Disastrous war operation of the Greeks against the Ottomans, in a difficult period of the War of Independence. It was held on April 24, 1827, the day after the death of George Karaiskakis, in the area of Analatos (today’s Nea Smyrni), with the aim of breaking the siege of the Acropolis by the forces of Kioutachi.
From the outset, the design of the operation was divisive. The two English leaders of the Greek forces, Lord Cochrane and George (the former admiral of the Greek fleet and the latter commander of the land forces, by decision of the National Assembly of Troizena) believed in confronting the enemy directly and head-on, while Karaiskakis insisted that the Greek troops were better suited to trench warfare and that it was advantageous to advance in short order and with new trenches encircling the army of Kiutachi, which was beginning to suffer from privation.
His strategy was successful in Attica and the Greek land forces dominated the Keratsini – Faliro axis. He had even proposed the occupation of Oropos and Marathon to close the last supply channel of Kioutachi. But the insistence of the English generals, and especially of Cochran, to apply a tactic foreign to the abilities of the Greeks swayed Karaiskakis, who agreed with them. And while he was preparing in Faliro to make the operation more secure, he was wounded in a small skirmish on April 22, 1827, and in the early hours of the next morning he expired.
The Battle of Analatos
Cochran, without calculating the psychological factor from the death of Karaiskakis and the fallen morale of the Greeks, insisted on immediately carrying out the attack against Kioutachis, blackmailing him with withdrawal in the opposite case. Thus, the raid against the Turkish camp at Analatos took place on the morning of April 24, 1827.
Quickly, the battle ended in a crushing defeat for the Greeks, as they became the brunt of the dispositions of the Turkish cavalry, who took advantage of the flat terrain and pursued them to the sea. Around 2,000 were killed, almost half of the Greek force, most of them Souliots and Cretans. Among them elite commanders, such as Ioannis Notaras, Lambros Veikos, George Tzavelas, Athanasios Botsaris, Fotos Fotomaras, George Drakos and Colonel Inglesis. The 250 prisoners were beheaded. Makrygiannis was barely saved, thanks to his quick legs and strong lungs.
The unfortunate outcome of the battle caused grumbling in the Greek camp and mutual recriminations began for those responsible for the defeat. The garrison of the Acropolis under Goura was forced to capitulate and surrender on May 24, 1827. Kioutachis consolidated his position and Central Greece was completely subjugated to the Ottomans. By many historians, the battle of Analatos was characterized as a group suicide and as a result of the English policy, which by neutralizing the revolutionary movements of Central Greece sought to limit the Revolution in the Peloponnese.
