GREEK RAMBO! The True Story of Commando Manolis Bikakis: (US Soldier Reacts) -One Man Army
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- čas přidán 5. 03. 2024
- American Soldier Reaction to One Man Army: The incredible story of the Greek Commando Manolis Bikakis (History Chest).
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Awesome.i love your videos.as Greek i know the story of Manolis.hes was a true hero.all Cretes are.keep up the good work.much love and respect from Greece
@@jimgiro211 love and respect from South Carolina! Thank you for your kind words and support!
Something that is not very well known is that Turkish army had many cases of desertion during their attack and as a result of that, many Turkish tanks were locked from the outside or stuff was often chained in their positions inside the tank. You can imagine their panic
@@aokiaoki4238 oh wow!!
"without recognition and honors" classic Greek government behavior.
😔
Δυστυχως. Παλι καλα που τον αναγνωρισαν πριν μερικα χρονια.
The Government sustained that Greece and Turkey (2 NATO Allies) weren't officially at war so none of our heroes was recognized as such. Some wounded had some financial support by the State but with the official excuse that they were Veterans of WWII and Korea !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope one day that the State ignore such hypocrisy and recognize the sacrifice of the 2000 Greek soldiers who fought and won all battles against the 40.000 Turks but unfortunately Cyprus lost the 38% of the Island and also because Greece as a guarantor power wasn't directly involved (Orders by NATO). Greece in 1974 was militarily more powerful than Turkey and if it had intervened today we would have a different story to narrate on Cyprus. Politicians didn't want to risk their government chairs and positions but preferred to dishonor the Greek people instead so they would look nice to their foreign supporters.
@@panosx2549 exactly. Typical greek government behavior. Traitors
@@panosx2549 thank you for taking time to clarify!!
Respect from USA for this guy and all the greeks who fought for freedom in the 1. ans 2. WW side by side with our guys , while the turks was with the evil ....
Respect!
You said a big trouth...but USA Government wants Mogols for friends...
@@TRANSPORTER21 which mogols ?
@@gonter875 Mogols my friend... Turkish mogols
@@TRANSPORTER21 ah okay ..hahaha 😀
i am greek and i live in cyprus and i have to say that guy is a legend
Respect!
Losers are NO LEGENDS They get on the boat to avoid joining the Greek Military and they end up in New York as Illegal dishwashers and then they decide to join the FILTHY American army for the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ DISCRACE ..............................
You are turkish,greeks today are not greeks,old greeks are Albanians 🇦🇱
@@gj5166do some DNA test to find out your greek roots.Thousands of years Greeks ruled your ass,so dont be shy
@@gj5166 How do you figure? Maybe it's the opposite.
All Greeks are Spartans when the times require that
“ Spartans, what is your profession?”
“SOLDIER, SOLDIER, SOLDIER!! “🙂🇬🇷🙏👍💙
That's true! In all of history Greeks have fought like lions against whoever the enemy was or is. In fact a reason why the Allies didn't lose ww2 was because of Greece, we delivered the first major Allied victory in Albania, and our bravery a courage inspired the Allies to not give in to Hitler and even under occupation we didn't stop fighting, in fact though our enemy at the time Adolf Hitler himself recognised the great bravery of the Greeks this is what he said "For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death". And many people or just me and my friends say that Greeks aren't scared of death becuase death is scared of the Greeks themselves.
@@TheGreek_General with Oxi Day, the Greeks stepped up and pulled together as a nation and fought their hearts out. They helped turn the tide of the war… 🇬🇷💙🙏
According to a lot of historians and many information s gradually revealed since 1974, nowadays, it seems that the invasion of the turks in Cyprus had already been decided before, mainly by politicians and other traitors of Greece and foreign governments to prevent the unification of Cyprus with Greece and keep their influence, bases and foreign interests on the island under control, and also to change the governing status of Greece, creating a new republic, totally controlled by foreign forces to impose new agendas.... we see that clearly today on Greece...So the sacrifice of thousands of Greek civilians and soldiers as well as the raping and suffering of the local Greeks there were in vain....predecided...and that is the reason why the Greek forces fought bravely but only sporadically and Greece didn't take real action against the turks. It was a set up.....
As a Greek, today I reassure you friend, that modern-day Greeks cannot be Spartans on a day.... Our ancestors up until 1974 were tough , poor, but really tough and had a harsh life....now, not all, but mostly, we are westernized, multi- culti- fat- communistic snowflakes with short memory ... a disgrace of our glorious past and biologically we are close to extinction as a nation and a people....
Legend!!! Eternal Glory and Respect to Manolis Bikakis!
Respect!
May Manolis Bikakis Rest in Peace 🕊️☦️
🙏💙
🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
"Because only WE (the Greeks) ,in contradiction with the barbarians , we never count the numbers of the enemy in battle" AESCHYLUS ----"Διότι μόνοι εμείς, σε αντίθεση με τους βαρβάρους,δεν μετράμε ποτέ το πλήθος του εχθρού στη μάχη " ΑΙΣΧΥΛΟΣ🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇨🇾🇨🇾🇨🇾
Respect!
Aeschylos was a hero of the Marathon battle
@@user-cv5tq3vb1b Not only a hero but was also so heavily wounded in the belly that he was transferred back in Athens just to die. His brother was the biggest hero during the battle and died by a Persian who cut his arm who was grabbing a Persian ship by the seaside. Later during the battleship of Salamina Aeschylus was the leader of the Athenian cavalry in isle of Psitalia waiting to kill any Persian or saving any Greek
Battle of Marathon!
Casualties and losses
Herodotus: 203 KIA
192 Athenians dead
11 Plataeans dead
Herodotus: 6,400 KIA
7 ships sunk
6,400 Achaemenid troops dead
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon
_'The Spartans do not ask how many the enemies are, but where they are.'_
Plutarch, Moralia
Great quote.
I am from Cyprus and proud for Manolis. I am 45 years old and served to Greek Cypriot army. My father is a veteran of the same war with Bikakis. Thank you for your video. For all the heroes and veterans of this bloody war.
Respect to your father and all of the veterans! And thank you for your support!
I am Greek but many years living in Canada , thanks all the veterans,, shame to the Greek government
@@georgefotiu4287 🤗💙
My grandfather was from Ammokhaston, I never meet him 😢
@@georgefotiu4287 I am sorry. I never met my grandfather on my dad’s side 😢
The Sparta Battalion from the Korean War were some serious dudes that knew how to fight. Overall Greek soldiers during the
Korean War were awarded 6 U.S. Distinguished Crosses, 32 Silver Stars and 110 Bronze Stars. The United States in my opinion
do not recognize the Greeks enough for the role they played in the Korean War.
Outpost Harry!! I reacted to a video about that battle many months ago and how the Greek saved the US! Respect to them!
One of these HEROES was my grandfathers brother.I'm very proud for him and all my ancestors!
HEIL HELLAS!
My wife's grandfather was us. General.. told me. That greek. Soldiers was only survived. At. Communist pow camps ..pentagon study said ..we never allowed our fell9w. Soldiers to freeze. We were. Like big. Ball. All together...everybody else. Fighting. Each other..
