Cyprus 1974 - The Coup, the Invasion, and the Division That Remains

In July 1974, Cyprus was torn apart in a matter of weeks.

What began as a coup backed by the Greek military junta ended in a full-scale foreign invasion, the collapse of a state’s constitutional order, and the permanent division of an island. Turkish forces landed under the legal justification of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. A ceasefire followed. Then diplomacy failed — and the invasion expanded.

In this episode of History Declassified, we examine the events of Cyprus 1974 in full detail:
the coup against President Makarios, the Turkish invasion, the role of Britain as a guarantor power, NATO’s paralysis, and the decisions taken — and not taken — by the United States and its allies.

Using declassified documents, official records, and contemporaneous accounts, this episode traces how a crisis inside NATO was managed, why intervention stopped short, and how a temporary military operation became a frozen conflict that still defines Cyprus today.

No speculation. No commentary. Just the record — and the consequences.