Who took part in the Battle of Chesme? Great victory

The 18th century was a century of constant clashes between the Russian and Ottoman empires. The interests of St. Petersburg and Istanbul intersected in the Balkans, Transcaucasia, Crimea and even Poland. To support the national liberation movement in Greece and destabilize the situation within the Ottoman Empire, the Morean Expedition was organized, the general leadership of which was carried out by Count Alexei Orlov.

For the first time, the idea to send a squadron from the Baltic to the shores of the Aegean Sea, to raise and support the uprising of the Orthodox peoples living there against the Turks, was expressed by Grigory Orlov in early November 1768, even before the signing of the manifesto declaring war. It is likely that Gregory simply voiced his brother’s ideas and conveyed them to Catherine. Alexey wrote to Gregory about the tasks of such an expedition and the entire war: “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 the sovereign said in the 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.”

MANIFESTO OF CATHERINE II

On January 19, 1769, the “Manifesto to the Slavic peoples of the Balkan Peninsula” was published: “The Ottoman Porta, out of ordinary malice towards our Orthodox Church, seeing the efforts made for our faith and our law, which we tried in Poland to bring to its advantages approved by ancient treatises, which at times were forcibly stolen from him, breathing vengeance, despising all the rights of the people and the truth itself, for only one thing, due to its inherent treachery, destroying the eternal peace concluded with our empire, the beginning of the most unjust, for without any legal reason, against us war, and thus convinced us now to use the weapons given to us by God...

We, out of jealousy for our Orthodox Christian law and out of regret for the peoples of the same faith who are suffering under Turkish enslavement, living in the regions mentioned above, exhort all of them in general and each one especially, to take advantage of the circumstances of the present war that are beneficial for them to overthrow the yoke and bring themselves to still in independence, taking up arms wherever and whenever it is convenient, against the enemy common to all Christianity, and trying to cause possible harm to him.”

THE HARD WAY

On August 6, 1769, Spiridov’s squadron went to sea. And so it began. On August 20, a leak opened on the most powerful ship “Svyatoslav” - it returned to Revel with difficulty. Around the same time, the ship "St. Eustathius Placidas lost the foremast. Upon arrival in Copenhagen on September 10, there were more than 300 people sick on the ships. 54 people died. In return, 800 Danish sailors were hired. There, in Copenhagen, Spiridov, by his own decision, added to the squadron the 66-gun ship "Rostislav", sailing from Arkhangelsk to the Baltic. We stayed in Copenhagen for 10 days. Six days later, while sailing at night in the Kattegat Strait, the pink Lapomnik hit the reef. The other ships of the squadron barely escaped its fate thanks to the cannon signal - however, they could not save the pink by removing it from the reef. On October 6, the squadron arrived at the roadstead of the English port of Gull. Here we had to leave the ship "Three Saints", the pink ship "Venus" and the bombardment ship "Thunder" for repairs. The number of patients then exceeded 700 people. Urged on from St. Petersburg, Spiridov moved on - however, on October 21, he was able to withdraw only two ships from Hull - “Eustathius” and “Northern Eagle” - and on the latter, two weeks later, a strong leak opened, and he returned to Portsmouth. So, on November 17, 1769, only one “Eustathius” approached Gibraltar from the entire Russian squadron.

In total, by Christmas, seven pennants were collected in the port of Magon on the Balearic Islands: four ships, a frigate and two kicks. Another ship, Rostislav, lost two masts during a storm at the end of January and was able to join the squadron in March.

And already on the last day of February 1770, what was left of the Russian squadron arrived on the shores of Greece - where hostilities were supposed to begin. It's funny that the Turkish fleet missed the chance to destroy the Russian ships one by one - it simply did not occur to them that the Russians could appear from this side.

The first operations of the Russian fleet were landing operations, and the bulk of the paratroopers were Greek rebels... Among the Peloponnesian operations was the capture of the strong fortress of Navarino - in the bay of which, 57 years later, in 1827, the united Anglo-French-Russian fleet would once again burn the Turkish-Egyptian fleet. Then, in 1770, under Navarino, grandfather’s brother A.S. distinguished himself. Pushkin - artillery brigadier I. A. Hannibal, the eldest son of “the Blackamoor Peter the Great”.

At the same time, reinforcements arrived at the Orlov-Spiridov squadron: in early May, the so-called. The 2nd Archipelago Squadron, consisting of four ships and two frigates, under the command of the desperate Rear Admiral D. Elphinstone. This reinforcement traveled a path that, in all its specifics, was similar to the path of its predecessors - the ship “Tver”, which left Kronstadt, was lost along the way, as well as the ship “Northern Eagle”, picked up in Portsmouth, which had lagged behind Spiridov’s squadron. There, in England, a locally built frigate was purchased in return and a number of sailors were hired.

STRENGTHS OF THE PARTIES

The Russian squadron included 9 battleships of various armaments, a bombardment ship, 3 frigates and several small ships that played auxiliary roles. The total number of crews was about 6,500 people. Admiral Grigory Spiridov became the de facto leader of the operation.

The Turkish fleet of the Kapudan Pashas Ibrahim Husaeddin, Hasan Pasha and Kafer Bey was much more impressive: 16 battleships, 6 frigates, 19 galleys and shebeks and 32 auxiliary ships with 15,000 people on board. However, Turkish sailors were significantly inferior to Russian sailors in training.

WAS

Initially, the battle began in the Gulf of Chios, but after the first clashes the Turks decided to retreat to Chesme Bay, where coastal artillery could be used against Russian ships.

The Russian naval commanders intended to engage in close combat with possible boarding battles. It was clear that they could not withstand a long cannon duel at long distances - the enemy’s advantage was so great.

The Turks, on the contrary, were disposed to meet the Baltic squadron with regular gunfire and, in case of failure, to retreat to Chesme Bay under the cover of numerous coastal artillery.

The first chords were played in the Chios Strait on July 5, 1770. Russian ships attacked the southern end of the enemy formation. The beginning of the collision was unsuccessful for the Russian sailors due to the fact that the lead ships were unable to synchronously perform an approach maneuver, destroying the battle formation. However, Admiral Spiridov boldly abandoned his flagship “St. Efstafiy" against "Real Mustafa" - the Turkish flagship. While “Efstafiy” was breaking through to “pistol range,” a fire started on it from numerous hits. But it was impossible to stop the ship's movement. The two ships locked sides and the boarding began. The fire spread to the Real Mustafa and after a while both ships exploded. The demoralized Turks retreated to Chesme Bay. A similar tactic was used by Admiral G. Nelson in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar, although Admiral Spiridov should be considered its inventor.

