The strategic location of Cyprus meant that it saw constant invasions throughout its history
– the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Franks and the Turks all vied for it. In the
second half of the 20th century, the island erupted into another war, with the local and
mainland Greeks and Turks fighting a full-scale war in 1974. Welcome to our video on the Turkish
invasion of Cyprus, also called the Cyprus peace operation, voted for by our patrons
and youtube members. If you are interested in the history of this era, don’t forget
to check out our second channel – The Cold War – the link is in the top right corner.
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Cyprus, a strategic island in the Mediterranean Sea, inhabited by majority Greek and minority
Turkish population, had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire since 1571, up until 1878 when
Britain took control over it, and formally annexed it in 1914. Cyprus was under British
control until 1960, when the island proclaimed its independence. But the process leading
to independence of Cyprus was far from peaceful. Greek and Turkish communities had different
plans for the island, and the British had to find a solution which would keep both sides
content. Greek Cypriots wanted unification with Greece – enosis. Their strongest organization
was EOKA, which sought to achieve independence from Britain first and then to unify with
Greece. Turkish Cypriots wanted the partition of Cyprus between Greece and Turkey, the plan
which was called Taksim. The most prominent organization of Turkish Cypriots was TMT.
Intercommunal Greek-Turkish violence in Cyprus was regular in the 1950-70s, and the Constitution
of Cyprus, approved by the Zurich agreement between Turkey, Greece and the UK, did not
bring peace to the Island. According to the Constitution, the president of Cyprus was
to be a Greek elected by the Greek community, and the vice-president would be a Turk elected
by the Turks. Both of them would have veto power. 30 percent of the cabinet ministers
and state officials would be Turks, and both communities would have high autonomy from
each other. The Turkish, Greek and British armies had military bases on the island, and
were the guarantors of its independence. Greek Cypriots were unhappy with the privileges
provided to Turkish Cypriots, and a number of times in the 1960s violence erupted. In
1963 the violence resulted in the death of 364 Turkish and 174 Greek Cypriots, the destruction
of 109 Turkish Cypriot or mixed villages, and the displacement of 25,000–30,000 Turkish
Cypriots. At the time, Turkey was on the brink of invading Cyprus to protect the Turkish
population, but a US diplomatic intervention and direct talks between Turkey and Greece
calmed tension down a bit. By 1974 the Greek Cypriot leadership, under
Makarios, cooled down on necessity of Enosis. But Greece, ruled by a military junta, promoted
Enosis and cooperated with local pro-Enosis forces such as EOKA.
In 1974 the Makarios government was overthrown by Cypriot National Guard elements, led by
Greek officers. A vehemently pro-Enosis, anti-Turkish member of EOKA, Nikos Sampson, was declared
the president. Turkey issued a list of demands to Greece via the US negotiator. These demands
included the immediate removal of Nikos Sampson, the withdrawal of 650 Greek officers from
the Cypriot National Guard, the admission of Turkish troops to protect their population,
equal rights for both populations, and access to the sea from the northern coast for Turkish
Cypriots. They called on Britain to ensure the neutrality of Cyprus as one of the guarantors.
Britain refused and Turkey started planning an invasion of Cyprus.
At the time 117k Turks were living on the island, mainly in the enclaves in Nicosia,
Famagusta, Larnaka and Limassol. The Turkish Cypriots had a 10-13k man standing army, and
were able to mobilize up to 20k men. They had control of the strategic Nicosia – Kyrenia
highway, which made the communication for Greek Cypriots with the North of the island
more difficult. The main force of Greek Cypriots on the island
was the National Guard, headed by Greek officers, with a standing army of 12k men and 32 tanks,
having the potential to mobilize up to 40k men. Along with that, EOKA had 5k men and
the elite Greek regiment, ELDYK had 1200 men. The plan of the Turkish army – Atilla 1
- was to land in Kyrenia, and secure territories including the Turkish enclave near Nicosia,
Gönyeli. That would be a demonstration of force, and there was hope that a diplomatic
solution would be possible after that. If not, the Turks would press on to secure the
Northern part of Cyprus up until Famagusta. The Turkish army was confident of success,
since they considered themselves to be dominant in the Mediterranean on sea and in the air.
A naval armada of 5 destroyers and 31 landing ships would carry the amphibious forces, while
the Air Force would drop paratroopers and supplies, and provide air support for the
entire operation. Turkey deployed 40k men and 180 tanks during the confrontation in
Cyprus. Greek Cypriots had the Aphrodite plan, which
aimed to swiftly attack Turkish enclaves in Cyprus as soon as information about Turkish
invasion arrived, in an attempt to prevent them from connecting with these enclaves.
On the 20th of July 1974, the "Cakmak" Special Strike Force Landing Brigade, one battalion
of the 6th Amphibious Infantry Regiment, the 50th Infantry Regiment and one company of
the 39th Divisional Tank Battalion (39th Infantry Division), the whole force consisting of around
3,000 troops, and 12 M47 tanks, landed unopposed in Pentemilli, a few miles from the main port
of Kyrenia. Two Greek Cypriot motor torpedo boats, the T-1 and T-3 attempted to make the
landing more difficult for the Turks, but were destroyed on the morning of the landing.
