Fought during the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774, this indecisive battle took place on 27 and 28 May 1770 at the entrance to the Argolic Gulf, Greece, when a Russian fleet under John Elphinstone engaged a larger Ottoman fleet. No ships were lost on either side, and casualties were small.
Elphinston had arrived at Cape Matapan, southern Greece, on 20 May 1770 from Portsmouth and landed his troops on 22 May at Rupino. Hearing that the Ottoman fleet was divided in two, he decided to attack. After battling bad weather, he sighted the Ottoman ships on 27 May at the entrance to the gulf and despite the superior numbers of the Ottomans (about 10 battleships and some smaller vessels vs 3 battleships, 2 frigates and 4 armed merchantmen) he sailed up before a light SSE breeze to attack. Soon after 5pm Ne tron menya attacked the Ottoman flagship, and then Saratov attacked the Ottoman Vice- and Rear Admiral's ships. Nadezhda was also in action. Elphinston, in Svyatoslav, had to chase and fire on the armed merchantmen to get them to fight, but when he did attack the Ottoman fleet retreated, using their galleys to tow their battleships north. The Russians used their boats to do the same.
On 28 May, soon after 12pm the Ottoman fleet anchored in line under the guns of the Nauplia batteries. At about 3pm Elphinston attacked, standing up and down the Ottoman line, but with little effect. Russian casualties were low.
On 30 May, the Ottomans began to move, and some Russian captains insisted that they were not bound to attack such a superior fleet. Elphinston had to give in, and during the evening of 31 May as the Ottomans steadily approached, being towed again by their galleys, the wind rose and the Russians got away.
Ships involvededit
Russia (Elphinston)edit
Svyatoslav 80 (flag) Ne tron menya 66 Saratov 66 Afrika 32 Nadezhda 32 Graf Tchernyshev 22 (hired British merchantman) Graf Panin 18 (hired British merchantman) Graf Orlov 18 (hired British merchantman) Sv. Pavel 8
Ottoman Empireedit
(details uncertain) ? 84 (flag) 4 other 84-gun battleships 2 64-gun battleships 4 54-gun battleships 2 50-gun battleships a few smaller ships, including galleys
Referencesedit
Anderson, R. C. (1952). Naval Wars in the Levant 1559–1853. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 1015099422.
April 27, 2024
battle, nauplia, 1770, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2014, lear. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Fought during the Russo Turkish War 1768 1774 this indecisive battle took place on 27 and 28 May 1770 at the entrance to the Argolic Gulf Greece when a Russian fleet under John Elphinstone engaged a larger Ottoman fleet No ships were lost on either side and casualties were small Contents 1 History 2 Ships involved 2 1 Russia Elphinston 2 2 Ottoman Empire 3 ReferencesHistory editElphinston had arrived at Cape Matapan southern Greece on 20 May 1770 from Portsmouth and landed his troops on 22 May at Rupino Hearing that the Ottoman fleet was divided in two he decided to attack After battling bad weather he sighted the Ottoman ships on 27 May at the entrance to the gulf and despite the superior numbers of the Ottomans about 10 battleships and some smaller vessels vs 3 battleships 2 frigates and 4 armed merchantmen he sailed up before a light SSE breeze to attack Soon after 5pm Ne tron menya attacked the Ottoman flagship and then Saratov attacked the Ottoman Vice and Rear Admiral s ships Nadezhda was also in action Elphinston in Svyatoslav had to chase and fire on the armed merchantmen to get them to fight but when he did attack the Ottoman fleet retreated using their galleys to tow their battleships north The Russians used their boats to do the same On 28 May soon after 12pm the Ottoman fleet anchored in line under the guns of the Nauplia batteries At about 3pm Elphinston attacked standing up and down the Ottoman line but with little effect Russian casualties were low On 30 May the Ottomans began to move and some Russian captains insisted that they were not bound to attack such a superior fleet Elphinston had to give in and during the evening of 31 May as the Ottomans steadily approached being towed again by their galleys the wind rose and the Russians got away Ships involved editRussia Elphinston edit Svyatoslav 80 flag Ne tron menya 66 Saratov 66 Afrika 32 Nadezhda 32 Graf Tchernyshev 22 hired British merchantman Graf Panin 18 hired British merchantman Graf Orlov 18 hired British merchantman Sv Pavel 8 Ottoman Empire edit details uncertain 84 flag 4 other 84 gun battleships 2 64 gun battleships 4 54 gun battleships 2 50 gun battleships a few smaller ships including galleysReferences editAnderson R C 1952 Naval Wars in the Levant 1559 1853 Princeton Princeton University Press OCLC 1015099422 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Nauplia 1770 amp oldid 1120291957, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
