Battle of Nauplia (1822)

Last updated

Naval Battle of Nauplia
Part of the Greek War of Independence
Andrea Miaoulis by Peter von Hess.jpg
Admiral Andreas Vokos Miaoulis
Date8–13/20–25 September 1822
Location
Result Greek victory
Belligerents
Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg First Hellenic Republic Flag of the Ottoman Empire (eight pointed star).svg  Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Andreas Miaoulis Mohammed Ali
Strength
56 ships
16 fireships
84 ships
Casualties and losses
two fireship spent one ship lost

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 (Argolic Gulf) between the Greek Fleet and the Ottoman Fleet during the Greek War of Independence. [1] Although neither side sustained significant losses (according to general descriptions, it consisted in distant and ineffectual cannonade between the two fleets [2] ), the Ottomans withdrew after three failed attempts to break through the Greek fleet, and the battle is considered a Greek victory. [1] The Ottoman fleet of ninety-four vessels under the command of Mohammed Ali was sent to destroy Greek forces at Hydra and Spetses and to relieve the besieged Ottoman garrison at Nauplia (Nafplio). [1]

Contents

The Greek fleet was commanded by Admiral Andreas Vokos Miaoulis. [1] Miaoulis based his strategy on that of an ancient Greek admiral Themistocles in the Battle of Salamis, hoping to lure the superior Ottoman fleet into a narrow strait in order to deprive it of its freedom of manoeuvre. [1] He divided his forces (sixteen fireships and fifty-six vessels) into three squadrons, one of which was to lure the Ottomans into the straits, another to engage them if they fell into the trap, and the final one was to defend the Greek coast between Spetses and the Peloponnesus in case the Ottomans would want to land ground troops. [1] The first engagement took place on 8 September. Calm winds prevented the Greeks from carrying out their planned withdrawal, and two fireships were lost during a six-hour engagement; however the Ottomans withdrew to regroup rather than continue to attack [1] – according to Greek historian Anastasios Orlandos the retreat of the Ottoman fleet occurred thanks to the conduct of Kosmas Barbatsis (1792–1887) who directed his fireship against the Ottoman flagship, which fled to avoid it, followed by the other Ottoman ships. [3] On 10 September, the Ottomans attempted another breakthrough, but once again retreated before the Greek trap was sprung. [1] Finally a third attack took place on 13 September; according to Varfis a fireship sank an Ottoman brig: this single loss broke the Ottoman spirits, and they chose to retreat. [1]

After the battle, the Ottoman vice admiral was beheaded for his loss. [1] The battle is considered a major victory for Miaoulis, who is said to have received "a hero's welcome" upon his return. [1] Soon after the battle, the siege of Nauplia ended as the Ottoman garrison at Nauplia capitulated and surrendered the fortresses of Nafplion in December. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydra (island)</span> One of the Saronic Islands of Greece

Hydra, or Ydra or Idra, and in antiquity Hydrea, is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Myrtoan Sea and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated from the Peloponnese by a narrow strip of water. In ancient times, the island was known as Hydrea, a reference to the natural springs on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Navarino</span> 1827 naval battle during the Greek War of Independence

The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), 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 Algiers, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire ship</span> Ships deliberately set on fire during battle

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 sometimes surplus, obsolete or purpose-build vessels filled with gunpowder or other combustibles, but could also be improvised from active warships purposefully set on fire during engagements, such as if a vessel expended its munitions or had some other reason to be abandoned in battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Miaoulis</span> Greek naval officer (1765–1835)

Andreas Vokos, better known by his nickname Miaoulis, was a Greek revolutionary, admiral, and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Plymouth</span> 1652 naval battle of the Anglo-Dutch War

The Battle of Plymouth was a naval battle in the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on 16 August 1652 and was a short battle, but had the unexpected outcome of a Dutch victory over England. General-at-Sea George Ayscue of the Commonwealth of England attacked an outward bound convoy of the Dutch Republic commanded by Vice-Commodore Michiel de Ruyter. The two commanders had been personal friends before the war. The Dutch were able to force Ayscue to break off the engagement, and the Dutch convoy sailed safely to the Atlantic while Ayscue sailed to Plymouth for repairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laskarina Bouboulina</span> Heroine of the Greek War of Independence

Laskarina Pinotsi, commonly known as Bouboulina, was a Greek naval commander, heroine of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, and considered perhaps the first woman to attain the rank of admiral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Focchies</span>

The Battle of Focchies was a significant naval engagement that took place on 12 May 1649, in the harbour of Focchies, Smyrna between a Venetian force of nineteen warships under the command of Giacomo da Riva, and an Ottoman force of eleven warships, ten galleasses, and seventy-two galleys, with the battle resulting in a crushing victory for the Venetian fleet. The battle was an episode in the Cretan War from 1645 to 1669 between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire over dominance of various territories in the Mediterranean Sea. The war was one in a series of wars between the two warring powers, which contested for control of the Adriatic and Mediterranean trade routes. The primary territory that was contested during the war was Crete, the largest and most profitable of the overseas holdings of the Venetian Republic. The battle came after a squadron of Venetian ships under the command of Giacomo da Riva, a Venetian admiral, came to the rescue of the blockading Venetian force in the Dardanelles Straits, after the blockade had run into unexpected weather conditions and many ships sunk as a result.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spetses</span> Place in Greece

Spetses is an island in Attica, Greece. It is counted among the Saronic Islands group. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis and Corinthia Prefecture, which is now split into Argolis and Corinthia. In ancient times, it was known as Pityussa.

