| Battle of Ponza | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theOttoman-Habsburg wars and theItalian War of 1551–1559 | |||||||
 AnOttoman galley. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Empire Republic of Genoa |  Ottoman Empire Kingdom of France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Andrea Doria Juan de Mendoza | DragutGabriel de Luetz d'Aramon | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 39 galleys | 100 galleys 3 galleys | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 7 galleys captured | Minor | ||||||
TheBattle of Ponza (1552) was a naval battle that occurred near theItalian island ofPonza. The battle was fought between a Franco-Ottoman fleet underDragut and a Spanish-Genoese fleet commanded byAndrea Doria.[1] The latter were attempting to carry troops to Naples, but were diverted and lost seven galleys captured. The battle made it easier for the Ottoman fleet to raid the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy for the next three years.
The Ottoman fleet consisted of 100 galleys which had been sent bySuleiman the Magnificent to the Western Mediterranean whenHenry II entered into conflict withCharles V in theItalian War of 1551-59.[2] The fleet was accompanied by three French galleys under the French ambassadorGabriel de Luetz d'Aramon, who accompanied the Ottomans from Istanbul in their raids along the coast ofCalabria in Southern Italy, capturing the city ofReggio.[3]
The Spanish and Genoese fleet consisted of 39 galleys under the command ofAndrea Doria.[4] Twenty of the galleys in the Genoese fleet belonged personally to Doria, six to an Antonio Doria and two to theHouse of Grimaldi ofMonaco.[5]
Doria and Juan de Mendoza were ordered to carry supplies and troops fromOstia toNaples, where ViceroyPedro de Toledo was defending against a seaborn Franco-Ottoman attacks. Having in command 39 galleys against the 150 Ottoman and French ships operating throughout, they were to navigate as stealthily as possible and evade them.[6] Between the islands ofPonza andTerracina,[1] they were ambushed by Dragut hiding nearby with 100 galleys. Doria and Mendoza immediately escaped towardsSardinia while Dragut pounced on their rear guard, capturing seven of the galleys carrying troops.[6]
After the battle, the Franco-Ottoman fleet enteredMajorca on 13 August 1552.[1] The Ottomans resisted pressure from the French to send their fleet further west, perhaps for personal reasons of the commander or due to the continuing war with Persia.[1] The victory gave the Ottomans better facility to attackSicily,Sardinia, and the coasts ofItaly for the next three years.[7] After the battle, the Ottoman fleet wintered inChios, where it was joined by the French fleet ofBaron de la Garde, ready for major naval operations the following year, including the, later failed,Invasion of Corsica in 1553.
In 1560 the nephew of Doria,Giovanni Andrea Doria, led another attempt to thwart Dragut at theBattle of Djerba, but was defeated and Dragut continued his raiding of the Northern Mediterranean shores until his death five years later.[7]