September 11 marks the next Day of Russia's Military Glory - the Day of the Victory of the Russian squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Fyodor Fedorovich Ushakov over the Ottoman fleet at Cape Tendra. This Day of Military Glory was established by Federal Law No. 32-FZ of March 13, 1995 "On the Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia."
Background
During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. the Crimean peninsula was annexed to Russia. Russia begins the creation of the Black Sea Fleet and the corresponding coastal infrastructure. Porta thirsted for revenge, in addition, the British and French, fearing the consolidation of Russia in the Black Sea region and access to the Mediterranean Sea, pushed the Turkish government to a new war with the Russians. In August, Istanbul presented Russia with an ultimatum demanding the return of Crimea and a review of all previously concluded agreements. These impudent demands were rejected. In early September 1787, the Turkish authorities arrested the Russian ambassador Ya. I. Bulgakov without an official declaration of war, and the Turkish fleet under the command of the "Crocodile of naval battles" Hassan Pasha left the Bosphorus in the direction of the Dnieper-Bug estuary. A new Russian-Turkish war began.
By the beginning of the war, the Russian fleet was significantly weaker than the Turkish one. Naval bases and the shipbuilding industry were in the making. The vast territories of the Black Sea region were at that time one of the distant outskirts of the empire, which they had just begun to develop. It was not possible to replenish the Black Sea Fleet at the expense of the ships of the Baltic Fleet, the Turkish government refused to let the squadron through the straits from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. The Russian fleet was greatly inferior in the number of ships: by the beginning of hostilities, the Black Sea Fleet had four ships of the line, and the Turkish military command was about 20, in terms of the number of corvettes, brigs, transports, the Turks had a superiority of about 3-4 times. The Russian battleships were inferior in qualitative terms: in speed, artillery weapons. In addition, the Russian fleet was divided into two parts. The core of the fleet, mainly large sailing ships, was based in Sevastopol, rowing ships and a small part of the sailing fleet were in the Dnieper-Bug estuary (Liman flotilla). The main task of the fleet was the task of protecting the Black Sea coast in order to prevent the invasion of an enemy landing.
The Russian fleet, despite its weakness, successfully resisted the Turkish Navy. In 1787-1788. The Liman flotilla successfully repulsed all enemy attacks, the Turkish command lost many ships. On July 14, 1788, the Sevastopol squadron under the command of the commander of the battleship "Pavel" Ushakov, the formal head of the squadron, Rear Admiral M. I. Voinovich, was indecisive and withdrew from the conduct of battle, defeated significantly superior enemy forces (the Turks had 15 battleships and 8 frigates, against 2 Russian ships of the line, 10 frigates). This was the first baptism of fire of the Sevastopol squadron - the main combat core of the Black Sea Fleet.
In March 1790, Ushakov was appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet. He had to carry out a tremendous amount of work to improve the combat capability of the fleet. Much attention was paid to the training of personnel. The naval commander in any weather took ships out to sea and conducted sailing, artillery, boarding and other exercises. Ushakov relied on the tactics of mobile combat and the training of his commanders and sailors. He attached a large role to the "useful case" when the enemy's indecision, hesitation and mistakes allowed a more initiative and strong-willed commander to win. This made it possible to compensate for the higher number of the enemy fleet and the better quality of the enemy ships.
After the battle at Fidonisi, the Turkish fleet did not take active actions in the Black Sea for about two years. In the Ottoman Empire, new ships were built, and they waged an active diplomatic struggle against Russia. During this period, a difficult situation developed in the Baltic. The Swedish government considered that the situation was very favorable for starting a war with Russia, with the aim of returning the coastal areas lost during the Russian-Swedish wars. England took an inflammatory position, pushing the Swedes to attack. The government of Gustav III presented an ultimatum to St. Petersburg demanding the transfer of a part of Karelia with Kexholm to Sweden, the disarmament of the Baltic Fleet, the transfer of Crimea to the Turks and the acceptance of "mediation" in the Russian-Turkish conflict.
At this time, the Baltic Fleet was actively preparing for a campaign in the Mediterranean Sea, for action against the Turks. The Mediterranean squadron was already in Copenhagen when it had to be urgently returned to Kronstadt. The Russian Empire had to wage war on two fronts - in the south and in the northwest. For two years there was a Russian-Swedish war (1788-1790), the Russian armed forces withdrew from this war with honor, the Swedes were forced to sign the Verela Peace Treaty. The end of this war improved the strategic position of Russia, but this conflict greatly depleted the military and economic resources of the empire, which affected the course of hostilities with Turkey.
The Turkish command planned in 1790 to land troops on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea, in the Crimea, and seize the peninsula. Admiral Hussein Pasha was appointed commander of the Turkish fleet. The threat to the Crimean peninsula was very significant, there were few Russian troops here. The Turkish landing party, embarked on ships in Sinop, Samsun and other ports, could be transferred and landed in the Crimea in less than two days.
Ushakov conducted a reconnaissance campaign along the Turkish coast: Russian ships crossed the sea, reached Sinop and from it went along the Turkish coast to Samsun, then to Anapa and returned to Sevastopol. Russian sailors captured more than a dozen enemy ships and learned about the training in Constantinople of the Turkish fleet with amphibious forces. Ushakov again withdrew his forces to sea and on July 8 (July 19), 1790, defeated the Turkish squadron near the Kerch Strait. Admiral Hussein Pasha had a slight superiority in forces, but could not take advantage of it, the Turkish sailors wavered under the Russian attack and fled (the best sailing qualities of the Turkish ships allowed them to escape). This battle disrupted the landing of an enemy landing in the Crimea, showed the excellent training of the crews of Russian ships and the high naval skill of Fyodor Ushakov.
