When, in his delusion, Perun threw
Eagle, in supreme courage,
The Turkish fleet at Chesme - burned Ross in the Archipelago,
Then Orlov-Zeves, Spiridov - there was Neptune!

G. R. Derzhavin

Every year on July 7, our country celebrates the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesme in 1770. The Battle of Chesme took place on June 24-26 (July 5-7), 1770 in Chesme Bay on the western coast of Turkey. During the Russian-Turkish War, which began in 1768, ships of the Baltic Fleet went to the Mediterranean Sea to distract the enemy from the Black Sea theater of operations. Two Russian squadrons under the command of Admiral Grigory Spiridov and Rear Admiral John Elphinstone, united under the overall command of Count Alexei Orlov, discovered the Turkish fleet in the roadstead of Chesme Bay and attacked it. The victory was complete - the entire Turkish fleet was destroyed.

Background

In 1768, under the influence of the Polish question and pressure from France, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. The Bar Confederation in Poland, which acted with the support of the Catholic powers - France and Austria, was losing the fight against Russian and Polish government troops. Finding themselves in a difficult situation, the Polish rebels turned to the Porte for help. Jewels were collected to bribe Ottoman dignitaries in Constantinople. Turkey was promised Podolia and Volyn for help in the war with Russia. Paris also put pressure on Istanbul. France traditionally supported the Poles against the Russians and wanted to take advantage of Turkey's war against Russia to gain Egypt into its sphere of influence. In addition, France considered itself the main power in Europe, and Russia’s desire to gain access to the southern seas was met with active resistance from the French.

By this time, the same situation in the southwestern strategic direction remained as it had been in the 17th century. Russia did not have its own fleet in the Azov and Black Seas, where Turkish naval forces reigned supreme. The Black Sea was, in fact, a “Turkish Lake”. The Northern Black Sea region, the Azov region and Crimea were under the control of the Porte and were a springboard for aggression against the Russian state. In the Northern Black Sea region there were strong Turkish fortresses that blocked the mouths of the main rivers.

In the fall of 1768, the Crimean cavalry invaded Russian territory, starting the war. The enemy was defeated and retreated, but the threat remained. The Northern Black Sea region and the Danube direction became the main theaters of military operations, where the Russian army fought for more than five years against the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate.

In order to somehow compensate for the absence of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, St. Petersburg decided to send a squadron from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from there threaten the Ottoman Empire. The main purpose of the expedition was to support a possible uprising of the Christian peoples of the Balkan Peninsula (primarily the Greeks of the Peloponnese and the Aegean islands) and to threaten the rear communications of the Porte. Russian ships were supposed to disrupt the Ottomans' sea communications in the Mediterranean Sea and divert part of the enemy forces (especially the fleet) from the Black Sea theater of operations. If successful, the squadron was supposed to blockade the Dardanelles and capture important coastal points of Turkey. The main theater of action was in the Aegean Sea or, as they said then, in the "Greek Archipelago", hence the name "Archipelago Expedition".

For the first time, the idea of ​​​​sending Russian ships to the shores of the Aegean Sea and raising an uprising of Christian peoples against the Ottomans there was expressed by the then favorite of Empress Catherine II, Grigory Orlov. It is possible that the idea was first expressed by the future leader of the expedition, Count Alexei Orlov, Gregory’s brother, and Gregory only supported it and conveyed it to Catherine. Alexei Orlov wrote to his brother about the tasks of such an expedition and the war in general: “If we are going to go, then go to Constantinople and free all the Orthodox and pious from the heavy yoke. And I will say as Emperor Peter I said in his letter: drive their infidel Mohammedans into the sandy steppes to their former homes. And then piety will begin again, and we will say glory to our God and the Almighty.” When submitting the expedition project to the Council under the Empress, Grigory Orlov formulated his proposal as follows: “send, in the form of a voyage, several ships to the Mediterranean Sea and from there sabotage the enemy.”

Count Alexei Orlov is the inspirer and first commander of the expedition. Portrait by K. L. Khristinek

Russian admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov

Hike

In the winter of 1769, preparations were underway for the Baltic Fleet ships in the Kronstadt harbor. Several squadrons of the Baltic Fleet were to take part in the expedition: a total of 20 battleships, 6 frigates, 1 bombardment ship, 26 auxiliary ships, over 8 thousand landing troops. In total, the expedition crew was supposed to number over 17 thousand people. In addition, they planned to buy several ships from England. The British at that time considered France their main enemy and supported Russia. Russia was a major trading partner of England. Alexey Orlov was appointed commander of the expedition in the position of general-in-chief. The squadron was led by Admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov, one of the most experienced Russian sailors, who began his service under Peter the Great.

In July 1769, the first squadron left under the command of Spiridov. It consisted of 7 battleships - “Saint Eustathius”, “Svyatoslav”, “Three Hierarchs”, “Three Saints”, “Saint Januarius”, “Europe” and “Northern Eagle”, 1 bombardment ship “Thunder”, 1 frigate "Nadezhda Blagopoluchiya" and 9 auxiliary vessels. Almost all battleships had 66 guns, including the flagship St. Eustathius. The most powerful ship was Svyatoslav - 86 guns. In October 1769, the second squadron left under the command of the Englishman Rear Admiral John Elphinstone, who had switched to Russian service. The second squadron included 3 battleships - the flagship "Don't touch me", "Tver" and "Saratov" (all had 66 guns), 2 frigates - "Nadezhda" and "Afrika", the ship "Chichagov" and 2 kicks. During the campaign, the composition of the squadron changed somewhat.

The Russian squadron's voyage around Europe was difficult and met with hostility from France. The news of the Russian campaign came as a complete surprise to Paris, but the French were convinced that this naval expedition, in conditions of complete separation from bases and lack of necessary experience, would end in complete failure of the Russian sailors. The British, as opposed to France, decided to support the Russians. However, even in London it was believed that the Russian fleet, which was in complete decline after Peter I, would face failure.

“The desire to bring Russia’s naval forces to a significant size,” noted the British ambassador to Russia, “can only be achieved with the help and assistance of England, and not otherwise. But it is impossible for Russia to become a rival capable of inspiring us with envy, either as a commercial or as a military maritime power. For this reason, I have always considered such types of Russia to be very happy for us, for as long as this is accomplished, she must depend on us and cling to us. If it succeeds, this success will only increase our strength, and if it fails, we will only lose what we could not have.”

In general, the assistance of England during this period was useful to Russia: it was possible to hire experienced military officers of various levels and receive extremely important support in supplying and repairing ships directly in England and in its strongholds in the Mediterranean Sea - in Gibraltar and Minorca. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (a region of modern Italy) also provided benevolent neutrality and assistance to the Russian fleet. In the main port of this state, in Livorno, Russian ships were repaired and maintained contact with Russia through Tuscany.

It is clear that for Russian sailors the long voyage around Europe was a difficult and responsible test. Before this, Russian ships mainly stayed in the Baltic Sea, most often sailing in the Gulf of Finland. Only a few merchant ships left the Baltic. Thus, Russian ships had to withstand the elements far from their repair and supply bases, having a need for the bare necessities. And in the Mediterranean Sea they had to face an experienced enemy who relied on its territory.

The campaign of Spiridov's squadron was accompanied by difficulties. The most powerful ship, Svyatoslav, was damaged. On August 10 (21), a leak opened on the ship and he returned to Revel with difficulty. After repairs, "Svyatoslav" joined Elphinstone's second squadron and became the flagship of the second squadron. Therefore, Spiridov, by his own decision, attached the battleship Rostislav, which came from Arkhangelsk, to the squadron.

A storm broke out in the area of ​​the island of Gotland, which continued almost continuously until the squadron entered the North Sea. The Lapomink pink died off Cape Skagen. On August 30 (September 10) the squadron arrived in Copenhagen. On September 4 (15), the battleship "Three Saints" ran aground on a sandbank, it was possible to remove it, but the ship was severely damaged. There were many sick people on the ships. By the time the ships arrived in England on September 24, hundreds of people had fallen ill. A significant part of the squadron remained in England for repairs, including the Saint, under the command of Brigadier Samuel Greig.

The further journey was also difficult. There is a storm in the Bay of Biscay. Some ships were severely damaged. The ship "Northern Eagle" was forced to return to the English city of Portsmouth, where it was eventually declared unfit for service and dismantled. During the long voyage, the insufficient strength of the ships' hulls was revealed: during the rocking, the plating boards came off and leaks appeared. Poor ventilation and lack of infirmaries led to widespread illness among the teams and high mortality rates. Unsatisfactory preliminary preparation on the part of the Admiralty also had its effect. Naval officials sought to formally solve the problem in order to get rid of the troublesome matter: they somehow supplied the ships and escorted them out of Kronstadt. The crews of the ships were in great need of food, good drinking water and uniforms. To repair and eliminate damage along the way, only one shipwright was assigned to the entire squadron, which was sent on a long voyage.

The passage of Russian ships from the coast of England to Gibraltar lasted about a month - over 1,500 miles without a single stop at ports. In November 1769, the ship "Eustathius" under the flag of Spiridov passed Gibraltar, entered the Mediterranean Sea and arrived at Port Mahon (Minorca Island). On November 12 (23), Greig with the main part of the squadron went to Gibraltar, where he received news from Spiridov and headed to Minorca. By Christmas 1769, only 9 ships had gathered in Menorca, including 4 battleships (“Saint Eustathius”, “Three Hierarchs”, “Three Saints”, “Saint Januarius”). In February 1770, the 1st squadron reached the shores of the Morea Peninsula (Peloponnese). In March, the battleships Rostislav and Europe arrived.

With the support of the Russian squadron, the Greeks began an uprising. In order to use the Greek national liberation movement against the Turkish yoke, Empress Catherine II, even before the start of the operation, sent Count A. Orlov to Italy, who was supposed to establish contact with the rebel commanders and provide them with support. Orlov was to lead all Russian forces in the Mediterranean. The Russian squadron landed small troops, strengthening the Greek troops and began a siege of coastal fortresses on the southern coast of Greece. On April 10, the Navarin fortress capitulated, which became the base for the Russian fleet.

However, overall the uprising failed. The rebels fighting in the depths of the Morea were defeated. The Turks crushed resistance in the most brutal way. They used Albanian punitive forces. The siege of the seaside fortress of Coron, begun in March by part of the Russian squadron, did not lead to victory. It was not possible to take the Modon fortress. New troops arrived from Turkey to Greece. Soon Turkish troops besieged Navarino. Orlov, due to the military weakness of the Greek troops, problems with drinking water and the threat from the approaching Turkish army, decided to leave the fortress. On May 23 (June 3) the fortress was blown up and abandoned. Russian troops left Morea, moving the fighting to the Aegean Sea. Thus, the Russian squadron was unable to create a stable base in Morea. The Greek uprising was crushed.

Actions of Russian troops and navy in 1770

Fight at sea

Meanwhile, the Ottoman command gathered not only ground forces, but also a fleet into Greece. The Turks planned to blockade Navarino not only from land, but also from the sea. A large squadron was sent from Turkish ports. At the same time, the second squadron under the command of D. Elphinstone arrived to help Spiridov - the ships “Saratov”, “Don’t touch me” and the “Svyatoslav”, which had lagged behind the first squadron, 2 frigates (“Nadezhda” and “Africa”), several transport and auxiliary vessels. At the beginning of May, Elphinstone's squadron approached Morea and moved along the coast. On the morning of May 16 (27), the Russians discovered the enemy near the island of La Spezia. The Ottomans had more than double superiority in forces, but did not accept the battle and hid in the port of Napoli di Romagna.

