How Androutsos and his 120 men turned a hut into a fortress and stopped the army of Omer Vryonis!!!
After the battle at Alamana on April 23, 1821, which ended with the crushing defeat of the Greeks by the Turks, the Greek Revolution in Central Greece and the Peloponnese was in danger. Greek morale had begun to waver with the news that the Albanian pasha had impaled Athanasios Diakos.
After this victory, Omer Vryonis intended to descend into the Peloponnese to strike the heart of the Greek Revolution. However, he decided first to purge all centers of resistance and revolt in Central Greece. The Albanian pasha knew that suppressing the revolution would be easier if he managed to win over the local Rumeli chieftains as he passed through.
“They were getting in touch with the local chieftains to bring them over to their side and descend together into the Peloponnese,” noted historian Michalis Sotiropoulos on the TV program “Machine of Time” (Mihani tou Hronou).
The letter to Androutsos
With this in mind, the pasha decided to contact Odysseas Androutsos. Androutsos had spent years at the court of Ali Pasha, as had Omer Vryonis. He had served as head of Ali Pasha’s personal guard, and Ali had granted him the armatoliki of Livadeia (a local militia district). But after Ali Pasha’s break with the Ottoman Porte, Androutsos joined the struggle against the Ottomans.
Because of Androutsos’ past ties to Ali Pasha, Omer Vryonis believed he would agree to cooperate with him against the Greek Revolution. He sent him a letter saying, “Friend Odysseas, we must work together; stand with us and you will have your armatoliki,” as historian Apostolos Diamantis recounted on Machine of Time. In that letter, Vryonis informed him of Athanasios Diakos’ death and promised that if he joined forces with him, he would grant him the armatoliki of all Eastern Central Greece.
He also proposed that they meet at Gravia. Thus, in early May, Androutsos and his men reached the area, where they met the chieftains Panourgas and Yiannis Dyovouniotis. They discussed how to halt Omer Vryonis’ advance. Androutsos proposed barricading themselves in the Inn of Gravia, a small hut used by travelers for lodging. Panourgas and Dyovouniotis refused. They preferred to take battle positions on the road leading to the inn.
“In that era, inns were located at strategic passes. For the Ottomans to advance southward, they absolutely had to pass through that specific point. The massif of Parnassus is difficult to traverse and clearly posed an obstacle. Even if they crossed by some other way, the pass was narrow, and they would have to seize the inn to continue their march into the mountain ahead of them,” explains Thanasis Christou, Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of the Peloponnese.
Androutsos did not want to force his men to follow him. The inn was brick-built, and Omer Vryonis’ men could blow it up and send them all to their deaths. Androutsos began dancing a tsamiko and called on the bravest to join hands in the dance and follow him into the inn. Yiannis Gouras grabbed the kerchief first, then Papandrias, Komnas Trakas, Angelís Goviοs, and afterward the Kapogiorgai. About 120 men shut themselves inside the inn. They turned the little hut into a fort. They blocked openings with stones and opened loopholes. The barrels of their guns protruded from windows and holes in the walls.
The victory at the Inn of Gravia had great strategic significance for the course of the Revolution. Androutsos and his 120 men turned the little hut into a fortress.
On May 8, 1821, Omer Vryonis, with about 8,000 men, advanced toward the inn. Within a few hours they managed to dislodge the detachments of Panourgas and Dyovouniotis and encircled the inn. Vryonis sent one of his dervishes to demand Androutsos’ surrender. The dervish began to speak to him in Albanian, which Androutsos took as an insult. The negotiation devolved into an exchange of insults until Androutsos killed him—an indirect message that he refused to yield. Androutsos’ men opened fire. The Turks attempted an assault but were successfully repelled. Some of them tried to bring down the walls. Vryonis realized that to break the Inn of Gravia he would have to bring cannons from Zitouni (modern Lamia). So, while waiting for the artillery, they halted the attack. They had already lost many men.
Androutsos grasped Vryonis’ plan and at midnight ordered a withdrawal from the inn. They removed part of the bricks on the eastern side and made their heroic sortie. By the time the Turks realized it, it was too late. On the Greek side, six men were lost during the breakout and two were wounded. Turkish casualties exceeded 300, with about 600 wounded.
The victory at the Inn of Gravia had great strategic importance for the Revolution’s progress. Androutsos managed to delay the Turco-Albanians’ descent into the Peloponnese and gave Kolokotronis time to prepare. As historian Takis Lappas wrote, “The laurels that Kolokotronis won at the Battle of Valtesi were woven by Androutsos in Central Greece.” A Greek folk song was composed about the battle at Gravia, which says: “Androutsos’ mother rejoices, Diakos’ mother beams with pride; for they have sons who are armatoloi, and sons who are captains. Androutsos guards Gravia, Diakos guards Alamana.”
