A popular YouTube channel with nearly 470,000 subscribers has paid homage to a Greek ship that terrorized the Ottoman Navy during the First Balkan War.
The World of Warships Official Channel, the YouTube channel to the extremely popular massively multiplayer online game of the same name, paid tribute to the Greek Georgios Averof warship in its "Naval Legends" series.
"Nestled among pearly the white luxury super yachts of Athens, is the world’s last remaining heavily armored cruiser of the 20th century and living monument to Greek history, RHNS Georgios Averof," the video description says. "Were it not for the budgetary constraints of the Italian government, and the will and testimony of a deceased, but generous benefactor, the Greek navy could have looked a lot different from the one that were equipped to dominate the waves in the First Balkan War, and help resist Nazi Germany in both World Wars."
The Georgios Averof warship became the flagship of admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis in the First Balkan War where it almost single handedly liberated many Aegean islands from Ottoman rule. It would also serve during World War 1, the 1919-1922 Greco-Turkish War and World War II.
During the First Balkan War, the Georgios Averof ship was a deciding factor in the allies (Greece-Serbia-Bulgaria-Montenegro) victory against the Ottoman Empire as it controlled the Aegean Sea and prevented Ottoman transport ships from transferring soldiers from Anatolia to Europe.
Greece was considered the weakest of the three main allies of the First Balkan Wars as it had a population of only 2.6 million people and could only field an army of 200,000 men.
The Greek Ambassador to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia famously said that "Greece can provide 600,000 men for the war effort. 200,000 men in the field, and the fleet will be able to stop 400,000 men being landed by Turkey between Salonica and Gallipoli."
This was proven correct as the Georgios Averof terrorized the Ottoman fleet who eventually did not dare venture into the Aegean Sea and remained hiding in the Dardanelle Straits, allowing Greece to liberate the Aegean islands, cementing its legendary status in Greek lore.
