Battle of Phaleron

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Battle of Phaleron
Part of the Greek War of Independence
Date 24 April 1827 Location Near Athens Result Decisive Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Greece	Ottoman Empire
Commanders
Lord Cochrane Richard Church	Mehmed Reshid Pasha
Strength
3,000	Unknown (some cavalry)
Casualties and losses
2,000	Unknown

The Battle of Phaleron took place on April 24, 1827. The revolting Greek forces were being besieged inside the Acropolis of Athens by Ottoman forces under the command of Mehmed Reshid Pasha. Greek forces outside the city were desperately trying to break the siege.

Battle

The English Lord Cochrane and Richard Church were commanding the Greeks. 3,000 men were ordered to advance. Their plan was to send 7,000 more men who were at Piraeus to attack the Turks from the flanks. As the Greeks advanced from Phaleron, Reshid sent some cavalry to attack the Greeks. He expected the main assault to come from Piraeus. The troops from Piraeus did not arrive and the rest of the Greeks were attacked by the Turkish cavalry.

Aftermath

The Greeks lost 2,000 men, which was a devastating setback. The men in the Acropolis surrendered and were escorted by the French army to the coast. This defeat destroyed Greek morale and the only places on mainland Greece that persevered after the battle were Mani and Nauplio. Later that year, the Great Powers, Imperial Russia, the restored kingdom of France, and Great Britain destroyed the Egyptian and Turkish fleets in the Battle of Navarino.

Sources

• Paroulakis, Peter Harold. The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence. Hellenic International Press, 1984. ISBN 0-9590894-0-3.