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Part 18: Glory’s Grave




On the 29th of November 1825, a fleet of 135 Egyptian ships arrived in Patras harbor from Alexandria. Onboard were fresh soldiers, additional supplies, and new orders from Muhammad Ali of Egypt. Ibrahim Pasha and his army were to travel north to Aetolia, there they would join Resid Mehmed Pasha and the Ottoman Army in the ongoing siege of Missolonghi. The timing of this dispatch could not be worse for Ibrahim. After nine long months of campaigning, the Egyptians were on the cusp of finally crushing the Greek resistance in the Western Morea and what’s more, Ibrahim had made significant progress in his own efforts to besiege Tripolitsa, an effort which would now have to be abandoned until his return, whenever that would be. While men would remain behind to hold the castles and occupy the major cities, they were not enough to hold the countryside which would most likely return to the Greeks.[1]

Despite his reluctance, Ibrahim could not easily ignore these orders. While they were in his father’s handwriting they carried with them the Sultan’s words and his seal. To refuse, would mean the abdication of his claims to the Morea and his father’s control over Crete and Cyprus along with a host of other problems. Forced to comply, Ibrahim dispatched his brother in law, Hussein Bey at the head of his vanguard when the weather finally permitted on the 12th of January. Ibrahim would follow suit one week later after he finished what business he could in the Morea before embarking to Missolonghi with the rest of his army. What he discovered when he arrived there alarmed him.

Resid Pasha was dead, and his army had begun to unravel after a daring raid by the Greeks. Nearly 4,000 of the 21,000 men Resid still had with him before his death were lost, either dead, captured, or missing.[2] Were it not for the swift actions of Hussein Bey and his men, the Ottoman army outside Missolonghi would have likely been destroyed. Rallying the fleeing Ottoman and Albanian soldiers, around his Egyptians, Hussein Bey struck back at the marauding Greeks. In the ensuing Egyptian counterattack, Georgios Karaiskakis was killed and the Greeks were forced back into Missolonghi. Markos Botsaris, ever the fox he was, escaped into the hills with some of his Souliotes where he continued to harass the Ottomans from.

Though Ibrahim’s arrival did much to improve the Ottoman morale, all traces of order and discipline within the Ottoman camp had evaporated by the middle of January. Even after assuming command over the survivors, many men continued to desert the army citing the bad weather, poor pay, and terrible conditions. They disobeyed his orders, they dragged their feet, and they openly challenged his authority, forcing Ibrahim to spend much of his first month outside Missolonghi instilling order into the Turkish and Albanian forces available to him. During that time, nearly 600 men were executed for desertion and treasonous acts. He punished those who lacked proper discipline and he drilled them endlessly to get them into fighting shape. The cold also proved to be problematic for Ibrahim as most of his men were used to the hot deserts of North Africa or Arabia and ill-suited for the winter weather of Europe. As a result, nearly a 1,300 Egyptians would die from the cold or from the illnesses it brought with it over January and February alone. Still, Ibrahim managed to bring the Turks and Egyptians together by sheer willpower alone, commencing the Fourth Siege of Missolonghi on the 26th of January.
Unlike Resid’s failed siege attempt on Missolonghi, Ibrahim’s was to be more inspired. Within days, the noose surrounding the city began to tighten as trenches were gradually dug closer and closer to Missolonghi’s walls. Unlike Resid’s holes in the ground, Ibrahim’s furrows were orderly, composed, and constructed with purpose. Ibrahim also brought with him a massive artillery train, numbering 52 cannons and 10 mortars, along with tens of thousands of shots and shells, although it would take over three more weeks to haul it the ten miles from Krioneri to outside Missolonghi.

[3]​

The Egyptian fleet also reinforced the weak Ottoman blockade of Missolonghi, effectively cutting it off by sea and secured the Western Islands of the lagoon by the beginning of February. Despite the addition of the Ottoman forces to his own, Ibrahim had barely 30,000 men, barely more than what Resid had last Spring.


Still, Ibrahim’s situation was much improved over Resid’s as the Greeks had taken significant losses at Agrinion, nearly 1,000 of the 5,000 men dispatched on the mission had been lost and most of those that returned to Missolonghi suffered from battle wounds or frostbite. Additionally, many women and children had returned to Missolonghi over the Winter to be with their husbands and sons, fathers and brothers over the Christmas season. While this boosted morale for the Greeks, it also stretched their dubious food situation even further. Still, many women pulled their weight, taking positions upon the ramparts, working as nurses in the hospitals and sick camps in the city, and helping with the movement of guns and munitions across the lagoon.

