Aden Expedition

Aden Expedition
Part of the conquest of Aden

Contemporary painting showing British warships engaging Sira fortress batteries
Date19 January 1839
Location12°48′N 45°02′E / 12.800°N 45.033°E / 12.800; 45.033
Result British victory
Territorial
changes
British colonisation of Aden
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Lahej
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Henry Smith Sultanate of Lahej Muhsin ibn al-Fadl
Strength
Land:
700 infantry[1]
Sea:
1 frigate
1 corvette
1 brig
1 schooner
700 infantry
33 artillery pieces
1 fort
Casualties and losses
None
1 corvette damaged
150 killed or wounded
139 captured
33 artillery pieces captured
1 fort captured
Aden Expedition is located in Yemen
Aden Expedition
Aden Expedition
Location within Yemen
Cannon made in 1531 for the Ottoman invasion of India and captured at Sira by the Royal Navy in 1839, now in the Tower of London.

The Aden Expedition was a naval operation that the British Royal Navy carried out in January 1839. Following Britain's decision to acquire the Port of Aden as a coaling station for the steamers sailing the new Suez-Bombay route, the Sultan of Lahej, who owned Aden, resisted, which led to a series of skirmishes between the two sides. In response to the incidents, a small force of warships and soldiers of the East India Company were sent to Arabia. The expedition succeeded in defeating the Arab defenders, who held the fortress on Sira Island, and occupied the nearby port of Aden.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Seizure of Aden 1839 - FIBIwiki".
  2. ^ Clowes, pg. 277-279
  3. ^ Playfair, pg. 162-163