Page 160 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

160 XXXIV Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

416, which included “two galleasses, a great galleon called the Sultana, ten ships from Al-
exandria, two from Tunis, ten vessels rented from the Dutch and English, and three hundred
smaller craft, including the usual Levantine caïques and karamussals.” More than 50,000
soldiers were to be transported on these ships, including 7,000 janissaries. 35
On 26 June 1645 the Turks landed on Crete at the fortress of St. Todero. The Venetians
and the Cretans were totally unprepared for the invasion, having thought the Ottomans were
going to attack Malta. The commander, Blasio Zulian, blew up the fortress, himself, and his
men rather than let it fall to the enemy. the ottomans continued their progress across the
36
island. On 17 August 1645 Cania fell; on 13 November 1646 Rettimo fell; by the end of 1647
the eastern half of the island had been captured; and in May 1648 the siege of Candia began.
It would last for 22 years. 37
Candia was well fortified, surrounded by a large wall that had been maintained and up-
graded, with a thickness of 40 meters in several places. In addition, seven bastions filled
with artillery stretched out of from walls and a fortress stood in the harbor. There was also
a substantial Venetian garrison, although, as at Belgrade and Rhodes, the citizens of Candia
made up the majority of troops inside the city. Venice chose not to relieve the city – although
there is some doubt whether it could – but to try and drive the Ottomans from Crete by naval
action. Wars on sea between the Venetian and Ottoman navies ensued for almost the entire
length of the siege. Victories and defeats were exchanged, but this meant that Venice, far
weaker economically, would eventually lose. and so too would Crete.
38
It is the naval battles which seem to interest most historians, but these are only a part
of the story. They did not dislodge the Ottomans from outside Candia’s walls nor did they
relieve the siege. this meant that at the same time as the naval war between Venice and tur-
key was being fought the citizens of Candia were forced to withstand a siege of incredible
length. It is true that for most of the time there were few attacks made on the city, nothing
in comparison to those made on Belgrade in 1456 or Rhodes in 1480, and it was frequently
resupplied when the ottoman naval blockade was thinned, but that should not diminish the
bravery or tenacity of the Candians.
This can be no more clearly seen than in May 1666 when the siege of Candia became
more active. For the next 28 months Ottoman attacks on the city increased in their ferocity.
Assaults were made on the city’s fortifications almost daily. Continually they were pushed
back, at heavy losses to both sides. But, as with the naval battles, losses to the Turks meant
less than they did to the Cretans. At one point, in March 1667 the garrison’s cannoneers had
been reduced to only 163, far too few to operate the fortifications’ 500 cannons. Nor did
39
35 in Setton, Venice, Austria and the Turks, p. 126, who also includes an account that significantly lowers the
number of ships to “78 galleys, three heavy, square-rigged merchant ships . . . and 117 saïques or ketches . .
. besides other vessels . . .” (pp. 126-27), but the fleet seems to have divided before then.
36 Setton, Venice, Austria and the Turks, pp. 126-27.
37 Setton, Venice, Austria and the Turks, pp. 127-54.
38 During the 1650s naval engagements were frequent but during the 1660s, especially after 1662, they decli-
ned precipitously. Setton covers these conflicts especially well (Venice, Austria and the Turks, pp. 137-205).
On a number of occasions France and the Hospitallers assisted the Venetians in these naval battles.
39 This number comes from a report written by Candia’s provveditore generale, antonio Barbaro, to the Vene-
tian Doge in a vain effort to convince him to send reinforcements (Setton, Venice, Austria and the Turks, p.