On the afternoon of May 17 (28), Russian ships attacked the enemy. The battle ended without any significant losses on both sides. The Turks believed that they were dealing with the vanguard of a sprawling Russian fleet, so they retreated under the protection of coastal batteries. Elphinstone believed that he did not have enough strength to block the Turkish fleet, and retreated.

On May 22 (June 2), Elphinston’s second squadron near the island of Tserigo merged with Spiridov’s squadron. The combined Russian forces returned to the Gulf of Napoli di Romagna, but the Ottomans were no longer there. The commander of the Turkish fleet, Hasan Bey, took the fleet towards Chios. On May 24 (June 4), near the island of La Spezia, Russian and Turkish ships were within sight. However, calm prevented the naval battle. For three days the opponents saw each other, but could not engage in battle. The Ottomans then took advantage of the favorable wind and disappeared. Russian ships continued searching for the enemy. For almost a month they plowed the waters of the Aegean Sea in pursuit of the Ottomans. In mid-June they were joined by a detachment of ships, which was the last to leave Navarino.

All Russian naval forces in the Mediterranean were united, and Orlov took overall command. It should be noted that Spiridov was dissatisfied with Elphinstone, who, in his opinion, missed the Turks at Napoli di Romagna. The admirals quarreled. By Catherine's instructions, Admiral Spiridov and Rear Admiral Elphinstone were placed in an equal position, and neither of them was subordinate to the other. Only the arrival of Orlov defused the situation and he took over the supreme command.

On June 15 (26), the Russian fleet stocked up on water on the island of Paros, where the Greeks reported that the Turkish fleet had left the island 3 days ago. The Russian command decided to go to the island of Chios, and if there was no enemy there, then to the island of Tenedos in order to block the Dardanelles. On June 23 (July 4) near the island of Chios, patrolmen on the ship "Rostislav" located in the vanguard discovered the enemy.

Source: Beskrovny L. G. Atlas of maps and diagrams of the Russian military

Battle in the Chios Strait

When the Russian ships approached the Chios Strait, which separated the island of Chios from Asia Minor, it was possible to determine the composition of the enemy fleet. It turned out that the enemy had a serious advantage. The Turkish fleet consisted of: 16 battleships (of which 5 had 80 guns each, 10 had 60-70 guns each), 6 frigates and dozens of shebeks, galleys and other small combat and auxiliary vessels. The Turkish fleet was armed with 1,430 guns, the total crew numbered 16 thousand people. Before the start of the battle, Orlov had 9 battleships, 3 frigates and 18 other ships, which had 730 guns and a crew of about 6.5 thousand people. Thus, the enemy had a double superiority in guns and men. The balance of forces was clearly not in favor of the Russian fleet.

The Turkish fleet was built in two arc-shaped lines. The first line consisted of 10 battleships, the second - 6 battleships and 6 frigates. Auxiliary vessels stood behind the second line. The formation of the fleet was extremely close (150-200 meters between ships); only the ships of the first line could fully use their artillery. A large fortified camp was set up near the shore, from where the ships replenished supplies. The commander of the Turkish fleet, Ibrahim Husameddin Pasha, watched the battle from the shore. Admiral Hassan Bey was on the flagship Real Mustafa.

Count Orlov was confused. However, the bulk of Russian sailors were ready to fight. The enthusiasm of the crews, the persistence of Spiridov and the ship commanders convinced the commander-in-chief of the need for a decisive attack. “Seeing this structure (the enemy’s battle line),” Orlov reported to St. Petersburg, “I was horrified and in the dark: what should I do? But the bravery of the troops, the zeal of everyone ... forced me to decide and, despite the superior forces (of the enemy), to dare to attack - to fall or destroy the enemy.”

Having assessed the situation and the weaknesses of the enemy fleet's combat formation, Admiral Spiridov proposed the following plan of attack. The battleships, built in a wake formation, taking advantage of the windward position, were supposed to approach the enemy at a right angle and strike at the vanguard and part of the center of the first line. After the destruction of the ships of the first line, the attack was carried out on the ships of the second line. This demonstrated Spiridov’s courage as a naval commander who violated the rules of linear tactics, according to which it was first necessary to build a line parallel to the enemy. Such a formation was associated with risk, since the Russians, approaching the enemy, were subjected to longitudinal fire from the strong artillery of the Turkish fleet. Spiridov's calculation was based on the speed and decisiveness of the attack. For Russian ships, with a large number of small-caliber guns, the shortest distance was more advantageous. In addition, the rapprochement made it possible to somewhat reduce losses, since then not all Turkish ships could fire, especially aimed fire.

On the morning of June 24 (July 5), the Russian squadron entered the Chios Strait and, at a signal from Commander-in-Chief A. Orlov, who was on the battleship Three Hierarchs, formed a wake column. The lead ship was the "Europe" under the command of Captain 1st Rank Fedot Klokachev, followed by the "Eustathius", on which the vanguard commander Admiral Spiridov held his flag, then the ship "Three Saints" under the command of Captain 1st Rank Stepan Khmetevsky. They were followed by the battleships "Yanuarius" of captain 1st rank Mikhail Borisov, "Three Hierarchs" of brigadier Samuil Greig and "Rostislav" of captain 1st rank Lupandin. Closing the battle line were the rearguard ships “Don’t touch me” - Elphinstone’s flagship, commander - captain 1st rank Beshentsev, “Svyatoslav” captain 1st rank Roxburgh and “Saratov” captain Polivanov.

At about 11 o'clock, the Russian squadron, in accordance with the previously developed plan of attack, turned left and began to descend on the enemy almost at a right angle. To speed up the approach to artillery salvo range and the deployment of forces for the attack, Russian ships sailed in close formation. Around noon, the Turkish ships opened fire. The advanced battleship "Europe" approached the battle line of the Turkish fleet within a pistol shot - 50 meters, and was the first to return fire. Captain Klokachev wanted to bring the ship even closer to the enemy, but the proximity of the rocks forced him to turn and temporarily leave the line.

Spiridov's flagship became the lead ship. The Russian flagship was hit by concentrated fire from several enemy ships at once. But our flagship confidently continued to move, setting an example for the entire squadron. Inspiring the sailors to fight the Ottomans, Admiral Grigory Spiridov stood on the upper deck with his sword drawn. Battle marches thundered on Russian ships. The musicians received the order “Play until the last!”

The admiral ordered to concentrate fire on the Turkish flagship Real Mustafa. Following the flagship, the rest of the ships of the Russian fleet entered the battle. By the end of the first hour the battle had become general. The battleship "Three Saints" fired exceptionally well at the enemy, causing serious damage to the Turkish ships. At the same time, the Russian ship was hit by several enemy shells, which broke the braces (rigging gear, with the help of which the yards were turned in the horizontal direction). The “Three Saints” began to drift right into the middle of the Turkish fleet, between its two battle lines. The situation became very dangerous. With the slightest mistake, the ship could collide with a Turkish ship or break on the rocks. However, Captain Khmetevsky, despite being wounded, continued to skillfully direct the ship’s actions. The Russian ship withstood powerful enemy fire. As a result of enemy shelling, underwater holes appeared on the “Three Saints” and the masts were damaged. But the Russian sailors continued to fight at close range and themselves fired hundreds of shells at the enemy. They fired at the enemy from both sides at once.

The ship "Januarius", under the command of Captain Borisov, having passed along the Ottoman line and shooting several enemy ships at once, turned and walked along the line again. Then he took a position opposite one of the ships and concentrated fire on it. The Januarius was followed by the ship Three Hierarchs. He approached another enemy ship - the flagship of Kapudan Pasha, anchored and began a fierce duel. Russian ships came almost close to enemy ships, which made it possible to use not only small-caliber artillery, but also guns. The Turkish ship could not withstand the fire and retreated, showing the stern. He was "broken beyond belief." Other Turkish ships, against which Rostislav and Europe fought, were also seriously damaged.

The flagship of the Russian squadron fired from such a short distance that its cannonballs pierced both sides of the Turkish flagship and the crews exchanged rifle and pistol fire. Many Turks could not stand the battle and threw themselves overboard. But enemy fire also led to severe damage to the Eustathius. The masts, yards and sails of the Russian ship were badly damaged. Things got to the point where the Efstafiy got into contact with the Real Mustafa and the Russian sailors rushed to board. During the boarding battle between the Eustathius and Real Mustafa teams, the Ottoman ship caught fire, the flame spread to the Russian ship, and both of them exploded. Admiral Spiridov managed to leave the Evstafiy before the explosion. With the death of the Turkish flagship, control of the enemy fleet was disrupted. In the journal of the flagship “Three Hierarchs” it was noted: “As we passed close to the enemy fleet, we began to fire at it from cannons with cannonballs, which also happened from other ships in our fleet; and this battle took place until the end of 2 hours, and at the end of 2 hours the entire Turkish fleet weighed anchor and went to the town of Chesma, and anchored there. At 2 o’clock we tacked.”

Under heavy artillery fire from the Russian ships of the squadron, the Turks retreated in disarray to Chesme Bay. The Turks hoped that the position at Chesma would be inaccessible. The high banks of the bay protected it from the wind, and the batteries at the entrance to the bay seemed to serve as an impregnable barrier for enemy ships.

Thus, as a result of the first stage of the battle, which lasted about two hours, one ship was lost on each side, and the initiative completely passed to the Russians. The Turks retained almost the entire fleet, but were demoralized by the fearless attack of an inferior enemy. During the explosion of the battleship "St. Eustathius" killed about 500-600 people. The Turks also lost their flagship, and several Turkish ships suffered significant damage. Of the Russian ships, only the Three Saints and Europe suffered minor damage.

Aivazovsky’s painting depicts the climax of the battle - the collision of two flagships.

Chesme fight

It was necessary to complete the job and destroy the demoralized enemy. On June 25 (July 6), a military council was convened under the chairmanship of Commander-in-Chief Orlov, in which G. A. Spiridov, S. K. Greig, D. Elphinstone, Yu. V. Dolgorukov, I. A. Hannibal and other commanders took part. Orlov and Spiridov decided, using the night breeze blowing from the sea to the shore, to attack and burn the Ottoman fleet in Chesme Bay. Spiridov’s memoirs noted: “So, without hesitation at all, in agreement with Count Alexei Grigorievich, and with other flagships, with whom he always acted in agreement with everyone, he gave the disposition to burn the entire Turkish fleet.”

In order to set fire to enemy ships, a special detachment was formed under the command of junior flagship S.K. Greig, consisting of 4 battleships, 2 frigates and the bombardment ship "Thunder". Orlov ordered Greig to immediately send the Thunder to Chesme Bay and, while the Turks were confused, continuously fire at the enemy. Naval artillery brigadier I. A. Hannibal was tasked with preparing fire ships to attack the enemy. A fireship was a ship loaded with flammable or explosive substances and used to set fire to and destroy enemy ships. The next day the fireships were ready. They were equipped from small sailing schooners and filled with gunpowder and tar.

The commander of the Turkish fleet, Ibrahim Husameddin Pasha, hoped that Russian ships would not be able to attack his forces after a fierce battle and, relying on the inaccessibility of Chesma’s positions, abandoned the idea of ​​​​entering the sea in order to break away from the Russian squadron, which was possible given the best seaworthiness of the Ottoman ships. The Turkish command hastily strengthened the defense of Chesme Bay. Long-range guns were brought from ships to coastal batteries located at the entrance to the bay. As a result, coastal defenses were significantly strengthened.

