In 1921 the Greek Army had already been fighting in Asia Minor for some time. The Cavalry, although small in number, had played an important role in operations. But soon he would write new pages of glory in the Greek homelands there.
In June 1921 the Cavalry Brigade (TI), after its participation in the operations of the 3rd Army Corps (SS) in the spring of the same year, was undergoing reorganization. TI had the 1st Cavalry Regiment (SI) with 4 islands and the 3rd SI also with 4 islands. At the same time, it had a mounted Machine Gun Squadron (24 machine guns), mounted artillery (4 75 mm guns) and a mounted Engineer detachment.
The TI under Colonel Nikolaidis relocated to Usak in view of the upcoming operations towards Anatolia. The TI would work with the infantry to outflank and cut off the Turkish forces towards Kutahya.
Battle of Uts Sarai
On 3 July the TI was ordered to move east of Eski Sehir. The next day the Turks attacked with strong forces against the Greek 14th Infantry Regiment (SP) in Uts Sarai. They continued to suffocate the Greek infantry the next day as well.
TI with its units fighting on foot held the Turks. However, the right wing of the 14th SP was bent and the Turks, who also had numerous cavalry, threatened to annihilate the Greek forces. To prevent this eventuality the deputy commander Spyridon Markopoulos attacked against the Turks at the head of the 1st and 2nd Ilis of the 1st SI.
The Greek horsemen charged with swords against the enemy in a charge of death. The Turks, superior in numbers, repulsed the advance. 53 Greeks were lost in the battle, including the captain and 80 horses.
Nevertheless, time was gained thanks to the initiative of the then TI chief of staff, lieutenant colonel Alexandrou Papagos y, the cavalry covered the retreat of the infantry, maneuvering into successive positions and delaying the Turks, causing them heavy casualties, so heavy that they gave up the pursuit.
The advance on AK Bunar
After the battle at Utz Sarai the TI moved towards An Bunar. On July 8, the Turks demonstrated their great offensive comeback with the aim of recapturing Eski Sehir and the destruction of the Greek forces there.
The Cavalry detected the Turkish movements in time and covered the gaps between the Greek infantry divisions. But at the same time he wrote an indelible page of glory... Seeing the Turkish pressure, the TI ordered the 3rd SI under Colonel Varthi to advance against the Turks. The two vicarages were headed, the 1st, by the heroic Cypriot vicar Ioannis Tsangaridis and the 2nd by the then vicar Georgios Stanotas (commander of the Cavalry Division in 1940-41).
The Greek horsemen drew their swords and under the sounds of the trumpet, with the blue and white flag flying, they charged out with the chant "Aera..." vibrating the atmosphere. The Turks were surprised, bewildered, panicked and put it to their feet pursued by the horsemen... The Greeks chased the Turks to a depth of 4 km killing over 500 and capturing another 100! The 3rd SI only lost one horseman… It was a great victory.
It is worth mentioning the deputy commander and later general Ioannis Tsangaridis . Tsangaridis was born in 1887 in Lapithos. He came to Athens to study but gave it all up and volunteered to fight in Macedonia (Macedonian Struggle).
Returning, he enlisted in the Greek Army as a non-commissioned officer. He was promoted to cavalry officer and fought heroically in the Balkan Wars and especially in Asia Minor. He was seriously injured in the operations of Sangario. Unfortunately he got involved in politics and died in exile in 1939.