Fought during the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774, this indecisive battle took place on 27 and 28 May 1770 at the entrance to the Argolic Gulf, Greece, when a Russian fleet under John Elphinstone engaged a larger Ottoman fleet. No ships were lost on either side, and casualties were small.

The history of the Hellenic Navy begins with the birth of modern Greece, and due to the maritime nature of the country, this force has been the premier service of the Greek Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Dardanelles (1807)</span> 1807 naval battle of the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)

The naval Battle of the Dardanelles took place on 22 May 1807 as a part of the Napoleonic Wars during the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812. It was fought between the Russian and Ottoman navies near the Dardanelles Strait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morean War</span> Conflict between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire from 1684 to 1699

The Morean war, also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military operations ranged from Dalmatia to the Aegean Sea, but the war's major campaign was the Venetian conquest of the Morea (Peloponnese) peninsula in southern Greece. On the Venetian side, the war was fought to avenge the loss of Crete in the Cretan War (1645–1669). It happened while the Ottomans were entangled in their northern struggle against the Habsburgs – beginning with the failed Ottoman attempt to conquer Vienna and ending with the Habsburgs gaining Buda and the whole of Hungary, leaving the Ottoman Empire unable to concentrate its forces against the Venetians. As such, the Morean War was the only Ottoman–Venetian conflict from which Venice emerged victorious, gaining significant territory. Venice's expansionist revival would be short-lived, as its gains would be reversed by the Ottomans in 1718.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–1718)</span> Part of the Ottoman–Venetian wars

The Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War was fought between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire between 1714 and 1718. It was the last conflict between the two powers, and ended with an Ottoman victory and the loss of Venice's major possession in the Greek peninsula, the Peloponnese (Morea). Venice was saved from a greater defeat by the intervention of Austria in 1716. The Austrian victories led to the signing of the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, which ended the war.

Greek frigate <i>Hellas</i> Flagship of the Revolutionary Hellenic Navy (in service 1825-31)

The Greek frigate Hellas was the flagship of the Revolutionary Hellenic Navy. After an arbitration hearing in New York due to financial default by the Greek government, she was delivered to Greece in 1826. She was burned in 1831 by the Greek Admiral Andreas Miaoulis when the government of Ioannis Kapodistrias ordered her turned over to the Russian navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gerontas</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Samos</span> 1824 naval battle of the Greek War of Independence

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Barcelona</span>

The Naval battle of Barcelona was a naval engagement of the Franco-Habsburg War fought off Barcelona from 29 June to 3 July 1642 between a Spanish fleet commanded by Juan Alonso Idiáquez, Duke of Ciudad Real, and a French fleet under Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé, Duc de Fronsac.
In a three-day battle, Brézé defeated the Spanish fleet, which was attempting to relieve some Spanish garrisons isolated along the Catalan coast, and forced the Duke of Ciudad Real to retreat to Majorca for repairs. As usual in most of the battles involving Maillé-Brézé, the French fleet made an extensive use of her fireships. This time, however, a large French vice-flagship, the Galion de Guise, fell victim to one of his own fireships and went down enveloped in flames. The victory, in any case, was for the French fleet, and its main long-term effect was the fall of Perpignan into the hands of the Franco-Catalan army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Andros (1790)</span> Naval battle of the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nasuhzade Ali Pasha</span> Ottoman admiral

Nasuhzade Ali Pasha, commonly known as Kara Ali Pasha, was an Ottoman-Albanian admiral 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.

The Ottoman reconquest of the Morea took place in June–September 1715, during the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War. The Ottoman army, under Grand Vizier Silahdar Damat Ali Pasha, aided by the fleet under Kapudan Pasha Canım Hoca Mehmed Pasha, conquered the Morea peninsula in southern Greece, which had been captured by the Republic of Venice in the 1680s, during the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War. The Ottoman reconquest inaugurated the second period of Ottoman rule in the Morea, which ended with the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Varfis, Konstantinos (January 1997). "Andreas Miaoulis, From Pirate to Admiral (1769–1835)". In Sweetman, Jack (ed.). The Great Admirals: Command at Sea, 1587–1945. Naval Institute Press. pp. 216–240, 225–227. ISBN   978-0-87021-229-1 . Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  2. Anderson, R. C. (1952). Naval Wars in the Levant 1559–1853. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 488–489. OCLC   1015099422.
  3. A Orlandos, Ναυτικά, ήτοι Ιστορία των κατά τον υπέρ ανεξαρτησίας της Ελλάδος αγώνα πεπραγμένων υπό των τριών ναυτικών νήσων, ιδίως δε των Σπετσών, t. 1 p 310

Further reading