The battle for Petropavlovsk took place 165 years ago. On September 1 and 5, 1854, Russian soldiers and sailors repelled two assaults by the superior forces of the joint Anglo-French squadron with a detachment of marines on board.
General situation in the Far East
Britain was building a global empire. Therefore, the sphere of her interests included the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, the Far East. But in order to achieve complete domination in the Asia-Pacific region, it was necessary to defeat the Russian Empire. The Russians owned a significant part of the Far East, Kamchatka and Russian America.
Unfortunately, Eurocentrism prevailed in St. Petersburg. Almost all of Russia's attention and power was concentrated on European affairs. The development of the eastern regions was mainly due to selfless devotion, the personal contribution of a number of researchers, industrialists and statesmen. Dozens of years of peace have not been used for the development of the Russian Far East, its active settlement, the creation of industrial potential there, strong military bases capable of protecting our possessions and creating the potential for further expansion. So, at this time, the Russians had every opportunity to expand their sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific region (America, Korea, etc.).
It is not surprising that the Eastern (Crimean) War posed a serious challenge to the Russian Empire. There was a threat of losing part of the eastern possessions. The British tried to push the Russians into the interior of the continent. In 1840 - 1842. the British easily defeated China in the First Opium War. The huge Chinese civilization was becoming a semi-colony of the West. Now, in the opinion of England, the time has come to "put in place" the Russians, to throw them out of the Far East. Russian Pacific possessions were under threat. Already on the eve of the war, the British carried out reconnaissance. British ships entered Petropavlovsk.
The most far-sighted Russian leaders saw this threat. In 1847, Count Nikolai Muravyov was appointed Governor-General of Eastern Siberia. He drew attention to the growing threat of attacks by foreigners, primarily the British, on the Amur region and Kamchatka. Muravyov (Muravyov-Amursky) played an outstanding role in the development of the Far East. The count annexed the mouth of the Amur to the empire; on his initiative, new settlements were created. At his request, Nicholas the First allowed the troops to float across the Amur. In the spring of 1854, the first rafting of troops took place, a year later - the second. The first settlers arrived with the troops. This was done literally at the last moment. The Russian presence in the Far East was strengthened.
In 1848 Muravyov decided to strengthen the defense of Petropavlovsk. In the summer of 1849, the Governor-General arrived at the port of Petropavlovsk using the Irtysh transport. Muravyov examined the area and mapped out places for the construction of new batteries. He proposed to put batteries on the Signalny Cape, on the Peter and Paul Spit and near Lake Kultushnoye. Muravyov, in a letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs Perovsky, noted that Avacha Bay must be strengthened, since even a weak enemy fleet could capture it.
Zavoiko. Defense preparation
Muravyov appointed a new governor of Kamchatka. It was an energetic manager, Major General Vasily Zavoiko. He had experience of service in the Black Sea and Baltic Fleets, and fought bravely in the Navarino naval battle. In the 1830s, he made two round-the-world journeys on the Amur transport from Kronstadt to Kamchatka and on the Russian-American Company (RAC) vessel "Nikolai" from Kronstadt to Russian America. He served in the RAC, was the head of the Okhotsk trading post, in the 1840s Zavoiko surveyed the entire eastern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Shangarsk Islands, established the Ayan port.
Zavoiko took active measures to develop Kamchatka and its defense. The Okhotsk artisan company and the Petropavlovsk company were combined into the 46th naval crew. The Okhotsk Navigation School, which became the Peter and Paul Naval School, was transferred to Petropavlovsk. At the Nizhnekamchatka shipyard they are building the schooner Anadyr, bots Kamchadal and Aleut. The city grew significantly: if in 1848 there were only 370 inhabitants in the Petropavlovsk port, in 1854 - already 1,594. Before the war began, several dozen different new buildings were built in Petropavlovsk, and port facilities were reconstructed.
