Husrev’s Aegean fleet innovation was undermined by Egyptian-Ottoman command rivalry

Evidence

After being appointed to other posts including that of Governor of Bosnia during the Serbian revolt of 1806 and later as vali of Erzurum during the Kurdish rebellion (1818), Husrev was finally appointed as Grand Admiral of the Ottoman navy during the Greek war (December 1822). While he managed to construct a fleet of small vessels capable of maneuvering in the shallow waters of the Aegean and was thus successful in cutting the lines of communication of the Greek rebels, he could not reap the rewards of his innovative moves because of the appearance of Mehmed Ali’s son, Ibrahim, on the theater of operations. We have already seen how much Husrev’s position as Grand Admiral was resented by Mehmed Ali since he was believed to have been interfering in the activities of his son. After months of trying to work together, Ibrahim wrote to his father’s agent in Istanbul, Najib Efendi, informing him that there was little chance of the success of the joint efforts of the Egyptian and Ottoman naval forces since their commands were not unified. He added that they could not be unified or coordinated, however, because of the “old and well-entrenched hatred that Husrev has towards our family.” In the event, and as we saw in chapter 1 above, Husrev was removed from the command of the Ottoman navy as a result of Mehmed Ali’s pressure, adding yet another grudge to those that Husrev held against his old enemy. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1555

Categorization

• XREF: The Egyptian-Ottoman naval rivalry directly bears on the reader’s question about army performance against the Ottoman Pashas; Ibrahim’s role appears repeatedly in this book.