Pavlos Kouroupis ( el, Παύλος Κουρούπης; 1929 – 22 July 1974) was an officer in the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

. At the time of the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...

in 1974, Kouroupis was a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and CO of the 251st Battalion of the

Cypriot National Guard , name2 = National Guard General Staff , image = Emblem of the Cypriot National Guard.svg , image_size = 100px , caption = Emblem of the National Guard of Cyprus , image2 = Flag of the ...

, the unit closest to the Turkish landing site. With his unit, Kouroupis opposed the Turkish army at the

Battle of Pentemili beachhead Pentemili is the Cyprus beach where troops first landed on the morning of 20 July 1974 in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. It is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Kyrenia, thus the name.Savvas D. Vlassis, O Aporritos Attilas, Athens 2004 For ...

, stalling its advance for two days. Kouroupis was forced to retreat before numerically far superior Turkish forces and is considered the first missing person of the conflict. Kouroupis was presumed dead during the defence of

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

. According to published reports in the Greek press, the Greek Intelligence Agency attempted a rescue of Kouroupis and other Greek Army officers who were held captive in Turkey. The rescue operation failed and Kouroupis' fate is unknown. He was posthumously awarded the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

of the Hellenic Army, the highest military rank of the Hellenic Army. ''Pavlou Kouroupi Street'', in the

Aglantzia Aglandjia ( el, Αγλαντζιά []; tr, Eğlence) is a suburb and a municipality of Nicosia, Cyprus. The municipality has a population of 20,783 (2011) and is contiguous with Nicosia Municipality. Aglandjia is near the United Nations Buffe ...

suburb of Cyprus' capital

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

is named after him.

Life and education

Kouroupis was born in 1929 in Dentra, Messenia to a rural family, and was the third of six siblings. Kouroupis grew up in Dentra and went to school in

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia reg ...

. Since an early age Kouroupis wanted to become an officer of the

. In 1952 Kouroupis graduated from the

Evelpidon Military Academy The Hellenic Army Academy ( el, Στρατιωτική Σχολή Ευελπίδων), commonly known as the Evelpidon, is a military academy. It is the Officer cadet school of the Greek Army and the oldest third-level educational institution in G ...

. Following his graduation from the military academy, Kouroupis studied at and graduated from the Law School of the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, in 1965. Two years later in 1967, he also concluded his studies at the Higher War School of Greece with honours. At around that time Kouroupis married Maria Karvouni, and, subsequently, they had a daughter, named Evangelia.

Military career

In 1972, Kouroupis, who was a

tagmatarchis , in more archaic context transliterated as (, abbreviated as ), anglicized as Tagmatarch, is used in the Greek language to mean "Major". More precisely, it means "commander of a " (). The rank dates to Antiquity and was also used in the Byzantin ...

at the time, was transferred to Cyprus and became commander of the 251 tagma of the

, near the Turkish-Cypriot village of Templos. In 1974, he was ordered to defend the city from the

which had just begun. He had only two lochoi at his command and he was defending the city against the numerically far superior 50th

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

of the Turkish army which was landing at the beach with the

just commencing. Kouroupis defended the beachhead with the 1st lochos and a support lochos of heavy armaments. The military forces under Kouroupis command also included officers working at the lochos headquarters, military cooks, and people who had been ordered back to military service. Kouroupis also had a small force of 5

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

tanks at his disposal.Georgios Sergis, The battle of Cyprus: July–August 1974, Second Edition (improved), Athens 1999, Kouroupis' forces were against a superior Turkish battalion force which was supported by aircraft, artillery and naval forces. Despite that, the two companies under Kouroupis' command were able to halt the advance of the Turkish forces and confine them in an area . Kouroupis with a force of about 250–300 men was able to halt the advance of a Turkish force of 3500 men of the Turkish battalion ''Çakmak'' (Tsakmak). On the first day of the invasion, the Turkish forces were unable to advance according to their plans, due to the strong resistance they encountered from the Greek forces under the command of Kouroupis. However, a night raid by the Greek forces against the Turkish forces on the beachhead was unsuccessful due to lack of coordination and artillery support. The battle lasted for approximately two days and with support from the Greek side not materialising, while the Turkish forces were being continuously reinforced, Kouroupis ordered his forces to retreat toward Kerynia to defend the city. Once close to the city, Kouroupis' men were encircled by a Turkish force. He told his men to disperse from a flank that had not yet been blocked by the Turkish army. The men refused to leave, but he ordered them to do so. Kouroupis and his second in command remained intending to provide cover for the retreating men. From this point, Kouroupis' whereabouts have remained uncertain.