At the end of May 1854, Petropavlovsk was notified of the beginning of the war. Zavoiko expressed his readiness to "fight to the last drop of blood." However, the port had weak defensive capabilities: the garrison was only 231 people with a few old cannons. The governor requested reinforcements and guns, and began to prepare the batteries in the hope of an early arrival of the guns. Rifle and fire divisions were formed from volunteers. Fortunately for the city's defenders, unexpected reinforcements arrived in July. After completing the journey, the 58-gun frigate "Aurora" under the command of Lieutenant Commander Ivan Nikolaevich Izilmetyev entered the port. The frigate was sent to reinforce the Pacific squadron of Vice Admiral Putyatin. Due to scurvy, which struck most of the crew, and the lack of drinking water, the ship entered the Peter and Paul port. Upon learning of the threat of an attack, Izilmetyev agreed to remain in Petropavlovsk.
The arrival of the frigate significantly strengthened the defenses of the port: part of the crew was transferred ashore and a garrison reserve was created, half of the guns were removed for coastal batteries. Also on July 24 (August 5), 1854, the long-awaited reinforcement arrived in Petropavlovsk: the military transport "Dvina". The ship brought 350 soldiers of the Siberian battalion of the line under the command of Captain A. P. Arbuzov, 2 bomb cannons of two-pound caliber and 14 cannons of 36-pounder caliber. A military engineer, Lieutenant Konstantin Mrovinsky, also arrived. He led the construction of coastal fortifications. Thus, the Peter and Paul garrison grew to 1,000 people (one third - on ships, one third - on coastal fortifications, and some in reserve). Taking into account several dozen volunteers, the garrison numbered over 1,000 fighters.
Almost the entire population of the city and its environs - about 1600 people - took part in the preparation of the defense. Work on the construction of seven batteries was carried out around the clock for almost two months. People prepared sites for guns, removed guns and ammunition from ships, dragged and installed them. The ships were anchored with their port sides to the exit from the harbor, the guns from the starboard sides were removed for coastal batteries. The entrance to the harbor was closed with floating barriers (booms). The batteries protected the horseshoe port. On the left side, on the rocks of Cape Signalny, was located battery No. 1 ("Signal"): 64 people, 2 mortars and 3 6-pounder guns under the command of Lieutenant Gavrilov. She defended the entrance to the inner raid. Also on the left flank, on the isthmus between Signalnaya Sopka and Nikolskaya Sopka, battery No. 3 ("Peresheichnaya") was located: 51 people and 5 24-pounder guns. At the northern end of Nikolskaya Sopka, on the very shore, a battery number 7 was built to repel a possible enemy landing from the rear. There were 49 men with 5 24-pounders. Another battery was built at the bend of an imaginary horseshoe, near Lake Kultushnoye: battery No. 6 ("Ozernaya"), 34 people, 6 6-pounder guns, 4 18-pounder guns. She kept at gunpoint the defile and the road between Nikolskaya Sopka and Lake Kultushnoye, in case the enemy could capture battery No. 7. Then came the port battery No. 5, which did not have a garrison and did not participate in the battle (several small 3-pounder guns); battery number 2 ("Cat"): 127 people, 9 36-pounder guns, one 24-pounder gun; battery number 4 ("Cemetery"): 24 people and 3 24-pounder guns.
Battle. The first assault
On August 16 (28), 1854, an enemy squadron under the command of Rear Admirals David Price and Auguste Febvrier-Despuant appeared at Petropavlovsk. It consisted of: the British 52-gun frigate "President", 44-gun frigate "Pike", the steamer "Virago" armed with 6 bomb guns; French 60-gun frigate "Fort", 32-gun frigate "Eurydice", 18-gun brig "Obligado". The personnel of the squadron consisted of 2, 7 thousand people (2, 2 thousand people - crews of ships, 500 people - marines). The squadron was armed with over 210 guns.
