In 1807, a Russian squadron entered the Aegean Sea. All the islands there and all the coasts of the mainland at that time belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The Aegean Sea was essentially a "Turkish inland lake". The squadron with a small landing looked like little David, going to fight the monstrous Goliath.
Turkish admirals twice brought the main forces of the empire to sea. And they were put to flight at the Strait of Dardanelles, and then utterly crushed between the island of Lemnos and Mount Athos.
David has slain Goliath!
Vice-Admiral Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin commanded the formation of the Russian fleet.
Team character
He was undoubtedly a charismatic person. From his youth he showed a rebellious, independent character. He fiercely clashed with the famous naval commander Fyodor Fedorovich Ushakov. And at the same time he had a bright talent as a commander. The same Ushakov gave him the best recommendation: "… He is an excellent officer and in all circumstances he can honorably be my successor in the leadership of the fleet."
Historian D. N. Bantysh-Kamensky wrote about the character of Senyavin, who had already gained fame: "He … combined justice with severity in his service; his subordinates were loved not as a boss, but as a friend, as a father: they feared more than all punishments - the loss of a smile with which he accompanied all orders his own and with whom he received their reports. In addition, he was full of devotion to the throne and treasured everything that was domestic. " A wonderful man, a brilliant commander! But in order to forge such a character, Senyavin broke himself a lot. In his youth, Dmitry Nikolaevich behaved like a real brawler. Relatives humbled his young foolishness with beatings.
Unknown author. Portrait of Admiral Dmitry Senyavin. Photo: RIA Novosti
Over the years, the beautiful swan of naval art has grown from the pugnacious ugly duckling.
By the beginning of the campaign in the Archipelago, Senyavin had colossal combat experience behind him. He participated in two squadron battles with the Turks - at Fidonisi (1788) and Kaliakria (1791), captured a French fortress on the island of Lefkada (1798), successfully commanded the actions of a Russian squadron against Napoleonic France in the Adriatic Sea (1806). But in addition to his own tactical talent, Senyavin had another strong trump card that helped him win. This trump card is the brilliant community of officers of his squadron, excellent professionals, commanders who adhered to the laws of the naval brotherhood.
In their close friendly circle, according to a contemporary, "… Dmitry Nikolaevich seemed to be surrounded by his own family. His conversation was varied and pleasant for everyone, everyone took part in it, because with his conversations he turned to everyone, so it seemed, forgetting himself, remembered only others … When the conversation turned to Russia, his gaze brightened up, everyone listened with attention and it seemed that only in this case it was dangerous to contradict his opinion."
Gift to the soldier Efimov
One of the squadron's junior officers, Vladimir Bronevsky, left memories of his vice admiral.
Once a simple soldier Ivan Efimov received from the commander of the enemy forces of the French Marmont 100 gold Napoleons as a reward for having bought a French officer from the Turks for 13 ducats (they were going to cut off his head). Efimov counted out his 13 ducats, but refused to take the rest. Then Senyavin replaced the rejected Napoleons with a Russian gold coin, added his own and said: "Take it, not a French general, but I give it to you; you are doing honor to the Russian name," and on top of that he granted the soldier a non-commissioned officer rank.
In another case, Senyavin paid a debt to a doctor who healed Bronevsky himself from a serious wound that he received during the defense of the Russian base on the island of Tenedos from the Turks. Having given money, Dmitry Nikolaevich considered it insufficient and presented the doctor with a ring with a diamond. The delighted doctor immediately asked for the Russian service. The admiral received him. “By such means,” writes Bronevsky, “Dmitry Nikolaevich acquired love from his subordinates, and this love, which is not easily acquired, despite the vicissitudes of events, will keep him the respect that he has earned for his good deeds and famous merits. Attention to his subordinates, always ready from him. help … will never be eradicated from the memory of all who had the honor and happiness to serve under his command 2.
Subordinates responded with dedicated service and unconditional trust in the boss. They even carried out those orders of Senyavin, which completely contradicted their combat experience. And this attitude towards the vice admiral as a father and friend turned out to be salutary in the bloody battle at Mount Athos on June 19, 1807.
