‘By Force Alone’

Abstract

All Fool’s Day 1955 marked the beginning of a new phase of the Cyprus problem, in which none of those involved were to show conspicuous wisdom. Although the British were not as ‘stunned and panic-stricken’ as Grivas later claimed in the English version of his memoirs, they appeared surprised. The knowledge that Grivas had returned to the island, the capture of the Ayios Yeoryios with its cargo of arms and explosives, all the inflammatory propaganda from the pulpit and from Athens radio, the slogans on the walls and the calls for sacrifice had not convinced the authorities that the Greek Cypriots were serious or had the stomach for violence. Hence the almost total lack of security precautions when EOKA launched its campaign. There was even less sign of any contingency plan. For his part, Archbishop Makarios hoped that a brief show of force would push the British into negotiations with Greece before the next appeal to the United Nations in the autumn. Grivas, with more understanding of the British, had no such expectations. He was disappointed with the meagre results of EOKA’s first action, apart from the easy success at the radio station. He saw that his men would need much more training and discipline. He was furious with AKEL when it denounced the explosions as the work of right-wing fanatics who were playing into the hands of the British.