The Westerners conducted reconnaissance with the steamer Virago and found that a surprise attack had failed, that the Russians had coastal batteries and two ships. This seriously complicated the situation. The Anglo-French squadron did not have the ability to break through a strong defense. In particular, the British ships were armed mainly with short-barreled carronades, poorly adapted to combat coastal fortifications. In addition, the Anglo-French squadron missed the opportunity to intercept the Aurora and Dvina, the appearance of which greatly strengthened the defense of Petropavlovsk. This greatly discouraged the Allies, who were preparing for a "light walk" to capture the Russian port, which was almost unprotected.
On August 18 (30), 1854, the allied ships entered Avacha Bay and fired several shots, the Russians responded. Soon the allies stopped firing, and that was all. The Russian garrison expected that the next day the enemy would launch a decisive attack, but it did not follow. It was the unexpected death of the British commander, Rear Admiral Price (he was an experienced and brave commander who went from cabin boy to commander of the Pacific squadron). Indeed, on the evening of August 30, the allied command held a meeting and adopted a plan of attack: the destruction of batteries No. 1 and 4 by ship fire, entry into the harbor and suppression of battery No. 2, Russian ships, and the landing of an assault force to capture the city. On August 31, the allied fleet began to move, but then suddenly stopped and returned to its original positions. The English admiral died under mysterious circumstances. According to the official version, due to an error in handling a pistol (he shot himself). This mysterious death became a kind of bad omen for the entire western squadron.
The command was headed by the French Rear Admiral Despointe (de Pointe). He did not change the offensive plan. After the first hitch, the allied squadron moved to Petropavlovsk and conducted reconnaissance in force. The allies fired at batteries No. 1 and 2). The shootout ended in the evening. On the morning of August 20 (September 1), 1854, the western squadron set out for a decisive assault. The British and the French frigate "Fort" fired at the forward batteries (No. 1, 4 and 2), the French fired at battery No. 3, trying to divert attention to themselves. Also, the French ships "Obligado" and "Evredika" fired across the Nikolskaya Sopka, trying to get into the Russian ships.
The strongest blow fell on the "Signal" battery, where the Russian commander Zavoiko himself was. About 80 guns fell on her (three left sides). Western ships, despite stubborn resistance, were able to suppress batteries Nos. 1 and 4. The guns had to be abandoned, the platforms were filled up, the machines were killed. The commander of the fourth battery, Warrant Officer Popov, took his men to battery No. 2. Thus, the Allies solved the first task - they shot down the “outer castle”. However, they were unable to suppress battery No. 2 and inflict damage on the Aurora and Dvina.
Then the allies landed a landing (600 people) at battery number 4. However, almost immediately, their enthusiasm faded. The British fired on their French allies (so-called."Friendly fire"). Russian ships opened fire on the French paratroopers. By order of Zavoiko, a counterattack was organized. The reserve sailors and volunteers went into battle. In total, the detachment had about 130 fighters. They were headed by warrant officers Fesun, Mikhailov, Popov and Lieutenant Gubarev. The Russians went into bayonets. However, the French did not accept the battle, although they had a significant numerical superiority, boarded boats and fled to their ships. An entire battalion fled in front of the assembled company.
Meanwhile, the "Cat" battery under the command of Lieutenant Dmitry Maksutov continued to fight the enemy ships. The battle lasted until 6 pm. The Westerners were never able to suppress Maksutov's battery. The battle ended there. The Anglo-French squadron returned to positions at the entrance to the bay. The Russians repulsed the first attack.
The Russians expected that the next day the enemy who had destroyed the advanced batteries would undoubtedly attack again. Zavoiko visited the Aurora and informed the sailors that now they should expect a decisive attack on the frigate, which stands on the way to the port. Russian sailors answered as one: "Let's die, but not surrender!"
Second assault and evacuation
The allies hesitated, until August 24 (September 5), 1854, eliminated damage to the ships, preparing for a new assault. The Anglo-French command adopted a new plan of attack: now the main blow fell on batteries No. 3 and 7. Here, the most powerful ships - "President" and "Fort", the steamer "Virago" were firing. Other ships defiantly attacked batteries No. 1 and 4 as before (they were restored by the Russians). Here the allies simulated the first assault, showing that the plan of attack was the same. Later frigates Pike and Eurydice joined the main force.
