The Preveza Victory and Short Advices – Be Competent!

by Captain Orhan Babaoglu

I am very happy that we all get together in such a lovely day for the 2018 fall semester opening ceremony  of Marine School of the Kyrenia American University.

For some time, colleges open at the beginning of October, so by just one week, we miss a very important milestone anniversary of our naval history. Exactly four hundred and eighty years and one week ago, Ottoman fleets under command of Admiral Barbarossa and united Crusader fleets under the Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria come against each other just off the coast of Preveza, a little Greek province in East Mediterranean. Although outnumbered by the crusade fleet, with the advantage of having competent leaders and handy frigates, Ottoman fleets won a decisive victory. As a result, Ottoman supremacy in Mediterranean Sea had to be recognized by the European Powers at least for 33 years until its defeat in Lepanto.

I would like to open a parenthesis at this point and evaluate this subject from the sustainability perspective, which is the theme of our university for the new academic year. First, Ottoman state has managed to appoint an old pirate but an accomplished and decorated old salt as chief of Admirals and enjoyed the benefits of his successes by raising an unprecedented naval power and numerous naval victories. But only 33 years later, same Ottomans come against the same united European fleets with a more powerful armada but under the command of army generals who had seen the water only in the Golden Horn. And by losing at Lepanto, Ottomans have not only lost the battle, but also lost the supremacy at sea. I could point out, very clearly that, short term dominance in the Mediterranean was not a sustainable state policy of Ottomans and in fact, by ignoring competency, the fall of Ottoman Empire was literally initiated by the defeat at Lepanto in 1571. Consequently, the actual implementation of delivering state posts to the incompetent ones, had been widely exercised for centuries to come, and the proper functioning of state has become unsustainable. Finally, by the hands of “the groom” Enver Pasha, Ottoman Empire has been dragged into the first World War, which put the last nail into its coffin.

Sea power of a state is a wide phenomenon which includes naval forces and merchant navy as well. Unfortunately, Ottomans never appreciated the fact that in order to enjoy dominance on such a geography and over three continents, the prime requirement would be a powerful navy and a prosperous merchant fleet supported by that navy. Lepanto was the first indication of that ignorance, and as a last consequence, united modern crusader navies of Europe have conquered the city of İstanbul in 1918 against almost no resistance.

We have lots of lessons to be learned both from Preveza and Lepanto. The Ottomans never did, and we still have to live with harsh consequences. What we ought to do today, is to appreciate the history of our job on at least intellectual level, to be able to establish the cause-effect relations and to learn the lesson. The number one lessons to be learned from Preveza is the fact that, only bravery supported by wisdom and experience would make history. If we adapt it to ourselves, we should first learn the theory and application of our job, then get experienced by personally working on that job, and only after that, challenge the world with bravery.

Thus, Muezzinzade Ali Pasha, who challenged the enemy with ignorant bravery in Lepanto, paid for his mistake with his life along thousands of others and with the loss of a whole armada. If I did not mention his name here, none of you would ever hear again. But the name of Hizir Reis or Barbarossa has been carved in the memory of all Turks and even in most of the Europeans.

The lesson to be learned from Lepanto is the necessity of delivering the job to the competent. This means, grading your work with care for us as your teachers, employing good teachers for the rectorate, and appointing competent state officials for the state. Otherwise, an incompetent captain runs his vessel aground, the bridge constructed by bad engineers collapses, the airplane with a clumsy pilot crashes and finally the state loses its functionality.

I am sure that you are all ears listening to me. But my time is up.  For my friends who will take lectures from me this semester, I have lots of stories to tell. Instructors do not only deliver the boring lectures, but they also share their experiences, and their ideas which had been matured over the years. That is why you always wanted to be in the classroom and on the front row. And none of you need to be scared of the demon which we call NG.

We have learned our lesson from Preveza and from Lepanto, but as the captains of the future, you need to understand the vitality of being a competent mariner, being able to keep a proper watch on the bridge, being aware of the situation in and around the vessel and continuously monitoring the position of the vessel. That is why we all gathered here today. In a short while, we will go our classrooms, and your experienced instructors keep narrating those critical points until you are all enlightened.

You will be graduated from school as an able officer candidate. You will be working onboard merchant vessels. When you accomplish something good, your captain will ask about your background. You’ll proudly say “Girne-Amerikan”. And by sensing your response, we will also be proud of you. May God be with you.