On the night of June 26 (July 7), Greig's detachment entered the bay. The battleships “Europe”, “Rostislav” and “Don’t touch me” formed a line from north to south and entered into battle with the Turkish ships. The 66-gun Saratov stood in reserve, while the Thunder and the frigate Africa attacked the batteries on the west bank. Soon the first Turkish ship exploded. Burning debris fell on other ships in the bay. After the explosion of the second Turkish ship, the Russian ships ceased fire, and fire ships entered the bay. Three fireships, for various reasons, did not achieve their goal. Only one, under the command of Lieutenant D.S. Ilyin, completed the task. Under enemy fire, he approached an 84-gun Turkish ship and set it on fire. The fireship crew, together with Lieutenant Ilyin, boarded the boat and left the burning fireship. Soon there was an explosion on the Ottoman ship. Many burning debris scattered throughout Chesme Bay, spreading the fire to almost all the ships of the Turkish fleet.

Greig wrote in his “Handwritten Journal”: “The fire of the Turkish fleet became general by three o’clock in the morning. It is easier to imagine than to describe the horror and confusion that seized the enemy! The Turks stopped all resistance even on those ships that had not yet caught fire. Most of the rowing ships sank or capsized from the multitude of people rushing into them. Entire teams threw themselves into the water in fear and despair; the surface of the bay was covered with countless unfortunates who were trying to escape by drowning one another. Few reached the shore, the goal of desperate efforts. The fear of the Turks was so great that they abandoned not only the ships that had not yet caught fire and the coastal batteries, but even fled from the castle and city of Chesma, which had already been abandoned by the garrison and residents.”

One of the heroes of the Battle of Chesma, Samuil Karlovich Greig

By morning, 15 Turkish battleships, 6 frigates and over 40 auxiliary ships were burned and sunk. One enemy battleship "Rhodes" and 5 galleys were captured. The Turkish fleet suffered huge losses - 10-11 thousand people. Prince Yu. Dolgorukov, a participant in the events, later wrote: “The water mixed with blood and ash took on a very nasty appearance. The corpses of burnt people floated on the waves, and the port was so filled with them that it was difficult to move around in the boats.”

The Russian fleet had no losses in ships that day. 11 people died. Thus, the Russian fleet achieved brilliant success, completely destroying the enemy fleet, and with minimal losses.

After the victory, Spiridov reported to the Admiralty Board in St. Petersburg to its President, Count Chernyshov: “Glory to God and honor to the All-Russian Fleet! From the 25th to the 26th, the enemy fleet was attacked, defeated, broken, burned, sent into the sky, drowned and turned to ashes, and left in that place a terrible disgrace, and they themselves began to dominate the entire Archipelago of our Most Gracious Empress.”

The defeat of the Turkish fleet near Chesma. Painting by Jacob Phillip Hackert

Battle of Chesme. Artist I. K. Aivazovsky

Results

The Battle of Chesma was of great military and political significance. The Ottoman Empire, having lost its fleet, was forced to abandon offensive actions against the Russians in the Archipelago, concentrating its forces on the defense of the Dardanelles Strait and coastal fortresses. In Istanbul they feared that the Russians could now threaten the capital of the empire. Under the leadership of French military engineers, the Turks hastily strengthened the defenses of the Dardanelles. Part of the Turkish forces was diverted from the Black Sea theater. All this played an important role in the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty. The battle was evidence of Russia's increased naval power. The Chesme victory caused a wide resonance in Europe and Asia. The greatest military success of the Russian sailors was so obvious that disdain and skepticism towards our fleet gave way to thoughtfulness and even apprehension. The British highly appreciated the results of Chesma: “In one blow the entire naval power of the Ottoman power was destroyed...”.

Empress Catherine II generously awarded all those who distinguished themselves: Admiral Spiridov was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, Count Fyodor Orlov and Commander Greig received the Order of St. George, 2nd class, 3rd class of the Order of St. George were awarded to captains Fedot Klokachev and Stepan Khmetevsky, a number of officers, including the commanders of all fire ships, received the cross of the Order of St. George, 4th class. From that moment on, the commander-in-chief of all Russian forces in the Mediterranean, Alexei Orlov, received an honorary addition to his surname - “Chesmensky”, and for “brave and reasonable leadership of the fleet and winning the famous victory on the shores of Assia over the Turkish fleet and completely destroying it” he was awarded the highest degree Order of St. George. In addition, the count was given the rank of general-in-chief and granted the right to raise the Kaiser flag and include it in the coat of arms.

Medal "In memory of the burning of the Turkish fleet at Chesme." 1770

By order of Catherine II, the Chesme Column was erected in Tsarskoe Selo (1778) to glorify the victory, as well as the Chesme Palace (1774-1777) and the Chesme Church of St. John the Baptist (1777-1780) in St. Petersburg. In memory of the Chesme victory, gold and silver medals were cast. The name "Chesma" was borne by a squadron battleship of the Russian navy.

In July 2012, President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin signed amendments to the law “On days of military glory and memorable dates in Russia”, which supplement the list of days of military glory with the date July 7 - the Day of the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesme. The Chesma victory is one of the most brilliant victories of the Russian fleet in the naval chronicle of Russia.

Chesme Column in Catherine Park of Tsarskoye Selo. Installed in 1776 according to the design of the architect Antonio Rinaldi

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In the era of sailing ships, the battle between the Russian and Turkish fleets at the Chesma fortress became one of the largest at that time. The victory in this battle served as an advantage for the Russian Empire in concluding the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty at the end of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. The Battle of Chesma is a real triumph of the Russian fleet.

The beginning of the great battle was the collision of the Russian squadron under the command of Admiral Spiridov with the twice superior Turkish fleet in the Chios Strait. The composition of the Russian troops was not large: one bombardment ship, 9 battleships, only 3 frigates, and 17 auxiliary ships. However, the position of the Turkish ships was such that only half of them could attack at once, and the space for maneuver was limited by the coastline. The admiral decided to attack.

Spiridov developed an action plan. According to it, Russian ships had to approach the enemy fleet at a right angle at a distance sufficient for a salvo, inflicting the maximum possible damage on the first line ships, especially the flagship ones, in order to disrupt the control of the Turkish fleet. The enemy could not be allowed to take advantage of the numerical advantage.

On the morning of June 24 (July 7), 1770, Russian ships quickly entered the Chios Strait and were formed into a wake column, an order-battle. “Europe” was ahead, and “Eustathius” was right behind it.

At 11:30, the Turkish squadron attacked the Russian ships, but failed to inflict significant damage. Half an hour later, the maneuver of the Russian fleet was close to completion, and the armies began firing fiercely at each other with cannon salvoes at close range. Only three Russian ships failed to take their places in the general formation. "Europe", at the insistence of the pilot, was taken out of the line, later she took a position behind "Rostislav", "Three Saints" was carried into the very center of the Turkish formation due to damaged rigging. "St. Januarius failed because he fell behind the squadron. After the "Europe" left the battle, the main target of the Turks was the flagship "Eustathius", where the admiral was located. The Russian flagship approached the Turkish 90-gun Real Mustafa at gunshot distance, and due to the impossibility of maneuver, a boarding battle began. The unicorn attacks led to a fire on the Real Mustafa. As a result, both flagships died from the explosion. The commanders of the Russian squadron, Admiral Spiridov and Count F.G. Orlov were saved.

At 14:00 the Turkish fleet began a retreat that looked like a flight. Many ships collided and approached Chesme Bay without bowsprits. The behavior of the crew of the huge 100-gun Turkish ship Kapudan Pasha became a vivid example of the confusion and panic that reigned among Turkish sailors. Cutting off the anchor chain, the crew forgot about the spring, which led to the ship turning its stern towards the Russian “Three Hierarchs” so that the “Kapudan Pasha” did not have the opportunity to respond to the enemy’s heavy fire for a quarter of an hour with a single shot.

As a result of the first stage of the Battle of Chesme, and a short battle in the Chios Strait, both squadrons lost only one ship, but the morale and initiative of the Turkish fleet was broken. The Turkish ships found themselves in an extremely inconvenient and unfavorable position in Chesme Bay; they could not get out of there due to weak winds.

Despite the fact that the Turkish fleet was blocked in Chesme Bay, it retained a numerical advantage and still remained a dangerous enemy. The Russian squadron did not have the capabilities for a long siege. There were no supply bases nearby, and reinforcements from Istanbul could approach the enemy at any moment. In view of these circumstances, the Russian military council on June 25 (July 8) decided to immediately destroy the Turkish fleet. A special detachment was organized from 4 battleships, 2 frigates and the bombardment ship “Grom” under the command of S.K. Greig. He was supposed to attack the Turks in Chesme Bay.

Grom Russia, XVIII century. Bomber ship.

In the evening at 17:00, the Thunder began shelling the enemy fleet and coastal fortifications, which allowed all other ships of the group to complete the maneuver by midnight. According to the plan, the shelling was to be carried out from a distance of about 370 meters (2 cables). The frigates' task was to suppress coastal batteries, and the battleships' task was to fire at the densely lined Turkish fleet in the bay; the Thunder supported the battleships. After the shelling, the fireships entered the battle. The command plan was implemented exactly.

An hour after the massive shelling began, the Turkish ship caught fire from an incendiary shell, and the fire spread to nearby ships. Trying to save the fleet from the fire, the crews of the Turkish ships weakened the artillery fire, which allowed the fireships to successfully bypass the battleships and engage in battle. Within 15 minutes, 4 fire ships approached the previously planned targets, but only one managed to complete the task and set fire to a large 84-gun ship - the fire ship of Lieutenant Ilyin. After which the crew and captain left the burning ship. And the Turkish ship exploded some time later. Its burning wreckage spread fire to many Turkish ships.

Within just a few hours, fire and Russian cannons killed a significant part of the Turkish squadron, including 15 battleships, 6 frigates and about 50 small auxiliary ships. Early in the morning, around 4 o'clock, the shelling of Chesme Bay and the destruction of Turkish ships stopped. By this time, the Turkish squadron was practically wiped off the face of the earth. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Russians landed troops ashore to capture the fortifications of the northern cape.

Explosions in Chesme Bay were heard for another hour after the troops landed on the shore. From the large fleet there was only one 60-gun ship "Rhodes" and 5 galleys left, they surrendered. The rest of the flotilla turned into a terrifying mixture of ash, ship debris and human blood.

There was no longer any Turkish fleet left in the Aegean Sea, which was a huge loss for Turkey and a strategic advantage for the Russian Empire. Thus, the Russian fleet established dominance in the archipelago, and Turkish communications were disrupted. The Battle of Chesma significantly accelerated the victory of the Russians in the war of 1768-1774.

The great Russian naval commanders forged this victory with their talent, experience and ability to make non-standard decisions, despite the almost disastrous start to the campaign. Of the 15 ships that left Kronstadt, only 8 reached Livorno in the Mediterranean Sea. According to Count Orlov himself in a letter to Catherine II, if the war had not been with Turkey, but with any other country, with a stronger and more skilled fleet, “they would have easily crushed everyone.” But the low quality of the enemy fleet was more than compensated for by the double advantage, so the Russian sailors can rightfully be proud of the great victory.

Such a desired victory became possible after abandoning the canons of linear tactics, so popular at that time among Western European admirals. The decisive role in the battle was played by the skillful use of the enemy’s weaknesses, the concentration of ships in the main direction and the ability to accurately choose the moment to attack. The most important thing for defeating the enemy was the decision and ability to drive the Turkish fleet into the bay. Even under the cover of coastal batteries, the Turkish fleet was vulnerable in the cramped bay, which predetermined the success of the incendiary shelling and firewall attack.

The command of the Russian fleet in the Aegean Sea celebrated a triumph. Count Orlov received the Order of St. George, 1st degree, as a reward, and also received the right to add the honorary “Chesmensky” to his surname. Admiral Spiridov was presented with the highest military award in the Russian Empire - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. S. Greig was promoted to rear admiral and was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, which gave the right to hereditary nobility.

