Cyprus 1974: Heroic Battle of Greek Crew with Turkish Tank

A Turkish M-47 tank, manned by three Greek reservists and two Cypriot soldiers, played a decisive role in Cyprus in 1974. The crew stalled an entire Turkish Tank Regiment, consisting of 50 tanks, destroying five of them and saving the inhabitants of Skylloura.

According to the book "The Guilty Ones" by Nikolaos F. Argyropoulos, the 286 MTP captured the Turkish tank and made it available to the Greek Cypriot forces. The crew consisted of Konstantinos Drosos, Andreas Kritharis, Nikos Tountas, Andreas Koudounas and Andreas Apostolou. Despite technical difficulties, such as damage to the turret rotation mechanism, the crew managed to repair the tank and put it into operation.

In the battle of Skylloura, the tank with the Greek Cypriot crew faced a Turkish Regiment, preventing a possible massacre of the inhabitants. Thanks to the accurate handling of the crew, the inhabitants of Skylloura were safely evacuated.

Despite the heroic resistance, Cyprus was unable to avoid the occupation of one third of the island by the Turks. Henry Kissinger expressed surprise at the incompetence of the Turks, while General George S. Brown described the Turkish operation as amateurish.