The last major sailing-ship naval battle, it destroyed the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet and made Greek independence virtually inevitable.
Key Facts
- Date
- 20 October 1827
- Allied nations
- Britain, France, Russia
- Ottoman coalition
- Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Algiers, Tunis
- Battle type
- Last major all-sailing-ship naval battle in history
- Governing treaty
- Treaty of London, 1827
- Allied commander
- Admiral Edward Codrington
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Russia's expansionist ambitions at the expense of the declining Ottoman Empire alarmed Britain and France, who feared Russian dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean. To prevent unilateral Russian action while still supporting Greek autonomy, the three powers concluded the Treaty of London (1827), committing them to a joint naval intervention to coerce the Ottomans into granting Greece self-governance without dismembering the empire.
On 20 October 1827, Allied squadrons under Admiral Edward Codrington entered Navarino Bay to pressure the Ottoman commander into compliance with Allied demands. The confrontation escalated into a full engagement in which the combined British, French, and Russian fleet decisively destroyed the Ottoman-Egyptian armada at anchor through superior firepower and gunnery, sinking the primary Ottoman naval force in the Mediterranean.
The destruction of the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet removed the main military instrument suppressing the Greek rebellion and made Greek independence far more attainable. However, two further interventions were required: the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–29 and a French expeditionary force to the Peloponnese. These combined pressures ultimately secured full Greek independence, recognised formally in 1829.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
3 belligerents
Admiral Edward Codrington.
Side B
3 belligerents