Cyprus 1974: Rare Photographic Material from the Ottoman invasion from Greek and Turkish sources !

This is how the invasion of Cyprus took place“! The confession of the Turkish general M. Demirel: Here is Demirel’s diary. “On the morning of July 16, the mobilization of the 39th Division began. The battle team of the 50th Infantry Regiment would first land in Cyprus. Between July 15-19, the streets of Mersina, Adana, Alexandroupolis, Osmaniye and Maras were full of our units. The units were preparing day and night and loading supplies. On July 16, in the afternoon, a secret meeting was held in the office of the commander in the staff of the Adana army corps. It was chaired by General Esref Akinci, the commander of the ground forces. It was secretly determined that the day of the landing would be July 20th. The 11-year landing plan could now be carried out. However, it was considered final that the 39th Division would land in Cyprus. Basically the 39th Division was not considered ready by any means to wage an offshore war. There were some shortages in terms of personnel, armaments and necessary means. The detachments, which were forced to remain in the guards and camps, reduced the real strength of the units. This situation created a significant gap in the 39th Division. When it was finalized that the 39th Division would leave in groups for Mersina and Alata and then land in Cyprus, some people began to be overwhelmed by serious worries and fears. Some officers, non-commissioned officers and hoplites were so frightened that they could not comprehend the orders. There were staff who came to Mersina, without thoroughly taking the individual dependence. The cars were loaded with things useless for war. These were just some of the goal setting shareware that you can use. Most of what was not needed was disposed of. The vehicles were mainly loaded with water, fuel, ammunition and food. The day of the landing was kept secret. The units could wait for months as in previous exercises as well as in 1967…. It was considered beneficial as the commanders make short speeches to boost morale in the camps upon departure. “I made such a speech to a crowd of officers in Alata’s grove.“ “WE KNEW THE ENEMY“ “We knew the training of enemy units compared to us, as well as in terms of armaments and equipment, they were impossible. We heard from militant officers who served in Cyprus that the old Russian T-34 tanks they had when they were training were on the road. Some of our plans provided some facilities for raids and cooperation in Morphou and Famagusta. As a result of the coup, E.F. was distributed throughout the island. Especially in the landing areas (by sea and air) they were abandoned by the Greek Cypriots. Among the Greek Cypriot forces were supporters and non-supporters of the coup. Our greatest concern was the failure of the first wave of our amphibious forces and the intervention of the enemy air and naval forces. The E.F. had no strong air force and navy. But it could be strengthened by Greece. The Greek air and naval forces could have arrived in Cyprus before. None of what we feared happened. But in part we were right about these fears. “Thus, due to the low resistance of the enemy on land and especially in the coastal strip, the Camkak brigade, with an order sent to the 2nd Army and then to the 6th Army Corps, remained in the coastal strip.“ THE NIGHT BEFORE THE ATTACK After the meeting at in the evening I returned to Dikomo to give the orders of the attack. Around midnight, after I got in the administrative vehicle, I tried to sleep. “Victory“ meant attack and “foundation“ meant waiting. I could not sleep. I could not know how the difficult days would develop. Definitely, the attack would be successful. I had no doubt about that. But the real problem was the lightning speed of the attack and how to make a few losses. How many would be killed in the attack? Maybe everyone was thinking would happen in the battles of the next day? The warriors at the front would think more of themselves, their children, their wives and their parents, who left in their homes and could not sleep. In the meantime, two hours passed. I sweated lightly. It was not from the heat, but from the agony of the attack, which would begin at dawn. I heard a knock on the vehicle door. I got chief of staff said in a low voice the slogan “attack“. I got dressed and took my gun. The time was am. “ The Turkish general came out to the observatory at exactly . “Suddenly the sky roared. Our planes had arrived. They attacked important targets in Nicosia in pairs and sank behind the English hill. At the Artillery of our Division started firing. Once there were explosions, bigger than thunder.I saw the great upheaval that prevailed in the positions of the enemy. The attack had begun… “ The motto for the next day was “Victory or foundation“.