In honor of the Chesma victory and those people who achieved it with minimal human losses among their soldiers, an obelisk was erected in Gatchina. 8 years after the battle, the Chesme Column was installed in Tsarskoye Selo. The Chesme Palace and Chesme Church were built in St. Petersburg. The name “Chesma” was given to two ships in the Russian fleet at once - a battleship and a squadron battleship. Also, the name “Chesma” was given to a cape discovered in 1876 in the Gulf of Anadyr. The Battle of Chesme became proof of the exceptional talent of Russian commanders and the courage of Russian sailors, capable of operating even in the most unfavorable conditions and winning.

Today marks 245 years since the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesme in 1770.

I.K. Aivazovsky. Battle of Chesma

Battle of Chesme (Turkish: Cesme Deniz Savasi) - a naval battle on July 5-7, 1770 near and in Chesme (Turkish: Cesme) Bay between the Russian and Turkish fleets.

After the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish War in 1768, Russia sent several squadrons from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to divert the attention of the Turks from the Black Sea Fleet.
Two Russian squadrons (under the command of Admiral Grigory Spiridov and the English adviser Rear Admiral John Elphinstone), united under the overall command of Count Alexei Orlov, discovered the Turkish fleet in the roadstead of Chesme Bay (west coast of Turkey).

Admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov

Count Alexey Grigorievich Orlov-Chesmensky

The Russian fleet included 9 battleships, 3 frigates, bombardment ship Grom, 17-19 auxiliary ships and transports.
The Turkish fleet consisted of 16 battleships, including the 84-gun Real Mustafa and the 60-gun Rhodes, 6 frigates, 6 xebecs, 13 galleys and 32 small vessels. The ships were built in two arched lines of 10 and 6 battleships respectively. There are different opinions about whether the ships of the second line could fire through the gaps between the ships of the first or not. Frigates, xebecs and other small ships were behind. The fleet was commanded by Kapudan Pasha Hasan Bey.

After agreeing on the action plan, the Russian fleet, under full sail, approached the southern edge of the Turkish line, and then, turning around, began to take positions against the Turkish ships. The Turkish fleet opened fire at 11:45, the Russian - at 12:00. The maneuver failed for three Russian ships - Europe overshot its place and was forced to turn around and stand behind Rostislav, Three Saints rounded the second Turkish ship from the rear before being able to get into formation and was mistakenly attacked by the ship Three Hierarchs, and St. Januarius was forced to turn around before getting into formation.

I. K. Aivazovsky Battle in the Chios Strait

St. Eustathius, under the command of Spiridov, began a duel with the flagship of the Turkish squadron, Real Mustafa, under the command of Hassan Pasha, and then tried to board it. After the burning mainmast of Real Mustafa fell on St. Eustache, it exploded. After 10-15 minutes, Real Mustafa also exploded. Admiral Spiridov and the commander's brother Fyodor Orlov left the ship before the explosion. Captain St. Eustace Kruse also escaped. Spiridov continued command from the ship Three Saints.
By 14.00 the Turks cut off the anchor ropes and retreated to Chesme Bay under the cover of coastal batteries.

In Chesme Bay, Turkish ships formed two lines of 8 and 7 battleships, respectively, the rest of the ships took a position between these lines and the shore.
During the day of July 6, Russian ships fired at the Turkish fleet and coastal fortifications from a great distance. Fireships were made from four auxiliary vessels.
At 17:00 on July 6, the bombardment ship Grom anchored in front of the entrance to Chesme Bay and began shelling Turkish ships. At 0:30 he was joined by the battleship Europa, and at 1:00 by Rostislav, in whose wake the fireships arrived.
"Europe", "Rostislav" and the approaching "Don't touch me" formed a line from north to south, entering the battle with Turkish ships, "Saratov" stood in reserve, and "Thunder" and the frigate "Africa" ​​attacked the batteries on the western shore of the bay. At 1:30 or a little earlier (midnight, according to Elphinstone), as a result of the fire of the Thunder and/or Touch Me Not, one of the Turkish battleships exploded due to the transfer of flames from the burning sails to the hull. Burning debris from this explosion scattered other ships in the bay.


Jacob Philipp Hackert Battle of Chesma

After the explosion of the second Turkish ship at 2:00, the Russian ships ceased fire, and fire ships entered the bay. The Turks managed to shoot two of them, under the command of captains Gagarin and Dugdale (according to Elphinstone, only Captain Dugdale’s fireship was shot, and Captain Gagarin’s fireship refused to go into battle), one, under the command of Mackenzie, grappled with an already burning ship, and the other, under the command of Lieutenant D. Ilyin, grappled with an 84-gun battleship. Ilyin set fire to the fireship, and he and his crew left it on a boat. The ship exploded and set fire to most of the remaining Turkish ships. By 2:30, 3 more battleships exploded.

I. K. Aivazovsky Chesme battle

At about 4:00, Russian ships sent boats to save two large ships that were not yet burning, but only one of them, the 60-gun Rhodes, was taken out. From 4:00 to 5:30, 6 more battleships exploded, and in the 7th hour 4 exploded simultaneously. By 8:00 the battle in Chesme Bay was over.

Consequences of the battle

After the Battle of Chesme, the Russian fleet managed to seriously disrupt the communications of the Turks in the Aegean Sea and establish a blockade of the Dardanelles.
All this played an important role in the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty.
By order of Catherine II, to glorify the victory, the Chesme memorial hall was created in the Great Peterhof Palace (1774-1777), 2 monuments to this event were erected: the Chesme obelisk in Gatchina (1775) and the Chesme column in Tsarskoe Selo (1778), and the Chesme obelisk was built palace (1774-77) and Chesme Church of St. John the Baptist (1777-80) in St. Petersburg.


Chesma Obelisk in Gatchina

Chesme Column in Tsarskoe Selo

Chesme Church of St. John the Baptist

Paintings of the Battle of Chesme were commissioned from Hackert by the Russian government. The artist wrote them based on the impressions of the battle participants Count A. Orlov, admirals G.A. Spiridova, S.K. Greig and other officers. Six canvases depict the dramatic moments of the first and decisive battle of the Russian fleet with the Turkish in Chesma Bay.


Jacob Philipp Hackert Battle of Chesma

When painting the picture of the burning of the Turkish fleet, the artist first made a number of inaccuracies, which he explained by the fact that he had never seen a burning ship. To provide him with such an opportunity, by order of Empress Catherine II in Italy, on the roadstead of the port of Livorno, one of the Russian ships was blown up. By agreeing to provide the artist with such an expensive model, the Russian Empress pursued a political goal: she again forced Europe to talk about the brilliant victory of the Russian fleet. The extravagance of the Russian government, which did not spare the warship, struck more than just Goethe. Nearby is another painting, which depicts the ships of the victorious Russian fleet returning from Chesma Bay, with the only surviving ship of the entire Turkish fleet, the Rhodes. The Turkish flag was lowered from its mast and replaced by a Russian one. The Russian fleet salutes the winners.

In memory of the Chesme victory, gold and silver medals were cast. The medals were made by “decree of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Catherine Aleksevna”: “We bestow this medal on all those who were in this fleet during this Chesme happy incident, both naval and land lower ranks, and allow them to wear them in memory on a blue ribbon in the buttonhole." Catherine.

Silver medal “in memory of the burning of the Turkish fleet at Chesme” (reverse)

In our time, several tokens and coins have been issued in honor of the victory in the Battle of Chesma.


Token. 300 years of the Russian Navy. Battle of Chesma 1770

300th anniversary of the Russian fleet (Battle of Chesma) (25 rubles)

Anniversary platinum coin (150 rubles)

,
G. A. Spiridov,
D. Elphinstone

Kapudan Pasha Husameddin Ibrahim Pasha,
Jezairli Gazi Hasan Pasha,
Cafer Bay Strengths of the parties

9 battleships 3 frigates 1 bomber ship 17-19 small vessels OK. 6500 people

16 battleships 6 frigates 6 shebek 13 galleys 32 small vessels OK. 15,000 people

Losses

Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774)

Two Russian squadrons (under the command of Admiral Grigory Spiridov and Rear Admiral John Elphinstone (commanded the trailing division of 3 ships)), united under the overall command of Count Alexei Orlov, discovered the Turkish fleet in the roadstead of Chesme Bay (west coast of Turkey).

Main ships	Guns	Type
Europe(a)	66	Battleship
St. Eustathius(b)	68	Lin. cor. ; exploded
Three Saints	66	Battleship
St. Januarius	66	Battleship
Three Hierarchs(V)	66	Battleship
Rostislav	68	Battleship
Dont touch me	66	Battleship
Svyatoslav(G)	84	Battleship
Saratov	66	Battleship
Other ships	Guns	Type
Thunder	12	Bomber ship
St. Nicholas	26/38?	Frigate
Africa	32	Frigate
Hope	32	Frigate
St. Paul	8	Pink
Postman	14	Messenger ship
Count Chernyshev(d)	22	Voor. merchant ship
Count Panin(d)	18	Voor. merchant ship
Count Orlov(d)	18	Voor. merchant ship
? (Cap. Dugdale)		Brander; sunk
? (Cap. Mekenzie)		Brander; used
? (Cap. Ilyin)		Brander; used
? (cap. Gagarin)		Brander; sunk
The warships of Count Orlov's squadron are indicated in pink, Spiridov's in blue, and Elphinston's in yellow. (a) captain Klokachev; (b) Spiridov's flagship, captain Cruz; (c) Orlov’s flagship, captain S. Greig; (d) Elphinstone's flagship; (e) English ships hired to support the fleet

Russian fleet

The Russian fleet included 9 battleships, 3 frigates, the bombardment ship "Grom", 17-19 auxiliary ships and transports.

Turkish fleet

At 17:00 on July 6, the bombardment ship Thunder anchored at the entrance to Chesme Bay and began shelling Turkish ships. At 0:30 he was joined by a battleship Europe, and by 1:00 - Rostislav, in whose wake the fireships came.

Europe, Rostislav and came up Dont touch me formed a line from north to south, engaging in battle with Turkish ships, Saratov stood in reserve, and Thunder and frigate Africa attacked the batteries on the western shore of the bay. At 1:30 or a little earlier (midnight, according to Elphinstone), the resulting fire Thunder and/or Dont touch me one of the Turkish battleships exploded due to the transfer of flame from the burning sails to the hull. Burning debris from this explosion scattered other ships in the bay.

After the explosion of the second Turkish ship at 2:00, the Russian ships ceased fire, and fire ships entered the bay. Two of them are under the command of captains Gagarin and Dugdale. Dugdale) the Turks managed to shoot (according to Elphinstone, only Captain Dugdale's fire-ship was shot, and Captain Gagarin's fire-ship refused to go into battle), one under the command of Mackenzie (eng. Mackenzie) grappled with an already burning ship, and one under the command of Lieutenant D. Ilyin grappled with an 84-gun battleship. Ilyin set fire to the fireship, and he and his crew left it on a boat. The ship exploded and set fire to most of the remaining Turkish ships. By 2:30, 3 more battleships exploded.

At about 4:00, Russian ships sent boats to save two large ships that were not yet burning, but only one of them was taken out - a 60-gun Rhodes. From 4:00 to 5:30, 6 more battleships exploded, and in the 7th hour, 4 exploded simultaneously. By 8:00, the battle in Chesme Bay was over.

Consequences of the battle

After the Battle of Chesme, the Russian fleet managed to seriously disrupt the communications of the Turks in the Aegean Sea and establish a blockade of the Dardanelles.

All this played an important role in the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty.

In memory of the Chesme victory, gold and silver medals were cast. The medals were made by “decree of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Catherine Aleksevna”: “We bestow this medal on all those who were in this fleet during this Chesme happy incident, both naval and land lower ranks, and allow them to wear them in memory on a blue ribbon in the buttonhole." Catherine.

