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Thursday July 18, 1974 |
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Adana |
Members of the Turkish Amry's 39th Division begin boarding
ships, while the Turkish-Cypriots (T/C) take positions in their
enclaves. That information is relayed by KYP (Hellenic Central
Intelligence Agency) in Kyrenia to Athens. |
|
Athens |
The Hellenic 'K' plan is put into effect, and 20 Hellenic AF F-84Fs are moved to Kasteli, and 10 F-5s to
Heraklion. The airplanes are prepared and could react on a 30 minute notice. |
|
Friday July 19, 1974 |
| 13:00 |
Hellas |
Three of the Hellenic Navy's modern Type 209 submarines are
ordered to move towards the region of Rhodes. |
| 17:00 |
Adana |
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus is ordered to begin. A half hour later, British television is
showing the departure of the Turkish fleet towards Cyprus. |
|
Cyprus |
The Cypriot air defense plan 'Delta' is put into effect. At 21:15 a
National Guard (NG) position at Apostolou Andrea reports sighting
a group of 6 ships 40NM away, coming from Mersina. The movement of
the ships is monitored now by SEP/A, and at 21:40 8-10 ships are
detected moving from Mersina to Kyrenia. |
| 20:30 |
Cyprus |
The two torpedo boats T1 and T3 are ordered to be ready for combat. |
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Saturday July 20, 1974 |
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Hellas |
The US pulls all nuclear weapons off Hellenic fighters. |
| 01:30 |
Cyprus |
The 11 Turkish ships are now detected only 35NM away from
Kyrenia. |
| 02:00 |
Cyprus |
6 ships are detected heading toward Ammochostos. Later on it will be known that
these ships were merchant ships sent there to confuse the
defending Hellenic forces. |
| 04:30 |
Cyprus |
The 11 ships are now only 10-12 miles from the coast of Cyprus. There
is no immediate response from the Hellenic side. |
| 04:45 |
Ankara |
The Hellenic embassy is informed by the Turkish Foreign Ministry of the actions taking place. |
| 05:00 |
Cyprus |
The two torpedo boats T1 and T3 are ordered to depart the port
of Kyrenia and to engage the invading fleet. |
| 05:10 |
Ankara |
A message from Bulent Ecevit is relayed to the Hellenic side. |
| 05:15 |
Cyprus |
Torpedo boat T1 sinks after being severely damaged by Turkish
aircraft fire. |
| 05:23 |
Cyprus |
The T3 torpedo boat is struck by both destroyers and aircraft
and sinks. 9 of the 10
crew members of T3 are killed. |
| 05:25 |
Cyprus |
Turkish planes in support of their naval forces bombard the area
of Kyrenia. Their aim is the destruction of the 3rd Tactical Regiment
(Syntagma) and base of the 252 TP (Tagma Pezikou - Infantry
Battalion). The first
wave of invaders is composed of 1 LST, 2 LSM's, 20 LCU
landing ships, 5 Destroyers, 2 Gun Boats, and around 3000 men. |
| 05:30 |
Cyprus |
The Commando Units (Monades Katadromon) direct themselves
towards the Agyrtas pass. Their mission is to prevent Turkish
forces on the beachhead from reaching the Agyrta-Lefkosia T/C
enclave. |
| 06:07 |
Cyprus |
Turkish transport planes and helicopters dropped paratroopers at locations
between Lefkosia and Bogazi, Mias Milias and Gerolakkou.
