User:DR7277/sandbox/The Battle of Kaliakouda

The Battle of Kaliakouda was a military involvement that occurred during the Greek revolution of 1821 on the mountains of Eurytania, in which the Turkish forces won the Greeks.

The previous facts
Right after the Conquest of Missolonghi (Okt-Dec 1882 ) the Sultan assigned Moustafa Pasha of Skorda the military operations. At August the battle of Kefalovriso is going to take place in Karpenisi, during in which Markos Botsaris won the vanguard of Moustais. Nevertheless, the unexpected death of Markos Botsaris did not help to benefit from the results of the victory.The Pasha of Skordas planned the descent to the south. For this reason, he wanted to eliminate any possible threat, just like the Greek military camp that was located in the mountain of Kaliakouda, four kilometers south of Karpenisi. The location of the camp was very strategic and could control the passage to the shortest route to the south.

The Greek and Turkish army camps
The Greek forces consisted of the army of Zygouris Tzabelas, the armies of the local chiefs Goldasis and Sadimas, two hundred men under the leadership of Nikolo Dimitris Kontoyiannis and 300 men from Peloponnese under the leadership of G. Rodopoulos, 2.500 men in total. Moreover, six hundred men that were from Peloponnese were sent by Nikolas Petmesas, as well as other armies of Peloponnesians and Roumeliotes under the leadership of Andrew Lontos, Bill Petmetzas, Dimitris Kontogiannis and Dhmos Kaltsas but never managed to make it into the battle in time. The Pasha of Skorda had a military force of 15.000 Turkish-Albanian soldiers.

The positions of the adversaries
The biggest part of the Greeks’ military forces was placed in defense in the northeast curbs of Kaliakouda. In the steep, south part of the mountain, on either side of a difficult, narrow path which led to the top of the mountain, two hundred men under the leadership of Goldasis and Siadimas prevented the overcharging of the main force.

The battle of Kaliakouda
The Turkish kavallerie and infanterie attacked the Greeks in the morning of 28th of August, but they were defeated by the Greeks and suffered severe losses. The next two invasions were also successfully confronted. However, there was on an overturn, as four hundred Albanian Catholic Mirdites under the leadership of Markos Kroaths managed to infiltrate from a south, steep narrow passage which the Greeks had not adequately covered or (according to other people) Gioldasis and Siadhmas left the area uncovered on purpose. The Greeks were surrounded and didn’t manage to break through the Turkish forces. One hundred and fifty casualties of the Greeks  were counted that day, among which were Zygourhs Tzabelas, Nikolas Kontogianis and Dhmos Kitsios. The Turkish lost five hundred men in that battle.

The Consequences of the Battle
The loss of the Greeks resulted into the destruction of the Kaliakouda military camp. Furthermore, because of this battle the route to Missolonghi was open for the Turkish to cross. The surprise attack played an important role on the outcome of the battle. The defective guarding of the south passage was a product of complacency because of the steep and inaccessible terrain. The willing participation of the Peloponnesians was a product of patriotic solidarity and of correct assessment that Roumeli would follow after them.