Battle of Porto Kagio

The Battle of Porto Kagio was a late 18th century naval engagement. Fought between an Ottoman force and Greek pirates, the battle came in the immediate aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War.

Battle of Porto Kagio
Part of the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)
Küçük Hüseyin Pasha
Date 17–18 June 1792 Location Porto Kagio Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Greek Pirates
Commanders and leaders
Küçük Hüseyin Pasha	Lambros Katsonis
Strength
10 galleon	16 sailing ship
Casualties and losses
Light	Heavy

Ottoman navy under the command of Kapudan Pasha Küçük Hüseyin Pasha destroyed the Greek fleet under the command of Lambros Katsonis, which was carrying out piracy activities in favor of Russia in the Aegean Sea and Mediterranean in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) off the Porto Kagio location in Mani Peninsula.

Background

Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) ended with the Treaty of Jassy signed on January 10, 1792; Greek sailor Lambro, who carried out piracy activities against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea on behalf of the Russia throughout the war, continued these activities during peacetime from the base he established in Porto Kagio on the Mani Peninsula in the south of Morea Eyalet. The Ottoman Empire asked Russia through diplomatic channels that Lambros Katsonis was still not fighting the war on behalf of Russia. Upon receiving the confirmation of peace from Russia and the response that Lambros was no longer under Russian protection, Selim III assigned the new Kapudan Pasha Küçük Hüseyin Pasha and Morea Eyalet Mustafa Pasha to eliminate Lambros.

Mustafa Pasha advanced on Mani Peninsula by land and marched on Porto Kagio. The Ottoman Navy under the command of Küçük Hüseyin Pasha left the Dardanelles on 10 June 1792 and stopped at Lesbos. While it was around Lesbos, the Ottoman fleet of six ships under the command of Halil Bey, which was sent to the vicinity of Naxos and Paros, caught the fleet of the pirate Karakaçan, under the retinue of Lambros, at Çamlıca. The next day, after the main Ottoman Navy arrived in the region, the Greek fleet was destroyed in the Çamlıca Naval Battle. Then, the Ottoman fleet moved towards Mani Peninsula and anchored at Cinbova Port near Portokale.

Battle

The Ottoman navy headed towards Porto Kagio on June 16 and blockaded its port as well as landing troops. In the battle on June 17, the Ottoman navy decisively defeated the Greek fleet and captured 11 ships and 65 soldiers. The fighting continued on June 18, and while the Ottoman navy captured the remaining 5 ships, the soldiers who landed destroyed the buildings and fortifications that the Greek pirates had built on the coast and captured 115 cannons of various sizes. The Greek pirate Lambros Katsonis managed to escape in the darkness of the night of June 19.

Aftermath

Following this victory, the Ottoman Navy under the command of Küçük Hüseyin Pasha entered Istanbul on September 25, 1792, with 18 ships and hundreds of pirates that it had captured. The victory was celebrated with cannon fire on September 26. On September 29, Küçük Hüseyin Pasha he was accepted into the presence of Selim III and was dressed in sable fur and presented with a dagger inlaid with precious stones.

The Ottomans' diplomatic efforts to extradite Lambros Katsonis, who was understood to have taken refuge in the Republic of Venice, were unsuccessful.