Disappearance and rescue attempt

Following the conclusion of the Battle of Pentemili beachhead, the fate of Kouroupis is unknown. On 27 March 1995, Greek reporter Petros Kasimatis wrote in ''

Eleftheros Typos ''Eleftheros Typos'' ( el, Ελεύθερος Τύπος, in English, "Free Press") is a daily newspaper published in Athens. It was founded in 1916 by Andreas Kavafakis with a liberal Venizelist political position. Kavafakis was murdered in ...

'' that a Greek intelligence agent in the guise of a

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or rec ...

had reported to the Greek intelligence agency that 6 prisoners of war were held at a prison in Bolu, Turkey and another 7 at a prison in Denizli. According to the Kasimatis report, the Greek intelligence officer was able to briefly communicate with the Greek officers at Bolu, after he bribed the Turkish guards. According to Kasimatis, one of the detainees was Kouroupis. All detainees were in very bad condition. The Kasimatis report also mentions that following the intelligence received by the field intelligence officer who had posed as a

, the Greek intelligence service organised a rescue attempt to free Kouroupis and other Greek prisoners at Bolu. During the rescue attempt, fire was exchanged and a Greek intelligence officer was killed. Since that time, the fate of Kouroupis is unknown. To date, the Greek government has not commented on the rescue attempt.

Aftermath

Kouroupis' wife, Mary Kouroupis, is president of the ''Panhellenic Committee of Missing and Undeclared Prisoners'' ( el, Πανελλήνια Επιτροπή Αγνοουμένων και Αδηλώτων Αιχμαλώτων ). As president of the organisation, she visits Cyprus annually with the relatives of the disappeared to take part in protests against the Turkish invasion and continuing military presence on Cyprus. The protesters are flown to Cyprus with cargo planes provided by the

Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...

. In 2000, during her visit to Cyprus, Mary Kouroupis expressed her concern that DNA tests and exhumations should not be the only activities related to the disappeared of the conflict, but the discussion should also include those who may still be alive.

Posthumous honours and legacy

On 12 December 2008, Colonel Kouroupis was posthumously awarded the rank of

of the Hellenic Army, the highest military rank of the Hellenic Army. In an interview to the ''

Ta Nea ''Ta Nea'' ( el, Τα Νέα, italic=yes; Translation: ''The News'') is a daily newspaper published in Athens. It was owned by Lambrakis Press Group (DOL), which also published the newspaper '' To Vima''. The assets of DOL were acquired in 2017 b ...

'' newspaper in 2009, Kouroupis' wife, Mary Kouroupis, said that apart from the posthumous rank promotion, the Greek state has not provided further recognition to the fallen or disappeared in the conflict of 1974. On 20 July 2014, on the 40th anniversary of the

, representatives of the

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

and

, took part in a ceremony at the metropolitan cathedral of Kalamata recognising the fallen citizens of Kalamata who were killed defending Cyprus during the conflict in 1974. During the eulogy, the municipality of Aglantzia announced the naming of one of its streets in honour of Pavlos Kouroupis. ''Pavlou Kouroupi Street'', in the Aglantzia suburb of

is named after him. In Kalamata, the bust of Kouroupis has been erected in Panayiotis Foteas square in front of the Messinia Directorate.

References

External links

*Information about Kouroupis {{DEFAULTSORT:Kouroupis, Pavlos 1929 births 1970s missing person cases Articles containing video clips Cypriot military personnel Greek military personnel of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus Greek soldiers Hellenic Army officers Missing people Missing person cases in Cyprus People from Kalamata Turkish invasion of Cyprus