Great Siege of Malta 1565 - Ottoman Wars DOCUMENTARY

[Music] although the ottoman sultan Suleiman the first fought countless foes across Europe Asia and Africa his reign is symbolically bookended by the struggle against the Knights Hospitaller one of the most successful rains in the history of the Ottoman Empire began with the taking of roads in 1522 and the end of it would see Suleiman and his Admirals taking on the Knights Hospitaller in their new home of Malta in 1565 shout-out to Skillshare for sponsoring this video Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes covering dozens of creative and entrepreneurial skills explore classes in everything from animation and graphic design to documentary making and cinematography and more premium membership gives you unlimited access to high-quality classes from experts working in their fields to help you gain new skills and live your best life skill chair is also incredibly affordable an annual subscription is less than ten dollars a month our viewers often ask for advice on how to start a YouTube channel and Skillshare has the best answer to this question if you want to be on camera for your channel matty brown's low-budget filmmaking course is the place to start while Jake Bartlet's animating with ease in After Effects will help you in creating videos in our style we learned so much from these courses Skillshare has a special offer for our viewers as everyone signing up through our link will get the first two months of premium membership for free support our channel learn from hundreds of professionals and realize your dreams sign up to skills share via our URL sks h / kings and Generals for or the link in the description the last naval action in the Ottoman Wars we covered was the Battle of Preveza and the siege of Castel nuovo and after these engagements Ottoman dominance in the Mediterranean spearheaded by Herod in Barbarossa was near undisputed Barbarossa captured a few more cities in modern-day Montenegro capping off the campaign of 1539 by conquering Christian strongholds in the Ionian and Aegean Seas the Admiral then returned to the Ottoman capital sending his chief lieutenant a veteran of Preveza Turgut Reis known to the Christians as target to the western Mediterranean Seas to raid and harass the holy League members initially dragons raids were successful and he managed to sank coastal areas in Sicily Spain and Corsica in 1540 however in June he was ambushed by the allied genuine Spanish army as Jura later his entire fleet was captured while drew Gert was taken hostage and brought to Genoa meanwhile Venice reeling from its losses signed a separate peace with the Ottomans and that somewhat weakened the position of the Emperor Charles for faith according to some sources in September of 1540 he sent a secret letter to Barbarossa offering him a chance to change sides but this was refused this prompted the Emperor to become more active in his naval dealings to that end in October another ottoman corsair navy under ally Hammett which was raiding off the coast of Spain was destroyed near albarran it was becoming clear that the Ottoman holdings in North Africa would remain an easy staging ground for the invasion of Spain and Italy so Charles decided to conquer the region the Algiers expedition of 1541 was led by Charles himself with the likes of Andrea Doria the Duke of Alba and the Conqueror of the Aztec empire and an Cortes commanding his 40,000 strong army the bailor Balak of algeria was at that point ruled by another lieutenant of Barbarossa hanukkah who had just around 1,000 soldiers unfortunately for the Christian troops the weather conditions were unusually cold for October with rains and storms damaging their fleet still Charles's army managed to disembark and prestige Algiers almost immediately the Christians were attacked by the Ottoman Berber allies the mobile Berber horsemen engaged Charles every time he attempted an assault all this made the siege untenable and in November Charles ordered a retreat he had lost almost half of his army to the Berbers and the sea during this expedition [Music] as the French King transistor first who was an ottoman Ally since 1536 started another Italian war against his arch rival Charles v Suleiman sent Barbarossa's fleet to assist the French in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian sea in 1543 he raided his way along the west coast of Italy landing near Rome by the end of June with the holy city threatened the Pope called for Francis the first to reign in his allies and the king asks Barbarossa to join his troops at Marseilles the Allied forces besieged and sacked the city of nice in August of 1543 [Music] Barbara said would winter in Toulon sending his ships to raid the Spanish coast during the end of the year in the beginning of 1544 he resumed raiding Italy and then anchored his fleet near Genoa threatening to attack it we don't know all the details but Barbarossa and his old foe Andrea Doria negotiated the release of drag art for a sizable sum and that ended the hostilities between the ottomans and Genoa as Suleiman