 An initial effort was made to dispatch these forces using the large vehicle ferry "Rethymnon", which took on board the 537th Infantry battalion, a battalion of tanks and 500 Cypriot volunteers (primarily EOKA-B supporters).This vessel set sail from Piraeus that evening.On the same evening, the Hellenic Air Force commenced a clandestine air-lift operation (Operation Niki) using fifteen Noratlas aircraft (354 Squadron "Pegasus") in an effort to transport a battalion of commandos from Souda, Crete to Cyprus.