There is Cape Chesma in the Gulf of Anadyr, named in 1876 by an expedition on the clipper “Vsadnik”.

In July 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed amendments to the law “On days of military glory and memorable dates in Russia,” which supplement the list of days of military glory with the date July 7 - the Day of the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesme.

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Notes

Literature

• Lovyagin R. M.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Marine encyclopedic dictionary. T. 3. St. Petersburg: Shipbuilding, p. 389-390.
• Tarle E. V. Chesme battle and the first Russian expedition to the Archipelago. 1769-1774 / Academy of Sciences of the USSR. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1945. - 110 p. - 15,000 copies.(region)
• Tarle E., acad. Chesma // Ogonyok, No. 6-7, February 20, 1945. P. 13-14.
• Krinitsyn F. S. Battle of Chesme. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1962. - 64 p. - (The heroic past of our Motherland).
• Lebedev A.A. Chios and Chesma in the light of data from the logbooks of Russian battleships // Gangut. 2014. No. 81.

Links

• A. Ya. Glotov. “Domestic Notes”, Part 3. No. 5 and 6. 1820

An excerpt characterizing the Battle of Chesma

- Cheating, guys! Lead to it yourself! - shouted the voice of a tall guy. - Don't let me go, guys! Let him submit the report! Hold it! - voices shouted, and people ran after the droshky.
The crowd behind the police chief, talking noisily, headed to the Lubyanka.
- Well, the gentlemen and the merchants have left, and that’s why we are lost? Well, we are dogs, or what! – was heard more often in the crowd.

On the evening of September 1, after his meeting with Kutuzov, Count Rastopchin, upset and offended by the fact that he was not invited to the military council, that Kutuzov did not pay any attention to his proposal to take part in the defense of the capital, and surprised by the new look that opened up to him in the camp , in which the question of the calm of the capital and its patriotic mood turned out to be not only secondary, but completely unnecessary and insignificant - upset, offended and surprised by all this, Count Rostopchin returned to Moscow. After dinner, the count, without undressing, lay down on the sofa and at one o'clock was awakened by a courier who brought him a letter from Kutuzov. The letter said that since the troops were retreating to the Ryazan road outside Moscow, would the count like to send police officials to lead the troops through the city. This news was not news to Rostopchin. Not only from yesterday’s meeting with Kutuzov on Poklonnaya Hill, but also from the Battle of Borodino itself, when all the generals who came to Moscow unanimously said that another battle could not be fought, and when, with the count’s permission, every night government property and residents were already removing up to half let's leave - Count Rastopchin knew that Moscow would be abandoned; but nevertheless, this news, communicated in the form of a simple note with an order from Kutuzov and received at night, during his first sleep, surprised and irritated the count.
Subsequently, explaining his activities during this time, Count Rastopchin wrote several times in his notes that he then had two important goals: De maintenir la tranquillite a Moscow et d "en faire partir les habitants. [Keep calm in Moscow and escort out her inhabitants.] If we assume this double goal, every action of Rostopchin turns out to be impeccable. Why were the Moscow shrine, weapons, ammunition, gunpowder, grain supplies not taken away, why were thousands of residents deceived by the fact that Moscow would not be surrendered, and ruined? In order to maintain peace in the capital, Count Rostopchin’s explanation answers. Why were piles of unnecessary papers and Leppich’s ball and other items removed from public places? - In order to leave the city empty, Count Rostopchin’s explanation answers. One has only to assume that something was threatening. national tranquility, and every action becomes justified.
All the horrors of terror were based only on concern for public peace.
What was Count Rastopchin’s fear of public peace in Moscow based on in 1812? What reason was there for supposing there was a tendency towards indignation in the city? Residents left, troops, retreating, filled Moscow. Why should the people rebel as a result of this?
Not only in Moscow, but throughout Russia, upon the entry of the enemy, nothing resembling indignation occurred. On September 1st and 2nd, more than ten thousand people remained in Moscow, and, apart from the crowd that had gathered in the courtyard of the commander-in-chief and attracted by him, there was nothing. Obviously, it was even less necessary to expect unrest among the people if after the Battle of Borodino, when the abandonment of Moscow became obvious, or, at least, probably, if then, instead of agitating the people with the distribution of weapons and posters, Rostopchin took measures to the removal of all sacred objects, gunpowder, charges and money, and would directly announce to the people that the city was being abandoned.
Rastopchin, an ardent, sanguine man who always moved in the highest circles of the administration, although with a patriotic feeling, did not have the slightest idea about the people he thought of governing. From the very beginning of the enemy’s entry into Smolensk, Rostopchin envisioned for himself the role of leader of the people’s feelings—the heart of Russia. It not only seemed to him (as it seems to every administrator) that he controlled the external actions of the inhabitants of Moscow, but it seemed to him that he controlled their mood through his proclamations and posters, written in that ironic language that the people in their midst despise and which they do not understands when he hears it from above. Rostopchin liked the beautiful role of the leader of popular feeling so much, he got used to it so much that the need to get out of this role, the need to leave Moscow without any heroic effect, took him by surprise, and he suddenly lost from under his feet the ground on which he stood, he absolutely did not know what should he do? Although he knew, he did not believe with all his soul in leaving Moscow until the last minute and did nothing for this purpose. Residents moved out against his wishes. If public places were removed, it was only at the request of officials, with whom the count reluctantly agreed. He himself was occupied only with the role that he made for himself. As often happens with people gifted with an ardent imagination, he knew for a long time that Moscow would be abandoned, but he knew only by reasoning, but with all his soul he did not believe in it, and was not transported by his imagination to this new situation.
All his activities, diligent and energetic (how useful it was and reflected on the people is another question), all his activities were aimed only at arousing in the residents the feeling that he himself experienced - patriotic hatred of the French and confidence in itself.
But when the event took on its real, historical dimensions, when it turned out to be insufficient to express one’s hatred of the French in words alone, when it was impossible even to express this hatred through battle, when self-confidence turned out to be useless in relation to one issue of Moscow, when the entire population, like one person, , abandoning their property, flowed out of Moscow, showing with this negative action the full strength of their national feeling - then the role chosen by Rostopchin suddenly turned out to be meaningless. He suddenly felt lonely, weak and ridiculous, without any ground under his feet.
Having received, awakened from sleep, a cold and commanding note from Kutuzov, Rastopchin felt the more irritated, the more guilty he felt. In Moscow there remained everything that had been entrusted to him, everything that was government property that he was supposed to take out. It was not possible to take everything out.
“Who is to blame for this, who allowed this to happen? - he thought. - Of course, not me. I had everything ready, I held Moscow like this! And this is what they have brought it to! Scoundrels, traitors! - he thought, not clearly defining who these scoundrels and traitors were, but feeling the need to hate these traitors who were to blame for the false and ridiculous situation in which he found himself.
All that night Count Rastopchin gave orders, for which people came to him from all sides of Moscow. Those close to him had never seen the count so gloomy and irritated.
“Your Excellency, they came from the patrimonial department, from the director for orders... From the consistory, from the Senate, from the university, from the orphanage, the vicar sent... asks... What do you order about the fire brigade? The warden from the prison... the warden from the yellow house..." - they reported to the count all night, without stopping.
To all these questions the count gave short and angry answers, showing that his orders were no longer needed, that all the work he had carefully prepared had now been ruined by someone, and that this someone would bear full responsibility for everything that would happen now.
“Well, tell this idiot,” he answered a request from the patrimonial department, “so that he remains guarding his papers.” Why are you asking nonsense about the fire brigade? If there are horses, let them go to Vladimir. Don't leave it to the French.
- Your Excellency, the warden from the insane asylum has arrived, as you order?
- How will I order? Let everyone go, that’s all... And let the crazy people out in the city. When our armies are commanded by crazy people, that’s what God ordered.
When asked about the convicts who were sitting in the pit, the count angrily shouted at the caretaker:
- Well, should I give you two battalions of a convoy that doesn’t exist? Let them in, and that’s it!
– Your Excellency, there are political ones: Meshkov, Vereshchagin.
- Vereshchagin! Is he not hanged yet? - shouted Rastopchin. - Bring him to me.

By nine o'clock in the morning, when the troops had already moved through Moscow, no one else came to ask the count's orders. Everyone who could go did so of their own accord; those who remained decided with themselves what they had to do.
The count ordered the horses to be brought in to go to Sokolniki, and, frowning, yellow and silent, with folded hands, he sat in his office.
In calm, not stormy times, it seems to every administrator that it is only through his efforts that the entire population under his control moves, and in this consciousness of his necessity, every administrator feels the main reward for his labors and efforts. It is clear that as long as the historical sea is calm, the ruler-administrator, with his fragile boat resting his pole against the ship of the people and himself moving, must seem to him that through his efforts the ship he is resting against is moving. But as soon as a storm arises, the sea becomes agitated and the ship itself moves, then delusion is impossible. The ship moves with its enormous, independent speed, the pole does not reach the moving ship, and the ruler suddenly goes from the position of a ruler, a source of strength, into an insignificant, useless and weak person.
Rastopchin felt this, and it irritated him. The police chief, who was stopped by the crowd, together with the adjutant, who came to report that the horses were ready, entered the count. Both were pale, and the police chief, reporting the execution of his assignment, said that in the count’s courtyard there was a huge crowd of people who wanted to see him.
Rastopchin, without answering a word, stood up and quickly walked into his luxurious, bright living room, walked up to the balcony door, grabbed the handle, left it and moved to the window, from which the whole crowd could be seen more clearly. A tall fellow stood in the front rows and with a stern face, waving his hand, said something. The bloody blacksmith stood next to him with a gloomy look. The hum of voices could be heard through the closed windows.
- Is the crew ready? - said Rastopchin, moving away from the window.
“Ready, your Excellency,” said the adjutant.
Rastopchin again approached the balcony door.
- What do they want? – he asked the police chief.
- Your Excellency, they say that they were going to go against the French on your orders, they shouted something about treason. But a violent crowd, your Excellency. I left by force. Your Excellency, I dare to suggest...
“If you please, go, I know what to do without you,” Rostopchin shouted angrily. He stood at the balcony door, looking out at the crowd. “This is what they did to Russia! This is what they did to me!” - thought Rostopchin, feeling an uncontrollable anger rising in his soul against someone who could be attributed to the cause of everything that happened. As often happens with hot-tempered people, anger was already possessing him, but he was looking for another subject for it. “La voila la populace, la lie du peuple,” he thought, looking at the crowd, “la plebe qu"ils ont soulevee par leur sottise. Il leur faut une victime, [“Here he is, people, these scum of the population, the plebeians, whom they raised with their stupidity! They need a victim."] - it came to his mind, looking at the tall fellow waving his hand. And for the same reason it came to his mind that he himself needed this victim, this object for his anger.
- Is the crew ready? – he asked another time.
- Ready, Your Excellency. What do you order about Vereshchagin? “He’s waiting at the porch,” answered the adjutant.
- A! - Rostopchin cried out, as if struck by some unexpected memory.
And, quickly opening the door, he walked out onto the balcony with decisive steps. The conversation suddenly stopped, hats and caps were taken off, and all eyes rose to the count who had come out.
- Hello guys! - the count said quickly and loudly. - Thank you for coming. I’ll come out to you now, but first of all we need to deal with the villain. We need to punish the villain who killed Moscow. Wait for me! “And the count just as quickly returned to his chambers, slamming the door firmly.
A murmur of pleasure ran through the crowd. “That means he will control all the villains! And you say French... he’ll give you the whole distance!” - people said, as if reproaching each other for their lack of faith.

SUBJECT: Battle in the Chios Strait and the Battle of Chesme .