On July 5, the Baltic squadron shelled the bay. At the same time, 4 fire ships (special vessels that were used for sabotage) from small vessels were prepared. On the evening of July 6, the bombardment ship Grom stood in the roadstead of the bay and began a firefight with the Turks. He was supported by the battleships "Europe" and "Rostislav". The shooting was supposed to be psychological in nature and to divert the attention of the Turks from the fire ships. The first three fire ships were unable to complete the task - one of them ran aground and sank because of this, the crew deserted from the second fire ship, the third fire ship under the command of Prince. Gagarin was set on fire too early and was unable to inflict damage on the Turkish fleet. However, the fireboat under the command of Lieutenant Ilyin successfully reached the location of the Turkish fleet and set fire to the battleship. The explosion of the gunpowder magazine on the ship caused gigantic destruction: burning debris flew into other ships, spreading fire. At the end of the battle, the Russians were forced to stop shooting and save the surviving Turks. By 8 a.m. on July 7, it was all over.

The Ottoman Empire immediately lost most of its fleet. 15 battleships were lost, 6 frigates, 1 battleship and 5 galleys were captured. This brilliant victory was a real school Russian naval battle, the power of which was yet to be known. In memory of this battle, a commemorative medal was minted for Russian sailors, which depicted one of the scenes of the death of the Turkish fleet. In addition to the place and date of the battle, there was only one word on the medal - “Byl”, meaning “there was a Turkish fleet, but not now.”

TURKISH HISTORIOGRAPHER

After this, the Ottoman fleet entered the port of Chesme, where enemy ships also arrived and the battle began again. The impact of the cannons set the surface of the sea on fire. The enemy ships, throughout the entire naval battle, were under sail in order to protect themselves from danger and death in port seven. The entry of Captain Pasha into the port of Chesmensky, judging by the obviousness of the matter, was undertaken by the power of fate.

While Captain Pasha made every effort to repel the enemies, the latter sent several fireships filled with oil and other flammable substances against our Fleet. They succeeded in setting fire to some of our ships; and others, hastening to their aid and uniting with them, were also engulfed in flames and burned. This happened on the night of the 14th, the month of Rebi-eli-evvel in the year 1184 from Gejira.

The troops on other ships scattered without battle along the shores of Smyrna and other places. Kapitan Pasha and Jezairlu Hasan Bey were wounded. Ali, the ruler of the ship and other officers, wanting to save themselves by swimming, died in the waves of the sea.

SPIRIDOV'S REPORT

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 be dominant in the entire Archipelago of our Most Gracious Empress.”

G.A. Spiridov in the project “100 Great Commanders”

ORLOV'S LETTER

Feelings evoked by the Chesme victory, A.G. Orlov vividly expressed it in a letter to his brother:

“Sir, brother, hello! I’ll tell you a little about our voyage: We were forced to leave the Sea, having lit fires everywhere; with the fleet they went after the enemy, reached him, approached him, grabbed him, fought, defeated him, won, broke him, sank him and turned him to ashes.”

A.G. Orlovin the project “100 Great Commanders”

In the era sailing ships The battle between the Russian and Turkish fleets at the Chesma fortress became one of the largest at that time. Victory in this battle served as an advantage Russian Empire in the conclusion of 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 the same time, 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 the "Rostislav", the "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 because of the weak wind.

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.

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 the 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, a significant part of the Turkish squadron was destroyed by fire and Russian cannons, 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 Russian victory 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 Tsarskoe Selo. The Chesme Palace and the 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.

« Many have been brave
Who, without sparing labor and effort,
Stormy roads to glory
Fleet squadrons were withdrawn».

The Battle of Chesme took place in the Aegean Sea off the Anatolian coast of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) during the first Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. between the ships of the Russian squadrons and the Turkish fleet.

And before that there was a long and difficult transition of Russian ships from Kronstadt around Western Europe through the Baltic and North Seas, the Eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) into the Mediterranean Sea to the shores of Greece (Morea).

In terms of its results, this battle had no analogues in the history of the world's sailing fleets. 73 Turkish ships - battleships, frigates, shebeks, galleys, galliots - burned down in one night; more than 10 thousand people - two thirds of the personnel of the Turkish fleet - died in fire and the abyss of the sea. The Russian combined squadron lost 11 people in that battle: 8 on the 66-gun battleship "Europe" (commander captain 1st rank Klokachev Fedot Alekseevich) and 3 on the battleship "Don't Touch Me" (commander captain 1st rank Pyotr Beshentsev Fedorovich). The Turkish fleet ceased to exist in the Mediterranean Sea. On this occasion, Admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov reported the following to the President of the Admiralty Board: “ Glory to the Lord God and honor to the All-Russian Fleet! From June 25 to 26, the enemy Turkish military fleet was attacked, defeated, broken, burned, sent into the sky, drowned and turned to ashes... and they themselves began to be dominant in the entire Archipelago....

Russia owed this victory, first of all, to the experienced naval commander Admiral G. A. Spiridov.

And the prehistory of this war was as follows.

The strengthening of Russia in the middle of the 15th century, especially after Seven Years' War caused strong opposition from a number of Western European states, especially France (which competed with England for dominion over the seas).

The interests of Russia's economic development in the 15th century urgently required access to the Black Sea. The insecurity of the southern borders and frequent raids by both the Turks and the Crimean Tatars from the Northern Black Sea region they had captured required the immediate return of the lands that had long belonged to the Russians, located north of the Black Sea, and indeed the Black Sea basin itself.

To renew historical ties with the Middle East and Mediterranean states and ensure the security of the southern borders, it was necessary to clear the northern coast of the Black Sea from the Turks.

The reason for the outbreak of war was a minor border incident during the Russian-Polish War, which occurred on the borders of the Turkish Empire. Then the Cossacks mistakenly plundered the Turkish border towns of Balta and Dubossary.

The Turkish government, despite Catherine II’s proposals to resolve the conflict peacefully, did not want to enter into any negotiations. Under the direct influence of the French and Austrian governments, the Turkish Sultan Mustafa ΙΙΙ declared war on Russia on October 25 (14), 1768, arresting the Russian ambassador A. M. Obrezkov and the entire embassy in Constantinople, putting them in the Seven Tower Castle.

Thus began the first Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, which, however, was destined to end completely differently than the Ottoman Porte and its patrons had hoped.