and Charles also signed a truce in 1540 for Barbarossa was recalled back to the capital still on his way home he sacked and looted numerous Italian cities harridan Barbarossa died in 1546 and traggert who had been raiding the coasts of Italy and Spain since his release was appointed the commander of the Ottoman Navy by Suleiman previously we have covered the endless slogging match between the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs in Hungary since no tangible progress was made on that front the Ottoman Sultan was looking for other ways to continue his conquests and since he had dominance on the seas Malta seemed to be a good springboard for that Charles who also understood the importance of the island gave it to the Knights Hospitaller in 1530 alongside Gozo and Tripoli from here the hospital is restarted there Corsair activity against ottoman interests and by 1550 they once more had become profound nuisances to Suleiman so it is not a surprise that traggert was tasked with eradicating the Hospitaller presence in the region in 1551 he struck the Knights at their doorstep ravaging the island of Gozo and enslaving nearly its entire population however he was repelled by the Knights after trying to take the much more heavily fortified Malta following up drew Gert seized the Knights garrison in Tripoli and used it to launch raids over the next few years - good managed to occupy parts of the Balearic Islands and Corsica which prompted a Christian counter-attack in 1560 the Knights joined the Spanish crown Venice Genoa and others in an alliance to retake Tripoli from the Ottomans however their fleet was attacked by yogurt at the Battle of Jabba and was decisively defeated the Alliance lost dozens of ships and at least 15,000 troops which meant that there was now a power vacuum that the Ottomans could exploit it was obvious that yogurt would soon strike at Malta the Knights knew better than anyone that an attack was coming and began diligently preparing their defenses back in 1557 the Knights had elected a crafty Frenchman to be their Grand Master John Paris Eau de la Villette under la Villette the Knights replenished their fleet that had been devastated at Jabba they began bolstering the defenses of molto's three principal forts st. Angelo San Telmo and sent Michael most importantly the Knights embarked on a renewed spree of piracy their boldness at sea dealt many humiliating blows to the Turks as the Knights managed to capture the Ottoman governors of Alexandria and Cairo these strikes only expedited Suleiman's resolve to obliterate the Knights of Malta to spearhead the assault on malta sultan suleiman appointed his trusted Vizier Mustafa Pasha as the commander of his armies alongside him was Admiral P Ali Pasha Astra Gert most sources put the total strength of the Ottoman army at around 40,000 men among them there were nine thousand to parties and six thousand three hundred elite Janissaries with the rest made up by the north african troops and dragons courses brand master level at continued to rigorously prepare his defenses in anticipation of the Turkish arrival all the buildings outside the walled Citadel's in the islands great harbor were destroyed to eliminate cover for sharpshooters the local peasants were ordered to harvest all their crops and bring them within the fortress walls leaving the land barren for the invaders while additional supplies were brought in from nearby Sicily believing the Ottomans would attempt to land at big ooh first la Villette had its citizens evacuated to the inland town of Medina only around 500 Knights defended Malta supplementing their ranks worth 3,000 Maltese militia the native Islanders had no love for the Knights who they saw as foreign oppressors but they were devout Catholics nevertheless and would fervently defend their ancestral home against an Islamic foe on April 9th help arrived in the form of 1,000 professional Spanish and Italian Habsburg soldiers sent by Don Garcia de Toledo Viceroy of Sicily Don Garcia informed la Villette he was rallying more reinforcements but they were months away during which time Malta would have to stand alone the great Turkish fleet came within view of the islands on the 18th of May 1565 and sailed up the southern coast there the Ottoman Armada landed their galleys seven miles south of the knights great Harbor establishing a beachhead from their newly established position the Turkish army pushed inland towards big ooh during which time they were harried by the Knights fighting in a guerilla style struggle nevertheless the invaders reached the inland walls of the great Harbor Citadel's they had established their great cannons on Santa Margherita and mount Rivera's strategic Hills that looks down upon the great Harbor on May 21st P Ali Pasha ordered an assault upon B ago this was repelled by a regiment of Spanish soldiers the next day saw the Turkish hosts throw themselves upon sengh Lea once again making little headway into the ardently defended Citadel following this the Turkish leadership argued of their forward course Mustafa wished to strike in land