Major Demitrios Alevromageiros Captain Nikolaos Ligoustianos Brigadier Francis Henn Turkish Armed Forces Cypriot National Guard The Battle of Ledra Palace was fought during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974.

[1] During the invasion, and indeed from the beginning of the conflict on 20 July, Ledra Palace was a point of vital importance for the Turkish Armed Forces and its possible occupation would have likely led to the destruction and dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus.

[2] The Reserve Officers Company of the National Guard, a few days before the invasion, had been based in the camp of the 11th tactical group, which was located near the ELDYK camp and Nicosia International Airport, and on the day of the invasion (20 July), it received orders to take hold of Ledra Palace and the surrounding area before the Turkish military.

[4][5] The Turkish military, at 8 a.m. began to hit the national guardsmen and the surrounding area with bullets, mortar shells, and artillery and this continued until the end of the day with UNFICYP men conveying threats by the Turks that if the national guard did not leave, they would drop napalm bombs on them the Greeks refused to leave.

[8] On 21 July, in the morning hours, the battle started again with the national guardsmen firing against the Turkish military who were fortified in the surrounding houses.