Kastania, Laconia Kastania, Laconia Kastania is a town in Mesa Mani, in Laconia, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit Sminos. In 1770, after the Orlov Revolt failed, the Ottomans wanted to punish the Maniots for their support of it. They attacked the two Maniot pyrgoi which belonged to the Venetsanakis clan. With them was the father of the hero of the Greek War of Independence, Theodoros Kolokotronis, Kostantinos Kolokotronis and his wife who was pregnant with his son. The Ottoman commander Hussan Bey, laid siege to the pyrgoi. After holding out for three days the defenders burst out of the
Laconia Order Laconia Order The Laconia "Order" () was issued by German Karl Dönitz during World War II as a result of the "Laconia" incident, forbidding the rescue of Allied survivors. Prior to this incident, vessels of the customarily picked up survivors of sunk Allied vessels. In September 1942, off the coast of West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, the German vessels—among them , , and —attempting to rescue survivors of the ocean liner were indiscriminately attacked by American aircraft, despite having informed the Allies of the rescued Allied soldiers on board (along with many women and children) beforehand. The order was