It should be noted that in the second half of the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful powers. African, Balkan and Black Sea peoples and states were under its yoke. Her army with the terrifying Janissaries (and these were children, oddly enough, of Christians) was considered one of the strongest in the world, and a powerful fleet dominated the Black and Eastern Mediterranean.

Not only Catherine herself, but even states hostile to Russia recognized that, undoubtedly, in 1768 Turkey was not only formally the first to declare war and attack Russia, but in fact in every possible way provoked this war and resolutely sought to open hostilities.

According to the Russian war plan, the main theater of operations was to be southern Ukraine, Moldova and the Balkans. The first and second Russian armies were sent here, somewhat later united under the overall command of the talented commander Field Marshal P. A. Rumyantsev. In addition, a third (reserve) army was created, which was supposed to come to the aid of the first army. In fact, hostilities began in the spring of 1769. The Crimean Khan Kerim Giray, with 60,000 cavalry, invaded Ukraine, which significantly complicated the situation, and the main forces of the Turks under the command of the vizier Khalil Pasha headed towards the Dniester, with the goal of crossing it and moving to Kyiv and Smolensk . In addition, the Turks intended to land part of their forces on the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Azov and launch an attack on Astrakhan.

But all these plans of the Turks were overturned by the brilliant actions of the Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev. In 1769-1770 in the battle of Ryaba Mogila, Larga and Kagul, the best Turkish troops were completely defeated. The Russians took the fortress of Khotyn, Iasi, Bucharest and reached the Danube. For these victories, P. A. Rumyantsev received the name “Transdanubian”.

Catherine ΙΙ very soon after the outbreak of hostilities seized on the idea, apparently initially proposed by Alexei Orlov and supported by his brother Grigory. This idea was to create new sea and land theaters of military operations in the Turkish possessions in the Mediterranean Sea and thereby draw off part of the enemy forces from the main theater on the Danube, attacking Turkey from the sea and from land in the south of the Ottoman Empire, and thereby create “sabotage”, which would facilitate the operations of P. A. Rumyantsev in the north, i.e. in Moldova and Wallachia (Romania).

To implement this plan and launch military operations against Turkey from the Mediterranean Sea, Catherine decided to send part of the Baltic Fleet in the form of two squadrons to the Archipelago (Mediterranean Sea). The task assigned to the Baltic Fleet was not an easy one. Throughout the history of the Russian fleet, there was nothing like this. The Russian squadrons had to go from Kronstadt around Europe through the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay to the east of the Mediterranean Sea to the Greek shores and, together with army units, begin combat operations on the enemy’s rear communications. Speaking about the task facing the sailors, the commander of the 66-gun battleship “Three Hierarchs,” Captain 1st Rank S. K. Greig very clearly defined it with the words: “... The purpose of the expedition was to carry out sabotage in these places and to harass the Turks in that part of their possessions where they could least fear an attack, due to the difficulties with which the dispatch of an armed force from the extreme limits of the Baltic to seas so distant must be associated. ..." This expedition, called the “Archipelago”, had the goal of blocking the Dardanelles Strait from the Aegean Sea, interrupting Turkish maritime trade, raising mass uprisings among the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, who suffered under the heavy Turkish yoke, and landing Russian troops in the south of the Balkan Peninsula and the islands Archipelago. For the above purposes, it was decided first of all to send a squadron consisting of 7 battleships:

• "Svyatoslav" (84-gun)
• "Eustathius" (66 guns)
• "Ianuarius" (66 guns)
• "Europe" (66-gun)
• "Three Saints" (66 guns)
• "Northern Eagle";
• frigate "Hope of Prosperity" (36 guns)
• bombardment ship "Grom" (10 guns)
• four kicks (transport)
• two messenger ships (packet boats).

Catherine appointed Vice Admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov as commander of the squadron. Grigory Andreevich was in very fragile health; as he grew older, his illnesses became more frequent and worse. And he was already 56 years old. But he still went on a campaign, leaving his place as the Chief Commander of the Kronstadt port. He understood in his heart that Russia needed victory. On June 15 (4), 1769, he was promoted to full admiral. It was, as it were, a reward given in advance by Catherine.

Preparations for the expedition took a very long time. The squadron had to go to southern waters, where the process of destruction of the ship's hull was much faster than in the northern seas. To protect the underwater part of the ships' hulls from rapid destruction, they were covered with felt and covered with boards on top. To do this, at the dock, huge ships were tilted on board (keeled) with gates, ropes and blocks in order to prepare their underwater parts for long voyages and battles. There were no trifles when getting ready then. The crews tried to make their military uniforms comfortable and fashionable. They shot pistols, blunderbuss and shotguns with their capricious flint locks. And the smoothbore guns barely had time to cool down from training shooting. Finally, by mid-July 1769, the preparation of the squadron was completed.

On July 29 (18), 1769, Catherine ΙΙ visited the “Archipelago” squadron at the Kronstadt roadstead, awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky to G. A. Spiridov, also as an advance, and presented him with the image of St. John the Warrior. She promoted captains Greig and Barge to captain-commander and ordered all crew members to be given a four-month salary.

On July 29 (18), Admiral G. A. Spiridov left with the first squadron from the Kronstadt roadstead and, having received ground forces and artillery at the Krasnogorsk roadstead, on August 6 (July 26) headed for the island of Fore (Gogland), where he was supposed to link up with Revel squadron, which was supposed to accompany him to Copenhagen (Denmark). The ships' personnel numbered 3,011 people; in addition, the ships carried landing troops numbering 2,571 people, received at the Krasnogorsk roadstead.

The admiral raised his flag on the 66-gun battleship Eustathius. The Revel squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Anderson (he received this title by the same decree with G. Spiridov) arrived at Fore Island on July 21 (10), but due to a storm it was forced to take refuge in Tagalakht Bay and make the necessary repairs there. The squadron of G. Spiridov arrived at the island of Fore on August 11 (July 31), where on August 23 (12), near the island of Ostergala, it was joined by four more battleships (“Ekaterina”, “Kirman”, “Arkhangelsk” and “Asia”) of the Revel squadron . On September 10 (August 30), the Russian fleet was already in Copenhagen, where it received all kinds of assistance: Denmark at that time was heavily dependent on Catherine ΙΙ, who protected its independence against any attempts by Sweden and Prussia.