@@JustAnotherArmyVetmore like outpost Haros (outpost Reaper). US soldiers were present as well.
@@nikosalexandropoulos8580 I have never heard of that Outpost before
ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ!!!!
🇬🇷💙
@@JustAnotherArmyVet
That means he's immortal...
@@MrAkismalam yes. Well said 👍
Do you know what Germans did to Greeks ? It s for another video. Kalavrita
Shame on the Greek Government for not recognizing him. How embarrassing.
😞
Be assured that the Greek government has a lot of things to be ashamed of...😢
@@obelusfarmingGreek Governments - plural. All and every single one of them. There is no other country whose government has treated her heroes as appalling as the Greek ones have.
Par for the course, sadly. Wasn't the first, won't be the last.
Greece didn't recognize the fact that greek soldiers fought against the turks in Cyprus because Greece and Turkey are both NATO members. This is why Greece did not offer any more help to the fighting Greek cypriots. I apologize to the host but this is the inconvenient truth.
If you liked what this Hero did, you should learn and make a video about the captain Eleutherios Handrinos of the tank carrier ship Lesbos L-172 (I don't know those ships are called in English).
He with his ship had picked up a group of 450 Greek soldiers that had finished their duty and we're going back to Greece.
He heard about the invasion in the radio mid sea but he decided to go back to Cyprus and let the men fight, because they all wanted to, even they did not have to.
After that he went to the port of Pafos were he got the message that Turkish groups were waiting for the Turkish troops to attack Pafos.
He starter to shoot at those hiding groups with the ship's weapons causing heavy loses.
The Turkish groups send a message to their army saying that *11 Greek ships* are attacking them.
But it was only the ship Lesbos.
The Turks send 3 Destroyer ships and 28 fighter planes to engage the 11 (but only 1) Greek ships.
By the time they got there ship Lesbos had left the place in a brilliant way that confused the Turks and made them attack each other.
Their airplanes attacked their ships and vice versa.
Conclusion:
1 ship sunk.
2 ships destroyed.
11 airplanes shot down.
600 dead.
Lesbos L-172 unharmed.
Pafos was free.
The sad thing is that at the 1990s the "Greek" government got ship Lesbos for scrap...
And Eleutherios Handrinos was also badly injured in a weird car accident that concluded to his death....
Coincidence?....
A lot of great and heroic things happened by the Greek forces at that time.
But both sides have hidden them from the public.
Because the war and suffering of Cyprus was a BETRAYAL from Greek and Cyprus governments.
And that is the truth.
Thank you for sharing your insight! That is an incredible story. That is one more story that someone needs to make a video on. WOW
@@JustAnotherArmyVet this is movie top notch
@@Razamaniac So many great moments in Greek history could be amazing movies at the hands of a good director.
The Descent Of f The myriads by Xenophon.
The fall of Constantinople.
The fight for freedom from the Ottoman empire at 1921 abd before....
And so many more..
The thing is that even the movies we have about Alexander or Troy or Leonidas etc are just a shadow of the real events.
😂😂😂 bu hikayelerle kendinizi ancak kendinizi avutursunuz Peki o kadar iyi savasiyordunuzda kiprisin yarisini neden kaybettiniz Türk ordusununu durduracak güc yoktu adada cünkü yunanlar korkup kacmislardi masan anlatmayin cok komiksiniz
@@hariszark7396 because they are not made by greek directors who know what they do and have the funding to do so, instead we get mediocre nonesense
The Turks then found defenseless unarmed inhabitants, and attacked. In Greece, destruction was being caused by the policies of the dictatorship that was falling.. The few Greek commandos who were in Cyprus, stopped thousands of enemies and they will do well to say how many(?) thousands of Turks were killed by some Greek commandos.
Bikakis, with a recoilless 90mm anti-tank gun, destroyed so many tanks by himself smiling. (Α total of 1.630 Mongols. My father used to say them to me, as a parachutist, as I do now).Αγαπημένη (dear) Kylie, we love you.
Respect to the ALL the Greek commandos! Thank you so much for your kind words and support ❤️💙🤗
Exactly my blood brother!
Yalam söylemede üzerinize yok Türk askerleri eger isteseydi iki gün icinde tüm kiprisi ele gecirebilirdi Türk askeri yaklasik 2 bine yakin sehit verdi ama binlerce rum ve yunan askerini etkisiz hale getirdi yalanlarinizla ancak kendinizi kandirirsiniz yunan rambo 🤣🤣🤣 bir hikaye yunanlarin uydurdugu bir hikaye 🇹🇷💪🇹🇷💪🇹🇷💪🇹🇷🇵🇰
1974🇬🇷🏊🏊🏊🏊
I was in the Greek Cypriot Army in 1974. ALL THE OFFICERS WITH GOLD STAR WERE TRAITORS, THEY WERE FOLLOWING ORDERS FROM THEIR MASTERS THE U.S. THEY WERE ORDERING THE Greek Cypriot ARMY TO RETREAT FROM POSITIONS THAT WOULD CAUSE REAL DAMAGE TO THE TURKS. THEY ORDERED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MOUNTAIN DEFENCE UNIT AND ARTILERIES THAT WERE AIMING THE POISTION WHERE THE TURKS LANDED THE NEXT DAY. I WAS THERE, SMALL SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS WERE HEROS BUT NOT THE ONES THAT WERE GIVING THE ORDERS. THE GREEK HIGH RANKING OFFICERS GAVE CYPRUS TO TURKEY BECAUSE THEY WERE TRAITORS AND WERE FOLLOWING THEIR POUTANA MOTHER ORDERS AMERICA, HARAMARAS DEMETRIIOS,GEORGITSIS, BRATAKOS SOME OF THE TRATORS...........
You must know that there are many unknown heroes like Bikakis who fought under the worst conditions man could face but they remained silent whithout wanted any medals and glory because they didn't care...they do their duty to their country very proud 😊We the simple people of Crete we honor and we never forget their faces and their names ❤Thank you personally as a Cretan for all the cretans for the very nice video you make in memory of Manolis❤❤❤❤God bless you all Thank you 😊
Awe thank you for your kind words and for your support. May God bless you and your family! 🙏💙
Medals are awarded for observable actions, ie, ones where there are survivors. I hate to imagine how many people Heros died unrecognised. But thats who the unknown soldier is, remembrance for everyone who served, most will tell you thats the only reward they really want.
@@RubberKiwi79 I have also thought about that as well
He was a green beret the equivalent of the English commandos. The English train them for to fight communists in the Greek civil war after ww2 this is what i have been told by an old greek commando!Thank you for responding to my request.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching. This was a great video. 🙂
Green beret just like the US unit not the English ones.
@@billparsons7765 PLZ Read my comment about how the Greek SOFs were created during WW2. They are based on the SAS not the US Green Berets.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet if am i right he was a marine....if you can explain us the differens of marines and rangers we will be able to tell you.
@@manosmastropaulos6228 he was a Marine? 👍
As a Greek / Cypriot, who served in the military, I would like to thank you for honouring one of our heroes with your video. If Manolis had unlimited ammo to his disposal, he would have freed the whole island.