Although the organized Greek resistance was spread thin due to the
large Turkish forces, the Turkish side made numerous mistakes. One
such example is the dropping of 120 troops on Mia Milia. When the
villagers saw the troops in the sky, they took whatever firearms they
had and started firing. From the 120 troops, 93 were killed, 1 was
taken captive, while the rest fled. |
| 06:30 |
Cyprus |
Turkish 'frogmen' are sent to Pentemili to investigate if any
detonation devices exist, but none are found. |
| 07:00 |
Hellas |
The 3 Hellenic submarines are ordered to submerge after being notified of the situation in Cyprus. |
| 07:15 |
Athens |
War Council is formed where union with Cyprus is raised as a method of
stopping the Turkish invasion. That is not declared, but all agree
on the draft. |
| 07:30 |
Cyprus |
1 Gun Boat approaches the coast, pulls back,
and the Turkish fleet shells the island with a barrage of fire. |
| 07:30 |
Cyprus |
EL.DY.K (ELliniki DYnami Kyprou - Hellenic Contingent in
Cyprus) with the aid of 19 T-34 tanks from 23 EMA, begin the shelling of the TOYRDYK base. A
short time later, the attack on Kioneli starts, with 550 men from
ELDYK, 1 NG company (loxos), and 15 tanks. While the Hellenic forces
are advancing, Turkish troops are parachuting right over their
lines. The losses suffered by the Turkish side are enormous. After
a great number of Turkish AF (Air Force) attacks, the Hellenic side regroups
to start another assault. By this time the Hellenic side has very
few dead, few injured, and 100% of it's armored force. |
| 08:00 |
Cyprus |
The Turks attempt an invasion at Glykiotisa, near the T/C village of
Tembos. The 5 LCU's could not make the landing, and move towards
Pentemili. There they face lightly armed NG forces, who inflict
terrible loses on the Turks. From
the 600 soldiers on those ships, only 150 make it back. |
| 08:00 |
Cyprus |
Strong battles erupt in Ammochostos between T/C and Hellenic
forces. |
|
Cyprus |
Fighting between armed T/C and Hellenic forces ensues around
Cyprus, including Pafos, Morfou, Leuka, Lefkosia, Lemesos,
Kazivera, Kokkina, and Limniti. |
| 08:30 |
Cyprus |
In Pentemili, the first landing ship reaches the shore, and 62 soldiers and 1
bulldozer prepare it for the larger assault force to come. |
| 09:00 |
Cyprus |
The inhabitants of Kyrenia begin departing their city towards
Pella Pais. Numerous civilians that were apprehended by the Turks
are murdered. |
| 09:30 |
Cyprus |
Helicopters position troops in the surrounding hillsides to provide cover for the larger
invading forces. |
| 09:30 |
Cyprus |
NG artillery units start shelling the Turkish units that have landed.
The Turkish forces suffer serious losses, which are compounded by
"friendly fire" from destroyers that hits their position. |
| 09:30 |
Cyprus |
The Hellenic Navy landing ship "Lesbos" is ordered to Pafos while
some 50 nm away. It is carrying 450 members of ELDYK. |
| 10:00 |
Cyprus |
The battles on the island were intensified by the T/C who lived in the enclaves all over the island. At
Lemesos, 450 EOKA B' fighters of the 203 TE (Tagma Efedreias -
Reserve Battalion) faced off with 1000 armed T/C. In the village of
Aydimou (west of Lemesos), 100 EOKA B' troops took more than 200 T/C
soldiers as prisoners. |
| 11:00 |
Athens |
A general draft is declared. |
| 15:00 |
Hellas |
The Hellenic submarines "Glavkos" and
"Nereus" are ordered to carry out military patrols in
the area between Turkey and Cyprus. The "Triton" is told
to patrol near Rhodes, while the "Proteus" is sent to
the area between Smyrna and the Dardanelle
straits. |
| 17:00 |
Cyprus |
An additional force of about 1,400 Turkish paratroopers is
dropped in the area between Kioneli and Agyrta. |
| 17:00 |
Cyprus |
The Hellenic Navy landing ship "Lesbos" opens fire on Turkish
positions in Pafos. The numerous and well-armed T/C soldiers