In Copenhagen, Admiral G. Spiridov added to his squadron the newly built ship “Rostislav”, which had just arrived from Arkhangelsk (instead of the linear 84-gun ship “Svyatoslav”, which, due to damage received during the transition, could not go further with the squadron and was sent for repairs to Revel), replenished water supplies and received various types of materials from the Revel squadron. On September 19 (8), G. Spiridov’s squadron left Copenhagen and headed for the Kattegat Strait zone. During this transition, one of the transports (pink), the 22-gun Lapominka, ran aground near Cape Skagen and crashed on the reefs. The remaining ships of the squadron arrived at the English port of Gul.

The transition was not easy. Ships suffered serious damage from frequent storms in the North Sea. But the most unpleasant thing began later - the illness of the ship's crew. When approaching England, there were more than 600 sick people on the squadron. Subsequently, there was not a day without deaths.

Due to the fact that some of the ships were in need of repair, Admiral G. Spiridov decided to carry out further movement “according to his ability”; he appointed Port Mahon on the island of Minorca, located in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea and belonging to England, as the assembly point for the ships.

On October 21 (10), 1769, Grigory Andreevich left Gul on the battleship “Eustathius” and headed for Gibraltar through the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay. On November 23 (12), he arrived in Gibraltar, which belongs to England, where, as he writes, he “had a rendezvous” with Rear Admiral S. K. Greig. But S.K. Greig, who was delayed with part of the squadron's ships in Goole to troubleshoot problems in Gibraltar, had not yet arrived. G. Spiridov did not wait for Greig and left Gibraltar. On November 29 (18), he arrived on the island of Minorca in Port Mahon. From there he notified S. K. Greig through an English merchant ship that he was in Port Mahon. Greig arrived in Gibraltar and, not finding G. Spiridov there, refueled with water and supplies and immediately went to sea to join Admiral G. Spiridov. From December 15 (4) to December 23 (12), Russian ships, lagging behind G. Spiridov, gradually approached Port Mahon. In Port Mahon, by the end of December, only nine ships fit for further voyages had gathered: five battleships (“Eustathius”, “Three Hierarchs”, “Three Hierarchs”, “Saint Januarius”, “Nadezhda Blagopoluchiya”), two sloops and two military transport. The sixth battleship "Europe" ran aground while leaving Portsmouth (England), received a hole and lost its rudder. The seventh ship “Rostislav” approached Minorca in January 1770, but was caught in a storm and, due to damage to the main and mizzen masts, was forced to leave for the island of Sardinia to repair the damage. As of December 25, 1768 (old style), there were 313 sick and 32 dead on the squadron. The appendix to the report of Admiral G. Spiridov dated December 26 (Old Style) from Port Mahon shows the following number of dead and sick on the squadron: 27 people died on the transition from Kronstadt to Copenhagen; on the Copenhagen roadstead, 27 people died, sick from 295 to 320; 47 people died on the crossing from Copenhagen to Hull; during the stay in Hull, 83 people died, 620 to 720 people were sick; on the passage from Hull to Port Mahon and in this port until December 26, 208 people died. In total, 392 people died during the transition from Kronstadt to Port Mahon. Very high mortality rate.

On October 9 (20), 1769, the second Russian squadron under the command of Rear Admiral John Elphinstone, consisting of 4 battleships (“Tver”, “Saratov”, “Don’t touch me”, “Svyatoslav”), 2, left Kronstadt for the Mediterranean Sea. frigates (“Nadezhda” and “Africa”) and 2 transports, which approached the shores of the Morea on May 20 (9), 1770. During the transition to the Archipelago, the Chichagov transport crashed in the Porkkala-Udd skerries, and the battleship Tver, having lost its mainmast, returned to Revel. In the English port of Portsmouth, 3 transports were purchased and joined the squadron. The personnel of the second squadron numbered 2,261 people. On this occasion, Catherine wanted to emboss on a commemorative medal: “ We went where no one had gone before “. The search for the Turkish fleet immediately began.

Considering that the combat operations of the squadrons in the Archipelago were planned both at sea and on land, Catherine decided to appoint A.G. Orlov as commander-in-chief of the naval and ground forces in the Mediterranean. Of all the people who helped her in her time to carry out a coup d'etat, A. Orlov not only played the most decisive role, but also showed himself to be a man who stops at absolutely nothing. Neither moral, nor physical, nor political obstacles existed for him, and he could not even understand why they existed for others. He was much smarter, braver, and more gifted than his brother Gregory, whom Catherine loved for several years in a row and whom she was even going to marry. Possessing unnatural physical strength, already in old age, living in retirement in Moscow as a retired nobleman in his magnificent palace, A. Orlov loved to take part in fist fights on occasion and often “seated” young fighters, who were not even fit to be fathers, but to grandfathers. When equipping an expedition from the Baltic to the east of the Mediterranean Sea, Catherine needed the intelligence, cunning, cunning, and ingenuity of Alexei Orlov, combined with the ability to take risks where necessary and be careful where necessary. Alexey Orlov appointed his brother Fyodor Orlov to command the ground landing forces.

On April 10 (21), 1770, Russian sailors occupied the Navarin fortress. Thus, for the first time, the port of Navarino entered the chronicles of Russian naval victories, long before the famous Battle of Navarino in 1827.

The capture of Navarino was a major success. However, the available forces and means for any extensive and prolonged military operations in the south of the Balkan Peninsula, for waging a serious, persistent war against the Turks, were insufficient. Soon news arrived that a united large Turkish fleet was sailing to Navarino Bay in order to block it and close the Russian fleet in it. In such a situation, Navarin threatened to turn into a trap for Russian forces. On the advice of Admiral G. A. Spiridov and S. K. Greig, A. G. Orlov decided to shift the center of gravity of the fight to the sea, destroy the Turkish fleet, and, having gained superiority at sea, resume operations on land.

At the beginning of the second half of May, having blown up and destroyed the Navarino fortress, the Russian squadron went out to the open sea to search for enemy ships. A.G. Orlov wrote to Catherine ΙΙ about this decision: “ ...The best thing that can be done, having fortified the sea ... is to stop the supply of provisions to Constantinople and make attacks by naval force.”

The intensive search for the Turkish fleet continued. We didn't have to wait long. On June 23 at five o’clock in the evening a signal went up on the Rostislav: “ I see enemy ships" . The Turkish fleet was anchored between the island of Chios and the Anatolian coast of Turkey (Eastern Aegean Sea) and consisted of 73 ships (16 battleships, 6 frigates, 6 xebecs, 13 galleys and 32 galliots). The Turkish fleet was commanded by Jeyzayrmo-Hasan Bey. In his report to Catherine II, A. Orlov wrote: “ Seeing this building, I was horrified and was in the dark about what I should do? But the bravery of the troops...the zeal of everyone...forced me to decide, and despite superior forces, to dare to attack, fall or destroy the enemy" After a council of flagships, at the suggestion of Admiral G. A. Spiridov, he decided to attack the Turkish fleet on the morning of June 24.