The first land attack by Greek Cypriots was made at 10 am by elements of the 251st infantry
battalion, supported by 5 t-34 tanks. The Turks managed to repel the attack, disable
all 5 tanks and advance. An attack by elements of the 281st, 316th and the 286th battalions,
led by National Guard staff officer, Lt. Colonel Boufas, initially forced the Turks to retreat,
but eventually the Turkish 50th Infantry Regiment was able regain the lost ground and force
the Greeks to dig in. Elsewhere, near Nicosia, by the Turkish enclave
Gönyeli, the landing of Turkish paratroopers was disastrous, with more than 90 of 120 men
losing their lives. 550 men and 20 tanks of ELDYK began the siege of Gönyeli, which was
a strategic point on the Kyrenia-Nicosia road, cutting the island from the North to the Center.
Turkish Cypriots were prepared for the siege and heavily fortified the area with defensive
and anti-tank structures. They were able to repel the initial Greek attack, and the following
counterattack by the 399th battalion and inflicted significant damage to the Greek Cypriots,
with at least 4 of their tanks being destroyed in the process.
On the 20th of July the Greek Cypriot forces attacked the Turkish Cypriot enclaves at Limassol,
Paphos, and Agyrta-Nicosia, with different levels of success. In Limasol and Paphos,
the Turks were defeated and many were taken as prisoners of war.
On the same day, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 353, demanding
all foreign military personnel to leave Cyprus, and calling Britain, Turkey and Greece to
start negotiations to restore peace on the island.
On the 21st of July Turkish destroyer Kocatepe was hit by friendly fire after deception by
the Greek Cypriots, and sunk with all of its 53 person crew. The Greeks also suffered from
friendly fire, as approximately 30 commandos died when a Noratlas aircraft transporting
them from Crete to Cyprus was hit by Greek Cypriot anti-aircraft guns.
The junta in Greece understood that local Greek Cypriot forces were not strong enough
to defeat the Turks. The 537th Infantry battalion, a battalion of tanks and 500 Cypriot volunteers
were sent as reinforcements. In the morning of July 21st, all Turkish enclaves
in Limassol and Larnaka were taken by the Greeks. Thousands of Turks were taken as POWs.
Other enclaves of Lefka, Denizli, Famagusta and Limnitis were also under attack.
On July 22nd the second wave of Turkish forces, including a tank company and a mechanized
infantry company, arrived in Cyprus. The Turks attacked Kyrenia, which was defended by 33MK
Commando, and 306th, 251st and 241st infantry battalions. They were able to take the town
after losing 5 tanks. The force which took Kyrenia was able to establish a communication
between Kyrenia and Gönyeli. This was an important achievement, as firstly a Turkish
enclave in Gönyeli was protected and secondly controlling Kyrenia allowed Turkey to send
more troops to Cyprus. Greek defeats in the first days of the war
lead to the collapse of the Junta regime in Greece on the 23rd of July. Britain tried
to restore peace by organizing negotiations between Greece and Turkey on the 25th of July.
The talks went on until August 14th and did not achieve success.
Turkey demanded the federalization of Cyprus, allowing the transfer of populations. The
new president of Cyprus, Clerides, asked for 2 days to make a decision, but Turkey demanded
an immediate answer, and commenced its second wave of offensives on August 14th – Atilla
2. Two more infantry divisions were transferred
to Cyprus. Greek Cypriots organized their defense along the Troodos line, which left
40 percent of the island accessible to Turkish troops. Its Western Sector started from the
sea and went on until the Nicosia Airport and was defended by the 11th Tactical Group.
The central sector spread from Nicosia International Airport and ended at the suburb of Nicosia,
Mia Milia. It consisted of: the 212th reserve battalion, ELDYK's camp detachment (3 companies),
the 336th reserve battalion (reinforced with various companies, and with a total strength
of 1,300 men), the 211th battalion and the 187th artillery battalion.
The eastern flank consisted of the 12th Tactical Group and the 9th Tactical Group, and expected
the strongest Turkish attack. The total size of the Greek forces numbered at around twenty
thousand men, with 21 T-34 tanks. Turkish forces consisted of 40k men - mainly
in the 28th and 39th infantry divisions - one armoured regiment (with one tank battalion
and one mechanized infantry battalion from the 5th armoured brigade), the Turkish Regiment
on Cyprus (reinforced with one parachute battalion, and one battalion from the 50th regiment),
one Commando brigade, one Paratrooper brigade, 160–200 tanks, 200 APCs, and 120 field guns.
Added to them were the remaining 5 Turkish-Cypriot regiments (with 19 battalions). Turkey’s
target was to connect with Turkish enclaves in Famagusta and Limnitis.
Atilla-2 started with the Turkish 39th division attacking the Mia Milia defensive line, defended
by the 399th battalion. The Turks were able to push through, and together with the 241st
battalion, the Greek Cypriots fell back to Famagusta. In the Central Sector, the Turks
were met with heavy resistance and their advance was limited.
On the 15th of August, only 341st battalion with 3 t-34 tanks resisted the Turkish advance,
while the rest of the 12th Tactical Group retreated to Larnaca. By evening, Turkish
forces entered Famagusta. The Turkish 28th division advanced 6 km in the Western Sector
on that day as well. On August 16th the Turks reached Morfou and Limnitis. Thus, the aim
of the Atilla-2 offensive was achieved. Turkey’s campaign in Cyprus led to the occupation
of 40% the island. The island was divided by the so-called Green line. Greek refugees,
amounting to 160k people, left for the Greek controlled parts of Cyprus, while Turkish
refugees moved to the part controlled by Turkey. During the war, the Turks lost up to 3500
men, while Greek losses amounted to 6000 men. Subsequently the Turks declared the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is not recognized by the international community.
To this day, Cyprus remains divided despite numerous attempts to reach an agreement.
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