Battle of Karpenisi
Part of theGreek War of Independence
The death of Markos Botsaris by Marsigli Filippo
Date 21 August 1823 Location Karpenisi,Sanjak of Inebahti,Ottoman Empire (nowEvrytania,Greece) Result Inconclusive[2]
Belligerents
First Hellenic Republic Souliote Forces Other Greek forces[1][2]	Ottoman Empire Pashalik of Scutari[3]
Commanders and leaders
Markos Botsaris †	Mustafa Pasha Bushatli[3] Djelaledin Bey[4]
Strength
1,200[1]	10,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Minimal	~1,000 casualties[2]

TheBattle of Karpenisi took place near the town ofKarpenisi (inEvrytania, centralGreece) on the night of 21 August 1823, between units of the Greek revolutionary army^[2] andOttoman troops.

After theOttoman failures of 1822, theSultanMahmud II devised a plan of invadingGreece in 1823. An army was destined to invadePeloponnese not by the eastern side ofCentral Greece, but by its west side andPatras. The leadership of this expedition was taken over by theAlbanianpasha ofShkodër,Mustafa Bushati. Mustafa assembled his army atOhrid, and it consisted of 10,000Albanianmercenaries^[3] (according to others there were 8,000 or 13,000).^[4][2] During July, the Ottoman forces headed south, but instead of following the direct road, fromIoannina toMissolonghi, they moved diagonally, arrived atTrikala, continued their march throughPindus, and encamped atKarpenisi.^[5]

The first resistance against the campaign of Mustafa Pasha was carried out by theSouliotecaptainMarkos Botsaris.^[6] The latter moved from Missolonghi to Karpenisi with 350 men. On his way to Karpenisi he persuaded moreGreek revolutionaries to follow him, and he eventually managed to muster 1,200 soldiers. His forces, however, were too small to meet Mustafa Pasha’s army in open battle, thus Botsaris convinced the other revolutionaries to assault their opponents’ camp during nighttime. Two days prior to the Greek assault, a unit of spies was sent by Botsaris, which infiltrated and scouted their enemies' positions without being noticed.^[1]

At midnight of 21 August 1823, Markos Botsaris assaulted the Ottoman camp, believing surprise would secure their victory over Mustafa's larger army. Botsaris' men, even though they were eventually not supported by the majority of the Greek revolutionaries, managed to cause panic in the Ottoman camp, and inflicted severe casualties. Botsaris himself was wounded in his abdomen, but he continued on guiding his forces. Later, Botsaris raised his head above a walled enclosure in which many of his enemies were fortified, but he was shot dead. His men hid his death and continued the battle until dawn. The revolutionaries eventually retreated without stopping Mustafa Pasha’s expedition, but they looted nearly 700pistols, 1,000muskets and a large amount of horses, mules, and sheep. The army of Mustafa had lost 1,000 men while the Greeks had minimal casualties.^[1]

Botsaris’s corpse was transferred to Missolonghi, where he was buried with great honors.^[7] After the battle of Karpenisi, the Ottoman Albanian forces moved against Missolonghi and besieged it. However, they were finally defeated, and Mustafa Pasha retreated to Albania during December 1823.^[5]

• Kostas Botsaris
• Markos Botsaris
• Second Siege of Missolonghi

• Paroulakis, Peter Harold.The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence. Hellenic International Press, 1984.ISBN 0-9590894-0-3.

39°03′22″N21°34′20″E / 39.0560°N 21.5723°E /39.0560; 21.5723

• Conflicts in 1823
• Battles involving the Ottoman Empire
• Military history of Central Greece
• Battles of the Greek War of Independence
• 1823 in Greece
• August 1823
• Central Greece in the Greek War of Independence

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