A. Orlov's combined squadron included 9 battleships, 3 frigates, one bombardment ship and several small ships. The ships carried about 6,500 personnel and 608 guns.

For the battle, A. Orlov divided the entire fleet into three parts: avant-garde:

• "Europe" (66 guns, commander 1st rank captain Klokachev Fedot Alekseevich)
• "Eustathius" (66 guns, commander 1st rank captain Cruz Alexander Ivanovich)
• “Three Saints” (66-gun, commander captain 1st rank Khmetevsky Stepan Petrovich)
• frigate "St. Nicholas" (36 guns, commander Greek Polikutti).

The vanguard was commanded by Admiral G.A. Spiridov. He was with Fyodor Orlov on the Eustathia. Cardebatalia:

• “Ianuarius” (66 guns, commander 1st rank captain Borisov Ivan Antonovich)
• “Three Hierarchs” (66-gun, commander captain of brigadier rank Samuil Karlovich Greig)
• "Rostislav" (66 guns, commander 1st rank captain Lupandin Vasily Fedorovich)
• bombardment ship "Grom" (20 guns, commander Lieutenant Commander Perepechin)
• packet boat "Postman" (16-gun, commander captain-lieutenant Eropkin)
• transport "Orlov".

Rearguard:

Prepare for battle

Build a battle line

On June 25, the 66-gun ship “Three Hierarchs” under the command of Rear Admiral S. K. Greig and the 20-gun bombardment ship “Grom” bombarded the Turkish fleet, which had taken refuge in Chesme Bay, as well as a coastal battery installed by the Turks on the southern cape Chesme Bay. Admiral G. A. Spiridov said: “ It was easy for me to foresee from my knowledge of maritime art that this would be their refuge and their grave " In the evening, at the council of flagships and captains at A. Orlov, it was decided to destroy the Turkish fleet on the night of June 26 with fire ships and incendiary shells (fire shells). Alekseq Grigorievich decided: “ 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; and for this, according to the general advice, it is necessary and determined: to prepare for the coming night…»

To clarify the situation, it should be added that the width of Chesma Bay at the entrance 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 remember that the 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. 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 order, on the night of June 26, a detachment consisting of 4 battleships (“Rostislav”, “Europe”, “Don’t touch me”, “Saratov”), 2 frigates (“Nadezhda Prosperity”, “Africa” "), the bombardment ship "Grom" and 4 fire ships under the command of Rear Admiral S.K. Greig (broad pennant on the battleship "Rostislav"), was supposed to enter Chesme Bay and open artillery fire with fire ships on enemy ships. Under the cover of artillery fire from Russian ships, fire ships were supposed to attack with the aim of setting fire to the Turkish fleet. There were no ready-made fireships in the Russian squadron. Four Greek merchant ships were assigned to the fireships. Naval artillery brigadier I.A. Hannibal was ordered to make 4 fire ships. By the evening of June 25, the fire ships were ready. Back at 17.00 on July 6 (June 25), the bombardment ship "Grom" anchored in front of the entrance to Chesme Bay and began shelling the enemy. The night from July 6 to July 7 (June 25 to June 26) was quiet and moonlit. At 23.30 the ship "Europe" weighed anchor and, according to the order, took a place in close proximity to the Turkish ships. At 0.30 "Europe" started a battle with the entire Turkish fleet, opening fire with cannonballs and cannonballs. By one o'clock in the morning "Rostislav" took the appointed place. Behind him were the manufactured fire ships. Following the “Europe” and “Rostislav”, other ships assigned by disposition came and anchored. A successfully fired incendiary shell from the bombardment ship "Grom" caused a fire on one of the Turkish ships stationed in

center of the bay, the fire from which spread to the nearest leeward Turkish ships. At the same time, at the signal of Rear Admiral S.K. Greig, 4 fireships were launched into the attack, of which one (Lieutenant-Captain Dugdal) was repulsed by Turkish galleys, the second (Lieutenant-Captain Mekenzie) ran aground, the third (midshipman Gagarin ) fell with an already burning ship, the fourth, under the command of Lieutenant Dmitry Ilyin, grappled with one of the Turkish battleships, set it on fire and created a new fire, which soon spread to several nearby ships. With the end of the attack of the fireships, the Russian ships that supported their attack again opened fire on the enemy. At the end of the second hour, two Turkish battleships took off. At 2.30 am, three more Turkish ships ceased to exist. By this time, over 40 ships were burning in the bay, representing a sea of ​​fire. From 4.00 to 5.30, 6 more battleships exploded. By dawn, almost the entire Turkish fleet became a victim of fire. 15 battleships, 6 frigates and a large number of small ships burned. The battleship Rhodes and 5 galleys were taken out of the fire and captured. The Turks lost over 10,000 sailors and officers. Russian losses on the ships of the detachment of Rear Admiral S.K. Greig - 11 killed. On this occasion, Admiral G. A. Spiridov reported the following to the President of the Admiralty Board: “ Glory to the Lord God and honor to the All-Russian Fleet! From June 25 to 26, the enemy Turkish military fleet was attacked, defeated, broken, burned, sent into the sky, drowned and turned to ashes... and they themselves began to be dominant throughout the Archipelago..." In a letter to Vice-Chancellor Golitsyn A. Orlov wrote: “ His superior forces did not frighten the brave Russians, who all with great joy wanted to attack the enemy; Therefore, without delay at all, at noon that day they attacked, defeated and drove to the port under the Chesma fortress. Not content with this, on the 25th, at midnight, the enemy was attacked a second time and completely defeated. Of the sixteen enemy battleships, six frigates, many xebecs, brigantines, half-galleys and other small ships, nothing remained but the sad traces of these weapons; all completely sunk, broken and burned».

In St. Petersburg, the Chesma victory became known only at the beginning of September 1770. The first message about it came from Malta from the Italian nobleman Marquis Cavalcabo who settled in Russia, who back in 1769 was sent by Catherine II to the Archipelago with the task of finding piers for Russian ships and skilled helmsmen, perfectly familiar with the Italian and Greek coasts and harbors.

