This battle took place on 6, 7, and 8 November 1772, during the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

(1768–74) in the

Gulf of Patras The Gulf of Patras ( el, Πατραϊκός Κόλπος, ''Patraikós Kólpos'') is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio, Greece, Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio b ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, when a Russian fleet under Mikhail Konyaev defeated an Ottoman force of

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s and

xebec A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth ...

s, destroying all 9 frigates and 10 out of 16 xebecs while losing no ships.

History

Konyaev left

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

on 6 September 1772, and from 5 October cruised around

Cerigo Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, ...

with ''Tchesma'' and ''Graf Orlov''. On 23 October he was joined by ''Sv. Nikolai'' and on 27 October by ''Zabiaka'', ''Slava'', ''Auza'', and ''Modon'', which had been detached from Orlov's fleet at

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; el, Μύκονος ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. There are 10,134 inhabitants according to the ...

under Voinovitch. They brought news of an Ottoman force in the

, so Konyaev and Voinovitch combined forces to look for it. On 5 November they arrived near

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

, and found 9 30-gun frigates and 12 xebecs at sea, plus 4 xebecs anchored under the guns of the fort. On 6 November they attacked, with their smaller vessels in front due to the narrowness of the channel, and the Ottomans retreated. One xebec ran aground and was destroyed by ''Sv. Nikolai'', ''Zabiaka'', and ''Modon''. ''Sv. Nikolai'' and ''Slava'' cut off a frigate and another xebec and forced them aground where they were abandoned, and then burnt by ''Auza''. The remaining Ottomans took refuge under the fort. In the afternoon of 7 November, the Russians attacked again, standing back and forth along the Ottoman line to no great effect. On 8 November they anchored near the Ottoman line, attacking around 11:30 am. By about 12 pm several Ottoman vessels were on fire and abandoned; Konyaev weighed anchor and sent in the boats under protection of ''Sv. Nikolai'', ''Zabiaka'', and ''Slava'' to destroy or capture. 7 frigates and 8 xebecs were destroyed, while the remaining frigate and 6 xebecs sailed further up the gulf. The frigate soon ran aground and was destroyed by ''Slava''. On 15 November Konyaev left for the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

Ships involved

Russia (Konyaev)

''Tchesma'' 80
''Graf Orlov'' 66
''Sv. Nikolai'' 26
''Zabiaka'' 18
''Slava'' 16
''Auza'' 12
''Modon'' 12

Ottoman Empire

9 frigates of 30 guns - 1 destroyed on 6 November, 8 destroyed on 8 November
16 xebecs of 20-30 guns - 2 destroyed on 6 November, 8 destroyed on 8 November

References

*
The Plan of the Action near Patrai. 6 November 1772
{{coord missing, Greece

1772 in the Ottoman Empire History of Patras