Exodus of Missolonghi

On the night of 10 to 11 April 1826, the defenders of Missolonghi, in western Greece, attempted a desperate breakout after a siege of about a year. Since April 1825, the town had been besieged by Ottoman forces under Mehmed Reşid Pasha, later joined by the Egyptian army of Ibrahim Pasha. Its defenders had resisted every assault, but by early 1826 the blockade was complete, and the town was starving. The people had eaten their animals and were dying of hunger. The defenders decided to break out together with the civilians. About 3,000 fighters and 6,000 civilians attempted the exodus. The Ottomans had been warned, and the refugees were ambushed as they left. Most were killed or captured, and only around 1,800 people reached safety. Those who stayed behind, including the wounded and sick, blew themselves up in the town's gunpowder stores, killing many attackers. The fall of Missolonghi shocked Europe and inspired artists and writers, including Delacroix's painting Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi. It greatly increased pressure on the European powers to intervene.