A few days later, a report from Count A.G. Orlov about the complete extermination of the Turkish naval force at Chesme, sent on June 28, was delivered by courier from Livorno to the capital. She was brought to Livorno by the Life Guards Major Yuri Dolgorukov.

In a rescript to Count A.G. Orlov, Catherine II wrote: “... To our admiral Spiridov, you have to hand over our most merciful rescript attached to this, in which we showed him our pleasure for his commendable and zealous behavior in this case, and we grant him the cavalry of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Our Senate, this admiral, will be commanded to give into eternal and hereditary possession the villages appointed by Us...».

« » the empress herself "deigns to be

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made for this occasion

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Was " Below is the explanation: “ Chesma 1770 June 24 days ».

There was joy in Russia

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The day before, the Admiralty Board ordered that on this day, by 8 o'clock in the morning, all its members, flagships, forwarders and advisers in full dress arrived at the Epiphany Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, where « to bring due thanks to the Almighty for the victory won by the fleet and the complete extermination of the entire Turkish fleet in the Levant» the empress herself "deigns to be " After the liturgy, which was served by a member of the Synod, Archbishop of St. Petersburg and Revel, His Eminence Gabriel, a thanksgiving prayer was performed by Archbishop Innocent of Pskov with the rest of the clergy.

On September 15 (4), in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, in the presence of Catherine, a cathedral memorial service for Peter I was held in honor and remembrance of him “as the founder and therefore the first culprit of this great and glorious incident of the Russian naval forces” .

On the same day, the Admiralty Board announced that Catherine II “I most graciously deigned to command” All lower naval and admiralty servants located in the capital will be given a glass of wine and a glass of beer at the expense of the Court Office. After clarifying the number of St. Petersburg teams and submitting a statement to the Commissariat Expedition about how many people were in them, the issuance of an ordinary sea wine portion was carried out immediately. But in exchange for beer, “due to the lack of it,” at the sale price in state drinking houses, money was given to the servants.

After church celebrations on September 14 (3) and 15 (4), on September 18 (7) it was announced that “ as a sign of his most merciful goodwill towards the fleet and the Admiralty"Catherine II September 19 (8) in her presence to the Admiralty Board " deign to honor for the dinner meal».

This day became the apotheosis of the Chesme celebrations in the capital.

Persons of the four first classes were invited to dinner at the Admiralty with Catherine's participation. Persons of the first three classes had to participate in it together with members of their families.

Great Britain, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, the Roman Empire, France, Spain and Holland were represented at the dinner at the Admiralty by ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary, envoys and ministers plenipotentiary of European states at the Imperial Court. Of these, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain, Lord Carcart, was present with his family, and the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Extraordinary of Denmark, Count Scheel, was present with his wife.

The celebration ceremony was designed and planned down to the smallest detail.

The carriages of the dinner participants were allowed into the Admiralty Fortress through the main gate. Having dropped off the arrivals to the right of the college porch, they drove back through the St. Isaac's Gate. Catherine II was heading to the fortress from the palace. As her carriage approached the 3rd bastion, trumpeters played on the spitz. When she approached the 4th bastion, the trumpeters on the Admiralty Gate began to play. The music paused as the carriage crossed the drawbridge and then continued again.

An ordinary Admiralty flag was lowered under an artillery salute. Instead, as a sign of the highest presence in the fortress, Catherine’s standard was raised above the Admiralty. The Admiralty building, the bastions of the fortress and 4 yachts and 2 frigates lined up opposite the Admiralty on the Neva were illuminated and decorated with flags.

Each moment of celebration was accompanied by a corresponding salute on the 31st, 51st, 101st and 201st gun shots.

100 bottles of champagne and Burgundy and 200 bottles of English beer were prepared for serving at the festive tables.

During dinner, seven toasts were heard, including for the victors in the Mediterranean, for the Russian fleet, which has glorified itself for centuries, and for all loyal Russians. After each toast there was a gun salute.

On September 23 (12), 1770, a decree of Catherine II followed from the Admiralty Board with the order to produce well-deserved awards in the Archipelago for Turkish flags, cannons and captured ships and to award the lower ranks of all naval and land commands participating in the battle silver, “ made for this occasion» award medals to be worn in memory of the battle on a blue ribbon in the buttonhole.

The following year, 1771, by decree of the Holy Synod of May 24 (13), thanksgiving prayers in honor and memory of the victory won in 1770 on the shores of Asia were henceforth to be served in churches annually on June 24 (13). A list of all churches of the Admiralty Department was attached to the synodal decree.

On May 31 (20) of the same year, at the presentation of the Admiralty Board, which petitioned for an order to carry out cannon fire from all Admiralty fortresses on the day of celebration, following the example of how it was legalized by Peter I in honor of the Battle of Poltava, Catherine II wrote: "On Tuesday the 24th of 31 guns during the war every year."

On June 24 (13), 1771, on the day of the celebration of the first anniversary of the Chesma victory, after a prayer service in the Epiphany Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, following a rocket signal from the cathedral, gun shots were heard from the bastions of the Admiralty Fortress and from Galernaya Harbor.

On the eve of this date, the Admiralty Board ordered the celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of Chesma on June 24 (13), 1771. “ Give dismissal to all Admiralty department teams from work»

Back in November 1770, the first of the heroes of Chesma to become a holder of the Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George, 3rd degree, established a year earlier, was the chief general of the naval artillery, I. A. Hannibal. On September 22, 1771, the 1st degree of this order was awarded to Chief General A.G. Orlov. The Order of the 2nd degree was awarded to Lieutenant General F. G. Orlov and Rear Admiral S. K. Greig.

In 1782, by a manifesto of October 3 (September 22), in addition to the rights granted to the Order, it was allowed to establish a Chapter or Duma of the Order of St. George from among its gentlemen living in the capital, and when consecrated on July 5 (June 24), 1780 on the day On the 10th anniversary of the Chesma victory, the Church of St. John the Baptist, in a village on the Moscow highway called Chesma, has a house, an archive, a seal and a special treasury.

By the highest order, announced on April 23 (12) of the following year, meetings of the Duma of the Order of St. George began to be held in Chesma.

On November 30 (19), during the celebration of the next anniversary of the establishment of the highest military award in Chesma, and on December 7 (November 26) and at the Court of Catherine, all St. George's Knights from St. Petersburg and Kronstadt were invited.

It is symbolic that at the temple built in Chesma near St. Petersburg in honor of the glorious naval victory of the Russian fleet, those “... who not only fulfilled his duties in all respects according to oath, honor and duty, but above all, marked himself for the benefit and glory of Russian weapons with special distinction».

