Battle of Gravia Inn

Battle of Gravia Inn
Part of the Greek War of Independence
The Battle of Gravia Inn
Date 8 May 1821[1] Location Gravia, Sanjak of Eğriboz, Ottoman Empire (now Phocis, Greece) 38°40′16″N 22°25′44″E / 38.6711°N 22.4289°E / 38.6711; 22.4289 Result See aftermath[2] Ottomans suffer heavy casualties[2] Greeks managed to escape Ottomans under Omer Vrioni forced to retreat to Euboea
Belligerents
Greek revolutionaries	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Odysseas Androutsos[3] Yannis Gouras[3] Angelis Govios[4]	Omer Vrioni[3] Köse Mehmed[4]
Strength
117[4]–120[5]	8,000[5][6]–9,000[4]
Casualties and losses
2[7]–6 killed[5]	150[3]–300 killed[5][6] 600 wounded[5][6]

The Battle of Gravia Inn (Greek: Μάχη στο Χάνι της Γραβιάς) was fought between Greek revolutionaries and the Ottoman Empire during the Greek War of Independence. The Greek leaders Odysseas Androutsos, Yannis Gouras and Angelis Govios, with a group of c. 120 men, repulsed an Ottoman army numbering 8,000 to 9,000 men and artillery under the command of Omer Vrioni and Köse Mehmed. The battle ended with heavy losses for the Ottomans and minimal casualties on the Greek side.

The Ottoman army under the command of Omer Vrioni, following his defeat of the Greeks at the Battle of Alamana and the execution of their leader Athanasios Diakos, planned to attack the Peloponnese with an army of 11,000 men.^[8] However, his army was met by a Greek group numbering 120 men, under the command of Odysseas Androutsos, who had barricaded themselves inside an old inn. The Ottoman army surrounded the area and attacked the inn but was driven back with heavy losses. At night, while the Ottoman army paused their attacks to bring up some cannons in order to bombard the inn, the Greeks escaped the inn and found safety in the mountains before the cannons arrived.^[2]

This battle is considered important to the outcome of the Greek revolution because it forced Omer Vrioni to retreat to Euboea, leaving the Greeks to consolidate their gains in the Peloponnese and capture the Ottoman capital of the Peloponnese, Tripoli.