The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O.S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces which were trying to suppress the Greeks, thereby making Greek independence much more likely. An Ottoman armada which, in addition to Imperial warships, included squadrons from the eyalets of Egypt and Regency of Algiers and Tunis, was destroyed by an Allied force of British, French and Russian warships. It was the last major naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships, although most ships fought at anchor. The Allies' victory was achieved through superior firepower and gunnery.
The context of the three Great Powers' intervention in the Greek conflict was the Russian Empire's long-running expansion at the expense of the decaying Ottoman Empire. Russia's ambitions in the region were seen as a major geostrategic threat by the other European powers, which feared the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of Russian hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean. The precipitating factor was support of elements in Orthodox Russia for Greek coreligionists, despite the opposition of Tsar Alexander in 1821 following the Greek rebellion against their Ottoman overlords. Similarly, despite official British interest in maintaining the Ottoman Empire, British public opinion strongly supported the Greeks. Fearing unilateral Russian action, Britain and France bound Russia, by treaty, to a joint intervention which aimed to secure Greek autonomy, whilst still preserving Ottoman territorial integrity as a check on Russia.
The Powers agreed, by the Treaty of London (1827), to force the Ottoman government to grant the Greeks autonomy within the empire and despatched naval squadrons to the Eastern Mediterranean to enforce their policy. The naval battle happened more by accident than by design as a result of a manoeuvre by the Allied commander-in-chief, Admiral Edward Codrington, aimed at coercing the Ottoman commander to obey Allied instructions. The sinking of the Ottomans' Mediterranean fleet saved the fledgling Greek Republic from collapse. But it required two more military interventions, by Russia in the form of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–29 and a French expeditionary force to the Peloponnese to force the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from central and southern Greece, to finally secure Greek independence.
Background The Ottoman Turks had conquered the Greek-controlled Byzantine Empire during the 15th century, taking over its territory and its capital, Constantinople, and becoming its effective successor-state.Runciman (1965) 29–33, 133–159 In 1821, Greek nationalists revolted against the Ottomans, aiming to liberate ethnic Greeks from four centuries of Ottoman rule.David Brewer, The Greek War of Independence: The Struggle for Freedom from Ottoman Oppression and the Birth of the Modern Greek Nation (2003). Fighting raged for several years but by 1825, a stalemate had developed, with the Greeks unable to drive the Ottomans out of most of Greece, but the Ottomans were unable to crush the revolt definitively. However, in 1825, the Sultan succeeded in breaking the stalemate. He persuaded his powerful wali (viceroy) of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, who was technically his vassal but in practice autonomous, to deploy his Western-trained and equipped army and navy against the Greeks. In return, the Sultan promised to grant the rebel heartland, the Peloponnese, as a hereditary fief to Ali's eldest son, Ibrahim. In February 1825, Ibrahim led an expeditionary force of 16,000 into the Peloponnese, and soon overran its western part; he failed, however, to take the eastern section, where the rebel government was based (at Nafplion).Woodhouse (1965) 22
The Greek revolutionaries remained defiant, and appointed experienced philhellenic British officers at the head of the army and fleet: Maj Sir Richard Church (land) and Lord Cochrane (sea). By this time however, the Greek provisional government's land and sea forces were far inferior to those of the Ottomans and Egyptians: in 1827, Greek regular troops numbered less than 5,000, compared to 25,000 Ottomans in central Greece and 15,000 Egyptians in the Peloponnese. Also, the Greek government was virtually bankrupt. Many of the key fortresses on what little territory it controlled were in Ottoman hands. It seemed only a matter of time before the Greeks were forced to capitulate.Woodhouse (1965) 39 At this critical juncture, the Greek cause was rescued by the decision of three Great Powers—Great Britain, France and Russia—to intervene jointly in the conflict.
Diplomacy of the Great Powers From the inception of the Greek revolt until 1826, Anglo-Austrian diplomatic efforts were aimed at ensuring the non-intervention of the other great powers in the conflict.Dakin (1973) 64, 144, 147 Their objective was to stall Russian military intervention in support of the Greeks, in order to give the Ottomans time to defeat the rebellion.Dakin (1973) 142, 154 However, the Ottomans proved unable to suppress the revolt during the long period of non-intervention secured by Anglo-Austrian diplomacy. By the time the Ottomans were making serious progress, the situation evolved in ways that would make non-interventionism untenable. In December 1825, the diplomatic landscape changed with the death of Tsar Alexander and the succession of his younger brother Nicholas I to the Russian throne. Nicholas was a more decisive and risk-taking character than his brother, as well as being far more nationalistic. The British government's response to the evolving situation was to move towards joint intervention instead of limiting Russian expansionism. Britain, France, and Russia signed the Treaty of London on 6 July 1827. The treaty called for an immediate armistice between the belligerents, in effect demanding a cessation of Ottoman military operations in Greece just when the Ottomans had victory in their grasp. It also offered Allied mediation in the negotiations on a final settlement that were to follow the armistice.Treaty of London (1827) Article I The treaty called on the Ottomans to grant Greece a degree of autonomy, but envisaged it ultimately remaining under Ottoman suzerainty.Treaty of London (1827) Article II
A secret clause in the agreement provided that if the Ottomans failed to accept the armistice within a month, each signatory Power would despatch a consul to Nafplion, the capital of the Hellenic Republic, thereby granting de facto recognition to the rebel government, something no Power had done hitherto.Treaty of London (1827) Additional Clause (I) The same clause authorized the signatories in concert to instruct their naval commanders in the Mediterranean to "take all measures that circumstances may suggest" (i.e. including military action) to enforce the Allied demands, if the Ottomans failed to comply within the specified time limit. However, the clause added that Allied commanders should not take sides in the conflict.Treaty of London (1827) Additional Clause (II) On 20 August 1827, the British naval commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, Vice-Admiral of the Blue Sir Edward Codrington, a veteran of 44 years at sea and a popular hero for his role in the Battle of Trafalgar, received his government's instructions regarding enforcement of the treaty. Codrington could not have been a less suitable person for a task which required great tact. An impetuous fighting sailor, he entirely lacked diplomatic finesse, a quality he despised and derisively ascribed to his French counterpart, Henri de Rigny. He was also a sympathiser with the Greek cause, having subscribed to the London Philhellenic Committee.Woodhouse (1965) 32–34
Order of battle Exact figures for the Ottoman/Egyptian fleet are difficult to establish. The figures given above are mainly those enclosed by Codrington in his report. These were obtained by one of his officers from the French secretary of the Ottoman fleet, a M. Letellier. However, another report by Letellier to the British ambassador to the Ottomans gives two more frigates and 20 fewer corvettes/brigs for a total of 60 warships. James assesses the Ottomans' "effective" strength as even lower: three ships of the line, 15 large frigates and 18 corvettes, totaling just 36 ships.James (1837) Vol. 6, p. 478.