Senyavin's Eleven Hopes
On that day, Senyavin had 10 battleships under command. The role of the junior flagship was played by Rear Admiral Alexei Samuilovich Greig. The list of ship commanders consisted of Lieutenant Commander Alexander Malygin and nine captains of the 1st and 2nd ranks. They are Dmitry Lukin, Roman Shelting, William Krovve, Pyotr Rozhnov, Mikhail Rtischev, Daniil Maleev, Fedor Mitkov, Ivan and Mikhail Bychensky. These are the 11 senior officers of the squadron. Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin should have pinned his main hope on them.
And all of them - every one of them - lacked combat experience.
None of these 11 persons commanded a battleship in a squadron battle. And no other ship, either. Krovve and Greig did not participate in any battles at all. Mikhail Bychensky had only a negative experience - in the Battle of Hogland, the ship where he served was captured by the Swedes; this, of course, is better than no experience at all, but it could still leave a bad mark on his combat training …
As for the rest, they all had the same type of experience of participating in large battles. As young lieutenants, they fought the Swedes in the naval battles of 1788-1790. But what kind of battles were they? Slowly stately minuets, unhurried movements of squadron lines, shooting, mainly from medium and long distances. Senyavin had to act in completely different conditions. Defensive tactics could not lead him to success: the Turks would have simply left, avoiding the battle. Therefore, it was required to attack. Moreover, Dmitry Nikolaevich could gain a guaranteed victory only by getting close to a short distance with the enemy.
Until 1807, no one, except Senyavin, entered into battle with the Sultan's fleet. The tactical plans of the vice admiral could even be hindered by the skills of the Baltic officers: the experience of the battles at Gogland, Eland, Revel, Krasnaya Gorka and Vyborg taught them not at all what Dmitry Nikolaevich wanted from his subordinates. But he believed in them. And they did not disappoint the commander and friend.
Still from the film Photo: Motherland
Trump card
Before the Athos battle, the squadron received an order from Vice-Admiral Senyavin: "As long as the enemy flagships are not severely defeated, then a very stubborn battle should always be expected. And so, for these circumstances, I suppose I make the attack in the following order. According to the number of enemy flagships, to attack each of our two, ships are assigned: "Raphael" with "Strong", "Powerful" with "Yaroslavl", and "Selafail" with "Uriel" … (Battle of the Dardanelles Strait - D. V.) showed us: the closer to the enemy, the less harm from him, therefore, whether it would happen to someone and fall with the enemy ship, then we can expect great success. However, due to many unforeseen cases, it is impossible to make positive instructions on each one; I do not distribute them anymore, I hope that you will be honored to fulfill your duty in a glorious way … "3
Setting tasks for the battle before his officers, Senyavin again took a risk: he chose a tactical pattern that assumed a very great independence for the junior flagships and ship commanders. The squadron commander clearly understood that he would not be able to tightly control the course of the battle from start to finish: the plan he developed involved actions by several independent detachments, moreover, some of them had to fight at a distance, which meant that it seemed embarrassing.
Just as well Senyavin understood what a dangerous position he and the flagship were in: he had to fight at a fair distance from the main forces of the squadron. Consequently, Dmitry Nikolaevich hoped that his orders would be carried out by the officers even at the moment when he would not be able to control their implementation; his plan for battle will be realized even if he himself perishes; his officers will show sufficient initiative and commanding skills if the battle goes "not according to plan."
I didn’t count in vain!
The main trump card of Senyavin worked: the officers' brotherhood, which he created around him, followed him as a true leader and snatched victory from the Turks.
Notes (edit)
1. Bantysh-Kamensky N. Dictionary of memorable people of the Russian land. T. 5. M., 1836. S. 200.
2. Bronevsky VB Notes of a naval officer. M., 2015. S. 487.
3. RGA Navy. F. 194. Op. 1. N 104. L. 61-61ob.