surrender. The Turks believe this to be part of a greater Hellenic
landing force, and send destroyers to investigate. |
| 18:00 |
Cyprus |
The landing ship "Lesbos" leaves Pafos, moving south towards
Egypt. |
| 18:00 |
Cyprus |
The first phase of the Hellenic attack begins. Its purpose is
the isolution
of the Agyrta-Lefkosia enclave, and the destruction of the Turkish
invasion force still confined on the beach. ELDYK and 23 EMA were
to attack in the area of Kioneli-Lefkosia for a second time. The
361 TP and 399 TP would attack from the north and
the area near Dikomo. |
| 18:00 |
UN |
(16:00 Greenwich Mean Time) Security Council Resolution 353 is adopted unanimously. A
cease-fire is to take effect on July 22 at 16:00. |
| 19:30 |
Cyprus |
The 399 TP finally reaches its destination after being delayed by
action against T/C forces. Since the coordinated attack did not
take place, ELDYK was forced to again relinquish territories
gained. |
| 22:00 |
Cyprus |
The announcement is made that the T/C's in Pafos were
surrendering. The T/C's of Ammochostos take cover behind the walls
of the old city. |
| 22:30 |
Cyprus |
The 399 TP begins its attack against Turkish positions in the
enclave, but fails to achieve any decisive outcome in the short
period available. |
| 23:00 |
Cyprus |
The second phase of the Hellenic attack starts with 4 Commando Units (Monades Katadromon)
- 31 MK, 32 MK, 33 MK, and 34 MK. They initiate attacks on
Pentadaktilo from both sides of the enclave, in order to capture
the Agyrtas pass. |
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Sunday July 21, 1974 |
| 00:00 |
Hellas |
4 Olympic Airways Boeing 707 aircraft carrying the 2nd MK land
in Souda, Crete for refueling. Having originally departed from Mikra in
Thessaloniki, these troops are to be deployed in Cyprus by 04:00.
The flight duration to Lefkosia is expected to take 2 hours and 10
minutes. |
| 00:40 |
Hellas |
The third Boeing 707 reports the blowout of 4 tires on the right
main landing gear during
landing. With this development the Commander of 2 MK
requests - and is granted - the cancellation of the mission,
seeing that his unit could not reach Lefkosia by 04:00. The unit
returns to Mikra, and a new mission to send 35 MK on the night of
July 21 is decided. |
|
Cyprus |
The 3 TS (Tactical Regiment) takes a defensive posture. The 306
TE moves into posiions as north as the Kyrenia-Karavas road, while
the 251 TP forms its lines at the village of Trimithi. East of
Kyrenia was the 241 TP and army engineers tasked with mining the
coast. |
|
Cyprus |
The commando units are experiencing resounding
results. The 31 MK and 33 MK, moving in from the west, capture
the Kotsakagia mountaintop and numerous Turkish soldiers. 32
MK from the east delivered serious blows to Turkish operations and
achieved its primary objectives. |
| 02:30 |
Cyprus |
Radar stations indicate that 8 ships are headed from Mersina
towards Kyrenia. |
| 04:30 |
Cyprus |
Fierce battles are taking place on Pentadaktilo, but the
Hellenic forces manage to extend their area of control to Aspri
Moutti and other strategically advantageous positions. Turkish
counterattacks rage until 08:00, greatly supported by their
position in Ag. Ilariona. |
| 04:30 |
Turkey |
Turkish aircraft depart to begin a new bombing campaign, the
objective of which is the prevention of further Hellenic
reinforcements from reaching the bewildered Turkish troops on the
beachhead and Pentadaktilo. |
| 06:00 |
Cyprus |
The NG launches an attack in Lemeso and captures the Turkish
positions and over 1,000 prisoners. |
| 09:00 |
Athens |
Another council is again formed to discuss the possibility of
declaring war on Turkey. No decision is reached after 4 hours. |
| 10:45 |
Cyprus |
The GEEF (General Staff of the NG) is ordered to maintain its
present positions at all cost, since a political solution seems imminent. |
