Battle of Sphacteria

This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (June 2011)

Battle of Sphacteria
Part of the Greek War of Independence
Depiction of the Battle of Sphacteria and the siege of Navarino, as depicted by Panagiotis Zographos
Date 8 May 1825 Location Sphacteria, Greece Result Ottoman Egyptian victory
Belligerents
Greek revolutionaries	Ottoman Egypt
Commanders and leaders
Anastasios Tsamados  †	Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Strength
Small Greek contingent	1500

The Battle of Sphacteria was fought on 8 May 1825 in Sphacteria, Greece between the Egyptian forces of Ibrahim Pasha and Greek forces led by Captain Anastasios Tsamados along with Alexandros Mavrokordatos.

Battle

Commanding both a powerful army and navy, Ibrahim initiated attacks on both Paliokastro and the island of Sphacteria. As a result, Mavrocordatos rushed to their defense while Captain Tsamados from Hydra held off Ibrahim's forces. Fifteen hundred Arabs landed on the island only to be met with resistance by Tsamados who led a small contingent of sailors and soldiers. Shot in the leg, Tsamados continued fighting on his knees until he was killed.

The remaining Greek sailors rushed back to their ship, the Aris, and with Mavrocordatos sailed through a Turkish fleet of thirty-four ships. For four hours, the remaining Greeks were bombarded and casualties entailed two dead along with eight wounded.^[1]

References

Sources

• Smith, William and Felton, Cornelius Conway. A History of Greece: From the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest, with Supplementary Chapters on the History of Literature and Art. Hickling, Swan, and Brown, 1855.