Siege of Corfu (1798–1799)

Siege of Corfu
Part of the War of the Second Coalition
The old citadel (Palaio Frourio)
Date 4 November 1798 – 3 March 1799 Location Corfu, Corcyre, France Result Russo-Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire  Ottoman Empire	France
Commanders and leaders
Fyodor Ushakov Kadir Bey	Louis Chabot
Strength
12 ships of the line, 11 frigates, 1700 Marines 4250 Turkish troops 2000 Greek militia	3,500 soldiers more than 650 guns 2 ships of the line 1 frigate
Casualties and losses
298 killed or wounded	2900 prisoners 635 guns 1 battleship & 1 frigate captured

The Siege of Corfu (October 1798 – March 1799) was a military operation by a joint Russian and Turkish fleet against French troops occupying the island of Corfu.

By the Treaty of Campo Formio (November 1797) and the dissolution of the Republic of Venice, the Ionian Islands were ceded to the French Republic, which occupied Corfu as the département Corcyre.

In 1798, Admiral Fyodor Ushakov was sent to the Mediterranean in command of a joint Russian-Turkish squadron to support General Alexander Suvorov's upcoming Italian and Swiss expedition (1799–1800). One of Ushakov's main tasks was to take the strategically important Ionian Islands from the French. In October 1798 the French garrisons were driven from Cythera, Zakynthos, Cephalonia, and Lefkada. It remained to take the largest and best-fortified island of the archipelago, Corfu.

The city of Corfu is located on the east coast in the central part of the island between two forts:

From the new to the old fort a high wall ran along the shore. The town was also covered by bastions on two mountains, Abraham and Salvatore, and the intermediate fort of San Rocco. From the sea, the city was protected by the well-fortified island of Vido, and the smaller island of Lazaretto, two miles up the coast, was also strengthened by the French.

The French, commanded by the governor General Louis Chabot, had 3000 soldiers and 650 guns in Corfu, plus 500 soldiers and 5 artillery batteries on the island of Vido. In the harbour was a French squadron of two ships of the line, the 74-gun Généreux and 54-gun Leander, the 20-gun corvette Brune, a bomb-vessel, a brig and four auxiliary vessels.

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