Action of 26 June 1656
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The Third Battle of the Dardanelles in the Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War took place on 26 and 27 June 1656 inside the Dardanelles Strait. The battle was a clear victory for
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
and the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
over the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
, although their commander,
Lorenzo Marcello Lorenzo Marcello (Venice, 1603 – Dardanelles, 26 June 1656) was an Italian admiral from the Republic of Venice. He fought against the Papal Navy in 1642-1644 and subsequently participated in the new Turkish-Venetian War. In September 1655, he s ...
, was killed on the first day.


Background

Since 1645, Venice and the Ottoman Empire had been at war over the possession of the island of
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
. 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 Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...
). 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 The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
from its base around
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
.


Preface

Marcello reached the island of
Imbros Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...
, outside the Dardanelles Strait, on 23 May 1656 with 13 sailing ships, 6 galleasses and 24
galleys A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be use ...
as well as some more vessels under Pietro Bembo. On 11 June, 7 Maltese galleys under Gregorio Carafa arrived, making a total of 29 sailing ships, 7 galleasses and 31 galleys.Setton (1991), p. 182Anderson (1956), p. 159 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 Turkish land
batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
on either side of the Straits tried to drive the Venetians off but failed.


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
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
n side of the Strait just below the Narrows, and a
mêlée A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...
ensued. Kenan Pasha got back past the Narrows with 14 galleys but the rest were either captured, sunk or burnt. ''Sultan''/''San Marco'' was the most advanced Venetian ship and did the most to prevent the Ottoman retreat, but she ran aground under the Ottoman guns and was abandoned. 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 Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
employed in the Ottoman fleet were freed.Setton (1991), p. 183


Aftermath

It was the heaviest naval defeat the Ottomans had suffered since the
Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...
,Finkel (2006), p. 248 and enabled the Venetians to occupy the strategically important islands of
Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of it is the third l ...
and
Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...
, thus establishing a tight blockade of the Straits. As a result, the resupply of Crete was effectively cut off, and Constantinople itself suffered a shortage of food during the winter. In a three-day battle in July 1657, however, the blockade would be broken again.Setton (1991), pp. 186-188


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

* * * {{Authority control the Dardanelles 1656 Dardanelles 1656 Dardanelles 1656 History of the Dardanelles