Before beginning his attack against Missolonghi, Ibrahim opted for diplomacy. He cared not for the city or its environs, he merely wished to return to the Morea as soon as possible to stake his claim there as he had been promised. The Greeks however, refused his offers of peace on three separate occasions from January to February, assuming surrender could lead to their executions or enslavements at the hands of the vengeful Turks. With his attempts at negotiation a failure, Ibrahim was now forced to fight. On the 26th of February, Ibrahim unleashed his artillery upon the "fence" of Missolonghi. For nearly three days, the Egyptian artillery fired shot after shot, shell after shell upon the poor town of Missolonghi. Buildings were destroyed and great damage was being done to Missolonghi and yet the wall remained standing through it all. Following the end of the artillery barrage on the 28th, the Egyptians launched a series of assaults against the Greek defenses. Despite the incessant artillery fire, the Greeks suffered few casualties from it and managed to repel the attacking Egyptians on three separate attacks. Ibrahim came to learn, as his predecessors had before that to take Missolonghi, he would need to take its lagoon.

Barges were constructed by the hundreds to seize the water from the Greek fisherman and deny the Missolongiotes of its supply of fish. By mid-March, his fleet was complete and he began to set his eyes on the various Greek defenses across the lagoon. His first target was the island of Vasiladhi in the center of the lagoon. Nearly 100 Greeks had taken up positions on the island to defend it, along with 14 guns, most of which were 12 or 18 pounders. To take the island, Ibrahim assembled 82 small vessels, and over 1,000 men for the attack beginning on the 10th of March. The attack on the first day was beaten back with heavy losses, but the attack on the second succeeded when the Greeks exhausted their ammunition, spiked their guns, and fled across the lagoon to Missolonghi. The next to fall were the islands of Dolmas and Poros in the north near Anatolikon. Due to their proximity to the shoreline, the Egyptian artillery easily managed to batter the Greeks on the island into submission, bringing about their surrender on the 15th of March.

Anatolikon, now isolated with the fall of Dolmas and Poros, was similarly placed under siege by Ibrahim. Ibrahim controlling all routes to and from Anatolikon, quickly began to reduce its defenses with a withering storm of artillery fire from both land and seas as his gunboats in the water fired mercilessly on the small island. Despite the best efforts by Missolonghi to aid the Greeks there, a sortie attempt against the Egyptians was thrown back with heavy casualties, the garrison was ultimately forced to capitulate on the 25th of March when the munitions depot on the island was accidentally destroyed by the defenders. The loss of Anatolikon, Dolmas, Poros, and Vasiladhi reduced the Greeks to a small corner of the lagoon. By the 5th of April, all that remained outside of Missolonghi was the island of Klisova to its southeast.

Ibrahim would face his stiffest resistance yet on Klisova, which was little more than an old convent surrounded by a short wooden wall. To take the island, Ibrahim readied 2,000 men, a mix of Turks and Egyptians, under the command of his deputy Hussein Bey. At first, barely 100 Greeks were stationed upon Klisova when the attack came, but once the fighting commenced, men rushed to defend the island by the dozens. Under the leadership of the Souliot Kitsos Tzavelas, the Greeks managed to make short work of the attacking Ottomans who made slow progress approaching the island. Klisova sat in the shallowest corner of the lagoon where even Ibrahim’s rafts could not reach, leaving the Egyptians and Turks to trudge through the thick mud and water. Despite using their boats as shields, the Ottomans were cut down in staggering numbers and were ultimately forced to retreat when Hussein Bey suffered a terrible wound to the chest. Ibrahim, now forced to lead the attack, move on the island with 4,000 men and ultimately managed to drive the Greeks from the island on the 7th of April. Missolonghi was now isolated.


At a great expense in Egyptian and Turkish blood, Ibrahim had managed to close the noose around Missolonghi. The last major supply drops in Missolonghi had been in late January when the Hydriot Andreas Miaoulis, broke through the blockade to deliver over 250 tons of Maize to the city, which by early April had been nearly exhausted. The local fishermen could no longer supply the city and its defenders with fish as the Egyptians now controlled the lagoon in its entirety. If Ibrahim had wanted it he could have simply waited them out, even still, he offered surrender, albeit on harsh terms. Despite the deteriorating condition around them the Greeks refused once more and prepared themselves for the final phase of the siege. Their only hope came from vague promises of relief from the Nafplion Government and the belief that Markos Botsaris would come to save them as he had done three times before.

Botsaris, seeking to repeat the successful raids of 1823, began attacking Ibrahim’s supply lines. Ibrahim, however, was mainly supplied by sea, and the while the Souliotes had some success on land disrupting the travel between Missolonghi and Krioneri, they had no means of challenging the Egyptians naval prowess. Nor did the Greek Government, which returned to the political factiousness which had so divided in 1824. Days were wasted in conference in the Third National Assembly regarding the powers of the Executive, the creation of a new Government, and the typical problems of politics. The belief that Missolonghi would find a way to prevail as it had done several times before was widespread among the Senators and Delegates in Nafplion, who largely ignored the calls for aid from Missolonghi. Their behavior is likely due to the continued reluctance of the London Greek Committee to release its custody of the Second loan to the Greeks in response to their earlier schism. Manpower was also limited with the Eastern offensives churning forward once again and the Moreots occupied reclaiming the Eastern parts of Elis and Achaea. Even if they had the means to combat Ibrahim, their results would likely have been the same as they had been in the Morea. Help would not be coming from the Government, but the Missolongiotes did remain in contact with Botsaris and his men near Dhervekista to the East.

