Lepanto 1571: The greatest naval battle of the Renaissance: No. 114 (Campaign)

Great quality

Just Finished this book today, and I must say that I have thouroughly enjoyed it.

I like it.

This is a rather good, if somewhat short and summarised, presentation of the battle of Lepanto, of its politico-military context and of its aftermath.You can expect the usual ingredients that you find in Campaign series: opposing commanders and opposing fleets, order of battle, the campaign, the naval battle itself and its aftermath, with the book finishing with a few words on the battlefield today.Even if all titles are not included, the bibliography is rather good or, perhaps to be more accurate, it contains enough to allow the keen reader whose appetite may have been whetted by this title to “dig further”. Unsurprisingly, since this Osprey Campaign title was published in 2003, some titles, such as Robert Crowley’s “Empires of the Sea: the Final Battle for the Mediterranean (1521-1580)” are missing. In fact at least five other books on the battle of Lepanto, or whether the battle constitutes the book’s core or its climax have been published over the last twelve years or so.The edge that this one has over many of its competitors is that it is short, clear, well-illustrated by numerous maps and diagrams, and well-supported by a good set of plates, although I was a bit disappointed by the fact that there were only three double-pages instead of the four that I was expecting.Also useful is the chronology, which clearly shows (as does the narrative) that the immediate consequences of the naval victory, however crushing, were very limited. A particularly interesting piece, even if the author is honest enough to mention that it is somewhat speculative, is his reconstitution ship by ship of the order of battle.The title also includes just about enough background. Mention is made of the unsuccessful Turkish siege of Malta, with the author correctly mentioning that this setback did not really dent Turkish pre-eminence in the Mediterranean, nor did it put an end to their offensive capabilities. This is clearly shown with the author’s short summary of the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus over the Venetians, with the two main Turkish commanders – the admiral (Piali) and the general (Mustapha Pacha) who had failed to take Malta – making up for it rather ruthlessly. The Christians would pay the Ottomans back in kind after Lepanto, with many of the Turkish survivors being in turn slaughtered by the victors.It also includes a short summary of the main types of galleys and the main features of galley warfare. These are further developed in the author’s other title on the Renaissance War Galley (also from Osprey but in the Vanguard series) or, if you want to go the full way, in the much more technical set of scholarly studies brought together in “The Age of the Galley” (editors Gardiner and Morrison).Regarding the naval campaign and the battle itself, the author makes all the main points, even if one might quibble here and there and find that he could have emphasised some of them of bit more. I will, however, only mention some of them in this review.One was that the battle happened because both sides believed that the enemy was outnumbered. In fact, they were almost evenly matched in numbers of galleys. The Turks had a few more and were a bit more numerous, but they had fewer heavier ships, no galleasses and fewer heavy cannon.The point here (which is one of the ones that the author could have underlined a bit more) is that the battle happened almost by luck and could very well not have happened at all. This was especially the case since the sailing season was almost over when it took place (in early October), and the Christians, which were cruising of hostile coasts (Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire) and moving south from the Venetian base of Corfou, could not afford to stay at sea for very periods (a point which is, this time, made very explicitly by Angus Konstam).A further point that is well-made is to show the tensions and deep distrust that existed among the members of the Christian League which had only been put together thanks to the skill and tireless efforts of the pope Pius V. The Venetians and the Genoese – who served the Spaniards - hated each other and there was deep distrust between the Spaniards, who were holding the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, and the Venetians, who were seeking to preserve their colonial Empire and the trade with the East that was the maritime Republic’s blood life.Another important point made by the author is the show how hard-fought the battle was and to what extent the crushing victory of the League was costly. About eighty per cent of the enemy fleet was destroyed or captured and about sixty per cent of its crews and soldiers were killed, with some 15000 Christian galley-slaves being freed in the process. However, eight thousand were killed or the Christian side, and one out of three were wounded.A final point is the author’s discussion on whether and to what extent the victory was “decisive”. The Ottoman threat had been so great that the victory and its scale were seen as miraculous. However, the author does show that the immediate consequences were very limited because the League broke up and Venice signed a separate peace with the Ottomans two years later while Spain got increasingly embroiled in its war against the Dutch and against the English.The author, following many others, states that although the Ottomans were able to put to sea another fleet of some 200 galleys the very next year, the Turks “lost the initiative in the Mediterranean and would never recover it. From that point on, Ottoman history would be a tale of socio-economic tale and military and political stagnation.” Unfortunately, that this is not quite true, and even perhaps an over-simplification.The Ottomans did end up by reconquering most of the Venetian possessions in Greece during the next century, and Crete in particular which, as the author mentions very correctly, would likely have been lost if Lepanto had not been a crushing Christian victory in military terms. The point here is that the Ottomans did therefore not entirely lose the initiative in the Mediterranean, although they were perhaps no longer able to threaten Italy through a seaborne invasion. Whether they intended to do so and had the means to do so is however questionable in itself. Unless they were able to take Malta and/or Corfou, they lacked the naval bases from which to launch a large scale invasion against Italy. They were, however, still in a position to strike against Christian Europe, and they did, threatening Vienna once again in 1683.Finally, there are also a few little glitches. One is that contrary to what the introduction suggests, the Ottoman expansion into Europe started well before 1453 with the Ottomans having reached the Danube at least half a century before the fall of Constantinople. Then there are a few typos due to poor editing. As indicated elsewhere in the book, Don Juan of Austria was twenty four at the time of Lepanto (and not twenty six). Although a lot of the military glory due to the victory accrued to him, the circumstances of the naval battle were such that the author’s claim that he proved “to be an able military commander” appear somewhat excessive. He did, however, prove to be an able diplomat, if only because he managed to keep the League together and prevent infighting. Another little typo is that the Ottomans build a new fleet of another 200 galleys the year after, and not 2000 of course.Four stars.

One of my favourite Osprey books. Very clearly written, focused and to the point, with very good maps, quite good colour plates. As all the Osprey Campaigns this is a short book (96 pages) so if you want a more detailed study you need to buy something bigger. But this is clearly a very good beginning to learn about this great battle. One of Osprey best.

After having seen a TV documentary on Lepanto and it's significance for European history, I wanted to read and got this book.Nearly fell to sleep over it. Just a jumble of facts glued together halfheartedly.One of Ospreys quantity not quality books.Don't buy!

Sorry but I did not read this book as I returned it because of water damage and obtained a copy from Waterstones which I am at the moment reaing.