User:Eugeniatheod/sandbox/Siege of Neokastro

The Siege of Neokastro was one of the military combats of the Greek War of Independence (1821) to free the Peloponnese. It started on the 25th of March and ended on the 9th of August 1821.

The beginning of the siege
When the war of Independence began, the Ottomans of Neo Kastro endeavoured to ally with their most powerful neighbours from Koroni. Nonetheless, they were attacked by the rebels and forced to isolate themselves at Neokastro (Pylos), similarly to what those from Methoni did. At that time, the Greeks began to attack the Ottomans with the help of the Maniots.

On April 11, the besieged tried to take advantage of the festive spirit of Easter, making an attempt to exit the castle, but they failed. At the end of April, Constantine Pierrakos Mavromichalis arrived, reinforcing the besiegers even more.

Exclusion
On May 18, the fort was also blocked from the sea, as two ships from Spetses sailed to the bay of Navarino. A similar attempt to navally exclude Methoni and Koroni was unsuccessful, because the ships of the besiegers were exposed to the open sea. Moreover, the burning of the Turkish warship in Eressos, which meant the cancellation of the Turkish naval campaign in the Peloponnese, the departure of Lalaians  from Greece and the repeated defeats of the Turks of Tripolitsa deprived any hope of assistance to the besieged. Thus, at the end of June 1821, the situation became so unbearable for them that they were forced to ask for help from the Turks of Methoni, who had more food as well as ships. The latter responded by sending, on July 15, a cargo ship loaded with food, accompanied with by other smaller ships. However, this small fleet was repulsed by the ships from Spetses and returned to Methoni. On June 22-23, the cargo ship attempted to reach Neokastro by itself, so as not to get noticed by the Spetsiots, but it was repulsed once again.

The surrender of the fort and the slaughter
Main entry: Navarino Massacre

Following these developments, the alimentation problem of the besieged became crucial and obliged them to negotiate with the Greeks. Because they did not trust the Greek leaders who besieged them, Dimitrios Ipsilantis sent George Typaldos as his proxy, in order to negotiate with the Turks. The besiegers and the Peloponnesian Senate, reacted to the sending of the assignee and the Senate appointed Nikolaos Poniropoulos as the collaborator of Typaldos. Afterwards, using an artifice, they managed to remove Typaldos from the region temporarily and to reach an agreement with the Turks by themselves (the bishop of Methoni, Navarino and Neokastro Gregorios, Poniropoulos, Mavromichalis and other leaders). The contract of surrender, signed on August 7, stipulated the transport of the surrendered to Tynida.

Nonetheless, the day after, (August 8), the besieged attempted to exit the fort, an action that caused a small but deadly battle, during which Constantine Pierrakos Mavromichalis was killed. On August 9 the surrender of the besieged began. The Greeks, using the death of Mavromichalis as pretext, started a fight that ended in a general massacre of the Turks. In the aftermath, the personal rivalries of the Greek leaders led to conflicts  between them, while the loots, that included a great quantity of weapon supplies, were shared between them, leaving nothing for the public benefit.

The importance of the siege
The consequences of the fall of Neokastro were important for the revolution, since a significant number of armed Greeks were released and a turkish force of appreciable power was neutralized.

The documents of the Neokastro Siege

 * ‘’Neokastro siege“, Archives of national Rebirth,  Vol. 1, p. 445, 446. Edition 1857, Reprinted 1971. Greek Parliament. Written report of the leaders of the siege, August  7 1821, Neokastro
 * Report of captains Nick. Botassis, Anastasi Kolantroutsou (Spetsiots) and Georgios Dendrolivanos (Zakynthiou) for the agreement for the embarkation of 734 Neokastritan Turks on their ships bound for North Africa. August 7 1821. Archives of National Rebirth, Vol. 1, p.446. Edition 1857, Reprinted 1971. Greek Parliament.
 * Report of the Archbishop of Methoni and the other generals and notables for the contribution of Captains Nick. Bottasis and Anast. Androutsos in the sea blockade of Neokastro. No date. Archives of National Rebirth, Vol. 1, p.447. Edition 1857, Reprinted 1971. Greek Parliament.