The Cyprus Emergency was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between April 1955 and March 1959.
The National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA), a Greek Cypriot guerrilla organisation fighting for unification with Greece, began an armed campaign in support of the end of British colonial rule and the unification of Cyprus and Greece (Enosis) in 1955. Opposition to Enosis from Turkish Cypriots led to the formation of the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT) in support of the partition of Cyprus. The Cyprus Emergency ended in 1959 with the signature of the London-Zürich Agreements, establishing the Republic of Cyprus as an independent state.
Background
The island of Cyprus can trace its Hellenic roots back to the 12th century BC with the immigration of Mycenaean Greeks to the island. Many civilisations passed through the island leaving remnants behind, including that of the Franks, Venetians, Assyrians etc.
Cyprus was a territory of the Ottoman Empire from the late 16th century until it became a protectorate of the United Kingdom under nominal Ottoman suzerainty at the Cyprus Convention of 4 June 1878 after the Russo-Turkish War. In 1915, Cyprus was formally annexed into the British Empire after the Ottomans had entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers against the British, and it was initially governed by a military administration until 1925, when it was proclaimed the Crown Colony of Cyprus. From the 1910s to the 1950s, Greek Cypriots became increasingly dissatisfied with British rule and supportive of Enosis, the concept of political unification between Cyprus and Greece. Several unsuccessful offers made to Greece by the British to cede Cyprus in exchange for military concessions, as well as the noticeable lack of British investment on the island, caused a growing Cypriot nationalist movement.
In October 1931, Greek Cypriots rebelled against British rule and destroyed government property. However, the demonstrations were suppressed and Britain took dictatorial measures against the Cypriot people; these became known as the "Palmerocracy", owing to the name of the Governor of Cyprus, Richmond Palmer. These measures were in place until the start of World War II.
In 1950, the Church of Cyprus held a referendum for Greek Cypriots on the subject of union with Greece. This referendum had a turnout rate of 89% of Greek Cypriots, and 95.7% of those in favour of union with Greece; the British government did not recognize the referendum, and refused to negotiate.
In 1954, Britain announced its intention to transfer its Suez military headquarters (the office of the Commander-in-Chief, Middle East) to Cyprus.
Emergency
EOKA leader George Grivas announcement for the campaign against British rule (in Greek)ⓘ
Insurgency
On 1 April 1955, the EOKA started its insurgency with the 1 April Attacks. After a series of other incidents, the Governor General Sir John Harding declared a state of emergency on 26 November 1955. Following the example of Malaya, Harding tried to co-ordinate the activities of the civil, military and police authorities, with the specific aim of collecting and processing intelligence. The British encountered great difficulty obtaining effective intelligence on EOKA, as it was supported by the majority of the Greek Cypriot population. As a result, the British were forced to rely on some 4,000 Turkish-Cypriot policemen, who were ostracised by the Greek-Cypriot communities and could provide little information about them. Inevitably, the use of Turkish Cypriot policemen against the Greek Cypriot community exacerbated relations between the two communities. In 1955 however, EOKA had sent letters to the Turkish-Cypriot community in Nicosia stating that their conflict was against the British and not them.
EOKA focused its activity to urban areas totalling 104 house bombings, 53 riots, 136 acts of sabotage, 403 ambushes, 35 attacks on police, 38 attacks on soldiers and 43 raids on police stations. EOKA's aim was to keep the British army away from the Troodos mountains where its main fighters were hiding. Some of the attacks went awry, most notably the bombing of a restaurant by EOKA on 16 June, which led to the death of William P. Boteler, a CIA officer working under diplomatic cover. Grivas immediately issued a statement denying a deliberate attempt to target American citizens.
In October, with the security situation deteriorating, Harding opened talks on the island's future. By this stage, Archbishop Makarios III had become closely identified with the insurgency, and talks broke up without any agreement in early 1956. Makarios was viewed with suspicion by the British authorities, and was later exiled to the Seychelles. News of his arrest triggered a week-long general strike followed by a sharp increase in EOKA activity: 246 attacks through 31 March, including a failed assassination attempt against Harding when a bomb placed under his bed failed to detonate.
Counterinsurgency
British Order of Battle:
Counterinsurgency operations
By mid-1956, there were 17,000 British servicemen in Cyprus and Harding was concerned to counter EOKA's mountain units in the Troodos. Nevertheless a number of operations were launched:
Between 21 April and 7 May 1956, the British armed forces mounted an operation codenamed "Kennett", conducted in the Kyrenia range by 1,500 troops who cordoned and searched a dozen villages in a 50 square mile area and arrested eighteen suspects.
From 17 May to 7 June, Britain launched operation "Pepper Pot", an operation that was carried out by the 16th Independent parachute brigade. However, an informant within the Special Branch alerted Grivas of the operation, and as such EOKA was better prepared for the British forces which led to the operation having little effect.