Yes, agreed!! He would have 🙂👍. And thank you for watching and for your support! Respect from South Carolina 🌴🙏💙
And thank you for your service!
incredible story of the Greek Commando Manolis Bikakis
Yes!
Manolis Bikakis served in the para regiment which is still based in Maleme Chania Crete. 1st Para Regiment. A' ΜΟΙΡΑ ΚΑΤΑΔΡΟΜΩΝ. I had the honour to serve in the same Para Regiment during the period 1992- 1996.
Thanks for your insight and thanks for your service. Respect
Ηρωας.Ντροπη για το κράτος μας που δεν τον τίμησε ποτε.
It’s sad and angering that Greece has not recognized them 🇬🇷
Εντολή ξένων δυνάμεων να μένουν στην αφάνεια όσοι ανυχώνουν το φρόνημα του Ελληνικού λαού.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Unfortunately it was an order by NATO to Greece to silence everyone involved in that war. This is the hugest post-WWII scandal in Greece and one of the most black pages in our entire history. It is called "Cyprus file" and it has never been opened. Many purported they would open it, none dared do so.
@@user-ex6nd8dq8w that sounds like it would actually make a good movie, with the title, the Cypress files…
@@user-go2nb3cc1d Σωστότατος !
Thank you for covering the story of Manolis Bikakis!!! He was a true hero during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. I would like to add that according to my knowledge, the mission carried out by the Nordatlas transport planes, wasn't actually an official one, organized by the Greek army. It was mostly carried out by conscripted soldiers, serving their military duty at the time. On the one Nordatlas that was downed and where only one survived as you correctly noted, there was a commando from the village of my mother (Elafochori Didimotichou of Evros, Greece). Eternal glory and recognition to all the fallen heroes!!! 🎖️🥇🎖️❤️🇬🇷🇺🇸❤️
Thank you so much for your kind words and! Respect to all of those heroes!
Thank you @JustAnotherArmyVet for remembering our modern day hero, Bikakis!
You are welcome! I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for watching 🙂
Heroes never die Ms and we the people of Cyprus know Bikakis and give our gratitude and most respect!
Respect!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet i suggest you if you find it interesting to search about the battle of nicosia airport between the surviving special forces squad ( from operation victory) against the turkish forces !
Fun fact .. Rambo First Blood was directed by George Cosmatos , a Greek director..
Hello from Greece
Greetings from South Carolina! Thanks for sharing, I did not know that!
A great story of a great and real hero. Bikakis fought like a true Spartan although from ..Creta. Turks paid a real bloody price which I am sure they still talk about. Great honor and respect. Bikakis is indeed is and should be a role model🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷. Thank you for this great video.
Most welcome! Respect to these warriors and a big thanks to you for your support!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet God bless the historic friendship between the 🇺🇸and 🇬🇷
@@billparsons7765 🙏
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Honor and glory to the Greek Commandos.
🇬🇷💙🙏
I can recall from a book I red , he position his ammunition on different good spots from before he started firing.
He was a paratrooper based in Crete.
He is a legend.
Ahh okay, that makes sense! Thanks
ΚΑΛΗΜΕΡΑ ΚΑΙ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΩ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑΠΛΗΚΤΙΚΟ VIDEO !
Good morning from South Carolina! Thank you for watching and for commenting 🤗🙂
Heroes fight like Greeks, not Greeks like heroes...so much talent and beauty to be wasted by unworthy leaders.... Manolis Bikakis, you will live for ever in our hearts!
Respect!
The Greek Commando forces were created in the Middle East during WW2, after Greece was occupied by Germany, Italy and Bulgaria.
A number of officers, NCOs and soldiers escaped from occupied Greece to Egypt and along with the large Greek community that lived there, formed the Hellenic Armed Forces in Exile.
These forces comprised of:
Two infantry brigades, the first fought in the second battle of El Alamein, while the second brigade was still forming.
After the North African campaign, the forces of these two brigades combined forming the third mountain brigade that fought in the Italian front and was distinguished in the battle of Rimini, taking the city from the German paratroopers that held it.
The surviving ships of the Greek Navy fled to Alexandria and served along side the British Fleet in the Mediterranean sea, the North Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
The Greek fleet was also reinforced by new ships and submarines by the British.
It also participated with two frigates during D Day, escorting the Northumberland division landing in Gold beach.
The Hellenic Air Force was also recreated in Egypt forming two fighter squadrons, flying initially Hurricanes and later Spitfires and one light bomber squadron flying Blenheim bombers.
However there were far too many Greek officers and NCOs available, so it was decided to create a unit comprised exclusively of officers and NCOs, willing to fight as simple soldiers.
Their commander realizing the potential of his unit, decided along with the British to join col. Sterling's newly formed SAS commandos, so the unit called the 3rd Sacred Company (after the 1st Sacred Company of ancient Thebes in Greece and the 2nd Sacred Company of the Greek war of independence, that comprised of 300 university students and fell to the last man fighting the Turks in the battle of Dragatsani in 1821) became the first modern SOF of Greece.
This unit, using the characteristic jeeps of the SAS fought behind the German lines in North Africa.
Later in the war, the unit that eventually reached 1100 men, trained with the British SBS and fought to the last day of WW2 in the Aegean islands, by raiding German garrisons and airfields.
After WW2, the Sacred Company was disbanded in a ceremony in Athens, but its officers and men were used to create the Companies of Mountain Raiders (Λ.Ο.Κ.), who fought against the communists in the Greek Civil War that lasted until 1949.
These units formed the the basis of the Greek Army Special Forces as they evolved to this day.
The modern Greek Army Special Forces comprise of:
2 parachute squadrons (light battalion size commando units, mixed professional and conscript force).
1 special parachute detachment (HALO - all non married professional force)
6 amphibious raider squadrons
3 mountain raider squadrons
1 Marine Infantry Brigade (modelled after the Royal Marine Commando brigade, mixed professional and conscript force)
All these units wear the Green Beret and with the exception of the Marine Brigade, they use the Greek translation of the SAS motto "Who Dares Wins" (Ο ΤΟΛΜΩΝ ΝΙΚΑ).
The personnel of these units involves all professional elements and mixed professional and volunteer conscript elements, with their use being mission dependent.
Besides these SOF forces, part of the Hellenic SOCOM are:
1 Air Mobile Infantry Brigade - Red Berets (all professional force)
The Navy's M.Y.K (Under Water Demolition Unit - SEALs)
and the Hellenic Air Force's Combat Rescue Squadron.
Thank you!! What do you mean by non married? and I had no idea that Greek forces were involved in D-Day!! Very interesting!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Non married personnel, meaning single, is a requirement for SOFs to volunteer for service in this top secret unit, because of the nature of their missions, usually deep inside enemy territory.
Apparently their missions are not restricted to Greek interests, but involve NATO missions abroad as well.
My father was a volunteer from the Greek community of Alexandria and was serving as a radio operator on Kriezis one of the two Greek Frigates that took part on D day and he also took part in a number of North Atlantic convoys to Archangel and Murmansk, bringing American supplies to the USSR.
