On September 16, 1571, a combined Christian fleet sailed from Messina in Sicily to seek out its Muslim counterpart. Prayers were offered by people who feared their culture, religion and perhaps their very lives depended on the fleet’s success. The Christian fleet also included galleys of the Order of St John, then ruling Malta, which were to prove their mettle and worth in the ensuing maritime battle of Lepanto, fought out on October 7, 1571.
The Ottoman (Turkish) danger to Western Europe was serious. It had been amply demonstrated on a number of occasions, including at Prevesa in 1538 and Djerba in 1560. The Turkish defeat in Malta in 1565 was an important check but it did not really impair Turkish naval strength in the Mediterranean. In February 1570, the Turkish demand on Venice to cede Cyprus was turned down, so the Muslims invaded that island in July. The Venetians appealed for help from Pope Pius V, who set about forming a Holy League against the Ottoman Empire.
The stern of a full-sized 1971 reconstruction of Don John of Austria’s flagship, known as the Reale, at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona.The saintly Pius V had long cherished the idea of rekindling a crusading spirit against the Ottomans, but when he first mooted the idea, there had been little enthusiasm because of the rivalries, jealousies and divisions that existed among the Christian nations. The Cyprus crisis changed this mood and King Philip II of Spain agreed immediately to the formation of a Christian alliance. But negotiations took their time.
The Saint Clement disaster
In 1570, the Order of St John’s galley squadron consisted of four elements under the command of Captain-General Fra François de Saint Clement. Because of the impending Turkish menace to Cyprus, on June 26, the Order’s galleys were sent to Sicily to help in any relief expedition that might materialise. However, when the galleys arrived in Palermo, Gianandrea Doria had already departed for Sardinia with 31 galleys. While waiting for Doria’s return, Saint Clement was requested to escort a Sicilian convoy to the small island of Marettimo. On his return to Licata via Trapani, Saint Clement learnt of the demise of one of his galley captains. He resolved to return to Malta.
The Captain-General was warned of the presence of a 20-strong Muslim fleet under Uluch Ali (or Luccialì) in the vicinity but, not heeding the advice of his captains, he still persisted with his plans. Some miles off Gozo, the Order’s squadron encountered the Muslim fleet and three galleys were lost. Only the Santa Maria della Vittoria escaped. The loss of three galleys with their full complements of rowers, sailors and fighting men (including knights) was a calamity that the Order could ill-afford.
However, the Knights set about to reconstitute their squadron with the help of the King of Spain who donated three galleys for this purpose. The Order could, therefore, offer only three galleys to the Holy League that was in the process of formation. The new Captain-General was Fra Pietro Giustiniani whose flagship was now the Santa Maria della Vittoria.
The Holy League
In spite of the seriousness of the situation, the would-be allies of the League brought in old animosities in their treaty negotiations, including the composition of the joint fleet, rewards and spoils, the nomination of the commander-in-chief, and even the reasons for the formation of the League itself. For the Venetians, the alliance was a device to regain Cyprus; for Spain, it was a means to recover lost North African possessions.
Six months of bitter wrangling and haggling were to pass before terms were agreed and the treaty was finally ratified on May 14, 1571. It provided for a fleet of about 200 galleys and 100 other vessels (including transports), together with 50,000 soldiers and 4,500 cavalry. The force was to be assembled every year by the beginning of April. Costs were to be borne thus: one-sixth by the Pope, one-third by Venice and one-half by Spain. The latter was to choose the commander-in-chief. Philip’s choice fell on his impetuous 24-year-old illegitimate brother Don John of Austria who, however, possessed the rare ability to inspire men to a loyalty and unity of purpose that transcended personal differences. His second-in-command was Marcantonio Colonna, the Papal Captain-General.
It demonstrated to one and all that the Turk was not invincible – not even at sea
The Order and Malta were represented by the only three available galleys, namely, the Santa Maria della Vittoria, San Giovanni and San Pietro. Lack of manpower, after the Saint Clement debacle, had prevented the fitting-out of a fourth unit. However, all three galleys were heavily armed and literally bristled with fighting men on board. It has been noted by modern maritime historian John Francis Guilmartin that Maltese galleys “carried a higher proportion of armoured fighting men; men who were also more heavily armed and armoured than their adversaries, than any others.”
