Ioannis Makriyannis had not risen to the position of commander of Athens's city defense forces by being mediocre. At the very least, he was unquestionably among the best in the Greek army.
Having lost his family and property, he chose to make a last stand and unleashed 120 percent of his ability, facing the uprising among the city's populace and Loyalist troops flooding in from every direction outside its walls.
Ioannis Makriyannis calmly assessed the situation, then made what he believed was the most reasonable judgment.
Yet the Athens city defense force was simply too small. Even with the private armed forces of those powerful men added in, it was but a drop in the bucket. Moreover, with constant uprisings within the city and countless enemies launching fierce assaults from without, very few people still remained wholeheartedly loyal.
At this point, Athens's elites were either hiding in their mansions and reveling, or taking refuge in churches and seeking God's protection. Some quicker-witted ones even chose to launch a second uprising, transforming themselves into Loyalists overnight.
Even the nationalists who had been whipped into a frenzy, no matter how extreme they were, now realized they had boarded the wrong ship.
Even with all the ability in the world, Ioannis Makriyannis could not turn the tide. At last, just as afternoon tea ended, Athens fell.
From the flagship, Friedrich watched the city of Athens in the distance. He truly did want to go in and fight—after all, easy military merit like this did not come often.
Friedrich was quite considerate of his men, but he knew even better that Franz's orders mattered more.
What Friedrich did not know was that the situation in Athens was precisely what Franz had hoped for. The Greeks' problems were best left for the Greeks themselves to