Two days after Turkish Cypriots had travelled to the village of Kokkina to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the Battle of Tillyria, a Greek Cypriot memorial service for the same battle was held in the village of Pachyammos on Sunday, which lies immediately southwest of Kokkina.
The service was attended by President Nikos Christodoulides, Archbishop Georgios, and national guard chief Lieutenant general George Tsitsikostas, who gave a speech at the ceremony.
“We stand before the heroic residents of Tillyria, who were tested so harshly by enduring the fire and death that the civilian population was experiencing for the first time,” Tsitsikostas began.
“They were not deterred by the horror of the disaster, but with faith in the ideals of the nation, they rushed without hesitation to the front line. Women and men of all ages, defying the danger, contributed in every way to the national guard’s efforts, putting the ‘we’ above the ‘I’.”
He added that the Greek Cypriots who had fought in the Battel of Tillyria had “defended the honour of the homeland, the lands where they grew up, the homes of their ancestors, and the existence of Hellenism in Cyprus”.
“Tillyria is not a place of memory, it is a symbol of resistance, heroism, and dedication to national duty and an example for all of us to imitate. For those of us who make up the national guard in 2025, the actions of the brave young men in Tillyria constitute a beacon of guidance,” he said.
He then added that the Greek Cypriots fighting in the battle had “managed to maintain their discipline and cohesion … despite the unprecedented conditions they faced”.
“Without for a moment considering the danger, ultimately achieving victory in the field, those whom we honour today followed the glorious example of the heroes of Hellenism, reminding us that freedom and national dignity require constant vigilance and fight. They require sacrifices,” he said.
More than six decades on, he said, the national guard is “stronger and better equipped than ever before”, while “maintaining the highest readiness to fulfil our sacred mission”.
“We owe it to the homeland and to our ancestors. “We owe it to the people and to our children. We owe it to our heroes,” he said.
He went on to say that “centuries of history teach us that the real advantage lies not so much in numbers and size, but in the quality of human potential and in flourishing morale”.
“Just as in Tillyria, the numbers are not on our side now, and they have never been on side. Cyprus, against the numerical superiority of the opponent, has to look to the qualitative superiority of its children. Few and selected ones, like the militancy and determination of the children of the national guard in ’64, broke all enemy resistance by imposing their own terms on the battle,” he said.
The ceremony also saw the lighting of a flame, a reading out of the names of Greek Cypriots who died in the battle, and the laying of wreaths.
The Battle of Tillyria took place in the summer of 1964 as the National Guard, led by George Grivas, put the village of Kokkina under siege in an attempt to cut it off from the incoming supplies of weapons and other paraphernalia from Turkey.
Turkey helped the Turkish Cypriots in the battle, carrying out air raids in the region. The Turkish Cypriots defended the beachhead at the village, though with the Greek Cypriots now controlling the coastal road, its usefulness to them or Turkey dwindled after the battle.
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