Siege of Varnakova
{{Short description|Military engagement in 1826 during the Greek Revolution}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Siege of Varnakova
| width =
| partof = the Greek War of Independence
| image = Varnakova monastery in Phokida.jpg
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| caption = The Panagia Varnakova Monastery
| date = 20 – 26 May 1826 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=05|day1=20|year1=1826|month2=05|day2=26|year2=1826}})
| place = Panagia Varnakova Monastery, Phocis, Rumelia Eyalet, Ottoman Empire
| coordinates =
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| territory =
| result = Greek retreat, blowing up of the Monastery by the Turks
| status =
| combatants_header =
| combatant1 = Image:Flag of Greece (1821).svg Greek revolutionaries
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ottoman Empire (eight pointed star).svg}} Ottoman Empire
| combatant3 =
| commander1 = Ioannis Fraggistas
Kalyvas
| commander2 = Mustabey
Kehayabey
| commander3 =
| units1 =
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| strength1 = 150
| strength2 = 4,000
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}}
The siege of Varnakova in 1826 was one of the military episodes of the Greek War of Independence.
The development of the siege
After the Exodus of Missolonghi, in April 1826, Georgios Karaiskakis, although ill, put up resistance as much as he could in the area, sending detachments of revolutionaries to timely positions against the Kütahı pass. Thus, he sent 150 selected men, led by the hoplitarchs Ioannis Fragistas, Triantafyllos (Apokouritis) and Kastaniotis,Κασομούλης Νικόλαος, Ενθυμήματα Στρατιωτικά της Επαναστάσεως των Ελλήνων (1821-1833) - Τόμος Β΄, σελ.334 [https://books.google.gr/books?id=S3jzBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA288&lpg=PA288&dq=%CE%9A%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%BB%CE%B7%CF%82+%CE%92%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%B2%CE%B1&source=bl&ots=oNzZSmBxIw&sig=n3BULepbR7jhnv8JkquO_UU66sc&hl=el&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3wt-71pvLAhUjYpoKHTeeC94Q6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=%CE%9A%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%BB%CE%B7%CF%82%20%CE%92%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%B2%CE%B1&f=false ψηφιακό τεκμήριο] to the Monastery of Panagia Varnakova. In response, Kütahı sent the perionem Mustabey and Kehayabey with many Turk-Albanians (a force of 4,000 men is reported). The Turks' aim was to capture the Monastery (where Greeks had also taken refuge after the Exodus of Missolonghi) and to establish a garrison.[http://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/php/pdf_pager.php?rec=/metadata/3/f/5/metadata-01-0000312.tkl&do=73684.pdf&pageno=924&width=382&height=613&maxpage=1318&lang=en Γεώργιος Π. Κρέμος, Νεωτάτη Γενική Ιστορία, εκδ. Σ. Κ. Βλαστός, Αθήνα 1890, σελ. 906]
The siege began at dawn on 20 May 1826.
At the end of the siege the Turks placed dynamite in the underground galleries and blew up the monastery, which was rebuilt after 5 years, in 1831, by Ioannis Kapodistrias, who is considered the second founder of the Monastery.
References
Sources
- {{Cite book
| author = Γεώργιος Π. Κρέμος (1839-1926)
| title = Νεωτάτη Γενική Ιστορία
| publisher = Παρά τω εκδότη Σ. Κ. Βλαστώ
| location = Εν Αθήναις
| year = 1890
| pages = [http://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/php/pdf_pager.php?rec=/metadata/3/f/5/metadata-01-0000312.tkl&do=73684.pdf&pageno=924&width=382&height=613&maxpage=1318&lang=en 906]
| url = http://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/3/f/5/metadata-01-0000312.tkl
|accessdate = July 2, 2012
}}
{{Campaignbox Greek War of Independence}}
{{Greek War of Independence|state=collapsed}}
{{coord missing|Greece}}
Category:Sieges of the Greek War of Independence