After this battle, the Turkish fleet disappeared to its bases, where intensive work began to restore the damaged ships. The Turkish admiral hid the fact of defeat from the Sultan, declared victory (the sinking of several Russian ships) and began to prepare for a new operation. To support Hussein, the Sultan sent an experienced junior flagship, Seyid Bey.
Battle of Cape Tendra August 28-29 (September 8-9) 1790
On the morning of August 21, the bulk of the Turkish fleet was concentrated between Hadji Bey (Odessa) and Cape Tendra. Under the command of Hussein Pasha, there was a significant power of 45 ships: 14 battleships, 8 frigates and 23 auxiliary ships, with 1400 guns. At this time, Russian troops launched an offensive in the Danube region, and they were to be supported by a rowing flotilla. However, due to the presence of the enemy fleet, the Liman Flotilla could not support the ground forces.
On August 25, Ushakov brought his squadron to sea, it consisted of: 10 battleships, 6 frigates, 1 bombardment ship and 16 auxiliary ships, with 836 guns. On the morning of August 28, the Russian fleet appeared at the Tendrovskaya Spit. The Russians discovered the enemy, and the admiral gave the order to move closer. For the Turkish Kapudan Pasha, the appearance of Russian ships was a complete surprise, he believed that the Russian fleet had not yet recovered from the Battle of Kerch and was stationed in Sevastopol. Seeing the Russian fleet, the Turks rushed hastily to chop off the anchors, set sails, and moved in disarray towards the mouth of the Danube.
Russian ships began pursuing the retreating enemy. The Turkish vanguard, led by the flagship of Hussein Pasha, took advantage of the advantage in the course, and took the lead. Fearing that the lagging ships would be overtaken by Ushakov and pinned to the shore, the Turkish admiral was forced to make a turn. At a time when the Turks were rebuilding their orders, the Russian squadron, at the signal of Ushakov, lined up from three columns in a battle line. Three frigates - "John the Warrior", "Jerome" and "Protection of the Virgin", were left in reserve and located at the vanguard, in order to suppress the attacking actions of the leading enemy ships if necessary. At three o'clock, both squadrons went parallel to each other. Ushakov ordered to close the distance and open fire on the enemy.
Ushakov, using his favorite tactic - to focus fire on the enemy's flagship (his defeat caused demoralization of the Turkish sailors), ordered to strike at the Turkish vanguard, where the Turkish flagships of Hussein Pasha and Seid-bey (Seit-bey) were located. The fire of Russian ships forced the forward part of the enemy fleet to turn through the fordewind (turn the ships forward in the wind) and retreat to the Danube. The Russian squadron chased the Turks and conducted constant fire. By 17 o'clock the entire line of the Turkish squadron was finally defeated. The pursuit continued for several hours, only the onset of darkness saved the Turks from complete defeat. The Turkish ships went without lights and constantly changed courses in order to confuse the Russian squadron. However, this time the Turks did not manage to escape (as was the case during the Battle of Kerch).
At dawn the next day, a Turkish fleet was found on Russian ships, which was "scattered all over in different places." The Turkish command, seeing that the Russian squadron was located nearby, gave a signal to connect and withdraw. The Turks took a course to the southeast, which heavily damaged ships reduced the speed of the squadron and lagged behind. One of the Turkish flagships, the 80-gun ship "Capitania", closed the Turkish formation.
At 10 o'clock in the morning the Russian ship "Andrey" was the first to overtake the enemy and opened fire on him. The battleships "George" and "Transfiguration of the Lord" approached him. They surrounded the enemy flagship and, replacing each other, fired volley after volley at it. The Turks offered stubborn resistance. At this time, the Russian flagship "Nativity of Christ" approached. He got up from the Turks at a distance of 60 meters and shot enemy ships at the closest distance. The Turks could not stand it and "asked for mercy and their salvation." Seid Pasha, the captain of the ship Mehmet Darsei and 17 staff officers were captured. The ship could not be saved, due to a fire on board it soon took off.
At this time, other Russian ships overtook the enemy 66-gun battleship Meleki-Bagari, blocked it and forced it to surrender. Then several more ships were captured. In total, more than 700 Turks were captured. According to Turkish reports, the fleet lost in killed and wounded up to 5, 5 thousand people. The remaining Turkish ships in disarray retreated to the Bosphorus. On the way to the Bosphorus, another ship of the line and several small ships sank. The military skill of the Russian squadron is evidenced by its losses: 46 people killed and wounded.
In Sevastopol, the squadron of Fyodor Ushakov was welcomed. The Russian Black Sea Fleet won a decisive victory over the Turks and made a significant contribution to the overall victory. The northwestern part of the Black Sea was cleared of the enemy's navy, and this opened up access to the sea for the ships of the Liman flotilla. With the assistance of the ships of the Liman flotilla, Russian troops took the fortresses of Kiliya, Tulcha, Isakchi and, then, Izmail. Ushakov wrote one of its brilliant pages into the maritime chronicle of Russia. Ushakov's maneuverable naval tactics fully justified themselves, the Turkish fleet ceased to dominate the Black Sea.
