Battle of Andros (1790)
Battle of Andros | |
---|---|
Part of the Cape Kafireas | |
Result | Ottoman-Algerian victory |
11–13 Algerian xebecs
The Battle of Andros or Battle of Kafireas was fought on 17–18 May 1790, during the
Background
Katsonis had participated in the
Katsonis occasionally collaborated with another Russian flotilla of five state-funded and four Greek privateer vessels under the Maltese captain Guglielmo Lorenzo, that also operated in the Aegean. Lorenzo's attempt to subordinate Katsonis to his command was strongly rejected by the latter, who insisted on the independence of his command, and the opportunity for uniting the two fleets to greater effect was lost. Indeed, relations soured to such extent that Katsonis prohibited the islanders from assisting Lorenzo's flotilla, while many of the latter's crewmen defected to Katsonis, lured by the greater salary he gave his men.
Return to the Aegean and the battle of Andros
In September 1789, Katsonis with his fleet left for the
There he received news that an Ottoman squadron of nineteen vessels, including
The two fleets began their engagement near noon of 17 May, and the battle raged the entire day. The fight was initially in favour of the Greeks, but at night the wind fell, and Katsonis' ships were unable to disengage. Early in the morning of the next day, an Algerian squadron (11 ships according to Pryakhin, 12 according to Magiakos, and 13 according to a recently discovered letter by one of Katsonis' crewmen) of 32-gunand 36-gun xebecs came to the Ottomans' aid.[15][13][14] Magiakos further reports that the Algerians were informed by the Spetsiot Anargyros Hatzianargyros, cousin of an officer in Katsonis' fleet, who as a reward was then appointed bey of Spetses.[14]
The Greek flotilla was now in a critical position, attacked from two sides by over thirty much heavier ships. As the Greeks began running low on ammunition, they reduced their rate of fire. Katsonis' ships were now exposed to withering fire, their superstructures riddled with holes and with many officers dead, and their opponents moved to board their ships and take them by assault.[14][16] The 24-gun brig Maria, under Paschalis Kasimis, was rammed and captured by boarding. Four vessels were destroyed, one of which, commanded by Dimitris Alexopoulos, was blown up by its captain to avoid being captured. The ship Achilleus, although heavily damaged, managed to escape the battle.[15] Katsonis' own flagship, the Athena of the North, was boarded but managed to fight off the attack. By nightfall, however, only 60 of its 295-strong crew were still alive, and most of the survivors, including Katsonis himself, were heavily wounded. The ship was almost shot to pieces, and most of its artillery was destroyed or inoperable.[15] Katsonis managed to steer his vessel into the harbour of Kea, where he was blockaded by the Ottoman fleet. In the end Katsonis was forced to put his own ship to the torch, and barely managed to escape, with a few close comrades, on a skiff between the Ottoman ships.[15][16]
The battle ended with Katsonis' fleet having lost 565 dead and 53 wounded and captured, while Katsonis with his remaining two vessels withdrew to the Venetian-ruled island of Kythira. The Ottoman and Algerian losses were also heavy, reportedly some 3,000 men killed and many wounded. Many vessels had to be towed home, and according to some reports a few sank on the way. Nevertheless, Katsonis' fleet was destroyed as an effective force.[3][14][17]
The Ottoman–Algerian fleet received a triumphant welcome at Constantinople. Yegor Palatino, a captain of the Life Guards Grenadier Regiment, who had recently joined the fleet and was taken prisoner, reported that 17 of the prisoners were publicly hung before the fleet, six decapitated in front of the Sultan himself, and on the next day, a further 21 were killed. Palatino himself was saved from execution only because he was known to the serasker, having been employed by Katsonis as a courier to the Ottomans before.[18] Other crewmen of Katsonis, who managed to reach nearby Andros, were hunted down by the Algerians and even some of the local inhabitants for the bounty placed on them and executed. Others, including the future admiral of the Greek War of Independence Nikolis Apostolis, were sheltered by the locals and smuggled off by fishermen the island to Kythira.[14] The Ottomans also retook Kea, razing Katsonis' base there, and even hanging the local priest who had officiated at Katsonis' wedding.[14][19]
Aftermath
With the remaining ships Katsonis fled to the Ionian island of
References
- ^ Vakalopoulos 1975, pp. 89, 92.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, p. 35.
- ^ a b Vakalopoulos 1975, p. 92.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 35–36.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 36–37.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 36–38.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 38–41.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, p. 38.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, p. 42.
- ^ a b Pryakhin 2004, p. 43.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 43–44.
- ^ a b Pryakhin 2004, p. 44.
- ^ a b c d e f g Stamou, Panos. "Ο Λάμπρος Κατσώνης και η Άνδρος" (PDF) (in Greek). Lambros Katsonis Society of the Livadians. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d Aspreas 1929, p. 104.
- ^ a b Pryakhin 2004, pp. 44–45.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, p. 45.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 45–46.
- ^ a b Pryakhin 2004, p. 46.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 46–47.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 47–58.
- ^ Vakalopoulos 1975, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, p. 58.
- ^ Vakalopoulos 1975, pp. 93–95.
- ^ Pryakhin 2004, pp. 59ff..
Sources
- Aspreas, G. (1929). "Κατσώνης Λάμπρος". Μεγάλη Στρατιωτικὴ καὶ Ναυτικὴ Ἐγκυκλοπαιδεία. Tόμος Τέταρτος: Καβάδης–Μωριάς [Great Military and Naval Encyclopaedia. Volume IV: Kavadh–Morea] (in Greek). Athens: Ἔκδοσις Μεγάλης Στρατιωτικῆς καὶ Ναυτικῆς Ἐγκυκλοπαιδείας. pp. 103–104. OCLC 31255024.
- Pryakhin, Yuri D. (2004). Ламброс Кацонис в истории Греции и России [Lambros Katsonis in the history of Greece and Russia] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Aletheia. ISBN 5-89329-731-8.
- ISBN 978-960-213-100-8.