Conditions steadily declined within Missolonghi over the month of April as the food and water supplies neared exhaustion. When Admiral Miaoulis and a fleet of 60 ships attempted to force their way into the lagoon on the 10th of April, most were repelled and forced to flee after dealing significant damage to the Egyptian navy, sinking six ships and capturing two more. The island of Vasiladhi in the center of Missolonghi's lagoon was also liberated by the Greeks, albeit briefly as Ibrahim soon reclaimed it at a high cost in Ottomans and Egyptians. Only Miaoulis' flagship and four other Greek vessels managed to reach Missolonghi unloading their precious cargo of food and munitons to the hungry masses within Missolonghi before making their escape. Sadly, the grain and maize brought by Miaoulis would only last another two and a half weeks at most, providing the Missolongiotes with a brief reprieve from starvation and famine.

Over time, talks of escape or surrender became more prevalent as hopes of victory diminished. With surrender unacceptable, the Greek military and civilian leaders began their preparations to evacuate the city on the 29th, the Eve of Easter Sunday. Under the cover of night, ramps would be placed over the moat, and then they would make their escape. Only the dead, dying, and those too sick and frail to move would remain behind, a sum of maybe 300 people out of the remaining 9,000 combatants and civilians in Missolonghi, of which nearly half were women and children. Dispatches were sent out to relay this information to Botsaris in the hopes that he could aid them with whatever forces he had available to him. It was a desperate plan, a hopeless plan, but a plan none the less, and it was certainly better than waiting to die in Missolonghi or surrendering to the Ottomans.

By the 29th, no response had returned from Botsaris and fears began to rise within Missolonghi, but with no other choice the Greeks ventured forth once night had fallen over Greece. First to move out was Notis Botsaris, the garrison commander, and 1,000 soldiers, then the civilians followed, all 4,000 of them under the guard of Demetrios Makris and another 1,000 fighters. Last to leave was Kitsos Tzavelas and the remainder of the garrison who waited until the last moment before departing Missolonghi. The Greeks were aided immensely in their escape by the moonless night which hid their movements from any Turkish or Egyptian sentries that lay up ahead. As they progressed across the plain, they soon heard gunfire beginning to ring out far to the East, 2,000 shots, maybe more, but it was soon clear that Botsaris had received their message and was doing his utmost to aid them.[4]

Ibrahim Pasha had also received word of the Missolongiotes’ intentions, but either in a failed attempt to bait them into a trap or simply wishing to get rid of most of the enemy through minimal effort on his part, Ibrahim did little to prevent their escape. His cavalry did harry them all through the night, but by morning the Greeks reached the relative safety of the hills where Markos Botsaris and his men drove the pursuing Egyptian cavalry back. In total nearly 7,800 Greeks managed to escape Missolonghi to Dhervekista and Nafpaktos. Whatever his reasoning may be, Ibrahim received the surrender of the few remaining Greeks within Missolonghi the next day. The city had been won but at an incredibly high cost. Ibrahim lost nearly 7,000 of his Egyptians and nearly 15,000 Turks and Albanians had been lost since the original siege began last April. While the Missolongiotes remained a sizeable force, they were no longer his concern, as with Missolonghi in Ottoman hands, he was now free to return to the Morea and win his real prize.


Next Time: The Governor of Greece


[1] Ibrahim was essentially on his own in the Morea as the Ottomans would not help him conquer it. As such he was forced to garrison all the castles and cities with his own men limiting the number he had available for campaigning. Of the roughly 30,000 Egyptians dispatched to the Morea between 1825 and 1827, Ibrahim would only have access to half of them at any one point due to casualties and the constant need to occupy territory that hated him.

[2] The casualties for the Ottomans and Egyptians were very high during the Third Siege of Missolonghi, with Ibrahim losing over 5,000 men between January and April 1826. The Ottoman casualties are unknown but they would be at least comparable to the Egyptians if not worse, seeing as they had been attacking Missolonghi for 8 additional months. That said the Spring of 1826 was especially bloody at Missolonghi.

[3] Ibrahim lacked pack mules. As a result, he was forced to utilize his men to move his artillery and supplies.

[4] In OTL, Karaiskakis was in correspondence with the Greeks in Missolonghi. He allegedly promised to aid them in their escape, but his promised aid never materialized. Karaiskakis, while a brave man by means, he was also incredibly opportunistic and had a strong sense of self preservation. Markos Botsaris was a selfless individual in comparison and I fully believe that he would have aided the Missolongiotes to the best of his ability.