Gujarat Sultanate + Ottoman empire V/z Portuguese empire
💡 Laying Siege is a military tactic of surrounding and trapping a fort, city etc. along with its inhabitants. In the hope that once the resources and provisions are exhausted, all those trapped will eventually surrender or die.
Background
This blog is a continuation of- The Battle of Diu, 1509 CE
The Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate who got defeated at the hands of the Portuguese in the First Battle of Diu 1509 were now replaced by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Sultan Bahadur Shah, before his death had appealed to the Ottoman Empire to help him regain the Diu fort- This, and Portugal's monopoly over the Red sea trade route gave the Turks a solid reason to confront the Portuguese in 1538 CE... And so an ambitious campaign was launched.
The Siege of Diu 1538 CE is ranked among the famous last stand battles that was actually won by the defensive side (Portuguese) despite insurmountable odds. The Gujarat Sultanate+ Ottoman Turkish side had an overwhelming force of 40k men plus 80 vessels and cannons. On the Portuguese front~ out of the 3000 residents within the fort complex, only 600 were soldiers. They alongwith an experienced captain named Antonio de Silveira would hold fort.
 |
| fidalgo guarding Diu fort |
The Siege- 26 June 1538 to 5 Nov 1538
26 June, 1538- The Gujarat Sultanate forces led by Khadjar Safar lay siege on the fort of Diu.
2 months passed by! and all that the 16k strong Gujaratis could do was slight bombardings. In retaliation the Portuguese raided their positions. In another exemplary sortie that was conducted, just 14 Portuguese soldiers defeated 400 Gujarati soldiers and ransacked their supplies.
 |
| 16,000 soldiers of Gujarat Sultanate are employed in the Siege of Diu 1538 |
Sept 4- The Ottoman fleet (of 6k soldiers) sail in, catching the Portuguese off-guard. Captain Silveira sends out a distress signal to Goa asking for help.
Stupid decisions and the act of nature put the Ottoman Turks in a tight spot
A batch of 500 Ottoman soldiers commanded by Hadim Suleiman Pasha started ransacking the city taking the Gujarat Sultanate side completely by surprise. This was totally unacceptable as it seemed as if the Ottomans wanted to eventually gain an upper hand even on their Gujarati ally and take over Diu for themselves. As mistrust for the Turks grew in the days to follow, their Gujarati ally started to display hostilities and refused to provide them any further supplies.
The Ottoman soldiers then made a bold attempt at scaling the fort walls, but were sent reeling back by the Portuguese leaving 50 dead.
Sept 7- Sudden rains and heavy storms hit the coast of Diu. Taking advantage of the situation, the Portuguese were able to replenish their water supplies. The Ottoman fleet in the meantime had suffered some damages.
10 Sept- Tragic drama unfolds at Ghogla
Ghogla is the coastal village right across Diu fort. The Portuguese maintained a backup fortification here under the command of Captain Francisco Pacheco and some 40 soldiers. Khadjar Safar's army attempted to blow the place up. A boat with timber, tar and gunpowder was ready for this purpose. Realising this, captain Silveira sent a small crew from Diu fort under cover of darkness. The crew, despite considerable risk, destroy the boat and foil yet another deadly attempt by the muslims.
Sep 14- By nightfall 4 Portuguese galleys from Goa & Chaul arrive with reinforcements, but as they attempt to land on shore the Turks open fire. So they lower their sails and wait until daybreak.
1 Oct- Captain Pacheco and his men are promised free passage from Ghogla to Diu fort if he promises to surrender. So the Portuguese garrison does and is immediately taken captive. Thereafter under pressure Pacheco is compelled to write a letter to Antonio Silveira at Diu fort telling him to lay down his arms. But Silveira, outraged by the treachery, sends a strong reply advising Pacheco to refrain from sending any further letters.
5 Oct- Diu fort is under attack
5 more ships with reinforcements (artillery etc) arrive from Goa, while on the other side the Turks assemble a significant amount of artillery comprising big guns, cannons and such, required for the siege. Both sides open fire at sea. After weeklong bombardment, some parts of a Portuguese vessel named Gaspar de Souza collapsed prompting the Turks to enter the ship. They are promptly repelled by Portuguese who continue keeping the resistance until the next day, thereby causing heavy damages on the Turks.
In an effort to open the fort wall, many bonded labourers from the Turkish side are lowered into the moat. The Portuguese retaliate by raising a deathly barricade from within, consequently killing many. Despite that they succeed in breaching part of the fort wall using gunpowder. The Portuguese quickly repair and close the breach when the bombarding halts at night.
 |
| Turks attempt in scaling up and breach into the fort wall (representation) |
Oct 27- Panikotha fortress, also known as Baluarte do mar da fortaleza de Diu comes under attack
The Turks attempt to scale this small fortress using 6 smaller galleys, but are crushed due to the heavy cannon firing from opposite Diu fort. In a second attempt using 12 galleys the following day, they are again bombarded and meet heavy casualties and losses.
 |
| The attack on Panikotha fortress is repelled by the Portuguese with the help of cannons from São Tomé bastion |
Oct 30- A feigned retreat gone wrong
Pasha Suleiman instructed 1000 soldiers to display a withdrawal (fake one) while 14,000 Turkish sentries would scale the fort. But captain Silveira, being too experienced for that sort of game, open fire from São Tomé bastion killing 500 and injuring as many as 1500.
Nov 1- The end of the Siege is in sight
The widening gap of mistrust between both allies (Gujarat Sultanate and Ottoman Turks) proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Portuguese. Suleiman Pasha had invested far too much and gained too little; so he decided to abandon the campaign. Little did he know that less than 40 good men were left within the fort walls. Likewise how was Captain Silveira, looking out into the sea ever to believe that the Turks were only waiting for the storm to clear before leaving Diu for good.
Nov 5- Abandon and escape
At the sight of Portuguese galleys sailing into Diu, the nervous Pasha hurriedly escapes leaving nearly 2000 of his own dead and wounded behind. Khadjar Safar of the Gujarat Sultanate wastes no time either ~ the Portuguese had a reputation for untold brutality against muslim captives (like the aftermath of the Battle of Diu 1509).
AFTERMATH
💠 The Portuguese forward fleet of 30 ships with reinforcements and supplies from Goa finally meet the last surviving soldiers at Diu fort which also included women.
💠 After the battle of Diu 1509, this failed siege was yet another setback to Ottoman Turkish Empire at the hands of the Portuguese.
💠 The Portuguese now permanently occupied Goa right until the Liberation of its Indian territories- 1961 CE.
💠 Out of the 40,000 combined muslim force, it's not clear how many were killed and how many survived. But from the Portuguese side it was reported that the crew at Ghogla who were tricked into surrendering to Suleiman Pasha were all killed.
Comments
Post a Comment