Issues covered:

1. Background of the battle.

2. Battle in the Chios Strait.

3. Battle of Chesma.

1. Background of the battle.

G.A. It was clear to Spiridov that without striking the Turkish fleet it was impossible to achieve success on land. A.G. Orlov, at the insistence of the admiral, decided to transfer military operations to the sea. By this time, Russian naval forces in the Archipelago had increased after the arrival of D. Elphinstone's squadron, consisting of 3 ships, 2 frigates and 3 other vessels.

May 15 G.A. Spiridov with four battleships and a frigate left Navarino to join the squadron of D. Elphinstone. A detachment of A.G. was left to defend the fortress. Orlova (battleship and several small ships).

The second Archipelago squadron under the command of Rear Admiral D. Elphinstone, consisting of three battleships “Tver”, “Saratov”, “Don’t Touch Me”, frigates “Nadezhda” and “Africa”, three transports and a kick (total 3250 people) left from Kronstadt on October 9, 1769. The ship "Tver", which lost all its masts during a storm in the Baltic Sea, returned to Revel, and the ship "Svyatoslav" joined the squadron instead. After a difficult transition, the squadron reached England, where all the ships were docked for repairs. At the beginning of May 1770, D. Elphinstone approached the shores of the Morea and, without waiting for the order of Commander-in-Chief A.G. Orlova, on his own initiative, landed landing troops delivered from Russia in the Kolokinthian Bay in the port of Rupino and ordered them to go to Mizithra.

After the landing of the troops, D. Elphinstone, having received information from the Greeks about the presence of the Turkish fleet nearby, instead of joining the squadron G.A. Spiridova went in search of the Turks. On May 16, having passed Cape Angello, Russian sailors saw the enemy near the island of La Spezia. Ignoring the fact that the Turkish fleet, consisting of 10 battleships, 5 frigates and 7 small ships, was three times stronger than his squadron, Elphinstone, who cared only about his own glory, without waiting to join the first squadron, recklessly rushed at the Turks. In the admiral’s determination to enter into battle with such unequal forces, a significant role was played by the ambition of the Englishman, who did not want to share the laurels of a possible victory with the Russian admiral, while the defeat of D. Elphinstone, meanwhile, would inevitably lead to the defeat of G.A. Spiridova. At six o'clock in the evening, the Russian detachment caught up with the Turks, and a battle broke out between the ships near the island of La Spezia. “Don't Touch Me”, “Saratov”, supported by the frigate “Nadezhda”, attacked two Turkish ships. Turkish Admiral Ibrahim Hasan Pasha, who assumed that in front of him was only the vanguard of the Russian fleet, followed by the main forces, hastened to take refuge under the protection of the batteries of the Napoli di Romagna fortress.

On the morning of the next day, May 17, D. Elphinstone attacked the Turkish ships standing on springs under the cover of batteries. Russian ships fired while moving. The bowsprit on the Turkish flagship caught fire from the Svyatoslav's shots, and it left the battle line. The Russian ships also received some minor damage, with up to 10 people killed and wounded. Fearing that with the onset of calm the ships would not be able to maneuver, and realizing that on his own he would not be able to defeat the superior enemy forces, D. Elphinstone left the bay.

After holding out for 5 days at the entrance to the Gulf of Nauplia and receiving information that the squadron G.A. Spiridov is in Kolokinth Bay, D. Elphinstone went to meet the admiral and on May 22 united with him near the island of Tserigo.

After the departure of D. Elphinstone, the Turkish fleet hastened to leave the Gulf of Nauplia, and our united squadrons overtook it on May 24 already near the island of La Spezia. The ships in the vanguard, despite the distance, opened fire on the enemy, but did not achieve any hits. From that time, that is, from May 25, the Russian pursuit of the fleeing fleet of Kapudan Pasha continued for almost a month. It should be noted that the Turkish ships were not inferior to the Russians either in the quality of construction or in the strength of the artillery.

The Turks, pursued for two days, finally disappeared from sight between the islands of Zeya and Fermo, and our fleet, lacking fresh water, went into Rafti Bay after it, and D. Elphinstone’s detachment managed to capture a 4-gun enemy battery at the Negropont fortress.

Meanwhile, Turkish troops approached Navarino, and the Russians’ presence in this port was under threat. Therefore, on May 23, the fortifications of the fortress were blown up, and the remaining ships under the command of A.G. Orlova on May 27 left to join the fleet that was waiting for him between the islands of Hermia and Milo.

2. Battle in the Chios Strait.

G.A. Spiridov and D. Elphinstone, pursuing one common goal, sailed together, but given their independence from each other and the daring, quarrelsome character of D. Elphinstone, they could not help but quarrel. Having learned about the quarrel between the flagships, Commander-in-Chief Count A.G. Orlov, without examining their mutual claims, took command of both squadrons and on June 11 raised the Kaiser’s flag on his ship “Three Hierarchs”.

Now our fleet consisted of 9 battleships (one 80-gun and eight 66-gun), 3 frigates, 1 bombardment ship, 3 kicks, 1 packet boat and 13 mercenary and prize ships. There were about 740 guns on Russian ships.

Having learned from the Greeks that the Turkish fleet had gone north from the island of Paros, Russian ships also headed north along the Asia Minor coast. A detachment sent out on June 23 in search of the enemy fleet by Brigadier S.K. Greig (battleship "Rostislav" and 2 small ships), soon discovered it anchored in the strait between the coast of Asia Minor and the island of Chios. At 5 p.m. he raised the signal: “I see enemy ships.” The Turkish fleet consisted of 16 battleships (one 100-gun, one 96-gun, four 84-gun, one 80-gun, two 74-gun, one 70-gun, six 60-gun), 6 frigates and up to 60 small ships , galleys, etc.

The Turks stood in two lines along the Anatolian coast. The first contains the 10 most powerful battleships with 70–100 guns, the second contains 60 guns. Moreover, the ships of the second line stood in the gaps between the ships of the first line. This formation made it possible for the Turks to bring artillery on one side of all ships into battle at once. Small ships were located between the shore and the lines of battleships. There was an enemy camp on the shore. In total, the Turkish fleet had over 1,400 guns. The fleet was commanded by the Algerian sailor Jaizairmo Hassan Bey, famous for his bravery; the chief commander of the fleet, Kapudan Pasha (Admiral General) Hassan-Eddin, moved ashore and was in the ground forces camp located on the nearest shore.

“Seeing such a structure,” reported Count A. Orlov, “I was horrified and in the dark: what should I do?”

On the night of June 24, a military council was held on the ship “Three Hierarchs” in which A.G. participated. and F.G. Orlovs, G.A. Spiridov, D. Elphinstone, S.K. Greig, General Yu.V. Dolgorukov. It adopted a plan for attacking the Turkish fleet. Departing from the rules of linear tactics that prevailed in European fleets, a new tactical technique was chosen: to descend on the enemy in a wake column almost perpendicular to his battle line and attack under sail from a short distance (50–70 m) the vanguard and part of the center and deliver a concentrated blow on the Turkish flagship, which should have led to disruption of the control of the Turkish fleet.

On June 24, 1770, at 11 o'clock in the morning, with a calm northwest wind, the Russian fleet, being in the wind relative to the Turks, formed a line and began to approach the enemy.

The fleet was built in an order battle. Nine battleships were divided into three equal groups: vanguard - battleships “Europe” (captain 1st rank F.A. Klokachev), “Eustathius” (flag of Admiral G.A. Spiridov, commander captain 1st rank A. I. von Kruse), “Three Saints” (Captain 1st Rank S.P. Khmetevsky); corps de battle - battleships "Ianuarius" (captain 1st rank I.A. Borisov), "Three Hierarchs" (Kaiser flag A.G. Orlova, commander-captain-brigadier S.K. Greig), "Rostislav" (captain 1st rank V.M. Lupandin); rearguard - battleships "Don't Touch Me" (flag of Rear Admiral D. Elphinstone, commander-captain 1st rank P.F. Beshentsov), "Svyatoslav" (captain 1st rank V.V. Roxburgh), "Saratov" "(Captain 2nd Rank A.G. Polivanov). The Russian fleet included only one 80-gun ship, the Svyatoslav, the rest of the ships were 66-gun. In total, the Russians had 608 guns.

The bomber ship, frigates, packet boats and other small vessels sailed outside the line and did not participate in the battle.

The ship "Europe" was leading, heading almost to the middle of the enemy line, perpendicular to it. The next in line, Eustathius, was so close that its bowsprit almost touched the stern of the Europa. When “Europe” approached the enemy within a cannon shot (500–600 m), the Turks opened fire and began to fire at our other ships, which continued to approach without responding to enemy fire.

The Turks had a clear advantage at the beginning of the battle - they met the Russian ships with longitudinal salvos, while the Russian ships could only fire from the running (bow) guns, but they were silent.

Only when it came within pistol range did the Europa turn and open fire on its entire side. The Russian ships following her turned to the north and fired volleys of double cannonballs at the Turkish ships. Then they slowly, close to each other, began to advance along the line of Turkish ships, firing artillery fire.

But soon, at the insistence of the Greek pilot, who announced that the course was leading to the stones, F.A. Klokachev had to turn to starboard tack and leave the line. Admiral G.A. Spiridov, not understanding this maneuver, was so angry that he could not resist shouting: “Mr. Klokachev! I congratulate you as a sailor,” that is, in front of the entire squadron, he accused him of cowardice and threatened to demote him. But within a day F.A. Klokachev proved his courage and bravery.

The place of the “Europe” was taken by the “Eustathius”, on which the shots of three Turkish ships were concentrated, of which the largest and closest was the ship of the commander-in-chief. "Eustathius" turned sideways towards the enemy and from a distance of 50 m (pistol shot) concentrated fire on the Turkish flagship ship "Real Mustafa". Following the Eustathius, the remaining ships of the G.A. squadron sequentially entered into battle. Spiridov, the three ships of D. Elphinstone, who were in the rearguard, fell behind and only managed to approach the end of the battle.

"Three Saints" tried to assist the flagship, but its braces were broken, its sails were seriously damaged and it was carried into the middle of the Turkish fleet. While located between the Turkish ships of the Three Saints, acting from both sides, he fired 684 shots from cannons. In the smoke, in addition to enemy fire, he came under fire from the flagship A.G. Orlov's "Three Hierarchs". At the beginning of the battle, "Ianuarius", following the "Three Saints", continuously hit the enemy with well-aimed shots. The "Ianuarius"'s wake was followed by the "Three Hierarchs" under the Kaiser's flag A.G. Orlova.

Having entered the thick of the battle, he anchored and brought down the fire of his guns on the 100-gun ship of the Turkish Kapudan Pasha, who was at that time on the shore. They fired from guns, rifles, even pistols. Confusion gripped the crew of the Turkish ship, the Turks cut off the anchor rope, but forgot about the spring, and the Turkish ship suddenly turned stern towards the “Three Hierarchs” and stood there for about fifteen minutes under devastating longitudinal shots. In this situation, not a single Turkish weapon could operate against the “Three Hierarchs”.

At 12.30, when the battle was in full swing, the Three Saints, under enemy fire, repaired the damage and re-entered the line as the fourth ship. Behind him, “Rostislav” entered formation, and then “Europe”, which left the line at the beginning of the battle.

