Battle of Navarino
In the Battle of Navarino (October 20, 1827), a combined Turkish and Egyptian armada was destroyed by an allied British, French, and Russian naval force at the port of Navarino in Pylos, Greece. The allied ships were mainly faster and better-armed than their Egyptian and Turkish enemies, causing a rather quick victory. It mainly resulted from the Turkish rejection of the 1827 Treaty of London, which stipulated that if the treaty was rejected, the allied forces would sail against the Turkish forces. The most important result of this battle was the end of the Greek Liberation War and the affirmation of independence of modern Greece.
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2 Turkish-Egyptian Order of Battle 3 The Battle 4 Sources |
Allied Order of Battle
British Fleet
(Vice Admiral Sir Edward Codrington)French Fleet
(Rear Admiral Henri de Rigny)
- Liners: Breslau, Scorpion, Trident
- Frigates: Sirene (flagship), Armide
- Brigs: Alcyone, Daphne
Russian Fleet
(Rear Admiral Count Heiden)
- Liners: Gangut, Azov (flagship), Yezekiel, Alexander Nevski
- Frigates: Provornyi, Konstantin, Elena, Kastor
Turkish-Egyptian Order of Battle
(Ibrahim Pasha)
- Captain Bei Squadron (Alexandria): 2 liners, 5 frigates, 12 corvettes
- Mohara Bei Squadron (Alexandria): 4 frigates, 11 corvettes, 21 brigs, 5 schooners, and 6 destroyers
- Tunis Squadron (Alexandria): 2 frigates, 1 brig
- Tahir Pasa Squadron (Constantinople): 1 liner, 6 frigates, 7 corvettes, 6 brigs
The Battle
After the conclusion of the Treaty of London (on July 6, 1827), Codrington, Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, sailed for Greece in order to demand an armistice from both the Greeks and the Turks. The Greeks quickly agreed, but the Turks did not. On September 12, Codrington found the Turco-Egyptian fleet at anchor at Navarino, and instituted a blockade (his orders were to prevent any attacks against the Greeks). After several attempts of the Turco-Egyptian fleet to leave the bay, from which they were prevented by both Codrington's presence and adverse weather, Codrington's squadron was reinforced on October 13 by a French squadron under De Rigny and a Russian squadron under Heiden. Though unable to leave Navarino Bay, Ibrahim Pasha continued to wage war on land. On October 17, the Allied commanders sent a message to Ibrahim Pasha ordering him to stop this. When the answer to this was unsatisfactory (Ibrahim Pasha's officers pretended not to know where he was), the Allied commanders decided to anchor their ships in Navarino Bay, amid the Turco-Egyptian fleet. The Allied fleet entered in two lines, one formed by the English and French ships, the other by the Russian ships. The Turco-Egyptian fleet was anchored in a horseshoe formation, and the Allied fleet anchored in the empty area in the centre of this horseshoe. While the fleet was still anchoring, the captain of the frigate Dartmouth sent a boat to a Turkish ship anchored close by in order to demand that she be removed. For reasons not quite clear, the Turks fired on the boat, killing the officer in command and several crewmembers. Dartmouth opened fire, and within a short time, the entire Allied fleet became engaged. Heavier Allied broadsides and better gunnery quickly told, and in a few hours, three quarters of the Turco-Egyptian fleet was either sunk or set on fire by their own crews. The Allies lost 177 men killed and 519 men wounded; Turkish and Egyptian losses are not known, but assumed to be much greater.See also: History of Greece