The Greek Battalion of Balaklava was a military unit of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

which participated in the

Russo-Turkish wars The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

of 1768–1774, 1787–1792 and 1806–1812. It consisted of Greek expatriates who were living in the

Balaklava Balaklava ( Ukrainian and , , ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklavsky District that used to be part of the Crimean Oblast before it was transferred to Sevast ...

area. Initially the battalion was named "Greek Infantry Regiment" and in 1797 was renamed to "Greek Balaklava Battalion". Its Greek soldiers were from the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, the Aegean islands, the

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

and the

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * ...

dominions in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. They were experienced in guerrilla warfare and contributed significantly to the Russian annexation of Crimea and the expulsion of the Ottomans from the area. In the 1787-1789 war they fought also at sea with the Dnieper oared flotilla and the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. The battalion's contribution was crucial in the battles for the capture of Kaffa (

Feodosiya Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into w ...

) (1783) and the siege of the fortress of

Sudak Sudak ( Ukrainian and Russian: ; ; ; sometimes spelled Sudac or Sudagh) is a city, multiple former Eastern Orthodox bishopric and double Latin Catholic titular see. It is of regional significance in Crimea, a territory recognized by most countri ...

. They participated in the Russian suppression of the Tatar uprising of 1777-1778 which was supported by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and of the Tatar rebellion during the 1812 war against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. In the 1853-1856

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

they opposed the British occupation of the city and port of

. The base of the Greek Infantry Regiment was Balaklava after the imperial decree of February 18, 1784. The soldiers settled in Balaklava with their families, a total number of about 500 adults in 1778, increased to about 1,700 in 1802. According to the April 4, 1797 imperial decree the battalion was composed of three companies, each having 100 soldiers. Including officers and other staff its total force amounted to 396 people. The soldiers were issued red and green uniforms and weaponry of the same type. The battalion’s organisation and operation was modeled on the armed divisions of the

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...

, since these were closer to the Greek character and ethnic traditions. Among the battalion’s commanders were Captain Stefanos Beis Mavromichalis (1775-1779, 1794-1801), Major Konstantinos Zaponis (1790-1794), General Theodosis Reveliotis (1809-1831) and Lieutenant Colonel Lykourgos Katsonis, son of

Lambros Katsonis Lambros Katsonis (; ; 1752–1805) was a Greek privateer of the 18th century who would ultimately sail under the Russian flag with the rank of colonel. He became a knight of the Russian Empire and was awarded the Order of St. George. Early l ...

, (1831-1859). The battalion was disbanded in 1859.

The "Amazons" of the Battalion

In 1787 Catherine the Great embarked on a long inspection tour in Tauris which lasted from January to July. Invited to the tour were the diplomatic delegates of England, France and Austria. The tour was aiming to show the economic and military abilities of the New Russia and the newly acquired territory. For the occasion

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

, one of the Russia's highest officials and Catherine's favourite, was inspired the formation of a military unit of women as a re-enactment of the mythic Amazons who used to fight in the Russian plains led by a queen. Under the orders of the commander K.G. Zaponis and his friend Pavlos Sarantis (Sarantov) some one hundred wives and daughters of the Greek soldiers were enlisted and formed an "Amazons battalion" headed by Eleni Ivanovna Sarantova, the wife of the Greek Ioannis Sarantis. The latter was Potemkin's friend and later was appointed councillor in Crimea's Court. The women followed an intensive military training in riding, swordplay and firing guns. On May 24 (June 4) 1787 the "Amazon's battalion" gave an official reception to Catherine in the village Kadıköy, on horseback, in colourful uniforms and armed with long barrel rifles. Other Greeks, including a priest, from the nearby Balaklava took part in the reception ceremony. It seems that the spectacle impressed the foreign noble visitors as Joseph the II expressed his gratification with warm embraces and a visit to the camp of the battalion while other diplomats noted it as part of the spectacular events that Potemkin used to organize to impress Catherine and foreign guests. Eleni Sarantova was granted the rank of captain, together with a diamond bracelet. The battalion was awarded with the amount of 10,000 rubles. They escorted Catherine further in her tour and dissolved after its completion.

References

Sources

* * * * {{cite book , last = Pryakhin , first=Yu. D. , chapter = Некоторые аспекты по явления в Крыму Греческого пехотного полка, его размещения в Балаклаве, службы воинов-греков , trans-chapter = Some Aspects of the Appearance in the Crimea of the Greek Infantry Regiment, its Deployment in Balaklava, the Service of Greek Soldiers , pages = 57–70 , title = Греки Балаклавы и Севастополя , trans-title =Greeks of Balaklava and Sevastopol , isbn = 978-5-91674-250-3 , publisher = Indrik , location = Moscow , year = 2013 , language = Russian , url = https://inslav.ru/sites/default/files/editions/2013_greki_balaklavy_i_sevastopolja.pdf Battalions of Russia Greek diaspora in Russia Military units and formations of the Russian Empire Military units and formations established in 1784 Military units and formations disestablished in 1859 Crimea in the Russian Empire Expatriate military units and formations Military history of Crimea