Battle of The Dardanelles (1656) - Battle

Battle

In the morning of 26 June the wind was from the north, and the Ottomans made good progress, the Venetian galleys being unable to assist their sailing ships. Then the wind backed, turning to the SE, trapping the Ottomans against the Asian side of the Strait just below the Narrows, and a mêlée ensued, the result of which was never in doubt. Kenan Pasha got back past the Narrows with 14 galleys but the rest were either captured, sunk or burnt. Sultan/San Marco was the most advanced Venetian ship and did the most to prevent the Ottoman retreat, but she ran aground under the Ottoman guns and was abandoned.

During the course of the battle, the Venetian Captain General Marcello was killed by a direct cannon hit, but his death kept a secret from all but his second, the provedditore of the fleet Barbaro Badoer.

Some small-scale fighting happened the next day, and at the end of it, the Ottoman fleet had lost 4 large sailing ships, 2 pinks, 5 galleasses and 13 galleys captured, and 22 sailing ships, 4 galleasses and 34 galleys sunk or burnt. Only 2 Ottoman sailing ships and 14 galleys escaped. Of the captured ships, Malta received 2 galleasses, 8 galleys and 1 "super galley" (or galleass?). The Venetians lost 3 sailing ships burnt and their casualties were 207 killed, 260 wounded and 94 missing. Maltese casualties were 40 killed and 100 or more wounded. Some 5,000 Christian slaves employed in the Ottoman fleet were freed.