The defenders could not match Allied battle-fleet gunnery ship for ship, but geography offered different weapons. Fireships could exploit the crowded anchorage and force incoming vessels to break formation or fight spreading flames. Batteries at Navarino Fort and the southern tip of Sfaktiria could cover the practical entrance to the bay. A successful combination might have disrupted the coalition before it established its close-range firing positions.
Notable Point · 2:32:36-2:33:22
Fireships and forts were the defenders' best asymmetric tools
In the confined bay, fireships could punish clustered Allied vessels while batteries covered the only practical entrance.