Action of 22 August 1696

This indecisive battle took place on 22 August 1696 southeast of the Greek island of Andros. It was fought between the Republic of Venice, under Contarini, and the Papal States on one side and the Ottoman Empire, under Mezzo Morto Hüseyin Pasha, and Barbary forces on the other. No vessels were lost.

Contarini, with 22 sailing ships, left Porto Poro on 28 July and arrived at Port Gavrion, on the west coast of Andros, on 3 August, while a galley force, under Molino, went to Kekhrios, on mainland Greece, ready for an attack on Thebes.

On 6 August the Muslim fleet of 20 Turkish ships and 15 African ships was sighted north of Andros. It sailed around to Gavrion and tried to tempt Contarini out, but the wind was from the north (possibly this should be south), and Contarini had orders not to engage unless he had the weather gauge, and even after the Turks sent galliots in and landed troops all he did was send a small craft to drive them off. The Turks left and anchored to the west. For 10 days nothng happened, except for a French merchantman entering the harbor being fired on by the Venetians, who mistook it for a fireship.

On 20 August the north wind dropped and at 5pm the Turks appeared again off the town and opened fire, with little result, before becoming becalmed to the south during the night. On 21 August, the wind was from the north again and Contarini, seeing his chance, sailed, but the wind dropped at about 12pm and he made for the SE end of Andros with what wind there was, there being joined by the galley force which had just arrived from the west, early on 22 August. A slight easterly wind gave Contarini another chance, and he sailed west, the galleys towing the sailing ships, toward the south end of the Turks, who were arranged vaguely in an easterly Turkish line and a westerly African line, but mainly in a group formation, and turned north, coming alongside them with his first 7 ships ("Tigre", "Rosa", "San Andrea", "San Lorenzo Giustinian" (flag), "San Domenico", "Fede Guerriera" and "San Sebastiano") and attacking at about 12pm. At about 2pm the rowing vessels detached and formed a line abreast to the south of the Turks. Both sides' sailing ships formed themselves more or less into lines, and the Turks gradually bore away. At 4pm the wind dropped, and the Venetian rowing vessels, which had cut back through the line, then re-emerged and attacked the Turks in a line abreast. The Turks withdrew after about 2 hours, eventually making their way south to near the island of Syra, whilst the Venetians eventually sailed back to Port Gavrion. Until 1 December the Venetians sailed around looking for the Turkish fleet, when they heard that it had sailed back into the Dardanelles almost 1 month earlier.

Christian casualties were 56 killed and 125 wounded in the sailing ships and about 19 casualties in the rowing vessels.

Ships involved:

Venice (Contarini)

"San Lorenzo Giustinian" 80 (flag)
"Tigre" 66
"Rosa" 60
"San Andrea" 60
"San Domenico" 60
"Fede Guerriera" 56
"San Sebastiano" 68
15 other battleships
some galleasses
some galleys
unknown Vatican ships

Turkey (Mezzo Morto)

20 Turkish battleships
15 or 16 Barbary ships
some galliots

References

*Anderson, R. C. "Naval wars in the Levant 1559-1853" (1952) ISBN 1-57898-538-2