Battle of the Dardanelles (1656)
Third Battle of the Dardanelles | |||||||
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Part of the Ottoman-Venetian War over Crete | |||||||
Battle of the Dardanelles, by Pieter Casteleyn, 1657. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Order of Saint John | Ottoman Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lorenzo Marcello † Pietro Bembo Barbado Badoer Gregorio Carafa | Kenan Pasha | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
67 ships
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98 ships
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 ships destroyed or captured | 82 ships destroyed or captured |
The Third Battle of the Dardanelles in the
Background
Since 1645, Venice and the Ottoman Empire had been at war over the possession of the island of Crete. Ottoman forces had captured most of the island in the early years of the war, but were unable to seize its capital, the heavily fortified city of Candia (modern Heraklion). The Venetians had endeavoured to cut off supplies and reinforcements to the Ottoman army, and attempted several times to blockade the Straits of the Dardanelles, through which the Ottoman fleet had to sail to reach the Aegean Sea from its base around Constantinople.
Preface
Marcello reached the island of
On 23 June the Ottomans, under Kenan or Chinam Pasha, a Russian convert, appeared in the Strait with 28 sailing ships, 9 galleasses and 61 galleys. On 24 June Ottoman land batteries on either side of the Straits tried to drive the Venetians off but failed.[1][2]
Battle
In the morning of 26 June the wind was from the north, and the Ottomans made good progress, the Venetian galleys being unable to assist their sailing ships. Then the wind backed, turning to the SE, trapping the Ottomans against the
During the course of the battle, the Venetian Captain General Marcello was killed by a direct cannon hit, but his death kept a secret from all but his second, the provedditore of the fleet Barbaro Badoer.
Some small-scale fighting happened the next day, and at the end of it, the Ottoman fleet had lost 4 large sailing ships, 2 pinks, 5 galleasses and 13 galleys captured, and 22 sailing ships, 4 galleasses and 34 galleys sunk or burnt. Only 2 Ottoman sailing ships and 14 galleys escaped. Of the captured ships, Malta received 2 galleasses, 8 galleys and 1 "super galley" (or galleass?). The Venetians lost 3 sailing ships burnt and their casualties were 207 killed, 260 wounded and 94 missing. Maltese casualties were 40 killed and 100 or more wounded. Some 5,000 Christian slaves employed in the Ottoman fleet were freed.[3]
Aftermath
It was the heaviest naval defeat the Ottomans had suffered since the
Ships involved
Christian fleet
Venice (Lorenzo Marcello, with Pietro Bembo)
- Fregata Contarini
- Tomaso Francesco
- Principessa grande
- Tre Re
- Croce d'Oro
- Principessa piccola
- Gallo d'Oro
- Sacrificio d'Abram
- Aquila Coronata (Kronede Arend)
- Profeta Samuel
- Arma di Nassau - Burnt
- Lionessa
- Arma di Lech
- Leon Negro
- Madonna del Carmine
- Santa Caterina
- Profeta Elia
- San Bartolamio
- Fama Volante
- Ercole
- Rosa Bianca
- Speranza (or San Nicola)
- Principe di Colognia
- San Pietro (hired Dutch) - Burnt
- Sultana/San Marco (ex-Ottoman) - Aground, abandoned and burnt
- Santa Margarita
- Paramor
- ?
- ?
- 7 galleasses
- 24 galleys
Malta (Gregorio Carafa)
- 7 galleys
Ottoman Empire (Kenan Pasha)
- 4 large sailing ships - Captured
- 24 other sailing ships - 22 sunk/burnt
- 2 pinks - Captured
- 9 galleasses - 5 captured, 4 sunk/burnt
- 61 galleys - 13 captured, 34 sunk/burnt
References
Sources
- OCLC 1015099422.
- Finkel, Caroline (2006). Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire 1300-1923. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-6112-2.
- ISBN 0-87169-192-2.