Naval Battle of Elli

The Battle of Elli also known as the Battle of the Dardanelles, took place near the mouth of the Dardanelles

Dardanelles

The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

 on as part of the First Balkan War

First Balkan War

The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...

 between the fleets of Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. It was the largest sea battle of the Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

.

The Royal Hellenic Navy, led by Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis was a Greek admiral and naval hero during the Balkan Wars and the first and third President of the Second Hellenic Republic.-Family Background:The Kountouriotes was a prominent Arvanite family from the island of Hydra...

 on board the flagship Averof

Greek cruiser Georgios Averof

Georgios Averof is a Greek warship which served as the flagship of the Royal Hellenic Navy during most of the first half of the 20th Century...

, defeated the Ottoman Navy

Ottoman Navy

The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...

, just outside the entrance to the Dardanelles

Dardanelles

The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

 (Hellespont). During the battle, Kountouriotis, frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek battleships Hydra

Greek battleship Hydra

The Ironclad warship Hydra , named for one of the Saronic Gulf islands which played a key role in the war at sea during the Greek War of Independence, served in the Royal Hellenic Navy from 1889 - 1929....

, Spetsai

Greek battleship Spetsai

The Spetsai was a Greek steel battleship serving in the Royal Hellenic Navy from 1890 until 1920. She was named after the Saronic Gulf island of Spetses, which played a key role in the war at sea during the Greek War of Independence.The ship, along with her two sister ships of the Hydra Class, was...

 and Psara

Greek battleship Psara

The steel ironclad warship Psara , named for one of the Aegean Sea islands that played a key role in the war at sea during the Greek War of Independence, served in the Royal Hellenic Navy from 1889 - 1929....

, hoisted the Flag Signal for the letter Z which stood for "Independent Action", and sailed forward alone at a speed of 20 knots, against the Ottoman fleet. Taking full advantage in her superior speed, guns and armour, Averof succeeded in crossing the Ottoman fleet's "T" and concentrated her fire against the Ottoman flagship Barbaros Hayreddin, thus forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat in disorder. The Greek fleet, including the destroyers Aetos

Greek destroyer Aetos

Aetos served in the Royal Hellenic Navy from 1912–1945.The ship, along with her three sister ships of Wild Beast class destroyers Ierax, Panthir and Leon, was ordered from England. They were purchased in 1912, ready for delivery, each for the sum of £148,000, from the English shipyards Camell...

, Ierax

Greek destroyer Ierax

Ierax served in the Hellenic Royal Navy from 1912–1946.The ship, along with her three sister ships of Wild Beast class destroyers Aetos, Panthir and Leon, was ordered from England. They were purchased in 1912, ready for delivery, each for the sum of £148,000 from the English shipyards Camell...

 and Panthir

Greek destroyer Panthir

Panthir served in the Hellenic Royal Navy from 1912–1946.The ship, along with her three sister ships of Wild Beast class destroyers Aetos, Ierax and Leon, was ordered from England. They were purchased ready for delivery, each for the sum of £148,000 from the English shipyards Camell Laird in...

 continued to pursue the Ottoman fleet off-and-on between the dates of December 13 and December 26, 1912.

The Ottomans suffered 7 killed and 14 wounded on the Barbaros Hayreddin, 8 killed and 20 wounded on the Turgut Reis, and 3 dead and 7 wounded on the Mesudiye.

This victory was quite significant in that the Ottoman navy retreated within the Straits and left the Aegean Sea to the Greeks who were now free to liberate the islands of Lesbos, Chios

Chios

Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...

, Lemnos

Lemnos

Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...

 and Samos

Samos Island

Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...

. It also prevented any transfer of Ottoman troop reinforcements by sea and effectively secured Ottoman defeat on land.

See Also

• Greek cruiser Elli (1912)
• Greek cruiser Elli (1935)
• Greek frigate Elli (F450)