Siege of Modon (1770)

Siege of Modon (1770)
Part of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) and the Orlov revolt
Map of the siege of Modon
Date 1–16 May 1770 Location Modon, Ottoman Empire 36°49′18″N 21°42′25″E Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Russian Empire Greek rebels
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Alexei Orlov Peter Dolgurukov Samuel Greig
Strength
Unknown	2,500 2,000 Greeks 500 Russians 1 ship of the line 2 frigates Dozens of guns
Casualties and losses
Hundreds	Hundreds
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe Siege of Modon (1770) (Greece)

The siege of Modon was a military siege undertaken by Russia between 1 and 16 May 1770 against the Ottoman town of Modon. The siege was part of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), and resulted in the Ottomans successfully repelling the advances of the joint Russo-Greek forces.

Prelude

From 21 March to 24 April 1770, the Russians launched a failed siege on Koroni under the general command of Fyodor Grigoryevich Orlov (the younger brother of Alexei Orlov). It was the first full-blown conflict of the Orlov revolt. After lifting the siege, he retired to Navarino. When there, Orlov decided to besiege Modon as he could not safely train Greek rebels at Navarino when there was a considerable presence of Ottoman soldiers only 10 miles away. After convening a war council, he entrusted Prince Peter Dolgurukov with 2,500 soldiers (2,000 Greeks and 500 Russians) to capture Modon.

Alexei and Grigory Orlov, c. 1770s

Reaching Modon on 29 April, Prince Dolgurukov intended to storm the fortress in a surprise attack. However, the Ottoman garrison was already aware of his plans via Greek spies in their service. As a result, Dolgurukov asked Alexei Orlov for reinforcement to commence a siege the next day. Orlov sent Samuel Greig alongside a ship of the line (Three Hierarchs) and two frigates (Nadezhda and St. Nikolai). Greig reached the town on 7 May, and his ships were fired upon by the garrison. After successfully anchoring, he brought ashore 20 guns (50 charges each) and two large mortars. Before Greig arrived, Dolgurukov had built two artillery batteries; one with eight guns, and another with five. Although they were brought right in front of the fortress, the garrison "not only did not oppose their construction, but all the time, sitting on the fortress walls and smoking their pipes, calmly watched as the Russians, 200 paces away, worked on the batteries, from which they could very easily have driven them off with rifle shots alone".

Siege

By 10 May, all the necessary preparations had been made yet the Ottoman garrison was still indifferent and careless. Prince Dolgurukov invited Alexei Orlov from Navarino to be there as dozens of guns fired on the fortress at once. At dawn, an intense barrage of fire was launched onto the town. The garrison, finally taking the situation seriously, replied in kind with a cannonade from all sides of the fortress. However, the Russian cannons were very close, and thus by night only three cannons were left in the fortress. By next morning (11 May), those cannons were also destroyed by the superior Russian artillery fire. Just when they were preparing to storm the town, news reached Dolgurukov on 16 May that a relief force composed of Turks and Albanians was on its way. In response, the prince sent a force consisting solely of Greeks to confront them. However, all of them abandoned their duties upon seeing the Turkish army. With a large unopposed force on its way to relieve Modon, Dolgurukov was forced to lift the siege on 16 May and withdrew from the area.

Aftermath

After the failure at Modon, Count Alexei Orlov sailed to the Aegean Sea on 1 June 1770 to meet with John Elphinstone's navy, abandoning the Greeks of the Morea. Thus, Modon marked the final major conflict of the Orlov revolt. The three-months-long campaign of the Russian Empire in the Morea had come to an "ignominious" end as their only important success in this expedition was at the battle of Chesma.

References

• Finlay, George (1856). The History of Greece Under Othoman and Venetian Domination (PDF). Edinburgh: Blackwood.