His younger brother also a Navy radio operator, volunteered for service with the Sacred Squadron commandos and I remember him telling us that he was among the first to parachute and liberate a Greek island from the Germans during the battle of the Dodecanese in the Aegean sea during 1943 - 1944.
(Unfortunately the Germans brought in reinforcements and recaptured the island, so they were evacuated by the British fleet.
The Greek Aegean islands of the Dodecanese belonged to Italy after WW1 and when Italy surrendered in 1943, both the British and the Germans fought hard for the control of the islands and the Italian military bases there. The Germans eventually won the battle, while both the British and Greek Navies lost a number of ships there. There was a 1961 Hollywood movie called "The Guns of Navarone", starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, that had to do with this battle. The Dodecanese were given to Greece by Italy, as war reparations, by the treaty of London in 1947).
According to the Greek Naval History department the two frigates reported repelling a Stuka attack in the afternoon of D day.
Besides the Navy, the Greek Merchant Marine also had five ships taking part, two as troop and supply ships and the other three were deliberately sunk to be used as docks.
@@FLORATOSOTHON ahh okay. Lol. I misread your comment. Got it!! Respect to your father for his service. He must have had a lot of good stories
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Yes he did.
My father died on January 21, 1983, at the age of 67,, while I was still a student in the University of Alabama.
This is a late 1970s documentary about the 1974 events in Cyprus, although the file of the official Greek Parliament Investigation is still classified and although many politicians vowed to open it, they did not.
czcams.com/video/DiYD8WeoLQE/video.html
What is not said in the film is that the US Ambassador in Cyprus was also shot and killed during a demonstration in Nicosia back then.
Dr. Kissinger was blamed for these events in both Greece and Cyprus.
What is known is that the Greek dictator told the US Undersecretary of State Sisco: "You have deceived us", when the Turkish invasion started.
And it is also known that the Americans called the Cypriot President Makarios as the Fidel Castro of the Mediterranean, so the US may have agreed with the Greek military dictatorship to get rid of him.
As a result of the public discontent, Greece withdrew from the military wing of NATO in 1974, but rejoined it in 1981.
Today 50 years later Cyprus is still divided, the refugees never returned to their homes that were given to Turks and Turkey doesn't recognize it as a country, although Cyprus is a full member of the UN and the EU and there are 22 UN Security Council resolutions condemning Turkey for the invasion.
On top of that, NATO recently conceded to Turkish demands and during exercises in the East Mediterranean they no longer mention Cyprus by name but by its geographic coordinates.
This infuriated the Greek people in both Greece and Cyprus, but the Greek government swallowed it, for the sake of Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
@@FLORATOSOTHON so that was one of Turkey’s conditions to allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO….Got it. Turkey is definitely an oddball in NATO. But, if Turkey was not in NATO, it would probably steer more toward more bad actor countries. But, the majority of NATO is not butting heads with Turkey almost every day, like Greece. I can imagine that Greece must be frustrated.
Thank you!!! ❤ Με εκτίμηση, χαιρετισμούς απο την όμορφη Θεσσαλονίκη Ελλάδα ❤!
Greetings from South Carolina!! Thank you for your kind words and support 🙏💙🙂
I served there as greek force on the Island and I always have my Great Respect on this Legend Defender.
Respect!
The best commando ever borned .He is a national hero for greeks
Respect!
the great surprise from someone who is from a far away country! This man had balls of steel and guts that we don't even see in the movies! a contemporary legend!!!! God bless you ! Long live the hero manolis bikakis
Respect to this hero, and all of his battle buddies! God bless 🙏
I am from Crete and i have researched Manolis Bikakis case. The whole video it is absolutely true, the comments included except the Turkish loses that it is estimate (as said). Congratulations.
If you search further you can easily find similar other heroic cases happened during Turkish invasion in Cyprus.
Thank you kindly for your support in your insight. It was great learning about this. 🙂
Greek here, formerly trained in reckoiless weapons.
The M67 or ΠΑΟ 90 in greek weighs empty about 17kg.😊
Great video btw. ❤
Wow, that is heavy! Thank you kindly! Greetings from South Carolina!
another heroic but sad story is the action of the commander of 31st Company of 33rd Mountain Raider Squadron Cpt Nikolaos Katountas. He faced with 62 men whole Turkish force at Kerynia . When a fleeing Cypriot soldier met him said "are you crazy where are you going they are way too many " and he replied "I don't care how many they are but where they are" . When they got overwhelmed he said "I order all of you to leave ,Cyprus will be black dressed today but not your mothers . He covered his unit retreat with other 4 men. He is MIA by then .
Hi Kylie please try to read and study about the battle of Hill 731 during the greco-italian war 1940-1941 and the story of the Greek major Dimitrios Kaslas war hero of the 1st world war!!! You ll be surprised!!
Hello 🙂👋! Yes, I will check them out! I think the artillery barrage was so bad on Hill 731, that it actually lost elevation!!! I know nothing about that Greek major, though.
he was the commander of the battalion that defended the hill 731 from italians and before the italian charge gave a brave command-speech to his men he also fought in WW1 and the greco-turkish war in 1922@@JustAnotherArmyVet
@@user-vj4et2rk6x a true warrior
Bikakis the True Legend!
Respect!
The hero Manolis Bikakis served in the 1st parachute squadron of the army special forces.
A true Greek HERO 🇬🇷
Respect!
I love the story of Greek Commando Dear Kylie My Dear Female American Soldier Friend I love You and your videos so much too.🥰😍🤗
This is a great story!! And thank you so much for your support. 🤗❤️
As a Greek i thank you and salute you for bringing this up!! Unfortunately, Greek state NEVER acknowledged and honor the sacrifice of those Heros, the way they desrved..! Dont ask why... What Commando Manolis Bikakis did, not even Rambo did not do!
You are welcome! I really enjoy learning about this man and this battle. Politics gotten away of recognizing these heroes 😔
In 1984, I served as a soldier for the Cyprus national guard on that hill, We were told of the heroism of this young man. He was running up and down the hill firing from different positions, this lead to the impression that the hill was defended by many platoons and therefore the Turkish invading army retreated after suffering heavy losses.
Legendary man!!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet indeed!
As an American of Greek-Cypriot descent this hits hard. I have to commend you for taking the time to look into the actual history of the illegal Turkish invasion in Cyprus. I really enjoy your videos and the insight you provide.
You are so sweet! Thank you 💙
I'm part Greek and had the honor of enlisting / serving in the same special forces unit and station as a reservist NCO for a nine months tour / deployment. (It is kinda different than how it is back in the States. Serving is mandatory for all men but the elite units are only for volunteers). I was amazed while learning about this guy. I also met the surviving veterans of Operation Victory. Their story is DEFINITELY worthy of attention! 😃. I've been following your channel over a year already and you always manage to provide the best quality of content!
Awe thank you so much for your kind words and support. And thank you for your service and for sharing your story. This man and unit are legendary!!! 🙂
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Thank YOU corporal! I'll be waiting for your next upload 🤝
@@PanSaltzCaballeratos 🤗
This guy really hero and big lion for this what he do!!!
