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The Legendary Battle of the Mills – "Flying" over the Battlefield, 200 Years after Makriyannis – 11/6/1825

13 June 2026 · 5 min read

General description

At the Mills, near Lake Lerna, ten minutes outside Argos, were stored the great reserves of grain from which Nafplio was fed, as well as the troops and a large part of the inhabitants of Argolis and Corinthia. Despite the enormous importance of these installations, the Mills were unfortified. When Ibrahim descended into the Peloponnese in 1825, the Mills were suddenly attacked on 13 June by a column of Egyptians (5,000-6,000 infantry, 600 cavalry with artillery). A battle took place in which Nafplio and the entire revolution were placed in danger.

The course of events

On 11 June, Makriyannis, with 150 men, had reached the Mills, coming from failed misadventures in Messenia and Arcadia. From that same day he began to fortify the position, for he was certain that Ibrahim would head from there toward Nafplio.

On the morning of 12 June, the Egyptian army appeared on the Argolic plain. In Nafplio more than twenty thousand women and children, the sick, and civilian population had gathered. There was also a very small force of soldiers. Ibrahim did not intend to attack, but only to probe the situation. The Greeks, not knowing his intentions, hastened to gather a large part of the Greek army at the Mills, against which a strong column of infantry and cavalry advanced. Hatzimichalis arrived with his corps, Dimitrios Ypsilantis together with 17 Philhellenes, and K. Mavromichalis with a few men.[4] On the same day Hatzigeorgis and Hatzistefanis arrived. The strength of the Greeks did not exceed 480 men.[5] On the shore 33 small warships with cannon were also stationed.[6] The two squadron commanders of the English and French fleets, Hamilton (Gawen William Hamilton, 1748 – 1838) and Rear Admiral De Rigny (Chevalier De Rigny), were also present, anchoring in front of Nafplio and the Mills respectively. De Rigny proposed to Ypsilantis and Makriyannis that they withdraw. They replied: «Either we shall conquer or we shall die!».[7]

Ibrahim reached the Mills at dawn on the 13th.[8] The Egyptian outposts advanced unseen up to the Greek lines because the sentries had gone to sleep. Then Makriyannis saved them, having twice seen in his sleep a man who commanded him to rise, and with a few companions he repelled the enemy. At the same moment a number of Cretans disembarked from two Psarian mistikos.[9] Meanwhile, Makriyannis gave orders for the ships to withdraw so that the fighters could not abandon the fortifications.[10]

The Egyptians attacked again at midday. The Greeks had occupied the following positions: Makriyannis a walled garden and the "koulies" (=watchtowers), Ypsilantis a mill to the west, and the rest the path toward Kiveri.[11] An assault by the enemy infantry and cavalry was not only bravely repelled but was answered by a Greek counterattack. Then the enemy artillery demolished with well-aimed shots the makeshift fortification of Makriyannis, and a company of Egyptians attacked impetuously, leaping over the ruins. Makriyannis's counterattack was heroic. Together with five Philhellenes and ten select Greeks, they charged with their swords alone and slaughtered the first invaders, while putting the rest to flight.[12]Meanwhile reinforcements arrived from Nafplio. Mitros Liakopoulos came with fifty soldiers and later Karpos Papadopoulos with sixty more regulars. Thus the Greeks, who now numbered 600-650 fighters, made yet another successful counterattack.[13] The Egyptians, because evening had begun to fall, withdrew and departed for Argos. On the field of battle they left behind about 50 dead and carried off twice as many wounded. The Greeks had only 4 dead and twenty-five wounded, among them Makriyannis himself.[14]

The character of the coast

The fortified morphology of the Mills highlighted the frontal resilience of the military formation, minimizing the strategy of flanking and of occasional attrition. Nafplio maintained decisive water-supply ties, inasmuch as the geographic complex of Lerna secured urban viability. The Greek revolutionaries, recognizing the aid of the coast, constructed a line of continuous defense out of storehouses and fencing along the fronts of the coastal zone. The amphibious concentration of the enemy artillery and cavalry fueled effects of broader disorganization.

Significance of the battle

The Battle of the Mills was a heroic victory for the Greeks. They fought under difficult to non-existent fortification conditions, facing a well-organized and well-armed regular army many times their strength. With this victory Makriyannis, at a critical moment, saved the civilian population of Nafplio and preserved significant reserves of food and water. Had the Mills fallen, Nafplio would have been lost and the Greek revolution in the Peloponnese would have been extinguished.

References

  1. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 389
  2. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 389.
  3. Great Military and Naval Encyclopedia (K – M) p. 639
  4. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 389.
  5. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 389 – POTIS STRATIKIS: «Old Uncle Yannis Makriyannis» Stratikis Editions, Athens, 1997
  6. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 389.
  7. Trikoupis Spyridon, History of the Greek Revolution, vol. III, ch. XLIV.
  8. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 389.
  9. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 389.
  10. POTIS STRATIKIS: «Old Uncle Yannis Makriyannis» Stratikis Editions, Athens, 1997
  11. History of the Greek Nation, Ekdotiki Athinon, vol. XII, p. 390.
  12. Trikoupis Spyridon, History of the Greek Revolution, vol. III, ch. XLIV.
  13. Memoirs of Makriyannis, chapter 8
  14. Great Military and Naval Encyclopedia (K – M) p. 639

Sources

  • Great Military and Naval Encyclopedia (K – M). Athens: Publication of the Great Military and Naval Encyclopedia, p. 639. Retrieved on 23 September 2009.

SOURCE: https://el.wikipedia.org

LICENSE: https://creativecommons.org

A video has been embedded showing the landscape of the battle 200 years later.

Related reading

The Legendary Battle of the Mills – "Flying" over the Battlefield, 200 Years after Makriyannis – 11/6/1825 · E.Ro.