Action of 26 June 1625

The action of 26 June 1625 was a naval battle that took place on 26 June 1625 near Syracuse, Sicily, when 6 Bizertan vessels defeated 5 Maltese galleys.

Action of 26 June 1625
Part of Ottoman–Habsburg wars
Date 26 June 1625 Location off Syracuse Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Order of Saint John	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Michele de Pontalier Tallamey[1]	Unknown
Strength
5 galleys	2 galleys 4 vessels
Casualties and losses
2 galleys captured 350 killed[2]	Unknown

On June 26th, while in harbor at Syracuse, the Maltese general, Tallamey, heard that six Bizertans had been sighted close at hand. Without waiting to embark extra troops or to make other preparations for action, he put them to sea and, to make things worse, allowed his galleys to attack the enemy one by one. In the end, after being wounded, he abandoned the battle and fled to Malta. Two other galleys escaped to Syracuse, but the ships, S. Giovanni and S. Francesco, were captured. Losses in all the galleys were severe. After this battle, the general resigned from his command^[3]

This setback prompted the Maltese Council to pass new orders concerning the number of men on board each galley and the qualifications of the captains.^[4]

Ships involved

Bizerta

2 galleys (formerly Spanish, captured in 1624)
4 other vessels

Malta

San Giovanni - Captured
San Francesco - Captured
3 other galleys

Sources

• Anderson, R. C. (1952). Naval Wars in the Levant 1559–1853. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 1015099422.
• Ayse Devrim Atauz (2008), Eight Thousand Years of Maltese Maritime History: Trade, Piracy, and Naval Warfare in the Central Mediterranean.