Battle of Nauplia (1822)
| Naval Battle of Nauplia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Andreas Vokos Miaoulis | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 First Hellenic Republic |
 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 (
Nauplia (Nafplio).[1]
The Greek fleet was commanded by Admiral
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
- Antonios Kriezis, another participant of the battle
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87021-229-1. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ 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
- George Finlay (1861). History of the Greek Revolution: In Two Volumes. Blackwood and Sons. pp. 365–368. Retrieved 28 June 2013.