Battle of Tylliria
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Tylliria or Battle of Kokkina was a battle between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot forces at Tylliria (Dillirga) area, in the Eastern Mediterranean
.
of Cyprus
is located in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey
and west of Syria
. In 1964, at the time of the battle, the island was governed by two Sovereign
state entities—the Republic of Cyprus and the British
Sovereign Base Areas
. The areas under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus included a number of large and fortified enclaves, inhabited by the island's Turkish Cypriot minority
, which had receded into defensive positions around Turkish
controlled villages following a major outbreak of civil unrest in 1963.
The Tylliria region of Cyprus was largely enclosed within the Morphou Administrative District in the north-west of the island, forming a large portion of the southern coastline of Morphou Bay. Located on this coastline at Kokkina was a heavily fortified Turkish enclave with between 750 and 1000 inhabitants.
In November 1963, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, proposed 13 constitutional amendments to the Constitution
of the country's Government. These amendments were primarily aimed by the Makarios Administration at reorganising and regulating the distribution of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot manpower and voting power in the Government, civil services, military and police forces. These proposed amendments would also have effected the distribution of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot persons serving the judicial, executive and municipal service arms of the Government, in favour of a 70% to 30% split, weighted to the Greek Cypriot population majority (82%) over the Turkish Cypriot minority (18%).
While the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides of the Government were already largely polarised in favour of the interests of their respective "mother-states" (i.e. Greece
and Turkey
), the Turkish Cypriot representatives within the Government flattly rejected Makarios' 13 proposed constitutional amendments, on the basis that it deprived the Turkish Cypriots of equal representation
. The Greek Cypriots, likewise, refused to modify the amendments.
The Turkish Cypriots promptly withdrew their representation from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus in late November. Civil unrest quickly followed across the island as political tensions began to manifest in social interaction.
" (or union of the entire island with Greece). The main proponents of this violence were purportedly self-referred to as the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT
), and the Greek Cypriot EOKA B
, though it is not clear how much of the violence can actually be attributed to directives issued by these groups.
In mid-1964, the Greek Cypriot Government became aware that the Turkish Cypriots, who by now had almost universally receded into enclaves nationwide, were becoming increasingly well equipped with small arms, squad automatic weapons and mortars that would not have otherwise been made available to them through legal ports of entry. The Turkish Cypriot held deep-water dock at Kokkina, in Tylliria region, was immediately suspected as the focus of a Turkish shipping point for the supply of arms to the Turkish Cypriots from mainland Turkey
. This belief was further reinforced by published intelligence estimates of the Turkish Cypriot force present at Kokkina, which was thought to be of approximately battalion
-strength, with heavy weapons.
The Greek Cypriot reaction was a scramble for arms. In 1965, a surveillance
radar
station was installed at Mt Kormakitis in Kyrenia district in order to observe illegal shipping movements between Turkey and Kokkina, and a total of six fast naval attack craft were procured from the Soviet Union in order to triple the strength of the Cyprus Navy. As an additional measure, two heavy Greek Cypriot patrol gunboats were stationed near Morphou in order to launch a naval strike, should the need arise.
While Greece remained largely silent on the issue of the Kokkina shipping point, the Greek Government gave the Greek Cypriots assurances that it would support an armed intervention at Kokkina, should the situation become untenable. The Commander of the Greek Cypriot National Guard, Col. Georgios Grivas, returned to Cyprus from Athens
in late July 1974, after receiving an audience with members of the Greek Government. Shortly thereafter, the Greek Cypriots began to mobilise for an armed intervention at Kokkina, despite Turkish threats to counter-intervene by force should exactly that happen.
began to mobilise infantry, artillery and armored forces for an assault on Kokkina. On 6 August 1964, the Cypriot National Guard commenced its attack. For two days, Cypriot National Guard forces laid down support fire with six 25-pounder guns and approximately twelve mortars, coordinated with 20mm and 40mm cannon fire from the Cyprus Navy patrol boats Phaethon and Arion. Under this barrage, infantry progressed slowly into the enclave with cover from overlapping machine gun fire, but found that the Turkish Cypriots had organised their own machine guns and mortars into an effective formation. The battle quickly degraded into a low-intensity exchange of sniping and support fire, as both sides dug into the difficult terrain.
