Battle of Liopetri

Liopetri Incident
Part of Cyprus Emergency
Date1-2 September 1958
Location
Liopetri, Cyprus
Result British victory
Belligerents

 British Empire

EOKA
Commanders and leaders
Harold Macmillan
Hugh Foot		 Georgios Grivas
Andreas Karyos †
Fotis Pittas †
Ilias Papakyriakou †
Christos Samaras †
Strength
Approximately 24 4
Casualties and losses
1 killed, several injured 4 killed

The Battle of Liopetri was a minor engagement that took place on 1–2 September 1958 as part of the Cyprus Emergency. British soldiers in the village of Liopetri were attacked by an EOKA team of four who were subsequently killed in the ensuing fire fight.

The gunmen opened fire on elements of the 1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles. The British then sealed off the village, imposed a curfew and began looking for the men. They were eventually located in a barn and a gun battle ensued in which all four EOKA gunmen were killed.

Corporal Patrick Shaughnessey was awarded a Military Medal for his actions in subduing an EOKA gunman whilst unarmed and then dragging two wounded men to safety.[1]

The barn at Liopetri is now a national monument, the Akhyronas Barn Museum, and includes a bronze statue of the four EOKA men who died.[2][3]

The battle resulted in Colonel Georgios Grivas calling an end to a truce that had been in effect since August.[4]

  1. ^ From the Military Medal recommendation for P. Shaughnessy. https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/past-catalogues/lot.php?auction_id=5&lot_uid=40230
  2. ^ Battle description at Royal Irish
  3. ^ Tourism page for Liopetri
  4. ^ "EOKA Calls Off Cyprus Truce". The Canberra Times. 9 September 1958. p. 2. Retrieved 8 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.