Battle of Lepanto

The Battle of Lepanto was a 16th-century, vicious naval clash between the Holy League's fleet, under John of Austria, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)'s armada, led by Ali Pasha. It was ferociously fought in the Ionian Sea (Eastern Mediterranean) on October 7, 1571. The Holy League was a military alliance composed of Spain, the Papal States, Venice, Genoa, Tuscany, and Malta; John of Austria, son of Spanish King Charles I, was the Admiral and commander of the Christian fleet, while General Alvaro de Bazan was the commander of the Spanish, Italian, and Austrian embarked troops that boarded the Turkish ships using makeshift gangways. The renowned Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra fought in this battle as an infantry soldier and lost his left arm. Later, he would declare: 'I have lost my left to the glory of the right', meaning he was forced by circumstances to be a permanent right-handed writer.

The Holy League had been created by Pope Pius V in May 1571, with the purpose of checking and curtailing the Ottoman Empire expansion and regaining control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Turkish had already attacked and looted Italian and Greek city-ports and taken islands. As a matter of fact, Lepanto was a port in Greece between the Ionian Sea and the Gulf of Corinth. Thus, Spain and the Pope organized a powerful fleet, on which the Spanish Tercios (Spanish marine corps) and Austrian and Italian troops embarked. It was the last major battle of oar-propelled vessels. The Holy League fleet was composed of 207 galleys and 6 galleasses, with about 50,000 men, led by Don Juan de Austria (John of Austria), while the Turkish fleet consisted of 210 galleys and 66 galliots, under Ali Pasha.

Summary

The Battle of Lepanto began when the six Venetian galleasses, which had been deployed in front of the galleys, broke up the battle formation of the Turkish fleet, using massive artillery fire. The Turkish, on the other hand, had few artillery pieces and they were not quick enough to get ready and open fire. Soon, the Spanish forces began boarding the enemy galleys of the first line. The ships of both sides of the first line carried about 25,000 soldiers each, not counting sailors. Most of the Turkish soldiers were armed with silent weapons, such as crossbows and spears, whereas the soldiers of the allied fleet had harquebuses, swords, long spears, helmets, defensive armament, and shields to protect against arrows.

The Spaniards were battle-hardened troops, with a lot of experience fighting in the European wars and in North Africa. As a result, the Turkish fleet was routed, losing 224 ships, of which 117 were captured; the allies lost 15 galleys. However, taking advantage of the lack of unity among the Christian allies, the Ottoman Empire would create a new fleet in the following years. By the peace treaty of 1573, Venice ceded the island of Cyprus to Turkey.

Above, a portion of a painting by Giorgio Vasari, depicting the deployment of both fleets.

A 16th-century map of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The site of the Battle of Lepanto is marked with a red dot.