f naval
tactics in Europe, and thus were plainly superior to the Mussulmans, who
adhered to the old customs, and were made to pay dearly for every
attempt to issue from the Dardanelles. Three persons of the name of
Morosini, and several Mocenigos, made themselves famous in this
protracted struggle.

Finally, the celebrated Coprougli, placed by his merits at the head of
the Ottoman ministry, resolved to take the personal direction of this
war which had lasted so long: he accordingly proceeded to the island,
where transports had landed fifty thousand men, at whose head he
conducted the attack in a vigorous manner.(1667.)

In this memorable siege the Turks exhibited more skill than previously:
their artillery, of very heavy caliber, was well served, and, for the
first time, they made use of trenches, which were the invention of an
Italian engineer.

The Venetians, on their side, greatly improved the methods of defense by
mines. Never had there been seen such furious zeal exhibited in mutual
destruction by combats, mines, and assaults. Their heroic resistance
enabled the garrison to hold out during winter: in the spring, Venice
sent reinforcements and the Duke of Feuillade brought a few hundreds of
French volunteers.

The Turks had also received strong reinforcements, and redoubled their
efforts. The siege was drawing to a close, when six thousand Frenchmen
came to the assistance of the garrison under the leadership of the Duke
of Beaufort and Navailles,(1669.) A badly-conducted sortie discouraged
these presumptuous young men, and Navailles, disgusted with the
sufferings endured in the siege, assumed the responsibility, at the end
of two months, of carrying the remnant of his troops back to France.
Morosini, having then but three thousand exhausted men to defend a place
which was open on all sides, finally consented to evacuate it, and a
truce was agreed upon, which led to a formal treaty of peace. Candia had
cost the Turks twenty-five years of efforts and more than one hundred
thousand men killed in eighteen assaults and several hundred sorties. It
is estimated that thirty-five thousand Christians of different nations
perished in the glorious defense of the place.

The struggle between Louis XIV., Holland, and England gives examples of
great maritime operations, but no remarkable descents. That of James II.
in Ireland (1690) was composed of only six thousand Frenchmen, although
De Tourville's fleet contained seventy-