It has been recorded that, at Lepanto, the three Maltese galleys carried 600 soldiers (mostly Maltese) between them. Compare this figure with those of other States, namely: Venice – 11,500 men on 105 galleys, 10 ships and six galeasses; the Papal squadron – 2,200 men on 12 galleys; Savoy – 500 men on three galleys; Genoa – 500 men on three galleys; Sicily – 400 men on four galleys.
The line-of-battle at Lepanto.The battle
Naval tactics in the Mediterranean had, to date, still consisted of manoeuvring for position and then attacking head-on in line abreast, tactics that had basically remained unchanged since classical times. To all intents and purposes, battles at sea were like land battles but fought on water. The Battle of Lepanto was to be significantly different.
August 1571 witnessed the fall of Famagusta, the last Venetian stronghold in Cyprus. This month also saw a number of Turkish flotillas ravaging the Adriatic coast, now shorn of protection since the Venetian naval forces had joined the Holy League, now mustering at Messina. The Turks then withdrew south but not before ravaging Corfù. By October, the Muslims had concentrated about 250 galleys in the Bay of Lepanto, in the channel between the Gulf of Patras and the Gulf of Corinth. It was here that battle was fought on October 7, 1571.
Two innovative decisions in this battle were important. Don John of Austria ordered the removal of all metal beaks fitted to the galleys and he placed his six galleasses – with their superior firepower – in pairs ahead of his line to break up the Turkish attack. These two dispositions show his determination to rely more on firepower rather than on the old methods of ramming and boarding. In fact, as the battle developed, the galleasses’ superior firepower showed that the supremacy of the oar-propelled warship was at an end. Henceforth, sail and broadside fire were to replace oar and head-on assault. Lepanto was, in fact, the last of the great galley battles even though oared warships remained in use for a further two centuries.
The Order’s galleys played a heroic part in the battle, which was certainly not cheaply won. Giustiniani’s flagship was locked in battle with ships of the Turkish centre when, to their right, a gap opened up in the Christian ranks since the galleys commanded by Gianandrea Doria ran southwards to avoid being outflanked by the warships of Uluch Ali. The latter proved to be a better tactician than Doria by leading his galleys into the gap thus created.
The result was that the Order’s Capitana was surrounded, rammed and boarded. Its heroic defence was to no avail and the crew, with the exception of three knights, died fighting to the end. The Turks then attacked other galleys but the Christian reserve line closed the gap. By this time, the Ottoman centre and left flank had been broken, so Uluch Ali fled with a number of galleys to fight another day.
Meanwhile, the other galleys of the Order recaptured their flagship from the enemy. By the end of the battle, the Turks had lost some 30,000 men, 8,000 prisoners and their fleet, with the exception of Uluch Ali’s 30 or 40 galleys. The Holy League suffered about 8,000 casualties and 12 ships but freed about 15,000 Christian slaves.
Was the battle important?
Unfortunately, the victory did not bring the Christian States any closer to each other and, after the death of Pope Pius V in 1572, the League disintegrated. Venice, in fact, concluded peace with Turkey in March 1573. Lepanto did not break the back of Ottoman naval power, more so since there was no military follow-up. Morally, however, it was a decisive victory because it lifted the pall of terror that had existed since the fall of Constantinople into Turkish hands in 1453. It demonstrated to one and all that the Turk was not invincible – not even at sea – and that Western Europe would not fall into Muslim hands. The Order of St John and Malta had played an important part in this memorable victory, which the famous writer Don Miguel de Cervantes, who was present in the battle, dubbed as “the noblest occasion that past or present ages have seen, or future ones may hope to see”.
Pope Pius V saw the victory as having been won through divine intercession and he commemorated the victory, at least for Catholic Christians, by adding a new invocation in the litany of the Holy Rosary: auxilium Christianorum – help of Christians.
Joseph Grima is a historian whose publications include The Fleet of the Knights of Malta: Its Organisation during the Eighteenth Century.
A model of a Maltese galley similar to those that fought at Lepanto.