The Miloans made a memorable contribution to the Turkish conquerors' overthrow, both financially and in terms of fighting men.
Milos was the third area of Greece to rebel, and here, the first naval battle took place on 11th April, 1821. Fifteen fully-equipped Spetses-built ships, en route to Asia Minor, found out that three Turkish ships with 42 cannons together with a transport ship loaded with armaments, were anchored in Milos Gulf - reinforcements for the Turkish fleet in the Ionion. The Greek ships immediately changed course, attacked the Turks, took possession of the warships, and led them to Spetses.
Haris Bambounis, the historian, estimates that the Miloans gave 37,000 piasters in cash, towards the revolution. It was also significant that the Pilots of Castro, refused to navigate the Turkish ships of Pasha-Kapoutan in the summer of 1823. It was the death of Petros Michelis, one of the pilots, which initiated the sea battle of Navarino in 1827. Admiral Edward Codrington had sent him with a few chosen men to the Egyptian Commander, Mouharembey, in a final attempt to avoid bloodshed and to negotiate the withdrawal of the Turko-Egyptian fleet to the Dardanelles and Alexandria. However, aggravated by previous skirmishes, the Egyptians killed Michelis, and as a result, the English flagship, the Asia, opened fire on its Egyptian counterpart, sinking it within a few minutes. This event started the naval battle which resulted in the victory of the allied powers and positively influenced the outcome of the Greek Revolution.
As a result of the wars in which Greece was involved between 1912 and 1922, the Miloans mourned 107 soldiers killed in battle. During the First World War, Milos Bay was used as a naval base by the Anglo-French fleet and Adamas was used as headquarters for Allied Command in the Aegean.
During World War II, on 6th May, 1941, the Germans invaded Milos and immediately fortified several strategic positions for their own protection.
There were also a couple of Radar installations, a Freyja on the mountain of Topakas, and a Würzburg-Riese in Akrotiti, bay of Provatas, with on the south coast of Milos.
Beneath the village of Adamas, is a network of passages, used for storing food and armaments. The Miloans resisted the occupation forces heroically, and the flag of liberation flew again on 9th May, 1945. So then, the strong support of Milos was felt, in each and every endeavor to preserve the existence, independence and freedom of the Greek Nation.
