Navarino, Battle of

(Oct. 20, 1827) Naval engagement in the War of Greek Independence against Turkey.

A fleet of British, French, and Russian ships was sent to aid Greece by intercepting supplies for the Egyptian-Turkish fleet anchored in the Navarino Bay in the Peloponnese. Shortly after it entered the harbour, the superior guns of the European fleet sent three-fourths of the larger Egyptian-Turkish fleet to the bottom and forced others aground. The defeat marked the last significant battle between wooden sailing ships and led to Turkey's evacuation from Greece.

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▪ 1827

      (Oct. 20, 1827), decisive naval engagement of the War of Greek Independence against Turkey. The battle was fought in the Bay of Navarin in the southwestern Peloponnese, between an Egyptian-Turkish fleet under Tahir Pasha and a combined British-French-Russian fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Codrington. The Egyptian-Turkish fleet (3 ships of the line, 15 frigates, and more than 50 smaller ships) was at anchor in the bay's harbour. The British-French-Russian fleet (totaling 11 ships of the line, 9 frigates, and 4 smaller ships), which had been sent to aid the Greek forces by intercepting Turkish supplies, met outside the harbour. Shortly after this fleet entered the harbour on October 20, the battle broke out. The superior European guns sent three-fourths of the Egyptian-Turkish fleet to the bottom and forced others aground. No European ships were sunk. Navarino was the last significant battle between wooden sailing ships. The Turkish defeat was so complete that within 10 months they began to evacuate Greece, an action that led to the creation of the independent Kingdom of Greece in 1832.

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