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The naval Battle of Navarino was fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29) in Navarino Bay, western Greece, on the Ionian Sea. A combined Ottoman and Egyptian armada was destroyed by a combined British, French and Russian naval force, at the port of Navarino. It is notable for being the final large-scale fleet action in history between sailing ships. The Allied ships were better armed than their Egyptian and Ottoman opponents and their crews were better trained, contributing to a quick victory.
Background
Ibrahim was sent to Peloponnesos with a squadron and a Western trained army of 17,000 men in the service of Ottoman sultan Mahmud II. The expedition sailed on July 4 1824, but was for some months unable to do more than come and go between Rhodes and Crete. The fear of the Greek fireships stopped his way to the Morea. When the Greek sailors mutinied from want of pay, Ibrahim was able to land at Modon on February 26 1825. He remained in the Morea until the capitulation of October 1 1828 was forced on him by the intervention of the Western powers. Ibrahim's operations in the Morea were energetic and ferocious. He easily defeated the Greeks in the open field, and though the siege of Messolonghi proved costly to his own troops and to the Ottoman forces who operated with him, he brought it to a successful termination on April 24 1826. The Greek guerrilla bands harassed his army, and in revenge he desolated the country, burning crops, and sent thousands of the inhabitants into slavery in Egypt. The Ottoman fleet was then able to return and base itself at places like Navarino and Missolonghi to assist the land army. After several more skirmishes between Greece and the Ottoman Empire, other countries decided to step in to help the Greeks and to protect Allied shipping, which was being raided by Greek pirates. The Treaty of London (6 July 1827), a secret agreement between Britain, France and Russia to obtain autonomy for Greece, stipulated that if the treaty were rejected, the allied forces would sail against the Ottoman forces to enforce a peace. The Ottoman-Egyptian fleet, which had been warned by the British and French to stay away, left Alexandria on 5 August 1827 and arrived at Navarino on 8 September. Codrington arrived on 12 September and instituted a blockade. The Ottomans made several attempts to leave the bay and sail north, but they were repelled each time by Codrington's presence and by adverse weather, and by the arrival of a French squadron under de Rigny on 13 October which caused the Ottomans to return to port. A Russian squadron under Geiden arrived on the 13th also. More Allied ships were already at Navarino, and others arrived over the following week. The battleImage:Plan de la Bataille de Navarin.png Plan of the battle
The Allied commanders decided to anchor their ships in Navarino Bay, amid the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet. The Allied fleet entered in two lines, one formed by the English and French ships, the other by the Russian ships. The Ottoman-Egyptian fleet was anchored in a horseshoe formation, and the Allied fleet anchored in the empty area in the centre of this horseshoe — the British facing the Ottoman-Egyptian battleships and frigates on the east, the French north of these, and the Russians on the western side. French frigates took up position south of the British battleships facing the Egyptian frigates since it was thought that the French sailors in the Egyptian fleet might hesitate to fire on their countrymen, and the smaller British ships dealt with the fireships and corvettes near the entrance. While the fleet was still anchoring, the captain of the British frigate Dartmouth sent a boat to an Ottoman ship anchored close by in order to demand that a fireship which was close to one of the British ships and appeared to be being set alight be removed. For reasons not quite clear, the Ottomans fired on the boat, killing the officer in command and several crew members. The frigate Dartmouth opened fire, then an Ottoman corvette in the 2nd line fired on the French flagship, Sirène, and within a short time, the entire Allied fleet became engaged, as well as the Russian ships which were still entering the harbour. Heavier Allied broadsides and better gunnery quickly told, and in a few hours, three quarters of the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet was either sunk or set on fire by their own crews. On 17 November it was reported that the Ottoman-Egyptian ships remaining afloat in Navarino Bay were 1 battleship and 4 frigates damaged, and 1 rasée battleship, 2 frigates, 5 corvettes, 11 brigs and 5 schooners ready for sea, although this included some ships from Modon which had arrived after the battle (see this page for figures). Allied casualties were about 181 men killed and about 480 men wounded; Ottoman and Egyptian casualties were given as 4109 (3000 killed and 1109 wounded, although those figures might be reversed). After the battle the Allied fleet remained in Navarino Bay until 26 October. Several Allied ships were badly damaged — Azov had been hit 153 times, 7 of them below the waterline, and was not fully repaired until March 1828. Gangut and Iezekiil were damaged too. The British arrived at Malta on 3 November, and the Russians on 8 November. Albion, Asia and Genoa were sent to England for repairs, while the French ships went to Toulon. An Egyptian corvette left Navarino Bay on 27 October and arrived in Alexandria on 2 November with news of the battle. Other survivors made their way to Alexandria around the end of the year. The most important result of this battle was that it crippled the Ottomans and Egyptians at sea. Their land forces in the Morea were unaffected, however. After tense negotiations the main Egyptian army returned to Egypt in September and October 1828, leaving the Ottomans no more than 1200 men in control of 5 forts. The French immediately sent troops in defiance of the agreement to remove these, and with the help of some British sailors, the Morea was cleared of Ottoman forces. The last holdout was Morea Castle, near Patrai, which fell 1 November 1828. After this, Greece (consisting of the Morea and surrounding islands) was independent. The capital was Nauplion. In March 1829 this territory had been expanded through offensive action by Greek forces north to a line from the Gulf of Arta to the Gulf of Volos. Ships involvedAlliesBritain (Vice Admiral Sir Edward Codrington)Battleships: France (Rear Admiral Henri de Rigny)Battleships: Russia (Rear Admiral Count Login Petrovich Geiden)Battleships: Ottoman Empire/Egypt/Tunisia (Ibrahim Pasha)
There were also perhaps 41 transports; 8 Austrian and 33 Ottoman. The line of battle, in order, was: 3 fire ships* Ships marked * were Egyptian. Names of frigates in the above line whose position are not known: The Tunisian ships were north of the main Ottoman line, near the small Khelonísi Island. The other ships were east of the main line. Approximate total: 1 84-gun Ottoman battleship, 2 74-gun Ottoman battleships, 4 2-decker 64-gun Egyptian frigates, 2 2-decker Ottoman frigates, 3 48-gun Ottoman frigates, 8 or 10 42-gun Ottoman frigates, 2 or 3 48-gun Tunisian frigates, 8 Egyptian corvettes, 14-18 Ottoman 22-gun corvettes, 5 10-gun Ottoman brigs, 7 Egyptian brigs, 1 Tunisian brig, 5 (or 6?) fireships, perhaps 41 transports. Other ships in the harbour included 3 Tunisian, 3 Tripolitan and 4 Algerian warships and 5 European transports. The Ottomans and Egyptians used many hired European transports, mainly Austrian. Note: It is hard to get an accurate list of Muslim ships for this battle. Some of the confusion stems from the smaller ships being counted as transports on leaving Alexandria and warships on their return. There is some uncertainty in the number of guns carried by several ships also. See alsoReferences
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