THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO (1571)

CONFLICT, DATE AND FLEETS SND COMMANDERS

The Battle of Lepanto was a key naval engagement during the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars. The Holy
League defeated the Ottomans at Lepanto on 7th October 1571, the holy league was made up by 206 galleys, 6 gallasses, his commander was Don John of Austria and the ottoman empire was made up by 230 galleys, 56 galliots, his commander was Ali Pasha.

BACKGROUND

In 1571, the Christian powers in the Mediterranean assembled a large fleet to confront the growing menace of the Ottoman Empire. Assembling at Messina, Sicily in July and August, the Christian force was led by Don John of Austria and contained vessels from Venice, Spain, the Papal States, Genoa, Savoy, and Malta. Sailing under the banner of the Holy League, Don John's fleet consisted of 206 galleys and 6 gallasses (large galleys that mounted artillery). Rowing east, they encountered the Ottoman fleet of Ali Pasha off Greece in the Gulf of Patras.

Commanding 230 galleys and 56 galliots (small galleys), Ali Pasha had departed his base at Lepanto and was moving west to intercept the Holy League's fleet. As the fleets sighted each other, they formed for battle. For the Holy League, Don John, aboard the galley Real, divided his force into four divisions, with the Venetians under Agostino Barbarigo on the left, himself in the center, the Genoese under Giovanni Andrea Doria on the right, and a reserve led by Álvaro de Bazán in the rear. In addition, he pushed gallasses out in front of his left and center divisions where they could bombard the Ottoman fleet.

AFTERMATH AND IMPACT

At the Battle of Lepanto, the Holy League lost 50 galleys and suffered approximately 13,000 casualties. This was offset by the freeing of a similar number of Christian slaves from the Ottoman ships.
 In addition to the death of Ali Pasha, the Ottomans lost 25,000 killed and wounded and an additional 3,500 captured. Their fleet lost 210 ships, of which 130 were captured by the Holy League. Coming at what was seen as a crisis point for Christianity, the victory at Lepanto stemmed Ottoman expansion in the Mediterranean and prevented their influence from spreading west.





















By Álvaro Manzano Medina 2A                                       

7th May 2016