| 12:00 |
Cyprus |
Turkey agrees to the British request to stop the aerial
bombardment of Lefkosia for 2 hours, in order to allow foreign
nationals to flee. |
| 13:00 |
Cyprus |
With the Turkish forces planning the capture of the NG position
in Ag. Pavlou, the Hellenic commandos begin leaving their
strongholds on Pentadaktilo - a flawed strategic move. |
| 13:00 |
Athens |
The Commander of the Armed Forces recalls the two Hellenic Navy
submarines "Glavkos" and
"Nereus" when they are some 90 nm west of Pafos. |
| 13:30 |
Cyprus |
The 231 TP captures the village of Pileri. |
| 14:30 |
Cyprus |
The Naval Commander of Cyprus is moving along the road between
Mirtou and Asomatou, on his way to Karavas so as to determine the
state of the Turkish forces on the beachhead and possible Hellenic
measures. A force of about 10-12 Turkish paratroopers is dropped
from a transport aircraft, and manage to injure the Commander
prior to their destruction. His mission is postponed. |
|
Cyprus |
ELDYK, now reinforced with the additional 450 troops that
disembarked the "Lesbos", manages to obliterate an
entire Turkish regiment at Kioneli. The GEEF once again orders the
unit to withdraw, in order perhaps to make sufficient forces
available for the defense of the airport. |
|
Hellas |
The landing ship "Rethimno" heads to Cyprus carrying
the 573 TP and 550 Cypriot volunteers. |
|
Cyprus |
The Commander of the Naval Station in Pafos informs the GEEF
that 3 ships (the destroyers Turkey had sent in search of the
"Lesbos") have been detected. The GEEF responds that
this is a Hellenic task force, knowing that its communications
were monitored. The Turkish Air Force Command sends 7 aircraft to
sink the ships, without first verifying the presence of Turkish
vessels in the area. |
| 14:35 |
Cyprus |
The Turkish aircraft spot the 3 destroyers 10 nm west of Pafos
and begin their attack. The visible Turkish flags are ignored as a
Hellenic attempt at confusion. 2 or 3 aircraft are shot down by
the defending Turkish ships. |
| 14:45 |
Cyprus |
The Turkish Navy destroyer "Kocatepe" is sunk, while
the other two suffer significant damage that renders them
non-battle worthy. The ships head towards Mersina having suffered
more than 232 dead from the sunken ship alone. Turkey claimed this
event as a resounding victory against the Hellenic Navy up until
July 25 - the date they announced the loss of the
"Kocatepe". |
| 17:00 |
Cyprus |
Turkish Air Force planes bombard civilian targets in their
attempt to provide support to the T/C forces in Ammochostos.
Civilian casualties are also reported in Kazivera, another T/C
enclave where battles were being fought. |
| 21:00 |
Hellas |
"Operation Niki", the transportation of the 35 MK to
Cyprus with 15 Noratlas aicraft, has begun. The aircraft are to
fly at an altitude of 50 meters when they begin approaching Cyprus
so as to avoid radar detection. Two aircraft land in Rhodes after
experiencing navigational problems. |
|
Monday July 22, 1974 |
| 00:00 |
Cyprus |
Hellenic forces have by now destroyed most T/C forces in
enclaves across the island. The Agyrtas pass was been secured and
the beachhead has been somewhat contained. ELDYK has not been able
yet to link its positions with those of the Commando Units on
Pentadaktilo, nor have the Turks been able in two days to reach
the Agyrta-Lefkosia enclave from their beachhead position. |
| 00:30 |
Athens |
The Armed Forces Command directs the anti-aircraft units around
Lefkosia airport to halt firing, in anticipation of the arrival of
the military transport aircraft. Due to delays, the GEEF does not
begin informing its units until about 01:30. |
| 02:00 |
Cyprus |
After about 5 hours of flight, the Noratlas transport aircraft
being their final approach to the Lefkosia airport. Not aware of
the identity of the aircraft, they Cypriot defenders open fire obliterating
