The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), in Navarino Bay, on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces which were trying to suppress the Greeks, thereby making Greek independence much more likely. An Ottoman armada which, in addition to Imperial warships, included squadrons from the eyalets of Egypt and Regency of Algiers and Tunis, was destroyed by an Allied force of British, French and Russian warships. It was the last major naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships, although most ships fought at anchor. The Allies' victory was achieved through superior firepower and gunnery.
A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the advent of metal-hulled ships; they could also serve a considerable function in shock and awe strategies to harm the morale of enemy crews. Ships used for fireship tactics were typically purpose-built or retrofitted from surplus or obsolete vessels, either of which could be filled with gunpowder or other combustibles before a battle, but could also be improvised from warships in active combat purposefully set on fire during engagements, such as if a vessel expended its munitions or had some other reason to be abandoned in battle.
The naval Battle of Cheshme took place on 5–7 July 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) near and in Çeşme Bay, in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios, which was the site of a number of past naval battles between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice. It was a part of the Orlov Revolt of 1770, a precursor to the later Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), and the first of a number of disastrous fleet battles for the Ottomans against Russia. Today it is commemorated as a Day of Military Honour in Russia.
The Battle of Tendra was a naval action fought on 8 and 9 September 1790 in the Black Sea as part of the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). It ended in a decisive victory for Ushakov's Russians over the Ottomans.
The naval Battle of (the) Kerch Strait took place on 19 July 1790 near Kerch, Crimea, was a victory for Imperial Russia over the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792.
The battle of Andros took place on 22 August 1696 southeast of the Ottoman island of Andros between the fleets of the Republic of Venice and the Papal States under Bartolomeo Contarini on the one side, and the Ottoman Navy under Mezzo Morto Hüseyin Pasha as well as Barbary vassals on the other. The encounter was indecisive, and no vessels were lost on either side.
This battle took place on 6, 7, and 8 November 1772, during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–74) in the Gulf of Patras, Greece, when a Russian fleet under Mikhail Konyaev defeated an Ottoman force of frigates and xebecs, destroying all 9 frigates and 10 out of 16 xebecs while losing no ships.
The Battle of Imbros was a naval clash that took place on 12, 13 and 16 June 1717 near Imbros in the Aegean Sea, between the sailing fleets of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The outnumbered Venetian Armada Grossa, under the Capitano Straordinario delle Navi Lodovico Flangini, proved herself able to match a superior Turkish force under the Kapudan Pasha Hodja Ibrahim Pasha in a manoeuvred fight that lasted nearly ten days. The outcome of this tough battle was unclear, since both fleet retired to their bases badly damaged, after Flangini died of wounds on the 22nd.
The Battle of the Basque Roads, also known as the Battle of Aix Roads, was a major naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the narrow Basque Roads at the mouth of the Charente River on the Biscay coast of France. The battle, which lasted from 11–24 April 1809, was unusual in that it pitted a hastily-assembled squadron of small and unorthodox British Royal Navy warships against the main strength of the French Atlantic Fleet. The circumstances were dictated by the cramped, shallow coastal waters in which the battle was fought. The battle is also notorious for its controversial political aftermath in both Britain and France.
The Battle of Elli or the Battle of the Dardanelles took place near the mouth of the Dardanelles on 16 December [O.S. 3 December] 1912 as part of the First Balkan War between the fleets of the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire. It was the largest sea battle of the Balkan Wars.
The Battle of Cape Passaro, also known as Battle of Avola or Battle of Syracuse, was a naval battle fought on 11 August 1718 between a fleet of the British Royal Navy under Admiral Sir George Byng and a fleet of the Spanish Navy under Rear-Admiral Antonio de Gaztañeta. It was fought off Cape Passaro, in the southern tip of Sicily, which Spain had occupied. Spain and Britain were at peace, but Britain was already committed to supporting the ambitions of the Emperor Charles VI in southern Italy.
Lambros Katsonis was a Greek privateer of the 18th century who would ultimately sail under the Russian flag with the rank of colonel. He became a knight of the Russian Empire and was awarded the Order of St. George.
The action at Cherbourg was fought on 21 and 22 May Old Style 1692 as part of the aftermath of the Battle of Barfleur which had just been fought on 19 May 1692.
The Battle of Gerontas was a naval battle fought close to the island of Leros in the southeast Aegean Sea. On 10 September [O.S. 29 August] 1824, a Greek fleet of 75 ships defeated an Ottoman armada of 100 ships contributed to by Egypt, Tunisia and Tripoli.
The Battle of Samos was a naval battle fought on August 5–17, 1824 off the Greek island of Samos during the Greek War of Independence.
Dimitrios Papanikolis was a naval hero of the Greek Revolution, famous for being the first to successfully employ a fireship to destroy an Ottoman ship of the line.
Aegean Sea anti-piracy operations began in 1825 when the United States government dispatched a squadron of ships to suppress Greek piracy in the Aegean Sea. The Greek civil wars of 1824–1825 and the decline of the Hellenic Navy made the Aegean quickly become a haven for pirates who sometimes doubled as privateers.
The Battle of Nauplia or Battle of Spetses was a series of naval engagements lasting from 8 to 13 September (O.S.) 1822 in the Gulf of Nauplia between the Greek Fleet and the Ottoman Navy during the Greek War of Independence. Although neither side sustained significant losses, the Ottomans withdrew after three failed attempts to break through the Greek fleet, and the battle is considered a Greek victory. The Ottoman fleet of eighty-four vessels under the command of Kara Mehmet Pasha was sent to destroy Greek forces at Hydra and Spetses and to relieve the besieged Ottoman garrison at Nauplia (Nafplio).
The Battle of Andros or Battle of Kafireas was fought on 17–18 May 1790, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792, between Cape Kafireas and the island of Andros, between the ships of Lambros Katsonis, a Greek privateer in Imperial Russian service, and an Algerian fleet of 30–32 vessels. The battle was a major victory for the Ottomans, as Katsonis lost five ships and his flotilla ceased to exist as an operational unit. On the other hand, the Ottomans suffered heavy casualties as well, and Katsonis was able to escape and reconstitute his forces, remaining active until the end of the war.
Nasuhzade Ali Pasha, commonly known as Kara Ali Pasha, was an Albanian admiral of the Ottoman navy during the early stages of the Greek War of Independence. In 1821, as second-in-command of the Ottoman navy, he succeeded in resupplying the isolated Ottoman fortresses in the Peloponnese, while his subordinate Ismael Gibraltar destroyed Galaxeidi. Promoted to Kapudan Pasha, and led the suppression of the revolt in Chios and the ensuing Chios massacre in April 1822. He was killed when a fireship captained by Konstantinos Kanaris blew up his flagship in Chios harbour on the night of 18/19 June 1822.
First Hellenic Republic 
Ottoman Empire 
