Battle of Lemnos (1913) - Prelude

Prelude

Following the loss of a number of Aegean Islands to Greece during the first phase of the war in 1912, and its first defeat at the Battle of Elli, the Ottoman Navy sought to check Greek progress by destroying the Greek fleet docked at the port of Moudros, Lemnos. However, it faced the problem of countering the Greek flagship, the Georgios Averof, which had already defeated them at Elli. The Ottomans developed the plan to slip a fast cruiser through the Greek patrols for a raiding mission in the Aegean, hoping to draw off some Greek ships, possibly even the Averof itself, in pursuit, leaving the remainder weakened for the Ottoman fleet to attack. Indeed, the cruiser Hamidiye evaded the Greek lookout ships on the night of 13/14 January 1913, and sunk a Greek transport ship at Syros the next day, also bombarding the island's harbour. This action caused concern in Athens, and an order was sent to the Fleet, commanding it to "sail immediately in pursuit". Admiral Kountouriotis refused to obey, suspecting an Ottoman trap, and instead prepared for the inevitable exit of the Ottoman Fleet from the Dardanelles Straits.

On the Ottoman side, efforts were made to uplift the morale of the crews, including the hoisting of the original banner of the great corsair and admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa on the flagship, Barbaros Hayreddin, which was named after him.