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Battle of the inn of Gravia

The Battle of the inn of Gravia was fought during the Greek War of Independence between Greek revolutionaries and the Ottoman army.

In May 1821, Omer Vrioni, the commander of the Turkish army, advanced from the north with 8,000 men heading towards Peloponnesus to crush the Greek uprising which had broken out in March of that year. After crushing the resistance of the Greeks at the Battle of Alamana and executing their leader, Athanasios Diakos, Vrioni advanced in the direction of Salona (present-day Amfissa.

Odysseus Androutsos with a band of 100 or so men took up a defensive position at an inn near Gravia, supported by Panourgias Panourgias and Yiannis Diovouniotis and their men who defended nearby positions.

On May 8, 1821, the battle began. Vrioni managed to disperse Panourgias and Diovouniotis - as he had done at the Battle of Alamana - and then threw his full force against the inn. He was repulsed with heavy casualties (over 400 dead and twice that number wounded). Finally, he withdrew to ask for reinforcements and artillery but the Greeks managed to slip out in the night before the reinforcements arrived. Androutsos lost two men in the battle and earned the title of commander in chief of the Greek forces in Rumeli (Central Greece).