"Eustathius", which approached the Turkish flagship 90-gun ship "Real Mustafa" at a gun shot, was getting closer and closer to the enemy. Admiral G.A. Spiridov, in full dress uniform and with a drawn sword, walked around the quarterdeck. The musicians assigned there were ordered to “play to the last.” The fighting ships came together side by side; on the Eustathia, broken rigging and spars, damaged sails and many dead and wounded did not make it possible to move away from the enemy, with whom they exchanged fire with rifles and pistols. At one o'clock in the afternoon, a fire broke out on the Real Mustafa from the fire of the unicorns from the Eustathius, which soon spread throughout the ship. Finally, the ships fell, the Russian sailors ran over to the enemy ship, and a desperate hand-to-hand battle began, during which the Turkish ship continued to burn. Its mainmast, engulfed in fire, fell across the Eustathia. Sparks rained down into the crew chamber, which was open during the battle. There was a deafening explosion - “Eustathius” flew into the air, followed by “Real-Mustafa”. Admiral G.A. Spiridov, having become convinced that it was impossible to save the ship, in accordance with the charter before the explosion, together with Count F.G. Orlov stepped onto the boat. Boats from the nearest Russian ships rushed to the Eustathius, but they only managed to receive G.A. Spiridova, F.G. Orlova and several people. Up to 620 people died on the ship, including 22 officers, and up to 60 were saved. Among the latter was the ship’s commander A.I. Cruise, thrown from the ship by the explosion and kept on the water on a piece of the mast, from which he was removed by an approaching boat.

At this most tense moment, the Turkish ships standing next to the flagship, fleeing the fire and fire of the Russian ships, hastily cut off the anchor ropes, left the battle and hurried to take refuge in Chesme Bay. The Russians pursued them to the entrance to the bay. The battle lasted about two hours. On the Russian side, only the vanguard and corps de battalion took part in it; D. Elphinstone’s rearguard took part only in the pursuit of the enemy.

Although the Turkish fleet lost only one ship, as did the Russians, it was in great disarray after the battle. In their hasty escape, the Turkish ships collided with each other, causing some to lose their bowsprits.

With the exception of Eustathius, our losses were very insignificant. The ship “Three Saints” suffered more than others, which received several holes in the hull, its spars and rigging were broken by cannonballs, and there was a loss of people: 1 officer and 6 sailors were killed, the commander, 3 officers and 20 sailors were wounded. On all other ships the number of killed and wounded did not exceed 12.

3. Battle of Chesma.

The Russian fleet anchored at the entrance to Chesme Bay out of enemy shots, at a distance of no more than one cable length from ship to ship. The Turks, unable to break through our line due to the calm and contrary wind, and waiting for a favorable wind or help from Constantinople, hastened to strengthen the defense of the fleet with coastal fortifications. There was already a battery on the northern cape of the bay, now they were building another one on the southern one.

At 17 o'clock, the bombardment ship "Grom" (Lieutenant-Captain I.M. Perepechin) anchored in front of the entrance to Chesme Bay and began shelling the Turkish fleet standing in disarray with mortars and howitzers.

The rest of the 24th, all night and day of June 25, "Thunder" methodically "threw" bombs and frames onto enemy ships, some of them hit without causing fires. The prolonged shelling demoralized the Turks and prepared the conditions for the main attack.

At a military council on June 25, which met with the commander-in-chief on the ship “Three Hierarchs”, it was decided from the flagships and captains, blocking the Turkish ships’ exit from Chesme Bay, with a combined strike of naval artillery and fire ships to burn it down. If the fireships had been available, the attack could have been launched on the evening of June 24, immediately after the Turks entered the bay. However, there were no ready-made fireships in the Russian squadron. Brigadier of naval artillery I.A. was ordered to make them. To Hannibal. Within 24 hours, four fire ships from old Greek feluccas were equipped. Lieutenant Commander T. Mackenzie, Lieutenant Commander R.K. volunteered to command them. Dugdal, midshipman Prince V.A. Gagarin, Lieutenant D.S. Ilyin. The fire-ship teams were also recruited from volunteers.

To attack the Turkish fleet, a detachment was allocated consisting of four battleships - "Rostislav", "Don't Touch Me", "Europe" and "Saratov", two frigates "Nadezhda" (Lieutenant-Captain P.A. Stepanov) and "Africa" (Lieutenant-Captain M. Kleopin) and the bombardment ship "Grom".

Brigadier S.K. was appointed commander of the detachment. Greig, who raised the braid pennant on Rostislav. The order of the Commander-in-Chief issued on this occasion states: “Our task must be decisive in order to defeat and destroy this fleet without further delay, without which here in the Archipelago we cannot have free hands for distant victories.”

The width of Chesme Bay is about 750 meters, and its length does not exceed 800 meters. The Turkish fleet stood crowded in the depths of the bay, and if you consider that the average length of the ship was about 54 meters, then you can imagine how tightly packed the Turkish ships were along the width of the bay. There were Turkish batteries on the shore of the bay. The Turkish fleet was an ideal target for attack by fireships, and the decision of the Russian command was fully consistent with both the situation and the task.

According to the disposition given by S.K. Greig, the battleships "Europe", "Rostislav" and "Saratov" were to enter the bay and anchor as close as possible to the enemy. “Touch Me Not” should have positioned itself further to the sea in order to provide them with assistance if necessary. The frigate "Nadezhda" was supposed to operate on the northern battery of the Turks, the frigate "Africa" ​​- on the southern one. "Thunder" was supposed to take a position seaward of the ships.

At 23.00 three lanterns were raised on the Rostislav - a signal to attack. The frigate Nadezhda was supposed to go first, but it was delayed. Then G.A. Spiridov from the “Three Hierarchs” ordered F.A. Klokachev to withdraw immediately, without waiting for other courts.

At 23.30, the ship "Europe" was the first to weigh anchor and, according to the order, took a place in close proximity to the Turkish ships. At 0.30 on June 26, he started a battle with the entire Turkish fleet, opening fire with cannonballs and cannonballs, and for about half an hour enemy shots were directed at him alone, until other vessels of the detachment also joined the action.

By one o'clock in the morning "Rostislav" arrived at the place assigned by disposition. Behind him were the manufactured fire ships. Following the “Europe” and “Rostislav”, other ships and frigates came and took their places.

At the beginning of the second hour, an incendiary shell successfully fired from the bombardment ship "Grom" caused a fire on one of the Turkish ships stationed in the center of the bay, the fire from which spread to the nearest leeward ships. A victorious “hurrah” sounded from our fleet.

At this time, at a signal from the Rostislav, fire ships went on the attack. When the fireships began attacking, the Russian ships ceased fire. Of the four fireships, one (Lieutenant-Captain T. Mackenzie), before reaching the enemy line, ran aground, the other (Lieutenant-Captain R.K. Dugdal) was boarded by Turkish galleys, the third (midshipman Prince V.A. Gagarin ) fell with the already burning ship. The commander of the fourth fireship, Lieutenant D.S. Ilyin not only grappled with a large Turkish 84-gun ship, but when he lit his fire-ship, he went back on the boat and looked at what its effect would be. The huge Turkish ship flew into the air with a roar, burning debris fell onto neighboring ships and they also caught fire. Convinced that he had done his job, D.S. Ilyin returned to the Three Hierarchs on the boat.

With the end of the attack of the fireships, the Russian ships supporting their attack again opened fire on the enemy. At the end of the second hour, two Turkish battleships took off. At 2.30, three more Turkish ships ceased to exist. By 3 o'clock the battle had stopped; our ships, showered with sparks, hurried to pull away from the burning ships and take out the Turkish ships that were not engulfed in fire, saving the remaining living enemies. By this time, over 40 ships were blazing in the bay, representing a sea of ​​fire. From 4 o'clock to 5.30 six more battleships exploded. At 7 o'clock there was a deafening explosion, stronger than anything that had happened so far - four more ships exploded simultaneously.

Explosions on Turkish ships continued for up to 10 hours. At 9 o'clock the Russians landed a landing force that took the battery on the northern cape.

The Turkish fleet was destroyed: the enemy’s 15 ships, 6 frigates and up to 50 small ships were burned, up to 11 thousand Turks were killed.

According to eyewitnesses, the water in the bay was a thick mixture of ash, mud, debris and blood.

Russian sailors saved the ship "Rhodes" and 6 galleys from the fire and took them out of the bay. “Rhodes” made up for the loss of “Eustathius”; captain 1st rank A.I., who escaped from “Eustathius”, was appointed its commander. Cruz.

Our losses were negligible: only on one ship “Europe”, which received 14 holes, 9 people were killed and wounded, and on the ship “Rostislav” there were several damages to the mast and hull.

4. Results and significance of the Battle of Chesma.

The Chesme pogrom, having destroyed the Turkish fleet, made the Russians the masters of the Archipelago. Significantly inferior to the enemy in the number of ships and guns, located thousands of miles from its ports, the Russian fleet, thanks to the correct use of the tactical situation, the courage and heroism of the Russian sailors, won a major victory and destroyed the enemy’s strongest fleet.

In memory of this victory, a medal was knocked out, on one side of which there was a portrait of Catherine II, on the other, a burning Turkish fleet was depicted and the inscription “WAS”.

After the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Chesme, the Russian fleet gained strategic dominance in the theater and gained the opportunity to blockade the Dardanelles and destroy the enemy's maritime trade. On June 28, having repaired the damage, the Russian ships left Chesme Bay.

A detachment under the command of D. Elphinstone, consisting of three battleships, two frigates and several transports, went to the Dardanelles and on July 15 established a blockade of the strait.

For our further stay in the Archipelago, our fleet needed to have a convenient port. Count A.G. Orlov, convinced from experience that it was impossible to safely base himself in any coastal point on the mainland, decided to choose one of the islands of the Archipelago for this purpose. When choosing a port, the main thing taken into account was the possibility of a close blockade of the Dardanelles, which was supposed to stop the supply of food from the Archipelago, cause famine in Constantinople and thereby contribute to the organization of a popular uprising. It was decided to occupy the port of Mudros, located on the island of Lemnos, located near the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait. Leaving D. Elphinstone at the blockade of the strait, A.G. Orlov with the squadron G.A. Spiridova on July 19 began the siege of the main fortress of the island of Lemnos - Pelari. A landing party (500 people) was landed on the island, which was joined by up to 1000 people from the local population. But when, after intensive bombardment, its garrison was ready to surrender, on September 25 a Turkish squadron approached the island, landing troops on it (up to 5 thousand people).

This happened as a result of D. Elphinstone’s unauthorized departure from the Dardanelles. The rear admiral left the squadron blocking the Dardanelles and on September 5 set off for Lemnos on the ship Svyatoslav. However, approaching the island, on September 7 she crashed on the eastern Lemnos reef.

To save the flagship, several ships from the Dardanelles had to be called.

Having transferred to the ship “Touch Me Not” and leaving one of his frigates at the crashing ship, D. Elphinstone went to Pelari. By this, he weakened the blockade of the Dardanelles so much that the Turks were able to leave the strait without hindrance. The Russians were forced to stop the siege of the fortress and leave Lemnos.

Due to the impossibility of capturing another port convenient for our fleet near the Dardanelles, the commander-in-chief chose the port of Auza, located on the small island of Paros, which lies in the southern part of the Archipelago, not occupied by the Turks. It was safer here, but the distance of Paros from the Dardanelles made it very difficult to maintain a constant, close blockade of the strait. Fortifications, an admiralty, shops and a camp for ground forces were built in Auza. Auza remained the main base of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago until mid-1775.

D. Elphinstone was removed from command, sent to Russia and then completely dismissed from service.

Due to the remoteness of Auza from the Dardanelles, implementing a nearby blockade of the strait became difficult. It was carried out depending on the situation. The main forces of the fleet were stationed south of the island of Imroz, and small detachments, consisting mainly of frigates, were sent to the Dardanelles.

The long-range blockade of the Dardanelles was carried out constantly by small detachments of ships cruising along the enemy's communication routes. The detachments captured a large number of merchant ships.

On December 25, 1770, the third squadron of Rear Admiral Arfa arrived in Auza - (battleships "St. George the Victorious", "Vsevolod", "Asia" and 13 transports with troops numbering 2,690 people.