From 7 June to 23 June 1956, Britain launched operation "Lucky Alphonse" in an effort to cripple EOKA and capture George Grivas as a means to bring power to the negotiating table. More than 5,000 British soldiers took part, including units from the Royal Marines, the Parachute Regiment, the Gordon Highlanders and the Royal Norfolk Regiment. Although there were some minor successes, 7 British soldiers were killed in action, with another 21 burned to death by accident during a fire in the Paphos Forest, the operation furthermore failing to capture George Grivas.
From 2 to 21 July, the 16th Independent parachute brigade cordoned thirty villages in the Troodos mountains; assisted by tracker dogs and informers, they arrested three members of three village groups in an operation called "Spread Eagle".
From 22 to 25 July 1956, the British captured seventeen guerrillas and wounded several others trying to breach the cordons during operation "Golden Eagle".
Some of the other operations were considered a success; some fifty guerrillas and a good haul of weapons were captured. Grivas managed to escape and was forced into hiding, leaving behind his diary which yielded important intelligence information. The leading EOKA assassin, Nikos Sampson, had also been captured. Grivas eventually moved to Limassol where he established his new headquarters.
Suez Crisis and ceasefire
The Suez Crisis gave EOKA some respite in the autumn of 1956 and some reorganization was achieved in particular the town groups. As a result, British forces did not follow up on the success of the summer operations, much to the frustration of Harding. EOKA stepped up its campaign in what became as 'Black November' for the British with a total of 416 attacks killing 39, including 21 British units. Facing growing criticism in the United Kingdom about his methods employed and their ineffectiveness, Sir John Harding resigned as Governor on 22 October 1957 and was replaced by Sir Hugh Foot in December.
The end of the Suez crisis, although it had resulted in the departure of many of the military from the island, had not reduced the number of active internal security operations as much as EOKA had expected, with the British able to hold their own and reassert control. After Suez campaign had finished, the British military strength was increased to 20,000 and Foote managed to direct a new offensive.
British troops were redeployed and the town groups were being hunted. By the Spring of 1957, the British operations took their toll on EOKA; the security forces arrested around thirty members of the Nicosia town groups and the area commander. In addition, the mountain groups would never be as effective as they had been. Altogether fifteen were killed in combat and another sixty were captured, with the likelihood they would be hanged. Grivas ordered his area commanders to cease active operations. By April, the majority of EOKA's leaders had been killed or captured and their gangs were soon broken up. With the insurgency seemingly defeated, Grivas announced a ceasefire on 17 March.
In November of 1957, EOKA engaged in one of its most significant operations against the British, when an EOKA member employed at RAF Akrotiri smuggled and placed bombs in the engine compartments of two English Electric Canberras, both of which were destroyed along with two other Canberras and a De Havilland Venom that were destroyed by the subsequent fire that consumed the hangar (Sabotage at RAF Akrotiri).
Intercommunal violence
The ceasefire lasted a whole year; during this time EOKA began to rearm and reorganize and stepped up its activities in different ways. A second phase of the emergency now began as EOKA began to target urban areas where they organized rioting by students. They also used hit squads to target police officers and military personnel. These attacks continued throughout 1957 and into 1958. Grivas was also concerned with increasing communist activity against AKEL, ordering a number of actions against them, which threatened to start a civil war within the Greek Cypriot community. The British delicately fueled this hostility, and in August 1957 a second wave of intra-Greek violence broke out.
The Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT, Türk Mukavemet Teşkilatı) was formed with the support of the Turkish government, and specifically by the Special Warfare Department, which was a subordinate to it, with Turkish officers heading the organisation. It was set up in order to flare up tensions between the two communities and to achieve their goal of 'Taksim'. TMT used violence against members of its own community (especially on the left) that were not willing to stay in line with their cause. The British tolerated TMT and had leveraged the Turkish Cypriot community and the Turkish government as a means of blocking the demand for Enosis. The British knowing this was getting out of control still managed to exploit the situation.
Intercommunal and intracommunal violence escalated in the summer of 1958 with numerous fatalities. There were approximately 55 assassinations by Turks on Greeks, and 59 assassinations by Greeks on Turks between 7 June and 7 August. A substantial number of Turkish Cypriots were displaced due to the violence.
Final operations against EOKA
EOKA attacks however continued on the British, who at the same time attempted to stymie them. On 1 September 1958, in the village of Liopetri, the Royal Ulster Rifles were attacked by an EOKA team of four who were all subsequently killed in the ensuing fire fight. Grivas on reaction to this renounced the ceasefire soon after. The outgoing General Officer Commanding and Director of Operations Douglas Kendrew survived an assassination attempt soon after. Kendrew's replacement Major General Kenneth Darling took the initiative by organizing a number of operations.