Well said
WOW! Thats a great true story!!!
An amazing true story!! Yes
I reaally must thank you again!!!Thats an unknown story even in the most of the Greeks but Manolis was trully a Legend!!!True son of his anchestors🇬🇷☦️
And a big thank you to you again as well 🙂🇬🇷💙🙏
Bikakis was ορισμός του Ο ΤΟΛΜΩΝ ΝΙΚΑ
🇬🇷☦️🇬🇷 ΑΜΗΝ
Nika?
@@JustAnotherArmyVet WHO DARES WINS -
Ο ΤΟΛΜΩΝ ΝΙΚΑ
@@Jack15060 thank you!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet I thank you for you purely soul god bless you ☦️🙏✝️
@@Jack15060 and God bless you and your family 💙🤗🙏
Excellent video! Thanks you!!!🇬🇷❤️🇺🇲✌️✌️✌️
Awe, thanks for your kind words and for watching!!!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Thank you for the great videos, I recently discovered your channel and can't wait to see the rest of your videos! As for the heroism of the Greek soldiers, I am quoting a video of a ww2 hero and I hope you like it. Keep up your great work! Thank you very much. czcams.com/video/o2D9ZcuCBbA/video.htmlsi=Oc2H9o735VQjSuY9
@@apomani79 you’re so sweet. Thank you, Kindly. I do try to get some good Greek videos into my reaction rotation every once in a while. It’s always good to learn about Greek military history. 🙂
No recognition from the Greek government disgraceful to say the least. The guy is a legend Αθάνατος
Legendary! 💙🇬🇷
Hello from Greece and congrats on your video and channel. I've actually seen the guy who survived the crash, he was often invited to talk to various events. When he was decribing the incident...oh man, chills. You could see him reliving the whole thing, i'm sure he had some disorder from it. Anyways, my greetings!
Greetings from South Carolina! Thanks and for your support and kind words!
ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷❤️❤️❤️
🇬🇷💙
Ζητω ο Ε.Σ. Ζητω η ελευθερία. Ζήτω η ΕΛΛΑΣ.
🇬🇷
As a Greek Cypriot, I can only say thank you to Manolis, and how extremely proud I am. Thank you for your service! ΛΕΥΤΕΡΙΑ Ή ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ
Respect!
For the question,about what special forces unit was?
At this time, 1974 The Greek Army had the Special Forces Command that commands
2 Airborne Commando Battalions the 1st and 2nd and their base was in Dionysous Athens.
A Commando Battalion (Bikakis unit) Chania Crete
B Commando Battalion in Naousa Macedonia
D Commando Battalion in Rentina Macedonia
E Commando Battalion in Drama Macedonia
C Amphibian Commando Battalion in Nea Peramos Athens
And 3 Marines Battalions(the Marines was developed in 1967 )
505 Marines Battalion
521 Marines Battalion
575 Marines Battalion
All the men, (are reserves for 26 months of duty then) that tested and accepted for service in special forces enlisted in Special Forces Training Camp in Nea Peramos Athens and for two months training in basic infantryman school but with full sport gym and "iron"discipline.
In the begging of 2nd month they choose if they want to be Parachutists, SEAL, Commandos or Marines.
If you choose to be Parachutist after the end of basic training and medical and physical sport tests they send you go to the Parachute School for 4 weeks training and if you made the 5 jumps you became Parachutist and they send you for 1 month special forces training in the unit,1st or 2nd Airborne Commando Battalion.
If you choose to be Frogman after medical and tests they send you to the Greek Navy ,Under Water Demolition School in Skaramaga near Athens for the ...famous 6 months training. If you finished successfully the school they send you for Parachute training in the same school as the Airborne Commandos and then to the A or C Amphibian Commando Battalions If you didn't make it to be a SEAL they send you directly to the Amphibian Battalions.
If you choose to be a Commando they send you if i remember enough, to the D Commando Battalion in Rentina near Thessaloniki in Macedonia for 4 weeks special forces training. The same training objectives as the Parachutists Commandos and the amphibians. When they finished they send you in one of the three Commandos Battalions, B, D or E all in the Macedonia area.
If you became a Marine you training also in the same objectives.
When you enlisted in the unit even you was a Airborne, Amphibian, or Commando you training in your speciality for example machine gunner, anti tank weapons, mortars, driver, rifleman, radio operators, medics, sniper, explosive specialists etc.
The soldier's that have those main specialities after a year of service trained and in other specialties for example, the machine gunner training in mortars.But they keeping their main specialty
They send you in special schools for those, for 2 or 3 months and then you come back to your unit.
In all the units had almost the same training program. For example once every month doing commando raid for 24 hours in various scenario targets,every 3 months 10 days unorthodox war and infantry tactics operations.
In summer all the units of all special forces for one month go to the nearest beach and training to amphibian raids, except Amphibian Commando Battalions that they training to the objective for all the summer almost 3 months. The marines training for 1 month in the same objectives plus 15 to 20 days to landing operations with the landings ships of Greek Navy.(2 times in year)
Every 6 months all the units in May or early days of June (and early days of December or January)they make the famous big night course of 60 kilometers with all the standart personal soldier equipment, about 21 kilos,and your rifle plus. And at finish in the of allnight long course in the shooting range immediately we do target shoots with total count shooting score between the companies of the unit. At least every 15 days once every company of the unit walked about 20 kilometers.
Specialties. The Parachutists Battalions once the 6 months they make a big airborne Battalion operation with various of training scenarios for a week.
All the Battalions of the Greek Special Forces also two times the year training in unorthodox warfare for 10 days . 2 times the year in technical climbing objects in mountains
And 15 to 20 days once the year in snow conditions in mountain warfare and living conditions in igloos etc.
Thats the training program of all Greek Special Forces back in the 70s with no big changes until 90s.
The similarities between an Airborne an Commando an Amphibian is the Green Beret the same camo uniform same logo patches as you see in the video with Bikakis. With the famous ancient greek O TOLMON NIKA in english Who Dares Win.
The Greek Marines wear a special camo uniform and not the greek lizard, and they wear dark blue beret until 2000, now they wear the green beret as the other special forces, but they had they own logo from the beginning. They had the ship of Jason and ghe Argonauts , Argo and their logo is Tharsin Hri ,it means Need Gourage.
I hope that i give you an icon of the past of the Greek Special Forces of the time and the training that they do.
Thank you for the owner you make for our latest heroes and to our country.
Bikakis as you see in fotos, wear the chest patch with the wings of Parachutists but he doesn't belong to a Parachute Battalion. And ofcourse he didn t trained as Parachutists from the beggining. That happens sometimes as a reward to a few soldiers from the commander of a Battalion,of Marines Commando or Amphibian units,for the good services or for something brave he make. If the soldier wants too. They send him to the Parachute school and payed for the jumps.
You are quite welcome. I really enjoyed learning about the Greek special forces and the battle. Thank you so much for your insight. I really do appreciate it. Cheers!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet To answer your question, regarding his unit, it seems to me that he was a Raider-Paratrooper. His unit is part of the Greek special forces. There is a good article in wiki, where you can see that the badge on his arm matches the one appearing in the article: "1st Raider-Paratrooper Brigade (Greece)".
URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Raider%E2%80%93Paratrooper_Brigade_(Greece)
@@takisharalabidis611 perfect, thanks!
2:20 They have "vendetta" unwritten law in Crete. Since they were relatives famlies probably agreed to remove him from the village to prevent a possible bloodshed in the future.
Thank you for your insight! Someone else had mentioned the same thing. So I guess it would make sense to remove him from the village.
Bikakis was in the A. squadron of commandos (MAK) based in Crete...
The unit was raised in 1968 and exists to this day as A Commando Amphibious Squadron
Total Greek forces in Cyprus was 2300 against 45000 Turks
In the three days of August 14-16, 1974, with the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the 318 defenders of the ELDYK fought an epic battle to defend their camp.
Where are they based now?
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Ιn the island of Rhodes ..
You must do a video for the epic three day battle of the ELDYK camp
@@JustAnotherArmyVet The Turkish losses during the occupation of the camp were so great that their commander, colonel Korticoglou, was replaced.
However, the blood toll of the ELDYK was also heavy, with losses that far exceeded those of all the previous days. The dead and missing amounted to 83, of which 3 officers and 80 soldiers.
Due to the heavy casualties, the Turks attacked the dead Greek soldiers bodies who beheaded 10 of them and took pictures with their heads.
BBC source.
They took photos?? 😠
Are there any good videos on CZcams in English?
@@JustAnotherArmyVet
I try to find some of this photos..
And will try to find a video in English or with English subtitles....if i find i send you ....
I 've read this man's story couple of years back
Like him many others fought and died during that war against Turkey
They were never officially recognised for their sacrifice and bravery but their actions echo through eternity
I'm a Greek man living in the UK
I was born in the 70ies and like like most men of my generarion I served in the Greek army
We were products of a culture that believes that serving our country is both a priviledge and a duty
It’s too bad that these heroes were never honored or recognized by the government 😔
I live in Cyprus, we will never forget, although the world forgot about us.
I haven’t forgotten 💙
@@JustAnotherArmyVet ❤❤
The best greek commando was a guy from Sparta named Elias Gletzes ( Ηλίας Γλετζές). He passed silently through the enemy lines with his unit until he reached the top of a hill (Kotza Kagia) were turkish paratroppers were resting.They felt secure cause they could not imagine that a few commandos would pass unnoticed behind enemy lines and climb that hill. He caught then on sleep and killed all of them. When the turkish infantry realized what happened they attacked the hill. Gletzes with his commandos defended the hill using the machine guns of the dead turkish commandos. When they were out of bullets he ordered his men to retreat. He remained there until the last moment with another commando and he started setting traps planting grenades under the dead bodies, behind doors, inside lockers etc. When turkish soldiers made it to the hill caught again by surprise and many of them were killed by the grenades.
What Gletzes did is considered to be one of best planned and executed special forces operations of all times. Gletzes was not a fictional movie character like Rambo but a brave and smart Spartan that fought along with his unit. Elias Gletzes, the legendary greek commando passed away on Wednesday, June 28 and was buried on Saturday, July 1, 2023 in his hometown, in Sparta. King Leonidas would be proud of him.
Oh wow! Thank you for sharing!! What a legend
Manolis Bikakis the legend !!
Respect!
Στο αεροπλάνο μαζί με τους συντρόφους του που σκοτώθηκαν από τα Κυπριακά πυρά, ήταν και ο ξάδερφος μου 19 ετών εθελοντής. Δυστυχώς η Ελλάδα δεν αναγνωρίζει.. ήρωες!
I’m sorry for your loss 🙏. Respect to those hero’s and legends !
Επειδή την ΕΛΛΆΔΑ δεν την κυβερνούν στην πραγματικότητα ΈΛΛΗΝΕΣ αλλά είναι υπό την κατοχή ξένων κρατών ακόμη. Αυτά τα ξένα κράτη επιδιώκουν σταδιακά τον αφανισμό του ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΎ
Greek history is full of glorious heroes who fought glorious battles. The Greek always faced outnumbered enemies, from the invasion of the Persians to the invasion of the Turks in Cyprus. I would suggest that you also study glorious battles of the Greek revolution of 1821, such as the siege of Messolonghi and the battle of Dervenakia under Theodoros Kolokotronis. greetings from a reserve marine.
I’ll check them out, thank you!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet This is a nice video about the Greek war of independence:
czcams.com/video/8c7qMvIL3gI/video.html
Their only mistake is that they label the Souliotes as Albanians.
The region of Souli, like Mani was a region practically independent and at war for decades with the Albanian regional ruler Ali Pasha.
Souli eventually fell to the Albanian forces in 1806 and its battle hardened survivors played significant roles in the Greek revolution of 1821.
@@FLORATOSOTHON great channel! Thanks for sharing that. I hope you are well
@@JustAnotherArmyVet I am fine and as we say in Greece: The autopsy will show it (it is a joke of the kind that chill people down during our hot Summers).
We saw in the news that there were many storms and tornadoes in the South Eastern US, hope you are doing well in SC.
If you like airplanes, this is a video from Athens Flying Week last September and is good for type recognition:
czcams.com/video/YoJ24_owROE/video.html
Now we are in the middle of an Air Force international exercise called "Iniohos 24" (Charioteer 24) and we are in the beginning of the election campaign for the European Parliament on June 9.
@@FLORATOSOTHON good to hear. We are doing well, thank you! We had a lots of rain yesterday but it’s sunny today 🙂☀️
Bikakis's M67 Recoiless antitank weapon had broken weapon scope, he was actually aiming through the weapon's tube before he loaded the weapon and fire.This made his achievement event greater.RIP we honour your service and your bravery. It's a shame for tne Western countries to treat Cyprus in this way, as now the island is divided up to this day by this invasion.
A true legend!
Thank you sir god bless you!
Thank you!! God bless you and your family as well 💙🙏
@@JustAnotherArmyVet 👍👍👍
MANY GREETINGS FROMM GREECE!!
Greetings and respect from South Carolina!
I served in ELDYK unit in Cyprus. I had the chance to visit the cemetary of those that died fighting in 1974. There is a plane antique that it is like those that transfered the commandos. Inside the plane, there are tags of the names of those that were inside during the friendly fire accident and died. 31 soldiers. I wanna write more about 1974 events, because Greece suffers from them till today. But I would really appreciate it if you could share what I know, because I want more people to be informed. If you agree let me know.
Thank you for your insight! I can try to research more about what you talked about 💙🇬🇷
@@JustAnotherArmyVet You can search for Papadopoulos fall from leadership, Ioannidis, CIA involvement, puppet governments from 1974 till today. Main names that you will see repeated are Papandreou, Karamanlis and Mitsotakis. They are not the same persons. It is family mafia that make deals with US. They are fathers, sons and grandsons. Papadopoulos was the last Greek leader of this country and they try to hide it. I am sure you as a veteran found it very strange that Greece didn 't send any fighter aircrafts, armor vehicles or ships to Cyprus. Greek soldiers fighting literally with their riffles and some artiletry pieces. It was part of the deal.
