Dardanelles Operation

19 February – 3 March 1807, The Dardanelles, Ottoman Empire

Ottoman success; the British squadron forced back through the Straits

With the Ottoman Empire drawing closer to Napoleon and at war with Russia, Britain sent Sir John Duckworth to force the Dardanelles and threaten Constantinople. The squadron had already lost Ajax to an accidental fire off Tenedos. On 19 February it ran up the Straits under the fire of the forts, and Sir Sidney Smith's division burned a Turkish squadron at anchor off Nagara Point. But the wind failed in the Sea of Marmara, and while Duckworth negotiated within sight of the city, the Turks, advised by the French ambassador, lined the shores with guns. Duckworth gave up and ran back down the Straits on 3 March. The forts fired stone shot weighing up to 800 pounds, and several ships were hit hard; the British lost about 200 killed and wounded on the way out. Nothing was gained.