Battle of the Dardanelles (1656)
(Pieter_Casteleyn,_1657).jpg)
The Battle of the Dardanelles of 1656 was one of the numerous naval skirmishes and battles that the fleets of the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire fought for supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean . This battle was fought as part of the War for Crete (1645–1669) and ended with an overwhelming naval victory for the Venetian admiral Lorenzo Marcello , who fell on June 26, 1656. At the end of the war, after a 21-year siege of the capital Candia, the Ottomans succeeded in winning the war over Crete .
background
In 1644, the Maltese fleet attacked a Turkish convoy that was en route to Constantinople from Alexandria . The Maltese brought their booty to Crete. They also had some Mecca - pilgrims captured.
In retaliation, the Sultan landed 60,000 Ottoman soldiers on the Venetian island of Crete ( Candia ), who occupied Chania ( La Chanea ) and Rethymno ( Rettimo ) after a two-month siege . Between 1645 and 1648 the Turks occupied the rest of the island and prepared the siege of the capital Candia (Heraklion) .
During the war, the Venetian fleet tried again and again to prevent the Ottoman fleet from supplying the land forces on Crete with supplies by blocking the Dardanelles . During this time there were numerous skirmishes and naval battles in or near the Dardanelles and also in the rest of the Aegean , which the Venetians usually won for themselves, but without being able to completely prevent the Ottoman supplies.
Course of the battle
Admiral Lorenzo Marcello appeared on May 23, 1656 with 13 sailing ships , 6 galleys , 24 galleys and another fleet under Pietro Bembo in front of the Dardanelles. On June 11th, 7 Maltese galleys arrived under the later Grand Master Gregorio Carafa , which means that the Venetians (apart from smaller units) had a total of 29 sailing ships, 7 galleys and 31 galleys that crossed directly in front of the forts at the entrance to the strait.
On June 23, the Ottoman fleet ran through the strait with 28 sailing ships, 9 galleys and 61 galleys. The land batteries tried in vain on June 24th to drive away the Venetian fleet.
On the morning of June 26th, the Turks advanced, favored by the north wind. The Venetians could not use their sailing ships in this weather condition. When the wind turned to the southeast and the Ottomans in an unfavorable position, the Venetians attacked and cut off their opponents with a smaller bandage the retreat into the strait. Only 14 Ottoman galleys and two sailing ships were able to escape, the rest were captured, sunk or burned down. The Venetian casualties amounted to three sailing ships, 207 killed, 260 wounded and 94 missing. The Maltese had 40 dead and over 100 wounded.
During the battle, the Venetian commander Marcello was also killed. Since the battle lasted until the following day, their fate was kept secret temporarily so as not to endanger the morale of the troops. Admiral Niccolò di Mezzo fell with Lorenzo Marcello. Barbaro Badoer took command. Admiral Lazzaro Mocenigo , who lost an eye in battle, brought Marcello's body back to Venice .
source
- RC Anderson: Naval wars in the Levant 1559-1853. Martino Pub., Mansfield Center, Conn. 2005, ISBN 1-57898-538-2 .
literature
- Klaus Schwarz: On the blockade of the Dardanelles during the Venetian-Ottoman War for Crete in 1650 . In: Viennese magazine for the customer of the Orient . tape 77 , 1987, pp. 69-86 , JSTOR : 23868810 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Kenneth Meyer Setton: Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century. Philadelphia, American Philosophicayal Society, 1991, ISBN 0-87169-192-2 , p. 182 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).