As noted above, in honor of this victory, Catherine ΙΙ established a silver medal, which depicted an attack by Russian ships on the Turkish squadron and the burning of Turkish ships. A laconic inscription informed about the fate of the Turkish fleet: “ Was " Below is the explanation: “ Chesma 1770 June 24 days ».

For the first anniversary of the extermination of the Turkish fleet, in memory of this event, 10 gold medals with the image of A.G. Orlov were made and presented to the Admiralty Board on June 30 (19) by its vice-president, Count I. G. Chernyshev.

Two of them were intended to be presented to Catherine II and the heir to the throne, Admiral General Pavel Petrovich, 5 - to the distinguished Counts Orlov brothers, one - to the medal cabinet of the Academy of Sciences, the tenth - “to eternal memory for the Admiralty Board." The production of stamps and minting of gold and silver medals cost 3,000 rubles.

On front side medals in the center of the circular inscription " Count Alexey Grigorievich Orlov - Winner and Destroyer of the Turkish Fleet " his portrait was placed. On the back, under the inscription " There was joy in Russia ", depicts a plan of a historical battle indicating the dates of June 24 and 26, 1770, and below, under the line, was the inscription " In gratitude to the winner from the Admiralty Board " The silver medals contained 95 spools of high-grade silver. The cost of one such medal at the price of silver was 14 rubles 48 kopecks.

In the multi-family St. Petersburg list of people who received commemorative silver medals on the anniversary of the battle, the first to appear are the clergy: Archbishops Gabriel and Innocent, member of the Synod Archpriest Andrei and rector of the Epiphany Naval Cathedral Archpriest Vasily. Later they were received by Archbishop Ambrose of Moscow and Kaluga, Archimandrite Bartholomew, Archpriest of the Moscow Assumption Cathedral Alexander Levshinsky and Synod Prosecutor Sergei Ivanovich Rozhnov.

After the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Chesme, the Russian fleet gained strategic dominance in the theater and gained the opportunity to carry out the tasks of blockading the Dardanelles and destroying the enemy’s maritime trade.

On July 9 (June 28), having repaired the damage, Russian ships left Chesme Bay and entered the Aegean Sea.

On July 12 (1), a detachment under the command of Rear Admiral D. Elphinstone, consisting of 3 ships, 2 frigates and several transports, went to the Dardanelles to blockade them. The rest of the fleet headed to the island of Lemnos and blockaded the fortress of Pelari in order to acquire a base for the fleet. After a series of bombings, the Turks began negotiations on the surrender of the fortress.

D. Elphinstone acted indecisively during the blockade of the Dardanelles, and then voluntarily left the detachment blockading the Dardanelles and headed to the island of Lemnos on the ship “Svyatoslav”. On September 16 (5), 1770, when approaching the island, “Svyatoslav” at full speed under full sail in fresh weather came across a reef off the northern side of Lemnos, and then found itself aground. D. Elphinstone called the rest of the ships of the blocking detachment for help. The Turks, taking advantage of this, transferred significant reinforcements to the island of Lemnos. Thus, through the fault of D. Elphinstone, the Russian fleet had to lift the siege of the Pelari fortress. The direct culprit of the accident turned out to be an English citizen, pilot Gordon, hired by D. Elphinstone. The sailors warned D. Elphinstone about the pilot's incompetence, but D. Elphinstone did not heed these warnings. D. Elphinstone was removed from command, sent to Russia and then completely dismissed from service.

The Russian fleet headed to the island of Paros, where the main base of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago was established in the port of Auza. G. Spiridov's detachment delivered ship timber here, harvested on the island of Thassos. Fortifications, an admiralty, shops and a camp for Russian ground forces were built here. On November 23 (12), A. Orlov transferred command of the fleet to Admiral G. A. Spiridov and departed for Livorno, and then to St. Petersburg.

On January 7, 1771 (December 25, 1770) the 3rd Russian squadron came to the Archipelago under the command of Rear Admiral Arfa, consisting of 3 battleships (St. George the Victorious, Vsevolod and Asia), 1 frigate Severny Eagle" and 13 chartered English transports.

In 1771, Catherine II set the following tasks for the Russian fleet in the Archipelago:

1. Blockade of the Dardanelles.

2. Keeping the islands of the Archipelago in their hands until peace is concluded, so that when the terms of peace are worked out, one of the islands remains with Russia as a stronghold in the Mediterranean Sea.

The beginning of 1771 was characterized by the inaction of the Turkish fleet. At this time, Russian ships were being repaired, and at the same time, the ships' crews were being re-equipped with sailors who had arrived with the Arfa squadron. On July 9 (June 28) A. Orlov returned from Russia. At the military council in Auza, under the leadership of A. Orlov, it was decided to intensify the actions of the fleet in order to divert part of the Turkish forces from the Danube theater of military operations.

Rear Admiral Arf was soon sent by A. Orlov to St. Petersburg. Reporting on this case, Alexei Orlov asked not to assign foreign officers and sailors to him in the future, “ for one can not only expect from one’s fellow-countrymen with the best hope what the duty of zeal and love for the Fatherland requires from them, but also in the incurrence of labor, anxiety and military difficulties, a great difference has already been seen between Russian people and foreigners...».

In June-July 1771, a squadron under the command of Admiral G. Spiridov established a blockade of the Dardanelles. Separate detachments of the Russian fleet constantly cruised in the Archipelago, suppressing the enemy's maritime trade. At the end of October 1771, a squadron of the Russian fleet under the command of A. Orlov and Admiral G. Spiridov reached the island of Metilena.

On November 11 (October 31), G. Spiridov’s squadron anchored near the Metilene fortress within range of a cannon salvo, and the bombardment ships “Grom” and “Molniya” opened fire.

Under the cover of this fire, on November 13 (2), a landing force was landed on the island. This landing captured the Admiralty and destroyed two completed 74-gun ships and an enemy galley and several smaller ships.

On November 15 (4), the landing party was accepted back onto the ships, and on November 16 (5), the fleet weighed anchor and went to the port of Auza, where it arrived on November 17 (6). During their departure, the frigates Archipelago and Santorini ran aground. The Archipelago was refloated, but the frigate Santorini had to be destroyed.

It should be noted that the blockade of the Dardanelles lasted throughout 1771. Ships of the Russian fleet constantly cruised at the exit from the strait and near the nearby islands. During the campaign of 1771, Russian ships detained and captured about 180 merchant ships at enemy sea communications.

