This battle, which took place on 16 May 1654, was the first of a series of tough battles just inside the mouth of the
Dardanelles Strait
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 ( ...
, as
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
and sometimes the other Christian forces attempted to hold the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
back from their invasion of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
by attacking them early.
Venetian commander
Giuseppe Delfino reached the mouth of the Dardanelles on 19 April after a voyage in which he lost approximately 3 ships. His fleet of 17 sailing ships, 2
galleasses
Galleasses were military ships developed from large merchant galleys, and intended to combine galley speed with the sea-worthiness and artillery of a galleon. While perhaps never quite matching up to their full expectations, galleasses neverthel ...
and 8
galleys was not large enough or adequately prepared. Murad, the Kapudan Pasha (admiral) left
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
with 30 sailing ships, 6 galleasses (known in Turkey as mahons), and 40 galleys on 10 May and reached the Narrows, just above the mouth of the Dardanelles, on 15 May. His fleet was formed into 3 lines: sailing ships first, then galleasses, then galleys. The next day Delfino attacked. His plan was for his ships to remain at anchor until the Turks passed and then to attack the rear. However most Venetian ships sailed too soon, leaving Delfinos ship, ''San Giorgio grande'', that of his second,
Daniele Morosini, ''Aquila d'Oro'', along with ''Orsola Bonaventura'' (Sebastiano Molino), ''Margarita'', 2 galleasses and 2 galleys without support. ''Aquila d'Oro'' was attacked first, by a large Ottoman ship which she managed to capture, before 5 Turkish vessels came to its rescue. The Ottoman vessel ended up being burnt, leading to the burning of ''Aquila d'Oro'' too. Morosini was taken prisoner as he tried to flee in a boat. The action became more general, and when it was over the Venetians had lost 2 ships and 1 galley burnt, 1 galley captured, as well as the leader of the galleys,
Francesco Morosini
Francesco Morosini (26 February 1619 – 16 January 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was one of the many Doges and generals produced by the noble Venetian family of Morosini.Encyclopæd ...
, killed, and Daniele Morosini captured. Total casualties were 30 killed and about 40 wounded, although one account had higher figures. Ottoman losses were 2 sailing ships burnt, and perhaps 1 galleass and 1 galley lost.
Order of battle
Venice (Giuseppe Delfino)
Many were hired Dutch or English ships
''San Giorgio grande'' (flag)
''Aquila d'Oro'' (Dutch ''Gouden Arend'') - Burnt
''Concordia'' (Dutch ''Eendracht'')
''Casa di Nassau'' (Dutch ''Huys van Nassau'')
''San Zorzi (Giorgio) piccolo'' (Dutch ''Kleene Sint Joris'')
''Aquila Coronato'' (Dutch ''Kronede Arend'')
''Orsola Bonaventura'' (English ''Ursula Bonaventure'') - Burnt
''Anna Bonaventura'' (English ''Anne Bonaventure'')
''San Michiel''
''Spirito Santo''
''Apollo''
''Margarita''
''San Giovanni''
''Conte Sdrin''/''Conte Desdrin''
''Genovese grande''
''Pinco Tremartino''
2 galleasses
8 galleys - flag galley of Francesco Morosini burnt, 1 other captured
Ottomans (
Kara Murat Pasha
Kara Murat Pasha, or Kara Dev Murat Pasha, lit. ''Courageous Giant Murat Pasha'' in Ottoman Turkish; (1595 - 1655), was an Ottoman Albanian statesman and military officer. He served as Kapudan Pasha and twice as Grand Vizier. His epithet ''K ...
)
30 sailing ships - 2 burnt
6 galleasses - 1 sunk?
40 galleys - 1 sunk?
Reserve fleet guarding retreat of 14 sailing ships and 22 galleys
References
*
{{Ottoman battles
the Dardanelles 1654
Dardanelles 1654
History of the Dardanelles
1654 in Europe
1650s in the Ottoman Empire