- Date:
- October 20, 1827
- Location:
- Greece
- Mediterranean Sea
- Bay of Navarino
- Peloponnese
- Participants:
- Egypt
- France
- Ottoman Empire
- Russia
- United Kingdom
- Context:
- War of Greek Independence
- Key People:
- Ibrahim Pasha
Battle of Navarino
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What was the Battle of Navarino?
The Battle of Navarino was a critical naval engagement during the Greek War of Independence on October 20, 1827. Britain, France, and Russia intervened in the conflict, leading their allied force against the Ottoman Turks and Egyptians in Navarino Bay.
Under the command of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, the allied fleet, though outnumbered, possessed superior gunnery and marksmanship. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the allied forces, with most of the Turkish and Egyptian ships destroyed or set ablaze.
This defeat led to the Turks evacuating Greece within ten months, paving the way for the creation of an independent Kingdom of Greece in 1832. The Bay of Navarino is known as one of the safest anchorages in the Mediterranean.
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When and where did the Battle of Navarino take place?
The Battle of Navarino occurred on October 20, 1827. It was a decisive naval engagement during the War of Greek Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The battle took place in the Bay of Navarino, a small, deep, and almost landlocked bay of the Ionian Sea, in the southwestern Peloponnese, Greece. In this battle, the combined fleets of Great Britain, France, and Russia defeated the Turkish and Egyptian fleet, securing Greek independence.
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Who were the main countries involved in the battle?
The Battle of Navarino in 1827 was a key naval engagement during the Greek War of Independence. The main countries involved in the battle were Great Britain, France, and Russia, who intervened in support of Greek independence against the Ottoman Empire. These allied powers sent naval squadrons, leading to the defeat of the Turkish and Egyptian navies. The Bay of Navarino is located in the Ionian Sea, in the southwestern Peloponnese of Greece.
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Why was the Battle of Navarino fought?
The Battle of Navarino, a pivotal naval engagement during the War of Greek Independence, occurred on October 20, 1827. The Ottoman Turks, aided by Egypt, had gained an advantage in the war, prompting intervention by Britain, France, and Russia. These powers, motivated by popular support for Greek independence and hostility towards Turkey, sent naval squadrons to enforce an armistice. When the Turkish and Egyptian forces refused to comply, the allied fleet entered Navarino Bay and ultimately destroyed the Ottoman fleet, securing Greek independence.
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What was the result of the Battle of Navarino?
The Battle of Navarino, a decisive naval engagement during the War of Greek Independence on October 20, 1827, resulted in the defeat of the Turkish and Egyptian navies by a combined fleet of British, French, and Russian ships. The allied forces destroyed the Turko-Egyptian fleet. Within 10 months, the Turks began evacuating Greece, leading to the creation of an independent Kingdom of Greece in 1832. The battle also weakened Turkish domination, contributing to the slow collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
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How did the Battle of Navarino affect the Greek War of Independence?
The Battle of Navarino was a decisive naval engagement in 1827 during the Greek War of Independence. Britain, France, and Russia intervened in the war, leading to the defeat of the Turkish and Egyptian navies.
The allied fleet destroyed the Egyptian fleet, severely crippling the Ottoman forces. Within ten months, the Turks began to evacuate Greece, leading to the creation of the independent Kingdom of Greece in 1832. The Bay of Navarino was the scene of this decisive battle that consolidated the independence of Greece.
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Battle of Navarino, decisive naval engagement on October 20, 1827, during the War of Greek Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks, with assistance from their tributary state of Egypt, had gained the upper hand in the Greek Independence War, but then Britain, France, and Russia intervened, leading to the defeat of the Turkish and Egyptian navies in the last major fleet action of the sailing-ship era.
The Greek struggle for independence won considerable popular support in Britain and France; Russia was traditionally hostile to Turkey and sympathetic to its Orthodox coreligionists in Greece. Faced with the prospect of a Greek defeat and reports of massacres of the Greek population, the allied powers each sent a naval squadron to back up their calls for an armistice. Commanding the Egyptian-Turkish fleet was Tahir Pasha; the allied force of British, French, and Russian ships was under Admiral Sir Edward Codrington. Himself sympathetic to the Greek cause, Codrington was under orders to engage in “a friendly demonstration of force” if the warring parties did not comply, a confusing order that he interpreted as authorizing him to engage in open combat if fired upon.
After a blockade of the Turkish and Egyptian fleet in Navarino Bay, on the west coast of the Peloponnese in the Ionian Sea, had no effect, Codrington agreed with his allies to sail into the bay and force the Turko-Egyptians to either agree to an armistice or have their ships destroyed. Although the allied fleet (11 ships of the line, 9 frigates, and 4 smaller ships) was outnumbered by the Egyptian-Turkish fleet (3 ships of the line, 15 frigates, and more than 50 smaller ships), with approximately 1,200 guns against the Ottoman fleet’s more than 2,000, most of the Ottoman ships were relatively small and poorly armed. Sailing past shore batteries, the allies anchored among the Turkish and Egyptian ships and tried to open negotiations. The Turks unwisely fired on a boat carrying a British message demanding a truce, whereupon the whole allied fleet, riding at anchor, fired in return.
It was a hopelessly one-sided combat. The British, French, and Russian gunnery was vastly superior, with cannons fired at point-blank range in many cases and with expert marksmanship on the part of the Royal Marines. Within a couple of hours about three-fourths of the Turkish and Egyptian ships had been sunk or set on fire by their own crews to avoid capture; no European ships were sunk. It was the last significant battle between traditional wooden sailing ships.
The Turks’ defeat was so complete that within 10 months they began to evacuate Greece, an action that led to the creation of the independent Kingdom of Greece in 1832. Egypt also shrugged off Turkish domination, beginning the slow collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Losses: Allied, 700 dead and wounded; Turko-Egyptian, 6,000 dead and wounded, 60 ships destroyed.
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