The 1974 Invasion of Cyprus - Softcover

Inhaltsangabe

The Cyprus War of 1974 was an unusual war for us as we were employed in a peace-keeping role only. Quite different from the war against the IRA in Northern Ireland and the Ten-Year Secret War in an unknown place called Dhofar that some of us fought on behalf of the British Government. Once we had our operational orders to go to the rescue of British families and other foreign nationals it put purpose into our being there. This type of warfare was so different to what we had always trained for. I wonder what the consequences would have been if the Turkish paratroopers opened fire on us while on the rescue mission into the Troödos mountains? I felt that the action that I took that day was the best possible one and was not covered by our operational orders. The book covers the commencement of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the air/seaborne assaults on Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Nicosia, The Battle of Pentemili Beachhead, the skirmish’s in Limassol and other places. Also covered is the assassination attempt by Panagoulis, the General’s Coup and the mentality of the Junta. Finally covered is the aftermath of that war and the efforts by the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) to try and bring closure to the sadness of hundreds, if not thousands, of bereaved families in their hunt for the ‘Skeletons of that War’.Since our withdrawal from Cyprus and our re-deployment into other troubled areas of the globe Cyprus has always been in our minds, perhaps because of the sad and terrified faces of women, children and the elderly and their helplessness in that volatile land have left lasting concerns for their safety and wellbeing, as even today there are armed Turkish soldiers manning sentry boxes along some of the quiet, beautiful and peaceful areas of that lovely island.As the British gave Hong Kong back to the Chinese on July 1, 1997 I wonder if Turkey will ever give their illegally occupied part of that island called Cyprus back to it’s lawful owners!

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