The Defences of Corfu Town

 I wrote a bit about the Ionian islands, and Corfu in particular, in my book, The Frontier Sea: The Napoleonic Wars in the Adriatic. However, this is the first time I have visited them, the only part of the Adriatic coast I haven't been to before.

The ancient name for Corfu was Corcyra. It was a significant ancient Greek city-state, renowned for its powerful navy and its pivotal role in trade and politics. This is commemorated in the archaeological museum in Corfu Town, which houses a collection of artefacts from the period, including those from the Roman occupation. 

During the Byzantine period, the island was part of a naval theme, although this didn't prevent the Goths from sacking the town. The Normans also used it as a staging post for their invasion of the Empire. The Byzantines built several castles, including one that is now located within the Old Fortress you can see today.

The Venetians had the most significant impact on the island when they took control around 1400. They developed the fortifications you can see today, including the Old Fortress and the New Fortress, built to defend the harbour. You have to visit to understand the strength of these fortifications. The outer walls are strong enough, but they are followed by two more with a moat and ditch, before you even face the citadel.

The fortifications withstood several Ottoman sieges, with the most notable ones occurring in 1537 and 1716. 

This is the view of the town from the top of the old fortress, with the new fortress rising above the port.

The French Republic gained Corfu as part of its capture of Venice. Napoleon wrote in his diary, ‘I think that henceforth the chief maxim of the French Republic should be never to give up Corfu, Zante, etc....With Malta and Corfu we should soon be masters of the Mediterranean.’ Writing to his brother Joseph, then King of Naples, he said, ‘Corfu is so important to me that its loss would deal a fatal blow to my plans. The Adriatic would be closed, and your kingdom would have on its left flank a port where the enemy could assemble to attack you. You must regard it as more valuable than Sicily. Mark my words: in the current situation in Europe the worst misfortune that can happen to me is to lose Corfu.’

It was the Russians with rare Ottoman support that eventually took the fortress. There are two small islands off the town, and they used Vido as a base for the final attack. A bombardment by eight hundred naval guns killed one-third of the six hundred French defenders and destroyed all their artillery. This was followed by the landing of 1,000 Russian troops in the north and 1,000 Ottoman soldiers in the west. Even though the attacks on the main fortress had failed, the French were short of supplies and asked for terms, which included their repatriation to Toulon. The siege is dramatised in the Russian 1953 film, Korabli shturmuyut bastion (Attack from the Sea), which I recommend watching on YouTube.

The Russians lost interest in the Mediterranean, and the islands reverted to French control. The British started an island-hopping campaign in 1810 but stopped short of Corfu. The British assessment of Corfu was that ‘French engineering during the last three years has rendered the fortress of Corfu impregnable to every power in Europe but Great Britain owing to her naval superiority.’ It would take a force of four or five thousand to capture it, which was not available.

The French abandoned Corfu in 1814, and the British took over as a protectorate, rather than a colony. They improved the defences during their fifty-year stay, before handing it over to the Greek Republic in 1864. There are graves of British troops from this period in the CWGC cemetery.

The British were back in WW1, as I covered in the last blog. The Italians and Germans occupied the island in WW2, and Vido Island was used as a concentration camp. 

In summary, while the island has had many different occupiers, few have managed to capture the fortresses of Corfu Town.