Awesome fighter! Thanks for making this video. From a Greek in Texas.❤❤❤
Respect! Thanks for your support! Greetings from South Carolina! ❤️💙
All by himself . What a great person he was
Respect!
Α Θ Α Ν Α Τ Ο Σ.my uncle Konstantinos Sourlas was at the same mission...he was missed until today.i am proud because after 20 years i served at the GLORY HELLENIC SPECIAL FORCES
My respect !! 🇬🇷🙏💙
Thank you for making a video on this legend. A man that not many know about.
You are welcome! I enjoyed learning about him as well. I wish more people could hear his story. Thanks for watching
If I was a politician I would have rewarded you with hellenic citizenship a house plus other honors for.... All the time and research and effort to present our history and important deeds over the years... I salute you and bow to you for that all the best to you and family in life from now on... I wish that from the bottom of my heart
Awe, you are sooo sweet. I thought that the story and this legend deserves some recognition. And yes, I did do some research on this battle before I reacted the video. I did want to make sure that I could provide some value. I wish the best for you and your family. 🤗🙏💙🙏
Thank you so much for this video. I am sure all Greeks love you.♥♥♥
You are so welcome! You are so sweet. Thanks for your support! 💙🇬🇷🤗
Thank you for making a nice video for the whole world to know Manolis story a young Greek man full of courage and bravery!
Greetings love and respect from Greece!
You are welcome! Thanks for your kind words and support! Respect and love from South Carolina!
Thank you for your reaction video on my request! Cyprus conflict remains even today a very sensitive topic. One uncle of my father was a navy sailor at the time working at the kitchen of a FAC. He has told me a story about a day when they were attacked by Turkish airplanes and just 2 sailors managed to raise the anchor of the ship, a task that would require about 5 of them in normal conditions. And it is always funny the way he taunts my aunt whenever she sneezes saying "Even the airplanes in Cyprus were not as loud as you".
😂😂😂
Great suggestion! I really enjoyed the video . This man was a true RAMBO!! Thanks for watching 🙂
@@JustAnotherArmyVet and a few information more about him, after the war he worked as a builder and he was killed at the Greek National Road 8a, one of the most dangerous roads of our country. He was officially honored in 2015.
@@boldeagle2659 when he was honored in 2015, was he given a metal or just a recognition? And was it by the government or the military?
@@JustAnotherArmyVet He was honored by the Commando Club of Imathia. However he still hasn't the recognition he should. Almost no school teacher ever talks about him (or even the 1974 conflict at the extend they should) and I think there is not even a street with his name. Really sad for a country that always had war heroes. The club of Commandos that honored him was established in 1979 and still today is one of the biggest clubs for ex military personnel.
Saint Lazarus (the real one, from the Bible) went to Cyprus as he also had to leave his homeland. Cyprus is immortal and in our heart ♥ of hearts. May God protect Cyprus, now and unto the ages of ages, Amen. And, thank you for the post on the hero Manolis (Emmanuel) Bikakis. May his memory be eternal, as we Orthodox Christians say for all our dearly departed loved ones.
Well said 🙏💙
Bro really was the greek military chad at that time
Chad?
As a Greek myself I’m not suprised the government didn’t honor him and recognize him for his heroism.
Angering and sad
Manolis Bikakis is a hero a legend an excellent war machine Greek god. Within a few days of war, the Greek warriors in Cyprus displayed their heroism and stopped the hordes of the enemy, a few hundred Greek commandos proved to the world that tactics win in battles and the mind for survival, they wrote history and filled the books of military schools with new war tactics. I suggest you find another video that tells about the battle of the Kotza Kaya hill, a very beautiful story of Greek heroism
Thank you! I’ll have to check it out
Really HERO !!! DEFENDER , UNDER SHADOW AND SILANCE😢
🇬🇷
Thank you so much 🇬🇷
You are welcome! Thanks for watching 🙂
If you have the greek DNA you can feel the flames inside you. You cant expain it but is so strong. Fight for your faith in lord for your blessing country for your people for your history. We was 4 kids in my family and when this happen my father try to go in cyprus to fight . The army told him we cant take you with us . My father left with the train and the police try to bring him back but my father said i will bring you eyes and ears from the turks us suvenirs. He was the best father and man ...died peacefully before 5 years . ❤.
Thank you very much for the great video. You will be always welcome in Greece like member of our family. God bless you ❤❤❤
Thank you for sharing your story and thanks for your kind words. I am sorry for your loss. Greetings and respect from South Carolina! God bless ❤️💙🙏
❤❤❤❤❤@@JustAnotherArmyVet
Good video
Love from Greece
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks! Love from South Carolina!
Manolis Bikakis❤
🇬🇷💙
Turks never stuck to cease fire they carried on fighting. Despite the ceasefire that's how scaly a Turk is God bless Greece👍👍
🇬🇷
People with "philotimo" don't expect "medals" or "honors". Doing their duty with courage is their main goal. The fact that this man has become a legend through the years and is remembered to this day by the people as a hero is the greatest medal he could ever recieve.
Well said!! Thank you for providing your insight! And yes, Philotimo! I do know that word. I reacted to a video about that about a year ago. And I think that does perfectly sums up this man 🙏🇬🇷🙂
Respect to you!
@@chrisza7938 thank to!! Respect from South Carolina! 🤗
Thanks!
You are welcome! And thank you for your support 🤗
Manolis Bikakis served in the 1st Airborne Division of the Hellenic Special Forces.
Great, thank you!
02:21 They had to remove him from the village fearing a "Vendetta" breakout [that means "revenge"], from the side of his dead cousin family.
Crete island has a long story of vendettas which actually considered as a code of honor for the famillies.
Thank you for clarifying !!!
10 years ago, I went to a house to repair a PC at Peloponnese.
There, I met an old man who was a noratlas pilot.
He had an old wound at his leg from that day.
I can imagine he has some good stories
The unit was" A'( 1st) ' raiders unit " ( commando) and the transport belonged to" 354 transport wing"
Also the guy that jumped out of the downed transport had to cut off him self from his rigging and jump from a high that even if he had a Parachute it wouldn't open, he also had some terrible injuries besides - you know the drop because he holded his knife with his teeth..
And something worth mentioning, the entire anti tank element was proposed for be honored but because Greece and Turkey are both NATO members they were pressed not to officially call the operations in Cyprus a war, you know bad pr for NATO and united states.. That means that those who came back wasn't granted " veteran status" couldn't get help with various health issues, pensions ect
Anyways they are more such stories from the period in question like the time that one lone captured m47 ripped havoc on a Turkish tank battalion allowing the Cypriot national guard to escape Encircliment
The " siege" of the medieval castle of farmagusta
Or the point were a Greek landing boat managed to secure the city of pafos
And having said that also some very dark things that still hound the Greek - American diplomatic relations to this day..