Ships British squadron (Vice Admiral Edward Codrington) Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Second-rate 84 Captain Edward Curzon; commander Robert Lambert Baynes 18 67 85 Flagship of the British squadron, flagship of the Allied fleet. Third-rate 76 Captain Walter Bathurst; commander Richard Dickenson 26 33 59 Third-rate 74 Captain John Acworth Ommanney; commander John Norman Campbell 10 50 60 Glasgow Fifth-rate 50 Captain Hon. James Ashley Maude 0 2 2 Fifth-rate 48 Captain Gawen William Hamilton, C.B. 1 1 2 Dartmouth Fifth-rate 42 Captain Thomas Fellowes, C.B. 6 8 14 Sixth-rate 28 Captain Hon. Frederick Spencer 6 17 23 Sloop 18 Commander Lewis Davies 3 15 18 HMS Brisk Brig-sloop 10 Commander Hon. William Anson 1 2 3 Brig-sloop 10 Commander George Bohun Martin 2 4 6 Brig-sloop 10 Commander Henry Chetwynd-Talbot 1 7 8 Cutter 10
French squadron (Rear Admiral Henri de Rigny) Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Second-rate 84 Captain Botherel de La Bretonnière 1 14 15 Third-rate 80 Captain Pierre Bernard Milius 2 36 38 Third-rate 74 Captain Morice 0 7 7 First-rank frigate 60 Contre-amiral Henri de Rigny, Captain Robert 2 42 44 Flagship of the French squadron. Second-rank frigate 44 Captain Hugon 14 29 43 Schooner 10 to 16 Captain Turpin 1 9 10 Schooner 6 Captain Frézier 1 5 6
Russian squadron (Rear Admiral Lodewijk van Heiden) Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Second-rate 84 Captain Alexander Pavlovich Avinov 14 37 51 Lieutenant Pyotr Anjou distinguished himself during the battle. Third-rate 80 Captain Mikhail Lazarev 24 67 91 Flagship of the Russian squadron. Third-rate 80 Captain Svinkin 13 18 31 Third-rate 80 Captain Bogdanovich 5 7 12 Fifth-rate 48 Captain Yepanchin 3 4 7 Fifth-rate 44 Commander Khrushchev 0 1 1 Fifth-rate 38 Captain Yepanchin 0 5 5 Fifth-rate 36 Captain Sytin 0 0 0
Ottomans
Imperial squadron (Amir Tahir) Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Ghiuh Rewan Third-rate 84 Ottoman Empire ~650 Flagship, commander-in-chief Fahti Bahri Third-rate 74 Ottoman Empire Flagship Burj Zafer Third-rate 70 Ottoman Empire ~400 Fevz Nusrat Double-decked frigate 64 Ottoman Empire Ka'íd Zafer Double-decked frigate 64 Ottoman Empire Keywan Bahri Double-decked frigate 48 Ottoman Empire Feyz Mi' 'raj Double-decked frigate 48 Ottoman Empire Mejra Zafer Double-decked frigate 48 Ottoman Empire Guerrière Double-decked frigate 60 Egypt Eyalet Flagship Moharrem Bey Ihsanya Double-decked frigate 64 Egypt Eyalet Flagship Hassen Bey Surya Double-decked frigate 56 Egypt Eyalet Leone Double-decked frigate 60 Egypt Eyalet8 single-deck frigates, 30 corvettes, 5 schooners, 28 brigs, and 5–6 fireships. The corvettes and brigs carried 1,134 guns.
Source: Compiled from information in W. James Naval History of Great Britain (London, 1837) Vol. VI, pp. 476–489 and the French Revue maritime et coloniale de 1883.
** Ottoman Empire/Egypt/Tunisia (Ibrahim Pasha) Motosh Bey Squadron (Alexandria): two ships of the line, five frigates, 12 corvettes Moharram Bey Squadron (Alexandria): four frigates, 11 corvettes, 21 brigs, five schooners, and five or six fireships Tunis Squadron: two frigates, one brig Tahir Pasha Squadron (Admiral commanding) (Constantinople): one ship of the line, six frigates, seven corvettes, six brigs
Battle Preliminary moves