On 8 August 1964, after waiting for nearly two days, Turkey
intervened, once it had become clear that the Greek Cypriots would not withdraw from Kokkina, but simply commit more and more siege forces until the Turkish Cypriots ran out of supplies.
On the morning of 8 August, the Cypriot patrol boats Phaethon and Arion were attacked by Turkish Air Force
jets as they sailed close to Xeros Harbour, Morphou Bay. The boats commenced evasive manoeuvers and put up anti-aircraft fire. The Phaethon was quickly strafed with 75mm rockets and burst into flames, killing seven crew members and wounding several others. Its engine still running, the surviving crew managed to guide it aground and then abandoned ship.
As the Arion continued to evade the attack, a second formation of Turkish F-100 Super Sabre jets came in low to attack it. A Turkish jet piloted by Captain Cengiz Topel
was shot down by a Cypriot Bofors 40mm L60 anti-aircraft gun emplacement which was situated close to the harbour. Topel ejected almost immediately, and parachuted inland, but was captured and swiftly lynched by a group of Cypriot National Guard troops. The Arion was hit by strafing fire several times, but managed to escape to Paphos. It did not play any further part in the conflict.
Between the 8–9 August 1964, the Turkish Air Force was given free rein to attack multiple targets within the Tylliria coastal warzone, including a number of Greek Cypriot villages. Cypriot civilian casualties were reported as a result of heavy air attacks against several populated locations, including Kato Pyrgos. Turkish planes also attacked sites occupied by the Cypriot National Guard, killing a number of military personnel and destroying a Marmon Herrington Mk-IVF armoured car.
Fighting in the region ceased on 10 August 1964, but Kokkina's value to the Turkish military dwindled, as the Greek Cypriots had effectively isolated it from the coastal road and encircled it with enough forces to guarantee its destruction by the time of the 1965 expansion of the National Guard.
Currently, Kokkina (Turkish: Erenkoy) is considered by Turkey to be an exclave of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
. Greek Cypriot sanctions mean that the exclave can only be accessed from the TRNC-controlled area by sea, as the coastal road is now blockaded and mined.
Eastern Mediterranean
The Eastern Mediterranean is a term that denotes the countries geographically to the east of the Mediterranean Sea. This region is also known as Greater Syria or the Levant....
.
Location
The islandIsland
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
is located in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and west of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. In 1964, at the time of the battle, the island was governed by two Sovereign
Sovereign
A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdiction.Sovereign may also refer to:*Monarch, the sovereign of a monarchy*Sovereign Bank, banking institution in the United States*Sovereign...
state entities—the Republic of Cyprus and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Sovereign Base Areas
Sovereign Base Areas
The Sovereign Base Areas are military bases located on territory in which the United Kingdom is sovereign, but which are separated from the ordinary British territory....
. The areas under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus included a number of large and fortified enclaves, inhabited by the island's Turkish Cypriot minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
, which had receded into defensive positions around Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
controlled villages following a major outbreak of civil unrest in 1963.
The Tylliria region of Cyprus was largely enclosed within the Morphou Administrative District in the north-west of the island, forming a large portion of the southern coastline of Morphou Bay. Located on this coastline at Kokkina was a heavily fortified Turkish enclave with between 750 and 1000 inhabitants.
Political Context
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
of the country's Government. These amendments were primarily aimed by the Makarios Administration at reorganising and regulating the distribution of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot manpower and voting power in the Government, civil services, military and police forces. These proposed amendments would also have effected the distribution of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot persons serving the judicial, executive and municipal service arms of the Government, in favour of a 70% to 30% split, weighted to the Greek Cypriot population majority (82%) over the Turkish Cypriot minority (18%).
