THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE 1821 TO 1833 BY W.ALISON PHILLIPS 1897

THE ALLIED FLEET ENTERS THE BAY 265
teries of Sphakteria on tlie other. The ships, eightytwo
in number, were arranged in a triple line, in such
a way that the gaps
those in the rear;
in the front row were filled
by
and, on each flank of the foremost
line, which consisted of twenty-two of the largest vessels,
were posted three fire-ships.
Though greatly superior
both in number of ships and guns to the allied
squadrons,
the Ottoman fleet was inferior in the size
of its vessels, there being only three line-of-battle ships
as compared with the ten of the allies.
At about half -past one o'clock on the afternoon of
the 20th, Admiral Codrington's flag-ship sailed into
the harbour, followed by the whole of the allied fleet.
As the entrance was too narrow to allow of any other
formation than line ahead in passing in, the batteries
commanding the mouth of the bay might, at the outset,
have done great execution on the allied ships as they
sailed past. !N"ot a gun was fired, however, and it almost
seemed as though the affair might, after all, have
a peaceful termination.
being offered,
Without a sign of resistance
the French and British ships took up
the positions assigned to them, dropping their anchors
and turning their broadsides to the enemy; and
even the Russian fleet, though delayed an hour by a
sudden dropping of the breeze, had plenty of time to
take its place in the line.