The Battle of Kamatero was an armed conflict during the

Greek revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

between the Greek forces under the command of the Greek ex officer of the French army, Colonel Denis BourbakiFinlay, pp. 131-132. and the Ottoman forces led by

Reşid Mehmed Pasha Reşid Mehmed Pasha, also known as Kütahı ( el, Μεχμέτ Ρεσίτ πασάς Κιουταχής, 1780–1836), was an Ottoman statesman and general who reached the post of Grand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an imp ...

. The battle ended with the decisive victory of the Ottomans on the night of 27 January 1827 ( O.S.) in

Kamatero Kamatero ( el, Καματερó ; officially ΚαματερόνNational Statistic Service of Greece surveys. Last accessed December 4, 2009. (in Greek) ) is a suburb northwest of Athens city center, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

(near Menidi).

Before the battle

In late 1826, the retired Colonel of the French army

Constantin Denis Bourbaki Colonel Constantin Denis Bourbaki ( el, Διονύσιος Βούρβαχης, Dionysios Vourvachis; 1787 – 8 February 1827) was a Greek officer educated in France, and serving in the French military. He fought in the last phases of the Napo ...

(Dionysios Vourvachis), after getting permission from the

Greek Government Greece is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the President of Greece is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government within a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the g ...

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

, formed a force battalion of 800-1000 men,Memoirs of Makriyannis: ''Απομνημονεύματα Στρατηγού Μακρυγιάννη'', vol.1 (Α'), Αθήναι, 1947, p.299. using his own money but also an amount that was offered by philhellenic clubs of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. During the last days of 1826, the battalion landed in

Loutraki Loutraki ( el, Λουτράκι) is a seaside resort on the Gulf of Corinth, in Corinthia, Greece. It is located west of Athens and northeast of Corinth. Loutraki is the seat of the municipality Loutraki-Perachora-Agioi Theodoroi. The town ...

to strengthen

Georgios Karaiskakis Georgios Karaiskakis ( el, Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), born Georgios Karaiskos ( el, Γεώργιος Καραΐσκος; 1782 – 1827), was a famous Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence. Early ...

army, but after government orders they moved to

Eleusina Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...

to help

Vasos Mavrovouniotis Vasos Mavrovouniotis ( el, Βάσος Μαυροβουνιώτης, literally "''Vasos the Montenegrin''"; 1797 – 9 June 1847), born as Vaso Brajević ( Serbian: Васо Брајевић), was a Serbian general, who played a significant role i ...

. A few days later, Panagiotakis Notaras arrived there as well, with a force of 1200 men. From Eleusina, Vourvachis and the two other chieftains, with united forces moved to Menidi, where on the 22nd of January prevailed in battle against the Ottomans. On the 26th of January, the combined force of approximately 3500 men camped in

Battle

The battle helped to distract Reshid Pasha's forces from engaging the armies of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

general Thomas Gordon while they were completing their defensive fortifications on the hill of

Munychia Munichia or Munychia (; el, Μουνιχία or Μουνυχία) is the ancient Greek name for a steep hill ( high) in Piraeus, Greece, known today as Kastella (Καστέλλα). This is a fashionable neighborhood in Piraeus. On the top of t ...

. On 27 January 1827, 2000 Ottoman foot soldiers and 600 horsemen, covered by artillery, attacked under the command of Reshid Pasha against the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

, who had split their forces in two. Vourvachis had lined his men on the field, while Mavrovouniotis and Notaras held positions at the foot of the adjacent mountain, a third of a mile afar. More specifically, the artillery of Reshid Pasha attacked Mavrovouniotis and Notaras, while at the same time the infantry and cavalry of the Ottomans attacked the forces of Vourvachis on the field, who formed the vanguard. Despite the resistance of Vourvachis and his men, they were defeated, especially because of the Ottoman cavalry. The forces of Mavrovouniotis and Notaras were defeated as well and were forced to a disorderly retreat, most of them fleeing to Salamis Island, while the Ottomans chased them.

Results and evaluation

The battle ended in a crushing defeat of the Greek forces. From the rebels’ side 300–350Spyridon Trikoupis, 1888, vol.4 (Δ’), p.79-80. fighters were killed, including two French philhellene officers, the surgeon of the army and Dionysios Vourvachis, the head of whom was cut off and sent by Reshid Pasha as loot to the sultan

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

.Apostolos E. Vakalopoulos �πόστολος Ε. Βακαλόπουλος ''Ιστορία του Νέου Ελληνισμού'', vol.7 (Ζ'), Θεσσαλονίκη, 1986, p.644. According to Trikoupis, the eve of the battle there was disagreement between the leaders of the Greek army about the tactics that they should follow. Trikoupis blames Vourvachis, while

Makriyannis Makriyannis is a Greek surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexandros Makriyannis (born 1939), American medical researcher *Yannis Makriyannis Yannis Makriyannis ( el, Γιάννης Μακρυγιάννης, ''Giánnēs Makrygi ...

believes that Mavrovouniotis is responsible, arguing that placing the troops in such a weak position was his initiative. Moreover, he expresses his doubts about the fighting abilities of the men that Vourvachis had enlisted.

References

Bibliography

*Finlay, George. ''History of the Greek Revolution''. W. Blackwood and Sons, 1861 (Harvard University). *Koutsonikas, Lambros. ''Γενική ιστορία της ελληνικής επαναστάσεως'', vol.2 (Β΄). Αθήνα: Ευαγγέλιμος Δ. Καρακατζάνης, p. 323-327. *Kremos, Georgios (1879). ''Χρονολόγια της Ελληνικής Ιστορίας : προς χρήσιν πάντος φιλομαθούς, ιδία δε των εν τοις γυμνασίοις μαθητών''. Αθήνα: Δημήτριος Ιασεμίδης, p. 28. *Trikoupis, Spyridon. ''Ιστορία της Ελληνικής Επαναστάσεως, Έκδοσις τρίτη επιθεωρηθείσα και διορθωθείσα υπ' αυτού του συγγραφέως, εκ του τυπογραφείου της Ώρας'', Εν Αθήναις 1888 *Vakalopoulos, Apostolos. ''Ιστορία του Νέου Ελληνισμού'', vol.7 (Ζ'), Θεσσαλονίκη, 1986 {{coord missing, Greece

1827 in Greece January 1827 events Central Greece in the Greek War of Independence