Siege of Corfu ( 1798 – 99 ) The Siege of Corfu ( October 1798 – March 1799 ) was a military operation by a joint Russian and Turkish fleet against French troops occupying the island of Corfu . Background . By the Treaty of Campo Formio ( November 1797 ) and the dissolution of the Republic of Venice , the Ionian Islands were ceded to the French Republic , who occupied Corfu as the " département " " Corcyre " . In 1798 Admiral Fyodor Ushakov was sent to the Mediterranean in command of a joint Russian - Turkish squadron to support General Alexander Suvorov ' s forthoming Italian and Swiss expedition ( 1799 – 1800 ) . One of the main tasks assigned to the squadron was the liberation from the French of the strategically important Ionian Islands . In October 1798 the French garrisons were driven from Cythera , Zakynthos , Cephalonia , and Lefkada . It remained to release the largest and best - fortified island of the archipelago , Corfu . The garrison of the island . The city of Corfu is located on the east coast in the central part of the island between two forts : From the new to the old fort a high wall ran along the shore . The town was also covered by bastions on two mountains , Abraham and Salvatore , and the intermediate fort of San Rocco . From the sea , the city was protected by the well - fortified island of Vido , and the smaller island of Lazaretto , two miles up the coast , was also strengthened by the French . The French , commanded by the governor General Louis Chabot , had 3000 soldiers and 650 guns in Corfu , plus 500 soldiers and 5 artillery batteries on the island of Vido . In the harbour was a French squadron of two ships of the line , the 74 - gun " Généreux " and 54 - gun " Leander " , the 20 - gun corvette " Brune " , a bomb - vessel , a brig and four auxiliary vessels . The siege of Corfu . On 4 November 1798 Ushakov ' s Russian - Turkish squadron , consisting of three ships of the line , three frigates and a number of small ships , began the siege of Corfu . They were joined shortly afterwards by a Turkish squadron and another Russian squadron under the command of Captain Dmitry Senyavin . Given the strong fortifications of the island and the lack of strength for a landing , it was initially decided to wait for Turkish reinforcements for a landing force . However , on the first day the French abandoned their fortifications on Lazaretto island , which the Russians immediately occupied . On 13 November a small force of Russians landed without opposition and took the small port of Gouvia about five miles along the coast . From then on the Russians began building batteries and shelling the French - held forts . In December , another Russian squadron , this one under Rear - Admiral Pavel Pustoshkinthe , augmented the besieging forces . The combined fleet now consisted of 12 ships of the line , 11 frigates and many smaller vessels . On the night of January 26 the " Généreux " , with her sails painted black , and the brig escaped from the harbour and sailed to Ancona . In February , about 4 , 000 Turkish and Albanian troops arrived and it was decided to make a landing on the island of Vido – the key to the defense of Corfu – using naval artillery against its shore batteries . Capture of Vido . The assault on Vido began early in the morning of 28 February 1799 . After a four - hour bombardment by several ships , all five shore batteries on the island had been suppressed . The " Leander " and " Brune " tried to intervene but were damaged and forced to retreat to the protection of the batteries of Corfu . The allied fleet then landed over 2000 men on Vido and after a two - hour battle the island was taken . Of the 800 men defending the island , 200 were killed and 400 were taken prisoner , including the commandant of the island , Brigadier - General Pivron . About 150 men managed to swim to Corfu . Russian losses were 31 killed and 100 wounded . The Turks and Albanians lost 180 killed and wounded . Capture of Corfu city . After the fall of Vido , the key to Corfu was in the hands of Ushakov . On March 1 the captured batteries on the island opened fire on the city ' s forts , supported by the Russians ' shore batteries and some of the Russian and Turkish warships . The allied forces stormed and captured the outlying forts of San Rocco , San Salvatore and San Abraham . On 2 March Ushakov planned to assault the main forts , but in the morning the French sent envoys to request a forty - eight hour armistice , and on 3 March they surrendered . Aftermath . The capitulation agreed between the French and Russians was an honourable one , including a provision for the French troops to be conveyed to Toulon . The remaining French ships in the harbour were taken by the allies , including the " Leander " which had been captured from the Royal Navy on 18 August 1798 ; the Russians returned her to the British . Admiral Ushakov was honoured by the Emperor of Russia with the star of the Order of St Alexander Nevsky and by the Ottoman Sultan with a chelengk , rarely awarded to non - Muslims . The capture of Corfu completed the Russo - Turkish takeover of the Ionian Islands , which was of great military and political importance . The islands became the Seven Islands Republic , a temporary protectorate of Russia and Turkey , and for several years Corfu served as a base for the Russian Mediterranean fleet . Ushakov ' s fleet went on to support the allied attack on Naples .