battle, Cold War

Battle of Lapithos–Karavas

Name: Battle of Lapithos–Karavas
Location: Cyprus

Battle of Lapithos–Karavas was a battle fought in 1974 in what is now Cyprus. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at its recorded location. It was part of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The recorded result: Turkish Victory. Recorded strength: 5,000-6,000; 30 to 40 M47 and M48 Patton tanks against 400-600; 3 BTR-152V1; 1 TS APC.

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Fought1974

WhereCyprus35.344N, 33.168E, placed at the location, approximate

OutcomeTurkish Victory

BelligerentsTurkeyagainstCyprus

Casualties and losses2 Tanks destroyedand150 killed or MIA; 3 BTR-152V1 lost; 1 TS APC lost

Part ofTurkish invasion of Cyprus1974

Where it sits in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus

6 placed engagements of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	1974 (year precision) to 1974
Place	Cyprus 35.344N, 33.168E
Kind	Battle, Cold War
Territorial change	Turkish forces secure the Kyrenia pocket and expand the northern beachhead.
Strength	5,000-6,000; 30 to 40 M47 and M48 Patton tanks	400-600; 3 BTR-152V1; 1 TS APC
Casualties and losses	2 Tanks destroyed	150 killed or MIA; 3 BTR-152V1 lost; 1 TS APC lost; 149 civilians dead or missing; (95 from Lapithos, 54 from Karavas); 54 civilians captured; (44 from Lapithos, 14 from Karavas)

Placed at its recorded location; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Pentemili beachhead 1974, 5.9 km E
Battle of Agios Dometios 1974, 24 km SE
Battle of Omorphita 1963, 25 km SE
Battle of Tylliria 1964, 54 km W
Siege of Kition 450 BC, 64 km SE

In the same war

Before: Battle of Paphos 21 July 1974
After: Battle of Agios Dometios 14 August 1974
All 6 engagements of Turkish invasion of Cyprus

Elsewhere in 1974

Battle of the Paracel Islands People's Republic of China
1974 White House helicopter incident United States
Battle of Phuoc Long Vietnam
Battle of Kampot Cambodia
Battle of the Iron Triangle Vietnam

Battle of Lapithos–Karavas is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 23 in present-day Cyprus.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q140245617, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Lapithos–Karavas, revision 1379487617, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.