In order to convey this activity better than any narrative could,
we
prefer to let the reports sent to the Italian government serve this
purpose. We have given this information
the title “The Italians’ Battle
of Psithos” and in this manner we herewith
present the firm and true
story of these events:
1. Admiral
Amero d’Aste’s telegram received at Rome on
16
May, 7 o’clock:
“At 2300 hours on 15 May, in order to cut off the Turks
lines of retreat,
an Alp battalion under the protection of the
Emanuel-Filiberto landed at
Malona and three Bersagliye battalions under the
protection of the
Regina-Margherita and
Saint-Bon landed at Kalavarda. The main
force
under the command of General Ameglio marched on Psithos and
encountered
the enemy there at around 0650 hours.”
2. Admiral
Amero d’Aste’s telegram received at Roma on 16
May, 2045 hours:
“The units’ forward movements occurred in accordance with
the
designed plan. The Saint-Bon was
positioned opposite the front at
Kremasti.
In order to prevent the Turkish units from retreating via the
road between Maritza and Pastida, the Saint-Bon bombarded the road
from 0600 to 0900 hours. Fighting began around Psithos as
of 0900
hours. I have not yet received
any news and information from General
Ameglio.”
3. Admiral
Amero d’Aste’s telegram received at Rome on 17
May, 0730 hours:
“Italian forces seized Psithos today. There are 200 enemy dead and
wounded. Our losses were quite insignificant.”
4. General
Ameglio’s telegram received at Rome on 17 May,
0730 hours:
“This morning (16 May), our troops, two units of which were
landed at
Malona and Kalavarda with the aid of the fleet, but not without
difficulty,
and the other unit, which departed from Rhodes city via the Afanto
road,
surrounded and raided the enemy, which had gathered at Psithos,
defeating
and degrading them.
Upon our units’ fierce attack, the enemy lost 83 dead, 26
wounded and
left 122 rifles and 200 cases of ammunition on the
battlefield. The
remaining Turks fled
through the numerous valleys toward the sea.”
None of our troops died and there were only eight
wounded. From the
standpoint of
performance and endurance, our officers ‘ and soldiers’
attitude and actions
were exemplary. Our troops will remain
at Psithos
tonight and tomorrow, when they will return to Rhodes city. In my
opinion, I have liberated the island
from the Turkish forces.”
Regina-Margherita
5. Admiral
Amero d’Aste’s telegram received at Rome on 17
May at 0905:
“The Turkish forces on the island surrendered at a military
ceremony
this morning.”
6. General
Ameglio’s telegram received at Rome on the
afternoon of 17 May:
“As the result of my warning about the fighting and
surrender, last
evening the Turkish commader sent a negotiator to determine the
terms
of surrender. The matter of the
surrender occurred this morning based
onthe conditions I dictated at Psithos. All of the Turkish units on the
island are
considered to be prisoners of war. All
of their weapons and
ammunition have been surrendered. The Turkish officers will be
permitted to
retain their swords, as a sign of respect for their stout and
warrior-like behavior. With regard to the number of our casualties
that
I reported yesterday, I herewith revise them as follows: one officer
wounded, four soldiers killed and 25 soldiers wounded.”
Ameglio’s official report:
“When ı received word that the enemy planned to withdraw
from Psithos
to Sant-Elia mountain in order to fight a guerilla war, I
immediately saw
the need to encircle Psithos to eliminate any chance of
retreat, to prevent
a guerilla war and to force the enemy into a decisive
battle.
Consequently, after ensuring the
safety and security of Rhodes city by
leaving a field artillery batallion made
up of soldiers and marines at the
operations base there, and leaving the very
well-fortified redoubts under
the
protection of warships, on the evening of 15 May at 1900 hours I
began the
operation with a force I had split into three columns.
The main column, under my personal command, headed toward
the
target, Psithos, via the Studvuridiu-Afanto-Asguru road. This road
is a rough and difficult mountain
road that extends for 40 kilometers.
The other two columns boarded the ships at Rhodes on 15 May
and,
aided by the Navy, landed between 2100 and 2300 hours on a moonless
night, with all lights extinguished, storming the enemy beaches, come
what may. One column landed in the west at Kalavarda
Bay and the
other in the east at Malona Bay.
Such an operation had never been
undertaken before.
The column at Kalavarda had two heavy machine gun teams,
together
with the Bersagliye troops.
Its first target was Kalopetra, a strong
stopping point, and its second
target was Psithos. This column
followed the Tennillavos road that is 30 kilometers land and traverses
very steep and
rough terrain.
As for the Malona column, it was comprised of the Alp
soldiers and
one heavy machine gun team.
This column’s first target was the slopes
to the northeast of Acripoli
and its ultimate target was Psithos. The
column followed the 35-kilometer Malona-Palatina road, that similarly
passes through steep and rough terrain.
At 0900 hours on 16 May, tactical communication was
completely
established between the three columns. The enemy, not having
expected such an
encircling operation, was surprised and mounted a
fierce and consistent attack
in hopes of opening up a path to Kalopetra.
However, the Bersagliye units repulsed these efforts by the Turks, who
could not flee towards Maritza-Kalamonu because of the warships’
bombardment, but who nevertheless mounted a counterattack.
However, surrounded by the Bersagliye soldiers on their right and
facing the Alp units
opposite and the 57th infantry regiment, with
its two mountain batteries, the Turks came under intense attack by
three batteries and artillery rifle fire. Being away from any village
that might have
provided some cover, the enemy, re-positioning
its field gun team a number of times,
fought with ferocity but in
desperation.
Ultimately realizing that their situation was hopeless, the Turks headed
through the valleys and along the streams toward Leucopoda Mountain,
where their cannon team set up the gun on the
south slopes, allowing
them to escape and scatter.
Our units were quite exhausted but pursued the enemy in the
evening
and at night. The dispersed
enemy soldiers fled toward Maritza,
following the stream beds. I then made
the decision to strike the
decisive blow there the following morning. However, at 2300 hours,
the Turks sent a surrender proposal via a
courier.
Depiction of General Ameglio accepting the
Ottoman surrender at Psithos.
With my known conditions, I
accepted the proposal and the matter of
surrender was settled at 0900 hours on
17 May. As for POWs, there
are 33 officers, one of them a detachment
commander, and 950 soldiers.
If we add to this amount the dead and those already taken on the road
and sent to Italy,
then the total comes near to the number of Turkish
forces on the island when we
first arrived. Some Turks who fled to
various places continue to surrender themselves.
We have seized six mountain guns, together with their
ammunition,
mules and harnesses, and 700 rifles and 200 cases of bullets, not
counting that which we gathered in the valleys surrounding Psithos.
The behavior of our units has been
praiseworthy in every respect and
their spirits are quite high. I submit our units’ endurance and stamina
as
examples for others – after marching for 14 hours, they then fought
a 9-hour
battle. In addition, after spending the
night on the rocks, they
made the long march back to Rhodes city.
Two days prior to our occupation, the Gençtürk Committee
opened the
gates of the prison and 200 prisoners were released and given
weapons,
with the aim of fighting against us and sowing terror in the
city. We
have been successful in
re-capturing all of the convicts.”
General Ameglio
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