sides, attempting to take Morphou, Famagusta, the Mesaoria, Karpasia and Nicosia in an operation they called, Attila-2.[8] In Nicosia, at approximately 5 am, the Turkish Air Force bombarded National Guard targets alongside the ELDYK camp in Agios Dometios and additional shelling by Turkish artillery on the area.[9]

Somewhere around 7,000 were used to take the ELDYK camp and the area surrounding it with approximately 700 Turkish forces moving on the ELDYK camp on the first day with additional M48 tanks arriving by 15 August (second day of the fighting) in order to assist the Turkish infantry forces.[10][11]

Greek-Greek Cypriot defense

The 336 Reserve Battalion was in charge of defending the area between Ledra Palace and the ELDYK military camp, encompassing around 3.5 kilometers.[12]

Some 319 ELDYK soldiers were in charge of defending their camp and the area around it, such as the grammar school.[13] On 15 August, Lieutenant Colonel Stavropoulos requested assistance against the Turkish M-48s but was only offered a few Marmon-Herringtons which were mostly ineffective against the M-48s.[14] The fighting around the ELDYK camp continued until 16 August, and on that day the fiercest fighting took place with heavy bombardments against the camp from the Turkish air force and constant barrages by artillery and tanks making it almost impossible for the Greek soldiers to do anything due to the lack of both air and ground support with the ELDYK camp eventually falling into Turkish hands and ELDYK suffering more than 83 casualties as a result of the fighting.[9][15]

In the morning of 16 August, whilst also attacking the ELDYK camp, the Turkish armed forces also tried breaking through the defensive lines and fighting especially hard to take the Imprisoned Graves, using all available air and land assets and Turkish infantry using narrow roads to try and outflank Greek Cypriot units there however in this case were unsuccessful.[16][17]

The Turkish Regiment in Cyprus (TURDYK), the 2nd battalion, 50th Infantry Regiment attempted to re-encircle Nicosia airport after taking the grammar school however were met with resistance from the 212 Infantry Battalion and A' Raider Squadron, which is reportedly where Manolis Bikakis took out multiple Turkish tanks and as such, prevented a further advance into Agios Dometios.[7][18][19]

On 17 August, although the ceasefire was in place, the Turkish military tried to advance near the old Church of Agios Pavlos however were unsuccessful and after the attempt, fighting had since ceased on the front.[17]

Aftermath

Though the Turkish assault on the ELDYK camp was eventually successful, the Greek-Greek Cypriot forces successfully defended most of Agios Dometios-Agios Pavlos and preventing key areas such as the Imprisoned Graves, from falling into the Turkish hands.[13] There have been several claims by former ELDYK fighters about Turkish war crimes after the battle such as decapitation of dead soldiers' bodies and the dead also being thrown into mass graves.[13][14][20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Η Μάχη της ΕΛΔΥΚ (14-16 Αυγούστου 1974)". Defence Review. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Η Μαχη Τησ Λευκωσιασ | Ανιχνεύσεις". anixneuseis.gr. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Μαρτυρία 1974 | "Το 336 κράτησε την Λευκωσία, το τάγμα του Αλευρομάγειρου, το τάγμα της Αμμοχώστου" | DEFENCE ReDEFiNED | Ειδήσεις για Άμυνα, Ασφάλεια και Διεθνείς Σχέσεις". defenceredefined.com.cy. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Η μάχη της Λευκωσίας 14-16 Αυγούστου 1974". simerini.sigmalive.com. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Αυτό είναι το στρατόπεδο της ΕΛΔΥΚ όπου δόθηκε μία από τις τελευταίες μάχες του Αττίλα. Εκεί οι Τούρκοι αποκεφάλισαν 10 στρατιώτες και τοποθέτησαν τα κεφάλια τους στην πύλη - Μηχανη Του Χρονου". mixanitouxronou.com.cy. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "48 χρόνια από τον "Αττίλα 2": Η δεύτερη φάση της τουρκικής εισβολής στην Κύπρο". euronews (in Greek). 14 August 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Ο θρύλος του Μανώλη Μπικάκη και η μάχη του Αγίου Δομετίου". cyprustimes.com (in Greek). 25 July 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Redefined, Defence (14 August 2020). "August 14, 1974| The 2nd phase of the Turkish Invasion". Defence Redefined. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Έλυσε τη σιωπή του ο τελευταίος στρατοπεδάρχης της ΕΛ.ΔΥ.Κ." ProtoThema (in Greek). 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Erickson, Edward J.; Uyar, Mesut (2020). PHASE LINE ATTILA: The Amphibious Campaign for Cyprus, 1974 (1st ed.). Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps University Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-7320030-8-8.
  11. ↑ Newsroom, DefenceReview (17 August 2018). "Η Μάχη της ΕΛΔΥΚ (14-16 Αυγούστου 1974)". Defence Review (in Greek). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Redefined, Defence (20 July 2021). "Μαρτυρία 1974 | "Το 336 κράτησε την Λευκωσία, το τάγμα του Αλευρομάγειρου, το τάγμα της Αμμοχώστου"". DEFENCE ReDEFiNED (in Greek). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 lila (15 October 2019). "Αυτό είναι το στρατόπεδο της ΕΛΔΥΚ όπου δόθηκε μία από τις τελευταίες μάχες του Αττίλα. Εκεί οι Τούρκοι αποκεφάλισαν 10 στρατιώτες και τοποθέτησαν τα κεφάλια τους στην πύλη". ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ (in Greek). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Η Επική Μάχη της "ΕΛΔΥΚ" …Παραμονή & Ανήμερα της Παναγιάς του 74!". veteranos |Εθνικά Θέματα (in Greek). 14 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Gr, Armynow (14 August 2023). "Η μάχη της ΕΛΔΥΚ: Συγκλονιστική αφήγηση από έναν ΕΛΔΥΚάριο". ArmyNow.Gr. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  16. ↑ giannopoulos (2 February 2015). "Πώς τα "φυλακισμένα μνήματα" των κύπριων αγωνιστών, έμειναν στην ελεύθερη Κύπρο. Οι Ελληνοκύπριοι μαχητές αμύνθηκαν στον "Αττίλα" πάνω στους τάφους του Αυξεντίου, του Παλλικαρίδη, του Καραολή και του Δημητρίου". ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ (in Greek). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  17. 1 2 President, The (11 July 2018). "Η Μάχη της Λευκωσίας - Το 336ο τάγμα Εθνοφυλακής". The President (in Greek). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  18. ↑ Redefined, Defence (15 August 2020). "Η Μάχη της Λευκωσίας". DEFENCE ReDEFiNED (in Greek). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  19. ↑ Erickson, Edward J.; Uyar, Mesut (2020). PHASE LINE ATTILA: The Amphibious Campaign for Cyprus, 1974 (1st ed.). Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps University Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-7320030-8-8.
  20. ↑ ""Είναι θαμμένοι 15 βήματα από την είσοδο της Εκκλησίας" | NOMISMA" (in Greek). 4 October 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
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