The Battle of Sphacteria was a battle of the Greek War of Independence fought on 8 May 1825 in

Sphacteria Sphacteria ( el, Σφακτηρία - ''Sfaktiria'') also known as Sphagia (Σφαγία) is a small island at the entrance to the bay of Pylos in the Peloponnese, Greece. It was the site of three battles: *the 425 BC Battle of Sphacteria in the ...

between the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian forces of Ibrahim Pasha and Greek forces led by Captain

Anastasios Tsamados Anastasios Tsamados ( el, Αναστάσιος Τσαμαδός; 1772Ασπρέας Γ. (1930), Μεγάλη ''Στρατιωτική και Ναυτική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια- Λεξικόν'': Έκδοση Μεγάλης Στρατιω ...

along with Alexandros Mavrokordatos.

Battle

Commanding both a powerful army and navy, Ibrahim initiated attacks on both Paliokastro and the island of Sphacteria. As a result, Mavrocordatos rushed to their defense while Captain Tsamados from Hydra held off Ibrahim's forces. Ibrahim aimed to capture the strategic small island of Sfaktiria at the center of the bay. Fifteen hundred Egyptians landed on the island only to be met with resistance by Tsamados who led a small contingent of sailors and soldiers. Shot in the leg, Tsamados continued fighting until he was killed. During the battle was killed also Santorre di Santa Rosa. The remaining Greek sailors with Mavrocordatos rushed back to their ship, the ''

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

'', and sailed through a bombardment of thirty-four ships. For four hours it was bombarded and the casualties entailed two dead along with eight wounded. Finally, the Greek fleet and the

Greek brig Aris The brig ''Aris'' ( el, Άρης, named after the god of war, Ares), was one of the most distinguished Greek ships during the Greek War of Independence and continued to serve in the Greek Navy until the early 20th century as a training ship. Hist ...

escaped the destruction after hours of fighting and bombardment.

Aftermath

Days after the battle, the Greeks surrendered Neokastro to Ibrahim. In a desperate action, admiral Miaoulis decided to attack and burn the Egyptian fleet at Methoni. Finally, using

fire ships A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

, he succeeded to destroy 12 ships (including a corvette and a frigate), but it had no impact on Ibrahim, who now had the mainland base he wanted.Ιστορικά θέματα
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References

Sources

* Smith, William and Felton, Cornelius Conway. ''A History of Greece: From the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest, with Supplementary Chapters on the History of Literature and Art''. Hickling, Swan, and Brown, 1855. *Paparigopoulos, K, History of the Greek Nation (Greek edition), vol. 6, p. 163-164 {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Sphacteria 1825

1825 in Greece History of Pylos Amphibious operations

Sphacteria (1825) May 1825 events Peloponnese in the Greek War of Independence