What Was the Battle of Navarino?
The Battle of Navarino was fought on 20 October 1827 in the bay of Navarino on the western coast of the Peloponnese, between an allied fleet of British, French, and Russian ships and the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet of Ibrahim Pasha. The battle was the decisive engagement of the Greek War of Independence, and it effectively ended the Ottoman naval power in the Mediterranean. The battle was a decisive allied victory: the allied fleet destroyed 60 of the Ottoman-Egyptian ships, while losing only 3 of its own. The Russian contingent, under the command of Rear Admiral Lodewijk van Heiden, played a central role; the Russian ship Azov, under the command of Captain Mikhail Lazarev, was the first ship to break the Ottoman line (see Dakin, The Greek Struggle for Independence, 1821-1833, 1973).
The Greek War of Independence
The battle was a consequence of the Greek War of Independence, which had begun in 1821. The Greek revolutionaries had been fighting for their independence from the Ottoman Empire, and the war had been marked by atrocities on both sides. Russia, Britain, and France were concerned about the situation in Greece, and they had been negotiating with the Ottoman government about the possibility of an autonomous Greek state within the Ottoman Empire. The negotiations failed, and the three powers signed the Treaty of London on 6 July 1827, which called for the establishment of an autonomous Greek state under Ottoman suzerainty.
The Treaty of London also called for the allied powers to use their navies to enforce a ceasefire between the Greek revolutionaries and the Ottoman forces. The allied fleets were sent to the Greek waters to put pressure on the Ottoman government. The British Admiral Sir Edward Codrington was in overall command. The Ottoman government, however, rejected the allied demands, and the situation in Greece continued to deteriorate. The Ottoman-Egyptian fleet, under Ibrahim Pasha, was sent to suppress the Greek revolt; the allied fleet, under Codrington, was sent to intercept it. The two fleets met in the bay of Navarino on 20 October 1827 (Dakin, 1973).
The battle
The allied fleet, of about 27 ships, was smaller than the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet of about 89 ships. The allies, however, had superior training, better guns, and more experienced crews. The battle was fought at close range, with the ships exchanging broadsides at very short range; the fighting was ferocious, and the casualties on both sides were heavy. The allied fleet suffered 177 killed and 480 wounded; the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet lost about 6,000 killed and 4,000 wounded.
The Russian contingent, under van Heiden, played a central role in the battle. The Russian ship Azov, under Lazarev, was the first to break the Ottoman-Egyptian line, and the Russian squadron’s heavy guns played a decisive part in the destruction of the Egyptian centre. The Russian participation in the battle was an important event in Russian naval history: it was the first Russian naval action in the Mediterranean since the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, and it established the reputation of the post-Peter Russian navy. Lazarev was promoted to rear admiral for his role in the battle (Dakin, 1973).
The impact on the Greek state
The Battle of Navarino had an impact on the Greek War of Independence. The destruction of the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet at Navarino effectively ended the Ottoman naval power in the Mediterranean, and it allowed the Greek revolutionaries to consolidate their position. The Russian government, in the aftermath of the battle, used the opportunity to push for the establishment of an autonomous Greek state under Russian and allied protection. The negotiations were long and difficult, and they were complicated by the 1828-1829 Russo-Turkish War, in which Russia forced the Ottoman government to accept the Treaty of Adrianople (14 September 1829). The Greek state was finally recognised by European powers in the Treaty of Constantinople of 21 July 1832 (Dakin, 1973).
The wider European consequences
The battle was an important event in Russian foreign policy. The Russian government had been the principal supporter of the Greek revolutionaries, and the Russian participation in the allied intervention was a central element of the Russian position in the Eastern Mediterranean. The battle was, in this sense, a step in the development of the Russian position in the Eastern Question, the complex diplomatic and political issues surrounding the declining Ottoman Empire. The battle was also an important step in the development of the European state system: it was the first European naval intervention in the affairs of the Ottoman Empire, and it set a precedent for the subsequent European interventions in the Greek, Egyptian, and Turkish affairs.
The Battle of Navarino was the last fleet engagement fought entirely under sail. The battle was a notable exception to the otherwise long decline of the sailing warship; the next European naval battle, the Battle of Sinope in 1853, was fought between steam-powered ships. Navarino retained an important place in naval history as the last great age-of-sail battle. The battle is commemorated in Greece as a national holiday on 20 October, and the bay of Navarino is the site of an annual memorial ceremony. The Russian participation, in particular, has been commemorated in the Russian naval tradition, and Lazarev’s name is on the Russian naval maps in the eastern Mediterranean.