Battle of Kandem

The Battle of Kandem was a naval battle fought on November,20,1878 during the War of the Ankonian Sea between a fleet of 6 Coven ironclads lead by Admiral Ricardo Anbessa Ledesma Ibanez and a Amul squadron of 3 ironclads led by Admiral Ahmad bin Oztoprak. Ibanez planned to sail to the Amul port of Kandem and bombard it, but Oztoprak surprised him and in the short hour long battle, he managed to sink the Coven ironclad Prepesto and force Ibanez to retreat.

The Conflict

Prelude

King Umberto sent a fleet of 6 ironclads lead by Admiral Ricardo Anbessa Ledesma Ibanez to bombard the strategic Amul port of Kandem while the rest of the Amul fleet was distracted far off fighting the other Coven warships under Admiral Hernandez. However, Sultan Abdul IV heard of this planned sneak attack and ordered the only available ships, three ironclads under Admiral Ahmad bin Oztoprak, to defend the port.

Conditions

The battle was fought in the early morning hours of November,20th, which made the Coven sailors slower to get prepared for battle than the Amuls.

The Engagement

Ibanez's ships spotted Oztoprak's ships approaching and prepared for battle. However, they were poorly organized and the Prepesto steamed ahead of the other five to engage the Amul warships first while the other Coven ships were still preparing. Oztoprak's vessels were easily able to encircle and pore fire into the overly ambitious Coven ship, which quickly caught fire and began having major flooding. The Amul ships then fired some shots at longer range at the remaining Coven vessels, hitting three. Ibanez, seeing one of his ships wrecked in just a few minutes and not sure how the battle would go now that the numbers were slightly better in Admiral Oztoprak's favor, ordered a general retreat, giving the Amuls the victory. The Prepesto would have the fire reach her magazine while it went down, causing an explosion and tearing the vessel in two, quickly sinking her.

Included under Conflict

War of the Ankonian Sea

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Naval

Start Date

20 November 1878

Ending Date

20 November 1878

Conflict Result

Amul Empire Victory

Belligerents

Amul Empire

Led by

• Ahmad bin Oztoprak

Kingdom of Coven

Led by

• Ricardo Anbessa Ledesma Ibanez

Strength

3 ironclads

6 ironclads

Casualties

All three ships damaged

1 ironclad sunk,3 ironclads damaged

Objectives

To rout Ibanez's bombardment fleet

To push past Oztoprak's squadron and bombard the port of Kandem