The Heroic Battle of Gravia: When 120 Greeks Defeated the Ottoman Army

The Gravia Inn conflict was 1 of the defining moments successful the Greek revolution. Public Domain

On May 8, 1821, a defining conflict successful the Greek War of Independence took spot astatine Gravia, a colony successful the northeastern portion of Phocis.

The Greek leader, Odysseas Androutsos, with a radical of 120 men astatine Gravia Inn, repulsed an Ottoman service numbering 8,000 men and artillery nether the bid of Omer Vrioni. The conflict ended with dense losses for the Ottomans and minimal casualties connected the Greek side.

The Ottoman service nether the bid of Omer Vrioni, pursuing his decision of the Greeks astatine the Battle of Alamana and the brutal torture and execution of their person Athanasios Diakos, planned to onslaught the Peloponnese with an service of 8,000 men.

However, his service was met by Androutsos and his men who had barricaded themselves wrong an aged inn.

As soon arsenic Vrioni ordered the attack, a detachment of Albanian soldiers charged the building. As they entered the gathering they were met by a barrage of gunfire.

The Gravia Inn today. Public domain

The Albanians were forced to retreat nether dense occurrence and suffered galore casualties from the concealed Greeks.

Androutsos had trained his men to occurrence by a European method; 1 radical of his soldiers would occurrence successful unison, portion different radical would reload their guns to occurrence successful crook and truthful forth. This method was the champion mode to repel immoderate benignant of monolithic attack, truthful the pursuing Ottoman assaults besides met a barrage of occurrence and were forced to retreat.

At night, portion the Ottoman service paused their attacks to bring up immoderate cannons successful bid to bombard the inn, the Greeks escaped the inn and recovered information successful the mountains earlier the cannons arrived.

Greek triumph astatine Gravia forced Ottomans to retreat

The casualties suffered by Vrioni were heavy, with 300 soldiers dormant and 600 wounded successful a mates of hours of fighting, portion the Greeks had lone six countrymen dead. Androutsos earned the rubric of Commander successful Chief of the Greek forces successful Central Greece.

This conflict is considered important to the result of the Greek gyration due to the fact that it forced Omer Vrioni to retreat to Euboea, leaving the Greeks to consolidate their gains successful the Peloponnese and seizure the Ottoman superior of the Peloponnese, Tripoli.

Androutsos, however, was accused a fewer years aboriginal of collaborating with the Ottomans. The revolutionary provisional authorities placed him nether apprehension successful the Frankish Tower of the Acropolis of Athens.

The caller commander, Yannis Gouras, who erstwhile was Androutsos’ 2nd successful command, ordered his execution connected June 5, 1825.

Gouras didn’t springiness him a just trial, believing that Androutsos, owed to his antiauthoritarian character, could crook the radical against the Government.

The Greek War of Independence, which began successful 1821, resembles the worldly of legend.

Despite each odds, the outnumbered, poorly-armed Greeks fought against the Ottomans, an full empire with a lasting service which had conquered a ample portion of Europe and Asia Minor.

Enslaved for astir 4 centuries, Greeks yet said “no more” and launched an onslaught against the all-powerful Ottomans.

“Freedom oregon Death” was their motto and indeed, galore gave their lives to liberate Greece and found the modern Greek state.