Athanasios Zafeiriou was his name.He jumped out of the plane with the code name NIKE 4 without any shute .I met him at Thessalonikis military hospital in 2013. He was still suffering from PTSD and from his injuries of his jump. Zafeiriou died because of cancer
I hate it when politics get the way and harm Veterans and their families. That’s not fair. I do appreciate your insight.
How how high was he when he jumped?
May he rest In peace 🙏
@@IoannisAr did he used to visit the Thessaloniki officer's club in the early 00s?
My father who was Marine, was in the ship to aid Cyprus but US Foreign Office told Greek government not to fight against Turkey cause USSR might find the opportunity to invade Turkey, so the ship turn back.
Oh wow. Did the USSR make any threats against Turkey? And wasn’t turkey a part of NATO back then?
@@JustAnotherArmyVet there was no actual threat from USSR but Joseph Sisco order to stop fighting with Turks. and he did that because both Greece and Turkey were NAto Allies and most probably because USSR didnt want a NATO Turkey under their feet and would try to invade Turkey. history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v30/d104
Αναφέρεσαι στο οχηματαγωγό που είχαν επιταξει απο τον εφοπλιστή Ποταμιάνο ,αλλη πουστιά που τους παίξανε
@@IoannisAr γραφτό αυτό το σκηνικό όσο πιο αναλυτικά μπορείς στα αγγλικά, μπορεί να κάνει ενα βίντεο η τύπισσα στο μέλλον
If I remember correctly, the US government threatened to sink any Greek ships going to Cyprus in order to limit the conflict. In essence US sacrificed the Cypriots for their geopolitical aims.
I Am Greek and this is valid 100%...Your are doing Great work...We Thank you for spreading the Truth....If you ever visit us,you and your family are my guests.....For real...
Awe thank you! You are so kind 💙❤️
@@JustAnotherArmyVet
You are welcome...
Another Greek Hero who died in obscurity, only to be remembered decades later.
We are not worthy of our heroes...
🇬🇷🙏💙
Love from Greece 🇬🇷 ❤And thank you for your continuous support of our history 🎉❤
Love and respect from South Carolina! Thanks for your support ❤️
Manolis Bikakis belonged to the A Raiders battalion based at Maleme, Chania, Crete. at the Heavy weapons Coy as an Recoilles Anti Tank operator. Bn Commander was Major Papameletiou,Deputy Commander was Major Angellos Avramidis and his squad leader was the 2nd Lt Koimtzoglou under the command of Cpt Nikolaos Douvas of the heavy weapons company .Actually Bikakis destroyed two tanks .Another one destroyed by private Kavakiotis of the same squad one by private Seretis, and the rest two by artillery fire of the 187th FaBn or the 212 Infantry Bn antitank weapons. Total of four not six
Athanasios Zafeiriou was the commando who jumped out of the plane with the code name NIKE 4 without any shute after that was hit by and aircraft shell(probably a 40mm Bofors) .I met him at Thessaloniki's military hospital in 2013. He was still suffering from PTSD and from his injuries of his jump.
His best friend was Reserve officer Dimitrios Tsamkiranis from a small village near Kavala who killed during the plane crash. I was present for some years during the memorial service when i was stationed at Kavala. Zafeiriou died because of cancer.
The metal of galantry was already existed but to the 1974 state change from Kingdom to Republic the crown replaced by the coat of armes of the Hellenic republic.
The one and only reason that noone awarded with metals was that Greece was never in a state of war with Turkey and after the operation NIKE finished they went at the Nicosia airport and buried the remains of the planes including the remains of the dead Commandos
Worst thing above all was that the post dictator Greek state neither recognised the gallantry of the officers and soldiers who fought and died in Cyprus ,it was like never took place,nor ever helped them,mentally, medically and financially but many many years later.
There was another major battle that took place since 14 to 16 August of 1974 at the ELDYK camp where Greek soldiers outnumbered Turkish forces at 1 :22 ratio (318 against almost 6000)
Thank you for sharing your insight. It is kind of sad that these heroes have not been formally recognized though.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet I stydied the history of the period very much. I met with some of the vets, I cried with them and always all these videos making me feel very sad. There are still MIA's after so many years and one of them is from my home town. When his brother went to Cyprus to find him, and came back he was saying all the time that he can't be alive, he can't be alive.
I have to thank you for sharing videos from Greek war history and believe is one more that a foreigner and not Greek does that. Thank you again
From what I know, there were 14 Turkish tanks destroyed in the Battle of Nicosia, up to 6 of them are attributed to Bikakis.
The situation was chaotic so accounts vary from 2 to 6 tanks, but Bikakis fired all 8 of his 90mm RCL shells before withdrawing.
The fact that his action stopped an entire Turkish infantry battalion in order to find out what they were up against, is not disputed.
The hardest battles fought by Greek forces during the 1974 war in Cyprus were:
ATILLA 1, July 20 - 23, 1974
The battle for the Nicosia Airport (A-parachute raider squadron - operation NIKE)
The attack of ELDYK (Greek Force Cyprus) against the Turkish enclave of Kionely that Turkish paratroopers and air mobile forces landed on July 20.
ATILLA 2, August 14 - 17, 1974
The battle of ELDYK base camp
The battle of Nicosia
There were also Greek Cypriot NG units that fought hard in these and other battles, but the infighting during the idiotic coup on July 15, found these units away from their operational areas, with serious morale problems and officers afraid that their own soldiers might shoot them.
Cyprus did not have an air force and the air defense was primitive, with WW2 .50 cal quad mounts and some 40mm Bofors L60 WW2 guns.
There was only one battalion of 35 Russian made T--34/85 tanks and most of the 40000 man Cypriot NG was armed with Lee Enfield rifles and Bren LMGs from WW2 and Martini-Henry rifles from WW1.
A purchase of Zastava made AK-47s were only issued to the police reserve corps that was actually president Makarios body guard.
The Turks after their initial hard time during Atilla 1, took advantage of the July 23 UN sponsored cease fire to advance and reinforced their positions, while the Greek forces were under orders not to brake the cease fire at any cost.
When the Turkish forces reached 40000 men and 360 - 400 tanks, in two Infantry divisions plus armored and commando units, they broke off the UN peace talks and launched Atilla 2 on August 14, eventually taking about 40% of Cyprus they hold to this day.
@@IoannisAr thank you! You are so sweet. It was my honor. And I am sorry about the MIAs and the veterans who were never honored 😔
@@FLORATOSOTHONο Μπικακης κατέστρεψε δύο ο Καβακιωτης αλλά δύο, ένα ο Σερέτης και τα υπόλοιπα από πυρά της 187 ΜΠΠ και το άλλο πιθανόν από το 212ΤΠ. Μπικακης, Σερέτης και Καβακιωτης ανήκαν στην ομάδα του Ανθυπολοχαγου Κοϊμτζόγλου
They removed him because Cretans still honor blood debt and weapons run rampant on the island.
Manolis fought with the Alpha Airborne Commando Squadron (A' MAK).
Thanks!
Thank you again for this video. I love it. At this time Greece has a command force called LOK in English battalion of mountain commandos
Thank you!!! I appreciate your insight and kind words. 🤗💙