| Battle of Chios (1621) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theOttoman–Habsburg wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Empire Republic of Genoa.svg) Grand Duchy of Tuscany.svg) Order of St. John |  Ottoman Empire.svg) Eyalet of Tunis Regency of Algiers | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Carlo Doria Clemente Hidalgo | Ali Rostan Henry Samson Mahomet Escabrig | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 13 galleys 1 galleon 1 nao | 12 galleys 4 galiots 6 naos 3 tartane | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 84 dead | 362 dead Many captured 1 galiot, 2 naos and 2 tartanes captured | ||||||
TheBattle of Chios of 1621 was a naval battle between a Spanish and Italian fleet and anOttoman-Barbary fleet near the island ofChios. It concluded with a Christian victory.
In March 1621, sixgalleys from theGrand Duchy of Tuscany took refuge in the island ofHospitaller Malta against a sizable Ottoman armada sighted nearby. They came out joined by three galleys and agalleon from theOrder of St. John, of which Grand MasterAlof de Wignacourt had given command to Spanish knight Clemente Hidalgo to escort them.[1] Two days later, they were also joined by aFlemishnao from the Spanish Netherlands, which thanks to its artillery and a timely wind had escaped from an encounter with the Ottoman fleet. The following day, the growing Christian fleet found twoSpanish galleys from theViceroyalty of Sicily and two Genoese galleys captained byCarlo Doria. The ships gathered in parliament and, judging their forces now enough to face the Ottoman armada, decided to seek and destroy it.[1][2]
During the search, approaching the Aegean Sea, they captured an Ottoman tartane sent to scout their movements. From its crewmen they found out the enemy fleet was composed by 12 Ottoman galleys captained by Ali Rostam, 6naos fromEnglish renegade Henry Samson, and 4galiots and 3 more tartanas by Mahomet Escabrig, a Turkish corsair based in theRegency of Algiers and known as theBravo de Argel ("The Brave Algerian") among the Spanish, all of them carrying byJanissaries.[3] On 20, the Christian armada found its Ottoman counterpart in front of the harbor of theChios island.[4]
Sighting happened by sunset, leading both fleets to wait overnight before engaging. The Christian fleet capitalized on the chance to add twelve knights of St. John to the crew of the Flemish ship, where they hid in a plan they conceived. The Christians placed the Maltese galleon and the Netherlander ship at the center, the Tuscan galleys at the right wing and the rest of them at the left wing, while the Muslims opened in half moon formation.[4] The fleets started exchanging artillery fire, and four hours they fired at each other without any achieving the advantage. The Ottoman right attempted a boarding against the Christian left which was rejected.[4]
As the battle raged, three Maltese galleys boarded Mahomet's flagship before being beaten back, and meanwhile the opposite happened when the Muslims boarded the Flemish ship, where the of St. John knight unveiled their plan. They pretended to surrender, and as the Ottoman boarding crews entered freely, the knight came out of their hiding places and attacked by surprise, killing many and forcing many other to jump overboard, several of them drowning.[5] The battle went back and forth, with a group of Tuscan marine infantry leading a daring boarding of several Ottoman ships before being cut off and eventually killed, although managing to capture and bring back one of Samson's ships. Doria pressed against Mahomet's ships with the Genoese and Spanish galleys.[6] Finally, Rostam and the rest of Ottoman captains called for retreat and retired to the harbor of Chios.[7]
After the Christian fleet's return to the western Mediterranean, sevenFrench galleys raidedAlgiers, capturing six Barbary ships and freeing 310 prisoners.[7]