The Battle of Elli ( el, Ναυμαχία της Έλλης, tr, İmroz Deniz Muharebesi) or the Battle of the Dardanelles took place near the mouth of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

on as part of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

between the fleets of the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label= Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, wh ...

and 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 ...

. It was the largest sea battle of the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...

Background

Since the start of the war the Hellenic Navy acted aggressively, while the Ottoman navy remained in the Dardanelles. Admiral Kountouriotis landed at

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 ...

, while the Greek fleet liberated 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 The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...

, led by Rear Admiral Pavlos 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 battleships ''Hydra'', ''Spetsai'' and ''Psara'', hoisted the

Z flag The Z flag is one of the international maritime signal flags. International maritime signal flag In the system of international maritime signal flags, part of the International Code of Signals, the Z flag stands for the letter Z ("Zulu" in the ...

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 the dates of 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 ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) 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. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...

and

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

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