Battle of Gerontas
Part of theGreek War of Independence
Plan of the battle
Date 10 September [O.S. 29 August] 1824 Location offLeros,Aegean Sea 37°12′7″N27°10′12″E / 37.20194°N 27.17000°E /37.20194; 27.17000 Result Greek victory Control of Samos secured
Belligerents
First Hellenic Republic	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Andreas Miaoulis Dimitrios Papanikolis	Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha
Strength
70–75 warships (of them 9 fireships) 800 cannons	1 battleship 18 frigates 14 corvettes 70 brigs and schooners 30 small craft 151 transports (most probable estimate), not all engaged[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	One 44–gun frigate destroyed 1,300 killed[2] Tunisian admiral and one Egyptian colonel captured[3]
class=notpageimage| Location within Aegean Sea Show map of Aegean Sea Battle of Gerontas (Turkey) Show map of Turkey

TheBattle of Gerontas (Greek:Ναυμαχία του Γέροντα) was a naval battle fought close to the island ofLeros in the southeastAegean Sea. On 10 September [O.S. 29 August] 1824, aGreek fleet of 75 ships defeated anOttoman armada of 100 ships^[4] contributed byEgypt,Tunisia andTripoli.

The Battle of Gerontas was one of the most decisive naval engagements of theGreek War of Independence and secured the island ofSamos under Greek control.

In August 1824, theOttomans looked to secure the island ofSamos off the coast ofAsia Minor, a previous attempt launched earlier in the month on 5 August (O.S.) resulted in an Ottoman defeat at theBattle of Samos and caused delay. By 29 August, theOttoman fleet had grown to some 100 warships and launched an attack on the scattered Greek forces whose fleet made up a force of some 70-75 warships.^[5]

After the battle offKos island on 24 August 1824, the Greek detachment of 15 ships was anchored in the Gerontas bay, while the rest of the fleet drifted in the open sea because of the lack of a wind. On the morning of 29 August 1824, the 86 warships of the Ottoman and Egyptian flotilla detected the Greek fleet and proceeded with apincer movement, using advantageous winds. The Greek fleet in the bay had to resort to towing their ships by lifeboats to reach a more advantageous position for fighting.

The wave of Greek fireships disorganized the Ottoman lines sufficiently for all of the Greek ships to escape from Gerontas bay. Later a shift in the wind put the Greek fleet in the advantage, allowing a second attack by their fireships. One of the fireships burned the Tunisian flotilla flagship. Because the Greek fireships selectively targeted the enemy flagships, the Ottoman commanders panicked and ordered their ships to leave the battle lines, leading to confusion and the unorganized retreat of the Ottoman forces.^[6]

• Conflicts in 1824
• Naval battles involving the Ottoman Empire
• 1824 in Greece
• History of the Dodecanese
• Naval battles of the Greek War of Independence
• Naval battles involving Ottoman Egypt
• Naval battles involving Ottoman Tunisia
• Naval battles involving Ottoman Tripolitania
• September 1824

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