and take poorly defended medina thereby dealing a blow to Christian morale while P Ali Pasha insisted that taking fort st. elmo was crucial to victory in the end the latter path was chosen and the Ottoman garrison at mount scribe eros began wheeling their artillery towards the landward wall of the coastal fortress guarded by the lion's share of the Janissary Corps [Music] lavallette spies informed him where the ottomans intended to strike he dispatched 150 Knights to bolster the defenders there emboldened by the sluggish movement of the ottoman artillery the knights within sent Elmo sallied out and engaged the convoy in a skirmish both sides took losses but the Ottoman advance was not slowed by May 24th the Turkish diggers had established trenches a mere 600 paces from the fortress walls with three rows of artillery behind them comprised of light cannon and cauldrons in the front and great basilisk bombards in the rear thus the shelling began Ottoman cannons pulverized the walls of San Telmo with shattering force pinning the defenders within and leaving them helped us to strike back at their assailants la Villette watched the proceedings from his perch in Saint Angelo and orders his gunnars too far across the harbor onto the Ottoman cannon this had a devastating effect causing chaos amongst turkish ranks even causing a loose Rock to strike the Ali Pasha unconscious and bleeding many of his men to believe he was dead this symphony of gunfire continued throughout the day when night fell it became clear that the Ottomans would inevitably breach the fortress walls the commander of sent Elmo begs la Villette to allow his men to abandon their post and fall back to Santangelo the Grand Master refused knowing that he had to buy as much time as possible until reinforcements arrived he declared that sent Elmo must hold for as long as possible [Music] the following days saw fighting renew once more by now Ottoman sharpshooters had trained their sights on the Gunners in Saint Angelo keeping them pinned down and providing cover for their cannon ears by May 29th Ottoman sappers had begun digging covered trenches towards Syntel most walls seeking to undermine them at their foundations that evening two companies of Spanish soldiers sallied out of the fort under the cover of darkness and launched a surprise raid upon the undefended Ottomans who had been digging through the night many trench diggers were massacred but the Janissaries quickly arose from their sleeping tents and rallied themselves with professional speed the Sultan's elite soldiers drove the Spaniards back behind their pulverized walls they were close enough to the walls to look their enemies right in the eyes On June 2nd - good finally arrived with his fleet of 13 galleys and 1500 fighting men up until this point the Knights had been sailing nimble ferries across the harbour under the cover of night to provide sent Elmo with fresh supplies from Sicily yogurts first course of action was to establish new artillery batteries on Gallo's point and a cross from masam Jet Harbor putting him in a position to fire upon any supply ships further isolating sent Elmo from the rest of the island however on June 9th a detachment of nightly cavalry from the dinner launched an ambush upon the Ottoman Gunners at gallows Point temporarily scattering them and allowing supply ferries to relieve San Telmo once more On June 3rd a Janissary offensive managed to surmount the fortresses triangular rebellion from there they built ramps of wood and height to ascend into san telmo's inner walls the Knights Spaniards and Maltese would hold the breach dealing upon the Ottomans hundreds of casualties Ottoman infantry threw themselves upon the rubble On June 10th 15th and 16th but were repelled all three times with contemporary reports claiming that the native Maltese fought with nearly as much bravery as the Knights themselves each day the fortress held out ought infinitely valuable time for the defenders in Scent Angelo and sent Michael enabling them to further shore up their own defenses and wait for the ever closer arrival of Don Garcia and his relief force in many waves sent Elmo and the lives within were willingly sacrificed so the rest of Malta could be saved on June 17th jogurt was mortally wounded in the Turkish trenches sources do not agree if it was friendly fire from ottoman cannonball shrapnel or a Maltese sharpshooter from Saint Angelo but in any case the legendary Corsair was taken out of action by June 22nd the Janissaries had completed a bridge across the fortress ditch allowing the bulk of the Ottoman troops to directly assault to the walls from all sides the defenders held out for one final night but on June the 23rd they were finally overwhelmed by sheer numbers and turkish sharpshooters raining bullets on them from the rebellion the Knights of st. Elmo and their allies died fighting almost to a man that same day joghurt succumbed to his injuries and passed away the capture of st. Elmo was ultimately a Pyrrhic victory for the Ottomans they had lost over six thousand men and over half of their Janissary