The Battle of Elli (, ) or the Battle of the Dardanelles took place near the mouth of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

on as part of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

between the fleets of the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. It was the largest sea battle of the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

Background

Since the start of the war the Royal Hellenic Navy acted aggressively, while the

Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...

remained in the

. Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis landed at

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

, while the Greek fleet captured a series of islands. On 24 October (O.S.), Kountouriotis sent a telegram to the Ottoman admiral: ''"We have captured Tenedos. We await the exit of your fleet. If you need coal, I can supply you."'' On 3 December (OS), the Ottoman fleet left the Dardanelles.

Battle

The Royal Hellenic Navy, led by Kountouriotis on board of the flagship ''Averof'', defeated the Ottoman Navy, led by Captain Ramiz Bey, just outside the entrance to the

(Hellespont). During the battle, Kountouriotis, frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek ironclads ''Hydra'', ''Spetsai'' and ''Psara'', hoisted the Z flag which stood for "Independent Action", and sailed forward alone at a speed of 20 knots, against the Ottoman fleet. Taking full advantage of her superior speed, guns and armour, ''Averof'' succeeded in crossing the Ottoman fleet's "T" and concentrated her fire against the Ottoman flagship ''Barbaros Hayreddin'', thus forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat in disorder. The Greek fleet, including the destroyers , and continued to pursue the Ottoman fleet off-and-on between December 13 and December 26, 1912.

Aftermath

The Ottomans suffered 7 killed and 14 wounded on the ''Barbaros Hayreddin'', 8 killed and 20 wounded on the ''Turgut Reis'', and 3 dead and 7 wounded on the ''Mesudiye''. This victory was quite significant in that the Ottoman Navy retreated within the Straits and left the Aegean Sea to the Greeks who were now free to liberate the islands of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

and

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

and others. It also prevented any transfer of Ottoman troop reinforcements by sea and effectively secured Ottoman defeat on land.

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading