Battle of the Pine

Battle of the Pine
	Part of Cyprus Emergency
Date	23 November 1955
Location	Cyprus
Result	EOKA success
Belligerents
United Kingdom	EOKA
Commanders and leaders
	George Grivas
Strength
	1 vehicle
Casualties and losses
	2 dead

The Battle of the Pine is the name given in Greek Cypriot sources to an attack on a British army vehicle by the EOKA on 24 November 1955, two days before the declaration of the Cyprus Emergency.

British troops shot dead a Cypriot who failed to answer a challenge in the area where terrorists killed a British soldier the Day before. The Incident occurred near Khandria, 40 miles south-west of Nicosia, where terrorists also on the same Day ambushed two army vehicles, killing a Royal En- gineers private and wounding an officer and another private. Commandos shot the Cypriot today as he ran away towards the village of Kyperounda, after falling to answer their challenge.

The next day British troops shot dead a Cypriot who approached the vehicle in which Downing died and failed to answer challenges from British soldiers.^[1]

This was one of several comparable incidents at the times which resulted in the deaths of several British servicemen and contributed to the declaration of a State of Emergency on the island.^[2]

References

^ "Shots Fired In Cyprus". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton, Qld. 1 December 1955. p. 12. Retrieved 6 August 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "State Of Emergency Declared In Cyprus". The Canberra Times. 28 November 1955. p. 1. Retrieved 11 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.

[1] "Shots Fired In Cyprus". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton, Qld. 1 December 1955. p. 12. Retrieved 6 August 2014 – via National Library of Australia.

[2] "State Of Emergency Declared In Cyprus". The Canberra Times. 28 November 1955. p. 1. Retrieved 11 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.

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