The Battle of Itea ( el, Ναυμαχία της Ιτέας) or ''Battle of Agali'' (Ναυμαχία της Αγκάλης) was a naval battle fought on 30 September 1827, in the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isth ...

, during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

. Under the command of British

Philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

Frank Abney Hastings Frank Abney Hastings ( el, Φραγκίσκος Άστιγξ) (14 February 1794 – 1 June 1828) was a British naval officer and Philhellene. Born to a noble British family, he served in the Royal Navy, seeing action at the Battle of Trafalgar ...

, a small Greek squadron launched a raid on an Ottoman fleet anchored near Itea.

Opposing forces

The Greek squadron consisted of a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

and two small

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...

led by the flagship '' Karteria,'' a steam-powered warship. Opposing the Greeks was the Ottoman fleet, consisting of three

schooners A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, three brigs, three transports and a gunboat, protected by shore batteries

The battle

As Hastings with the ''Karteria'' approached, the Ottoman fleet confident of the superiority of their firepower, would initially hold their fire. As Hastings approached within 500 yards of the Ottoman ships he ordered his fleet to drop anchor. After an initial ranging shot by the ''Karteria,'' the Ottoman ships would open fire focusing their shots on the steamship. In reply to this, the ''Karteria'' would begin firing

grapeshot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

with the intention of disabling the Ottoman crews and to destroy their ships' rigging, while the Greek ship's guns would open fire with explosive rounds destroying three Ottoman vessels. The Ottoman shore batteries would also come under fire by grape, dispersing their men. Hastings would attempt to capture the remaining Ottoman vessels while coming under musket fire from Ottoman troops who had returned to their posts. Hastings would succeed in capturing two ships, and set fire to the remaining four.

Aftermath

News of the Greek victory would quickly spread contributing to fresh recruits joining the revolutionary forces, while after learning of Hastings victory Ibrahim Pasha vowed to take revenge by destroying the ''Karteria'', a promise which would remain unrealized. The battle also served as a catalyst to the

Battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied fo ...

, by provoking aggressive actions by Ibrahim Pasha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itea 1827 in Greece Conflicts in 1827 Itea Itea September 1827 events Gulf of Corinth