free download here - Michael Llewellyn-Smith

The Great Island
Turks were concentrating their attack on two of the seven bastions in
the city wall, the Saboniera and the St Andrea, these two being situated
at either end of the wall, on the seashore. The arrival of these belated
reinforcements inspired an extreme joy in the besieged. Every piece of
artillery sounded in salute. All the bells pealed. The towers and ramparts
were hung with red banners.
On the 27th in the silence of night the Duke of Beaufort led a sortie
from the eastern gate of St George. At first all went well. But after daybreak
the explosion of a captured magazine among the Venetian-
French troops caused panic and flight. The Duke, disgusted according
to Dapper by this display of cowardice, refused to retreat an inch, and
was overcome. His body was not recovered. The failure of this sortie
signalled disaster; and dissension now sprung up among the defenders,
for the Duke of Navailles refused to lead a further sortie unless his
French troops were preceded by 4,000 Venetians. They knew better
the state of the Turkish works, he claimed. Morosini, wishing to spare
his exhausted men, would not agree. And now, after their decisive
victory, ‘les assiegeants entasserent toutes ces tetes en un monceau, suivant leur
coutume, et en firent une espece de trophee. Ensuite pour temoigner leur joie, ils
les mirent sur la pointe de leurs piques, ou ils les atachoient avec des cordes toutes
parees des fleurs; ce qu’ils faisoient par moquerie, pretendant braver le Mars
Francois, comme ils disoient.’
The French, depleted and embittered, sailed home; and were followed
by others, volunteers, Germans and Swedes. The garrison now
numbered only 4,000. Morosini surrendered on 5 September 1669,
wisely sparing his own men and the enemy further expense in bloodshed.
Under the terms of capitulation the Venetians were given twelve
days to leave, and kept their fortified islands at Suda, Grambousa and
Spinalonga as reminders of departed power. Dapper’s description of
those twelve days is strangely affecting:
Pendant qu’onfut occupe a remettre la ville de Candie entre les mains du Grand Visir, il
se fit un grand silence dans le camp des enemis, et I’on ne commit aucun desordre dans la
ville. Durant les douze jours marquez pour se retirer, les soldats se saluoient de dessus les
baslions et les ramparts, et parloient entre eux des accidents et des aventures de la guerre,
comme s’ils n’avoient jamais eu de differend, et ils ne se donnerent dans tout ce temps-Ia les
uns aux autres aucun sujet deplainte.
Authorities differ slightly on the statistics of this siege. By any account
the expense was enormous. Dapper gives these figures with a great show
of precision: the Turks lost 118,754 killed and wounded; the Venetians
lost 30,985, The Turks made 56 assaults; the Venetians made 96
sorties. The Turks exploded 473 mines; the Venetians exploded 1,173.
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