Following the
fall of
Missolonghi in western Greece, Athens and the Acropolis remained the only strongholds in Greek hands in mainland Greece outside the
Peloponnese. Consequently, after his victory at Missolonghi, the Ottoman commander-in-chief,
Reşid Mehmed Pasha, turned against Athens. The siege began at 25 August 1826, and followed closely the experience of Missolonghi: the Ottomans set up a very close blockade and bombarded the hill, while the besieged harassed them with frequent night sorties and
mining, utilizing the expertise of Konstantinos Chormivitis, who had already distinguished himself in Missolonghi. The Beleaguered Greeks were resupplied and reinforced by small detachments sent through the Ottoman lines by the main Greek army, under
Georgios Karaiskakis, which had established itself around
Eleusis,
Piraeus and
Phaleron to the south of Athens. The Greeks launched various attacks against the Ottoman army's rear and its supply lines, most notably the victory at the
Battle of Arachova in November; this strategy was altered in favour of direct attacks on the Ottoman army, resulting in the
Battle of Kamatero in February. The command was transferred from Karaiskakis to the British general
Richard Church in April. The Ottoman victory at
Phaleron (Analatos) on 24 April (Julian) 1827 ended any possibility for relief, and the Acropolis garrison surrendered a month later. == References ==