Battle of Lemnos (1913) - Battle

Battle

The Greek fleet, led by Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis was composed of its 9,960 ton armored cruiser flagship Averof, the three old pre-dreadnought battleships Spetsai, Hydra and Psara and seven destroyers, while the Ottoman flotilla included the pre-dreadnought battleships Barbaros Hayreddin, Turgut Reis and Mesudiye and the cruiser Mecidiye, and five destroyers. The battleship Asar-i Tevfik remained in the Dardanelles and did not participate in the battle.

On 08:20 in the morning of January 5, the Greek patrols signalled that the Ottoman fleet had appeared. At 09:45, the Greek Fleet sailed from Moudros Bay. The two fleets met some 12 miles SE of Lemnos, sailing southeast in converging columns, with their flagships in front. The gunnery exchange commenced at 11:34, when the two fleets were at a distance of 8400 metres. Immediately the Greek column turned left, further diminishing the distance. Soon after, the Mecidiye and the accompanying destroyers turned northeast towards the Dardanelles, followed by the Mesudiye at 11:50, after it had suffered heavy damage from the combined fire of Hydra and Psara. At 11:54, a successful salvo from the Averof hit the Barbaros, destroying its middle tower, forcing it to withdraw towards the Dardanelles, along with the Turgut Reis at 12:00. As at Elli, the Averof commenced independent action, using its superior speed, and maneuvering so that it could use the artillery of both its sides, to pursue the Ottoman ships, while the older battleships followed as fast as they could. The pursuit ended finally at 14:30, as the Ottoman ships were nearing the Dardanelles.