the first aircraft and damaging several others. A total of about
30 soldiers died, while 3 severely damaged aircraft had to be
destroyed on the ground to eliminate evidence of the Commando
Unit's deployment. |
| 02:00 |
Hellas |
10 F-4E Phantom II aircraft move from their bases in Tanagra and
Andravida to Heraklio, Crete. One suffers damage during landing. |
| 03:30 |
Cyprus |
The second Turkish assault wave is 10 nm from the coast of
Kyrenia. Its mission is the conquest of Kyrenia and the merging of
the beachhead position with the Agyrta-Lefkosia enclave prior to
the implementation of the cease-fire. |
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The USA, Hellas, and Turkey successively announce that a
cease-fire agreement will be honored starting at 16:00. |
| 10:00 |
Cyprus |
The Turkish landing ships reach the shore, bringing numerous
armored and mechanized assets such as American made M-47 and M-48
main battle tanks. The 3 TS and the 351 TP are unable to
effectively contain this new invasion force. |
| 11:00 |
Cyprus |
Turkish destroyers start shelling positions south of Ag.
Georgios, in order to weaken the Hellenic defensive lines. An
attempt by landing ships to approach Kyrenia harbor fails. |
| 11:07 |
Hellas |
12 F-84F aircraft are ordered to depart towards Cyprus. That
order is canceled after a few minutes. |
| 11:45 |
Cyprus |
The 251 TP, 306 TE, and 60 members of 31 MK withdraw towards
Kyrenia following a Turkish offensive with armored and infantry
units. |
|
Cyprus |
In addition to their offensive against Kyrenia, Turkish forces
also mount attacks in the east against Mpella Pais and Dikomo. At
the mountaintop location of Aetofolia, control changes hands from
the 231 TP to the Turks and vise-versa. At Aspri Moutti the 399 TP
and 361 TP fight overwhelming forces to maintain their positions.
To the west, at Karavas, NG positions successfully repel armored
Turkish forces. In Lefkosia, to the south, fighting intensifies in
the streets of the northern suburbs and along the "green
line". |
| 12:00 |
Cyprus |
In Ammochostos, the T/C's had agreed to surrender to UNFICYP.
The Turkish Air Force hastily
bombards the city to prevent such a development, which
results in the death of numerous civilians and UN personnel. |
|
Hellas |
A pair of Turkish F-102 aircraft harass an HU-16B Albatross
aircraft. When 2 Hellenic Air Force F-5's approached the area, one
F-102 turned and fired an AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missile but
missed. One of the F-5's fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder to destroy the
one aircraft, while the other was pursued until it crashed after
exhausting its fuel supply. |
| 12:24 |
Hellas |
The F-84F aircraft are again ordered to depart, only to once
again be ordered to turn back. |
|
Cyprus |
The Turkish forces enter Kyrenia killing the Cypriot and English
civilians trapped in the city. |
| 14:00 |
Hellas |
The planned mission use of the F-4E Phantom aircraft is
canceled. |
| 15:00 |
Hellas |
The 2 Hellenic submarines are once again ordered to sail towards
Cyprus. |
| 16:00 |
Cyprus |
The cease-fire is supposed to commence at this time. The Turks
ignore it until they achieve their strategic goals. |
| 16:00 |
Cyprus |
The NG ceases fire, while the 399 TP leaves its position at
Aspri Moutti and moves towards Dikomo and Syghari. |
| 17:00 |
Cyprus |
The Turkish forces finally manage to link their beachhead
positions with the T/C enclave of Agyrta-Lefkosia. |
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Cyprus |
Turkish destroyers and aircraft continue to bombard Hellenic
positions near Kyrenia till nightfall. |
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Tuesday July 23, 1974 |
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<This document is currently being revised> |
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