While the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides of the Government were already largely polarised in favour of the interests of their respective "mother-states" (i.e. Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
), the Turkish Cypriot representatives within the Government flattly rejected Makarios' 13 proposed constitutional amendments, on the basis that it deprived the Turkish Cypriots of equal representation
Representation (politics)
In politics, representation describes how some individuals stand in for others or a group of others, for a certain time period. Representation usually refers to representative democracies, where elected officials nominally speak for their constituents in the legislature...
. The Greek Cypriots, likewise, refused to modify the amendments.
The Turkish Cypriots promptly withdrew their representation from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus in late November. Civil unrest quickly followed across the island as political tensions began to manifest in social interaction.
Demographic and Geopolitical Context
A series of atrocities and intercommunal terrorist acts struck the island from late December 1963, as violence began to flare between Turkish and Greek Cypriot extremists. This violence perpetuated quickly, and was reinforced by pre-existing nationalist sentiments on both sides, including a Turkish desire for "Taksim" (or division of the island into Turkish and Greek portions), and a Greek desire for "EnosisEnosis
Enosis refers to the movement of the Greek-Cypriot population to incorporate the island of Cyprus into Greece.Similar movements had previously developed in other regions with ethnic Greek majorities such as the Ionian Islands, Crete and the Dodecanese. These regions were eventually incorporated...
" (or union of the entire island with Greece). The main proponents of this violence were purportedly self-referred to as the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT
TMT
TMT may refer to:* Tandem mass tag, a label used for quantitative mass spectrometry–based proteomics* Tarsometatarsal articulations* Technology, Media, Telecommunications – an investment sector, e.g., late-1990s TMT bubble...
), and the Greek Cypriot EOKA B
EOKA B
EOKA-B was a Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisation formed in 1971. It followed a right-wing nationalistic ideology and had the ultimate goal of achieving the enosis of Cyprus with Greece...
, though it is not clear how much of the violence can actually be attributed to directives issued by these groups.
In mid-1964, the Greek Cypriot Government became aware that the Turkish Cypriots, who by now had almost universally receded into enclaves nationwide, were becoming increasingly well equipped with small arms, squad automatic weapons and mortars that would not have otherwise been made available to them through legal ports of entry. The Turkish Cypriot held deep-water dock at Kokkina, in Tylliria region, was immediately suspected as the focus of a Turkish shipping point for the supply of arms to the Turkish Cypriots from mainland Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. This belief was further reinforced by published intelligence estimates of the Turkish Cypriot force present at Kokkina, which was thought to be of approximately battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
-strength, with heavy weapons.
The Greek Cypriot reaction was a scramble for arms. In 1965, a surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
station was installed at Mt Kormakitis in Kyrenia district in order to observe illegal shipping movements between Turkey and Kokkina, and a total of six fast naval attack craft were procured from the Soviet Union in order to triple the strength of the Cyprus Navy. As an additional measure, two heavy Greek Cypriot patrol gunboats were stationed near Morphou in order to launch a naval strike, should the need arise.
While Greece remained largely silent on the issue of the Kokkina shipping point, the Greek Government gave the Greek Cypriots assurances that it would support an armed intervention at Kokkina, should the situation become untenable. The Commander of the Greek Cypriot National Guard, Col. Georgios Grivas, returned to Cyprus from Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in late July 1974, after receiving an audience with members of the Greek Government. Shortly thereafter, the Greek Cypriots began to mobilise for an armed intervention at Kokkina, despite Turkish threats to counter-intervene by force should exactly that happen.