Corps compared to the 1500 defenders slain the siege had taken three weeks and Don Garcia's relief force grew ever closer by June 4th P Ali Pasha had ordered the cannons surrounding San Telmo to be dragged before the walls of senglin a new wave of bombardment ensued focused upon Fort Saint Michael meanwhile the Turks had run their smaller vessels ashore and carried them inland across the base of Mount scrub Aris and into the creek on the westward side of Sinclair by passing the cannons of Santangelo on June 15th the ottomans commenced a two-pronged attack 1,500 Corsair is attacked single ear from land while 1,000 Janissaries attempted an amphibious assault [Music] luckily a Greek deserter had warned lavallette of mustapha's plan and the Knights had built a palisade of spikes across the inlet to prevent an ottoman sea landing they had also set up a battery on the seaward wall which rained fire upon the Turkish landing craft drowning hundreds then currently the land would assault was repelled as well and still malta refused to fall cannon-fire continued to be exchanged by both sides in the following days but the next big engagement came on August 7th when Mustafa Pasha ordered a full-scale invasion 12,000 men charged the walls of saintly and begu with the full brunt of Turkish artillery pummeling the defenders into submission the situation soon dire bagans wars were soon reduced to rubble and ottoman soldiers found themselves able to charge over the debris heavy fighting ensued within the city streets and as the Turks pushed deeper it seemed that the harbor would finally fall and yet Malta was once more saved by sheer luck a contingent of 100 Spanish and nightly cavalry man selling out of medina happened to catch the Ottoman camp unguarded they swept down upon it slaughtering the sick incinerating tents and destroying supplies when news of this spread to the Ottomans in burgoo they panicked believing a much larger relief force had finally arrived they've retreated from the city walls back to their camp the day was one for the nights by now morale amongst the ottoman ranks was at an all-time low furthermore the death of dragger had thrown their leadership off kilt as P Ali Pasha and Mustafa were now at constant loggerheads with one another causing further schisms in the army back in Constantinople the Sultan had become very displeased with the sieges sluggish pace and sent multiple letters to Mustafa demanding a progress report the Ottomans will to keep up the fight had quickly waned at the turn of the month Mustafa ordered a march upon the dinner only to have cannon balls fired at him from out of range to the Turks it appeared that Medina had plenty of ammunition to spare in reality it was a desperate bluff performed by a highly unprepared City nevertheless it worked Mustafa lost his nerve and ordered a retreat on September 7th Malta's salvation finally arrived after months of delay Don Garcia had landed with a relief force of 8,000 men on seeing this force the Ottomans finally lost their resolve and retreated back to their ships some zealous Knights emboldened by their reinforcements charge down the retreating Turks forcing the relief force to join them in a general charge that saw hundreds of fleeing soldiers massacred by September 13th the Ottoman army had fully departed from Malta the defenders had lost 2,500 soldiers and 1/3 of the islands population while the ottomans had suffered at least 10,000 casualties with some sources estimating them as high as 30,000 ultimately the Knights of st. John had emerged as the final victor the importance of the great siege of Malta cannot be understated it is impossible to know what would have happened should the island have fallen but it is very possible that the Ottoman Empire could have expanded into Italy and then deeper into Western Europe the ottomans had lost battles before but even their famous defeats at Vienna and Egger came at the tail end of a spree of conquests still the ottoman wars were far from over and we will cover every major conflict until 1923 so make sure you are subscribed to our channel and have pressed the bell button we would like to express our gratitude to our patreon supporters and channel members who make the creation of our videos possible now you can also support us by buying our merchandise via the link in the description this is the kings and Generals channel and we will catch you on the next one [Music]

Channel: Kings and Generals

Views: 806,832

Rating: 4.9148068 out of 5

Keywords: ottoman empire, history documentary, kings and generals, history channel, siege malta, full documentary, history lesson, world history, animated documentary, knights john, epic history tv, documentary film, decisive battles, knights hospitaller, knights of malta, siege of malta, knights of st john, great siege of malta, ancient rome, military history, ottoman wars, preveza, barbarossa, dragut, hospitaller, knights, vienna, eger, castelnuovo, habsburgs, emperor, charles, suleiman

Id: gcyzP8pxjJ8

Length: 23min 26sec (1406 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 15 2019