One of the consequences of the successful operation of our fleet was the acceptance of Russian citizenship at the beginning of 1771 by the inhabitants of 25 small islands lying in the middle of the Archipelago from Tasso to Candia.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBJECT: Creation of the Black Sea Fleet. Founding of Sevastopol.

Issues covered:

1. Founding of Sevastopol

1. Founding of Sevastopol

Many centuries ago, people appreciated these convenient places to live: the remains of the most ancient settlements discovered by archaeologists date back to the first millennium BC. Tribes of Taurians, Scythians, and Sarmatians lived here. In the 5th century BC. Ancient Greeks, immigrants from Heraclea Pontica, settled on the shores of the bay, which is now called Quarantine. They founded Tauride Chersonesus - a city-state that existed for two millennia (from the 5th century BC to the 15th century AD) and played an important role in the historical destinies of the Northern Black Sea region.

In the IX-X centuries. The Slavs fought with the then powerful Byzantium for the Northern Black Sea region, for the Crimea. In the second half of the 11th century. Crimea was cut off from the rest of the territory by numerous nomadic hordes of Polovtsians in the 13th century. Batu's hordes invaded Crimea. After the collapse of the Golden Horde in 1443, the Crimean Khanate arose, from 1475 it was a vassal of Turkey, which used it as a weapon to attack Russian, Ukrainian and Polish lands.

During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768 - 1774. Russian troops captured Crimea. According to the agreement with the Khan (1772) and the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace (July 10, 1774), the Crimean Khanate was declared independent from Turkey and came under the protection of Russia. A.V. Suvorov was sent to command the Russian troops in Crimea. He highly appreciated the excellent qualities of the bays of Sevastopol and, five years before the founding of the city, he erected the first fortifications here and did everything to oust the Turkish flotilla - about 170 ships - from the Akhtiar harbor.

Like Kronstadt on the Baltic, Sevastopol was founded as a fortress and naval base on the Black Sea.
The founding of Sevastopol secured the return of Russia to its ancestral lands on the coast of the Black and Azov Seas. This was preceded by the centuries-old struggle of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples for Crimea and the Black Sea.
The military campaigns of Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century, the campaigns of Golitsyn in the 17th century, the Azov campaigns of Peter I, who created the Don Flotilla and the Azov Fleet, the ongoing struggle of the Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks against the Tatars and Turks were important stages in the struggle for the Crimea and for access to the Black Sea . It unfolded with even greater severity in the 18th century.
The Crimean peninsula, which extends into the sea and divides it into two parts, is located at its tip at a fairly close distance from the straits connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. Many large rivers flow into the Black Sea, which is favorable for navigation and trade. It is no coincidence that Crimea and the Black Sea always occupied an important place in the aggressive plans of foreign conquerors. Russia took measures to consolidate its gained position in this area - it built cities and created a fleet.
The activities of the great Russian commander A.V. Suvorov in Crimea were of great importance. He was one of the first to appreciate the remarkable advantages and military-strategic significance of the Sevastopol Bay. The founding and development of Sevastopol as a fortress city is associated with the name of A.V. Suvorov.
In the autumn of 1782, the first Russian ships - the frigates "Brave" and "Caution" - came to Akhtiarskaya harbor for the winter. Even before the inclusion of Crimea into Russia, the Russian government appointed Vice Admiral F.A., a participant in the Battle of Chesme, “to command the newly built fleet in the Black and Azov Seas.” Klokacheva. He was ordered to transfer part of the ships of the Azov and Dnieper flotillas to Akhtiarskaya harbor. The ships arrived in Akhtiar on May 2 (13), 1783. In the first Sevastopol squadron there were only 17 of them. Thus, a new fleet was born in Russia, which was called the Black Sea.

Construction of the port and military settlement began. The construction manager was flag officer Lieutenant D.N. Senyavin. On June 3, the first four stone buildings were laid: a house for the admiral, a pier, a forge and a chapel. Already on July 2, the commander of the Sevastopol squadron F.F. Mekenzi reported to St. Petersburg about the creation of a small admiralty in Akhtiarskaya harbor. It consisted of a forge, a mast shed, timber and rope warehouses, and a platform for keeling ships on the shore of one of the bays.
By the spring of 1784, the first streets appeared, the embankment was lined with stone, houses and palaces grew, sidewalks lined with fruit trees were laid.

By decree of Catherine II of February 10, 1784, the city received the name Sevastopol. The same Decree ordered Prince G.A. Potemkin to build a large fortress with an admiralty for ships of the first rank, as well as a port and a military settlement in Akhtiarskaya harbor. At this time, there were already 26 ships in the bay with 4 thousand sailors and officers.
On February 21, 1784, the Russian government announced free and unimpeded trade for foreign and local merchants in Sevastopol, delivering goods both by sea and by land. In the spring of the same year, the first trading ships of Kerch and Taganrog merchants appeared in the city. In honor of the founding of Sevastopol, a commemorative medal was minted in St. Petersburg.
The assertion of Russia in the Northern Black Sea region, the annexation of Crimea to Russia and the construction of the Sevastopol naval base and fortress caused a sharp protest from Turkey. She was supported by England and France. A diplomatic struggle began around the “Crimean issue,” which lasted several years. England became the head of the anti-Russian campaign. In a difficult international situation, Catherine II undertook a “trip to Taurida.” It became a political demonstration against anti-Russian propaganda in Western European countries and was intended to show Russia’s preparedness for a war in the Black Sea. Catherine II's retinue was especially amazed by everything they saw in Sevastopol on May 22-23, 1787. A young but strong fleet of 27 warships and 8 transports lined up in the bay, greeting the guests with cannon fire. A ceremonial review of the squadron was arranged and an “attack” by the fleet of the coast - the Northern side - was demonstrated. The French envoy Segur, who accompanied Catherine II on a trip to the Crimea, wrote: “I am afraid that in 30 hours the flags of her (Catherine II) ships may fly in sight of Constantinople, and the banners of her army will be hoisted on its walls.”
In 1792, there were 15 thousand inhabitants in Sevastopol. There were 58 ships in the port with 1,322 guns and over 9 thousand personnel. There were 18 more ships under construction. Trade grew, and in just four months (February-May) 20 foreign ships arrived in Sevastopol and Balaklava.
In 1797, Paul I renamed Sevastopol to Akhtiar. However, after his death the city was returned to its previous name.

A major role in the construction of Sevastopol was played by the “sea Suvorov” - the outstanding naval commander Admiral F. F. Ushakov. The fleet was significantly increased, a system of new fortifications was created, many buildings, a large hospital, workshops and warehouses were built, a public garden was opened, to which the name Ushakova Balka was assigned.
Having won many brilliant victories, Ushakov made a great contribution to the development of naval art and was the founder of the Black Sea school of naval training, which gave Russia many outstanding naval commanders.

In 1804, the Russian government officially declared Sevastopol the main military port of the Black Sea Fleet (instead of Kherson), and in 1809 - a military fortress. The chief commander of the fleet and ports of the Black Sea since 1805 was also the governor of Sevastopol.
The military situation, the growth of the fleet, commercial shipping and trade constantly required further development of the Sevastopol port. To secure the entrance to the port at night, in 1818. a stone lighthouse about 40 m high was built on Cape Khersones. In 1820, two gate lighthouses were erected in Inkerman - the highest in the country - one of them shines from a height of 122 m.
Industry developed further. The main enterprise of the city was the Admiralty, where warships were repaired, keeled and equipped, and in 1808 the construction of small combat and auxiliary ships began. In 1810, the first corvette, the Crimea, was built, equipped with 18 guns.
In 1812-1813 A new state-owned saltpeter plant was built in Inkerman, where the production of gunpowder began. But due to the lack of local raw materials, the plant did not last long. State-owned brick and lime factories, stone quarries, and bakeries with dryers for making crackers were opened. “Enterprising people” opened small semi-handicraft factories. In 1815 there were 3 tanneries, 3 candle factories, 1 vodka factory, 1 brewery. There were fishing, yawl (transportation across bays), tailoring, shoemaking and other industries. There were 202 trading establishments in the city, and in addition to the city bazaar, a bazaar appeared on the North Side. Two fairs were held annually.
At the beginning of the second quarter of the 19th century. Sevastopol was the largest city in Crimea. It had about 30 thousand inhabitants.

In 1832, Admiral M.P. Lazarev was appointed chief of staff of the fleet, and in 1834 chief commander of the fleet and ports of the Black Sea. He made a great contribution to the development of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as to the construction and improvement of Sevastopol. Under his leadership, five stone forts were erected - batteries that protected the city from the sea. The great merit of M.P. Lazarev was the almost complete renewal of the naval composition of the fleet. It was replenished with 160 new combat, auxiliary and transport ships, incl. 32 ships. On October 4, 1840, a new admiralty was founded on the territory between the Yuzhnaya and Korabelnaya bays (now the Sergo Ordzhonikidze Marine Plant). It took over ten years to build. The Sevastopol docks, built with the latest technology, were considered at that time the height of engineering skill.

Trade developed further. In 1838, 170 ships arrived in Sevastopol with various goods (35 left with cargo). In 1831 there were 20 merchants in the city, in 1848 - 83. Most of them supplied flour, meat, cereals, salt, and firewood for the fleet. During this period, there were 280 different shops in the city, of which 46 were “drinking establishments.” The construction of sea fortifications, the Admiralty, embankments and new piers, numerous buildings in the city center caused a large influx of workers, up to 30 thousand people. For 1815-1853 the city's population increased from 30 to 47.4 thousand people, incl. civil from 11.2 to 20 thousand. The number of houses during the same period increased from 1105 to 2810. The city had 43 streets and 4 squares.
The first medical institution in Sevastopol was the Marine Hospital, initially temporary, of barracks type. In 1790-1791 A two-story building with 200 seats was built for it. Served only the military, families of officers and city nobility. The rest of the population was treated for a long time by one city doctor, who was also in charge of the sanitary condition of bazaars, bakeries, and trading establishments.
In 1826, a school for cabin boys with 100 places was opened, and two years later a civil district school with 40 places was opened. Over the next 8 years, schools for sailor daughters, a parish school, and a private boarding school for noble maidens appeared. In 1846 there were only 13 teachers and 404 students, incl. 74 girls.
At the same time, Sevastopol becomes the second center of marine sciences in Russia after St. Petersburg. In 1842, the first sailing guide for the Black and Azov Seas was published. An important contribution to historical science was the excavations of ancient Chersonesos. In 1822, one of the first Maritime Library in the country was opened in Sevastopol, and in 1843, a stone theater building was built on the square at the foot of Boulevard Heights. There was no permanent troupe; visiting actors performed, including from Italy and Spain.
This was Sevastopol on the eve of the Crimean War, during which it gained worldwide fame.

2. Creation of the Black Sea Fleet.

Black Sea FleetRussian Empire originates fromRussian military fleet, created on Black Sea after joiningCrimea from ships Azov And Dnieper flotilla .

On February 13, 1783, a detachment of 11 ships of the Azov flotilla under the flag of Vice Admiral F.A. Klokachev arrived in Akhtiarskaya Bay for permanent deployment. The next day, construction began on the city and military port of Akhtiar (since February 21, 1784 - Sevastopol).

Creation of a fleet

May 2 (13) 1783 Azov flotilla (11 ships) entered Akhtiar Bay (Crimean Peninsula), where Sevastopol was founded, which became the main base of the fleet (with1804 - the main military port). Later, 17 ships of the Dnieper flotilla arrived here. These ships formed the core of the new fleet.

1. Foka-geek. 2. Foka-gaff. 3. Grotto boom. 4. Gaff mainsail. 5. Mizzen boom. 6. Mizzen gaff.

• On single-masted vessels (for example, sloop, tender), the boom and gaff usually do not have the prefix “main-” or any other prefix, but are simply called “boom” and “gaff”.

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