The Action
In the days leading up to the invasion, the Cypriot National GuardCypriot National Guard
The Cypriot National Guard , also known as the "Greek Cypriot National Guard" or simply as "National Guard", is the combined arms military force of the Republic of Cyprus...
began to mobilise infantry, artillery and armored forces for an assault on Kokkina. On 6 August 1964, the Cypriot National Guard commenced its attack. For two days, Cypriot National Guard forces laid down support fire with six 25-pounder guns and approximately twelve mortars, coordinated with 20mm and 40mm cannon fire from the Cyprus Navy patrol boats Phaethon and Arion. Under this barrage, infantry progressed slowly into the enclave with cover from overlapping machine gun fire, but found that the Turkish Cypriots had organised their own machine guns and mortars into an effective formation. The battle quickly degraded into a low-intensity exchange of sniping and support fire, as both sides dug into the difficult terrain.
On 8 August 1964, after waiting for nearly two days, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
intervened, once it had become clear that the Greek Cypriots would not withdraw from Kokkina, but simply commit more and more siege forces until the Turkish Cypriots ran out of supplies.
On the morning of 8 August, the Cypriot patrol boats Phaethon and Arion were attacked by Turkish Air Force
Turkish Air Force
The Turkish Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It ranks 3rd in NATO in terms of fleet size behind the USAF and Royal Air Force with a current inventory of 798 aircraft .-Initial stages:...
jets as they sailed close to Xeros Harbour, Morphou Bay. The boats commenced evasive manoeuvers and put up anti-aircraft fire. The Phaethon was quickly strafed with 75mm rockets and burst into flames, killing seven crew members and wounding several others. Its engine still running, the surviving crew managed to guide it aground and then abandoned ship.
As the Arion continued to evade the attack, a second formation of Turkish F-100 Super Sabre jets came in low to attack it. A Turkish jet piloted by Captain Cengiz Topel
Cengiz Topel
Cengiz Topel was a fighter pilot of the Turkish Air Force, who was shot down during the Battle of Tylliria.-Career:...
was shot down by a Cypriot Bofors 40mm L60 anti-aircraft gun emplacement which was situated close to the harbour. Topel ejected almost immediately, and parachuted inland, but was captured and swiftly lynched by a group of Cypriot National Guard troops. The Arion was hit by strafing fire several times, but managed to escape to Paphos. It did not play any further part in the conflict.
Between the 8–9 August 1964, the Turkish Air Force was given free rein to attack multiple targets within the Tylliria coastal warzone, including a number of Greek Cypriot villages. Cypriot civilian casualties were reported as a result of heavy air attacks against several populated locations, including Kato Pyrgos. Turkish planes also attacked sites occupied by the Cypriot National Guard, killing a number of military personnel and destroying a Marmon Herrington Mk-IVF armoured car.
Immediate Outcome of the Battle
The immediate geographical result of the conflict in the Tylliria region was that the Kokkina enclave was effectively reduced to approximately 50-60% of its original size. However, the Greek Cypriot National Guard had failed to storm the inner defenses of the enclave, thus leaving the Turkish beachhead essentially intact.Fighting in the region ceased on 10 August 1964, but Kokkina's value to the Turkish military dwindled, as the Greek Cypriots had effectively isolated it from the coastal road and encircled it with enough forces to guarantee its destruction by the time of the 1965 expansion of the National Guard.
Legacy
On 20 July 1974, Turkey launched an all-out surprise attack against Cyprus on the pretext of an intervention against a Greek Cypriot Government coup. The second Turkish offensive, codenamed Attila 2, took place between 14 and 18 August 1974, and extended as far west as the Kokkina enclave. Elements of the Turkish 28th Division, including the 61st Infantry Regiment, attempted to seize Kokkina in order to unite the enclave with the rest of the Turkish occupation zone, but the manoeuver faltered in the difficult terrain, and Greek Cypriot National Guard forces were able to halt the Turkish advance at Kato Pyrgos after intense fighting.Currently, Kokkina (Turkish: Erenkoy) is considered by Turkey to be an exclave of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
. Greek Cypriot sanctions mean that the exclave can only be accessed from the TRNC-controlled area by sea, as the coastal road is now blockaded and mined.