Thus, the allied squadron had here first 118 guns, and then 194, against 10 Russian guns. Thus, five guns of the "Pereshechny" battery under the command of Lieutenant Alexander Maksutov (he was mortally wounded in this battle) fought a deadly duel with the 60-gun frigate "Fort". The salvo of each side of the French frigate was equal to 30 guns. As midshipman Fesun recalled, the entire isthmus was completely dug up, there was no yardstick of land where the nucleus would not have fallen. At the same time, the Russian gunners at the beginning successfully answered: the enemy frigate received serious damage. After a three-hour battle, enemy ships overwhelmed the Russian batteries. The guns were damaged, half of the battery garrisons were killed, the remaining gunners were forced to withdraw. After the battle, Battery No. 3 was named "Lethal", since it was poorly covered by the breastwork and its garrison suffered heavy losses.
The Anglo-French squadron landed two troops: the first at battery No. 3 - about 250 people, and the second near battery No. 7 - 700 paratroopers. The Westerners planned to climb Nikolskaya Sopka and seize the port on the move. Part of the forces was allocated to capture battery No. 6, in order to then attack the city from the side of Lake Kultushnoye. However, the "Ozernaya" battery No. 6 drove the enemy away with several shots of grapeshot. The Anglo-French landing retreated to Nikolskaya Sopka, from where they were going to attack the city. About 1 thousand people were concentrated here. The Russian commander Zavoiko did not wait for an enemy strike, gathered all possible forces and responded with a fierce counterattack. The Russian detachment numbered about 350 people (soldiers, sailors and townspeople), advanced in several separate parties and up the slope.
Russians in groups of 30-40 fighters under the command of Lieutenant Angudinov, Warrant Officer Mikhailov, Lieutenant Gubarev and other commanders climbed to the heights under enemy fire. Russian soldiers performed another miracle. The Westerners could not stand the Russian bayonet battle and fled. Moreover, as Fesun recalled, the flight was "the most disorderly, and driven by some special panic fear." Some of the British and French fled to the cliff, which overlooked the sea, jumped from a great height and crippled. It was not possible to support the landing with ship fire. The Russians occupied the heights and fired at the retreating enemy. As a result, the remnants of the landing force fled to the ships. At the same time, the Allies showed great courage in the removal of their dead and wounded.
Thus, the second assault ended in complete failure for the allies, despite the initial success - the suppression of batteries No. 3 and 7, and a brilliant victory for the Russians. The Anglo-French forces were unable to use superiority in artillery and manpower. The Russian fighting spirit compensated for the lack of strength and brought victory to the heroic Peter and Paul garrison. The allies lost in this battle about 400 people killed, 150 wounded and 4 prisoners. Russian losses - 34 people. For the entire time of the battle, the Russians lost over 100 people, the losses of the allies are unknown.
After a two-day lull, the allied squadron, not daring to continue the battle, retreated. The news of this victory reached the capital four months later and became a "ray of light" that broke through the dark clouds of failures on the main front in Crimea. At the same time, it was obvious that the Allies would gather a more powerful squadron and return to Petropavlovsk. There were no opportunities to strengthen the port's defenses. Therefore, Zavoiko was ordered to liquidate the city and move to the Amur. The city was literally dismantled by logs, some of the things were loaded onto ships (the frigate Aurora, a corvette, three transports and a boat), and some were hidden. The evacuation took place in May 1855 literally under the nose of the Anglo-French fleet. On May 8 (20), 1855, the Anglo-French fleet (9 English and 5 French ships) entered Avacha Bay. But the place was now uninhabitable, and the allies were gone. And Zavoiko's squadron successfully climbed up the Amur and in two months built a new port city of Nikolaevsk.
