Greek raid on Alexandria | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Greek War of Independence | |||||||
![]() Kanaris by Karl Krazeisen | |||||||
|
The Greek raid on Alexandria was an unsuccessful attempt organized by Greek bruloteer Konstantinos Kanaris to destroy the Egyptian fleet at its base in Alexandria in 1825 during the Greek War of Independence.
In February 1825, an Egyptian army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha had landed in the Morea, and inflicted a series of defeats on the Greeks. Kanaris decided if he could destroy the Egyptian fleet, he would cut off Ibrahim Pasha from being supplied from Egypt.
On August 4, 1825, a Greek force consisting of two warships and three fire ships [1] sailed from Hydra, under the overall command of Emmanouil Tombazis on the corvette Themistocles, the other ships being the brig of Kriezis, two Hydriot fireships (under Antonios Vokos and Manolis Boutis) [2] and Kanaris' own Psarian fire ship. [3] The Greek fire ships under the command of Kanaris entered the Alexandria harbor while flying the flags of Russia, Austria and the Ionian islands. [4]
Once inside, the wind suddenly changed direction, rending a fire ship attack almost impossible and the one ship that did strike the Egyptian fleet was pushed away by the Egyptians before it could engulf the Egyptian ship in flames. [4] Had it not been for the sudden change of the wind, Kanaris's three fireships would struck the closely packed Egyptian fleet and might have inflicted much damage. [5] The rest of the Greek ships had to make an escape while under heavy Egyptian fire as both the Egyptian ships and shore batteries brought down a heavy cannonade. [4] Alexandria harbour lit up with cannon fire, but the Egyptian gunners were not accurate and all of the Greek ships escaped. [1] Mohammad Ali, the wali (governor) of Egypt was highly furious about the escape of Kanaris's force. [1] The American doctor Samuel Gridley Howe wrote about the raid: "Such, such are the few men who redeem the Grecian character, they shine like diamonds among filth, they are brave, disinterested, enlightened patriots, who are willing and ready to die for their country. Oh, it delights me to think of it". [4] Though Kanaris and the rest of the Greek fleet displayed much bravery, the raid was a fiasco. [4]
Konstantinos Kanaris, also anglicised as Constantine Kanaris or Canaris, was a Greek admiral, Prime Minister, and a hero of 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 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.
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted by the British Empire, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their North African vassals, particularly the eyalet of Egypt. The war led to the formation of modern Greece, which would be expanded to its modern size in later years. The revolution is celebrated by Greeks around the world as independence day on 25 March every year.
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.
The Ottoman–Egyptian invasion of Mani was a campaign during the Greek War of Independence that consisted of three battles. The Maniots fought against a combined Egyptian and Ottoman army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt.
The Third Siege of Missolonghi was fought in the Greek War of Independence, between the Ottoman Empire and the Greek rebels, from 15 April 1825 to 10 April 1826. The Ottomans had already tried and failed to capture the city in 1822 and 1823, but returned in 1825 with a stronger force of infantry and a stronger navy supporting the infantry. The Greeks held out for almost a year before they ran out of food and attempted a mass breakout, which however resulted in a disaster, with the larger part of the Greeks slain. This defeat was a key factor leading to intervention by the Great Powers who, hearing about the atrocities, felt sympathetic to the Greek cause. Their support would prove decisive in helping the Greeks win the war and gain independence.
The First Egyptian–Ottoman War or First Syrian War (1831–1833) was a military conflict between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt brought about by Muhammad Ali Pasha's demand to the Sublime Porte for control of Greater Syria, as reward for aiding the Sultan during the Greek War of Independence. As a result, Egyptian forces temporarily gained control of Syria, advancing as far north as Kütahya.
Reşid Mehmed Pasha, also known as Kütahı, was an Ottoman statesman and general who reached the post of Grand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an important role in the Greek War of Independence.
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.
The Kasos massacre was the massacre of Greek civilians during the Greek War of Independence by Ottoman forces after the Greek Christian population rebelled against the Ottoman Empire.
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 Sphacteria took place during the Greek War of Independence on 8 May 1825 in Sphacteria between the Egyptian forces of Ibrahim Pasha and Greek forces led by Captain Anastasios Tsamados along with Alexandros Mavrokordatos.
The Second Egyptian–Ottoman War lasted from 1839 until 1841 and was fought mainly in Syria. It has sometimes been referred to as the Syrian War or Second Syrian War.
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.
Anastasios Tsamados was a Greek admiral of the Greek War of Independence. He was the famous captain of the brig Aris and an admiral who led a naval squadron under Andreas Miaoulis. Anastasios Tsamados was the first to rush to the Greek island of Chios and attack the naval warships of the Kapudan Pasha during the massacre of Chios. He also fought in the naval battle of Patras (1822) and died heroically during the famous Battle of Sphacteria.
The Chios expedition was an unsuccessful attempt of the regular Greek army
The Battle of Itea or Battle of Agali was a naval battle fought on 30 September 1827, in the Gulf of Corinth, during the Greek War of Independence. Under the command of British Philhellene, Frank Abney Hastings, a small Greek squadron launched a raid on an Ottoman fleet anchored near Itea.
Ismael Gibraltar was an Ottoman admiral active during the Greek War of Independence as the commander of the Egyptian fleet.
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 burning of the Ottoman flagship off Chios took place on the night of 18 June 1822. The event, occurring during the Greek War of Independence, was a reprisal for the Chios massacre which occurred two months earlier. Two thousand Ottoman sailors were killed, as was Nasuhzade Ali Pasha, the Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Navy.