In 1772, the actions of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago were of approximately the same nature.

On May 19 (8), 1772, the 4th squadron consisting of 3 battleships (“Chesma”, “Count Orlov”, “Pobeda”) was sent from Revel to the Archipelago under the command of Rear Admiral V. Ya. Chichagov. This squadron arrived in Port Mahon on July 29 (18) and in Livorno on August 31 (20). Here, on August 25 (September 7), Rear Admiral V. Chichagov handed over command of the squadron to Captain 1st Rank Konyaev, and he himself returned to St. Petersburg.

In June, the Russian fleet shelled the Turkish fortress of Beirut and landed troops. In July, it became known that a truce had been concluded for 4 months, which lasted until October 29 (18).

At the end of October 1772, Russian sailors again won a major victory over the enemy.

The Turks could not forget the terrible defeat at Chesma and were preparing forces to attack the Russian fleet and its base - the port of Auzu. But the enemy’s preparations were promptly discovered by Captain 1st Rank Konyaev. On November 6 (October 26), he discovered the Turkish squadron of Mustafa Pasha in the Gulf of Patras, consisting of 9 frigates and 16 shebeks, which were under the cover of coastal batteries.

On November 8 (October 28), a battle broke out between Russian and Turkish ships, during which 8 frigates and 8 enemy shebeks were destroyed. One damaged Turkish frigate sank. The Russian detachment had negligible losses in personnel.

Among other more significant actions during this period, one can note the attack on November 4 (October 24), 1772, on the Chesmu fortress, when a detachment of Russian ships consisting of 4 frigates and a bombardment ship fired at the fortress and landed a landing party of 520 people, who burned military facilities and destroyed several small ships. 6 Turkish ships were captured in the Chios Strait.

In 1773 and early 1774, the Russian fleet carried out mainly cruising operations on the enemy’s trade routes, encountering almost no resistance.

On November 2 (October 21), 1773, the 5th squadron consisting of 4 battleships ("Isidor", "Dmitry Donskoy", "St. Alexander Nevsky", "Virgin Myrrh-Bearers"), 2 frigates ("St. Alexander Nevsky", "Virgin Myrrh-Bearers") left Kronstadt for the Archipelago. Natalia", "St. Paul") and 6 chartered English transports under the command of Rear Admiral S.K. Greig, which arrived in Livorno on February 22 (11), 1774. After the end of the war, this squadron left for Auza on August 21 (10).

In June 1773, Admiral G. Spiridov submitted his resignation: “... Your Imperial Majesty's naval fleet, I am from Russian nobles the most loyal slave joined the fleet in 1723 and was with the fleet at sea for five campaigns for maritime practice, and during the same years he studied the sciences of navigation on the shore; and having studied, in February 1728 he was commissioned as a midshipman and sent to Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea; and from that time on I continued my service in the Caspian, Baltic, Azov, North, Atlantic and Mediterranean seas; and now I continue in the Archipelago Sea; having previously been under command and himself a commander, and then a flagship, commanding the squadrons and fleet of your Imperial Majesty, in times of peace and war, and repeatedly on the shore and at sea in actual military operations; I also had the good fortune to be present at the Admiralty Board and the necessary commissions; he was also the main commander in the Revel and Kronstadt ports; and now I am 63 years old. From my youth to this day, due to my zealous servitude and jealousy, the many labors I have endured, and in my old age and the local archipelago climate have exhausted my health even to the point that I, wanting to continue my service, caressed myself with the Livorno climate, where, during by the Turks of the truce, from His Grace the highly authorized general and cavalier Count Alexei Grigorievich Orlov was released, that I might not get better there, and it seemed that my health had improved in Livorna, then to the performance of the post at the same time the truce with the Turks returned back to the fleet in The archipelago, where I am still located. But in my old age, the labors incurred in the service and the local archipelago climate have now brought me to such a state that I have become completely decrepit in my health and have begun to have little memory of painful attacks from the head and eyes, and for this reason, I myself foresee, in the performance I am slow and, for all that, I am no longer as capable of fulfilling the position assigned to me as before; Why am I afraid, so that after such a long-term blameless service of mine I would not fall under responsibility for some failure to perform. And so that your imperial majesty’s highest decree commanded me, your servant, due to my decrepitude and illness, to return from here to St. Petersburg, and for my long and blameless service, with your imperial majesty’s merciful highest favor, to retire from military and civil service, to continue in my life lately forever. Most Gracious Empress, I ask your Imperial Majesty to make a decision regarding this petition of mine. June 5th, 1773. This petition was written in the Archipelago on the warship "Europe", anchored between Paros and Nyxia, in a canal, with a fleet. Admiral Grigory Andreev, the son of Spiridov, had a hand in this petition...».

In February 1774, Admiral G. Spiridov was dismissed due to illness. G. Spiridov, who served in the navy for 50 years, played a huge role in its development. Having begun his naval service under Peter I, he showed himself to be a talented naval commander over the course of several decades of service. Being the de facto leader of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago, G. Spiridov demonstrated high examples of naval art in combat operations against the Turks.

After the departure of G. A. Spiridov, Vice Admiral Andrei Vlasievich Elmanov took command of the Russian fleet.

On July 10 (21), 1774, in the village of Kuchuk-Kainardzhi near the city of Silistria, a peace was concluded between Russia and Turkey, according to which Turkey ceded Azov, Kerch, Yenikale and part of the coast between the Dnieper and the Bug with the Kinburn fortress to Russia. Crimea and Kuban were recognized as independent from Turkey. Freedom of merchant navigation was established for Russian ships on the Black Sea.

After the conclusion of peace in 1774, the main forces of the Russian fleet left the Archipelago. In 1775, the remaining ships sailed into the Baltic Sea. Thus, the 1st Archipelago Expedition was completed and the Russian ships returned to their waters with glory. This was the first strategic exit of the Russian fleet from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean. The archipelago expedition was an outstanding event in the history of the Russian fleet. The victories of Russian sailors at Chios and Chesme and the blockade of the Dardanelles contributed to the successful military operations of the main forces of the Russian army under the command of P. A. Rumyantsev.

The heroes of Chesma are not forgotten. A sculptural portrait of Admiral G. A. Spiridov opens a long gallery of famous Russian admirals in the building of the St. Petersburg Admiralty, his bust is installed in the Admiral Corridor of the Naval Academy. And a monument was erected to him at his resting place, in the Yaroslavl village of Nagorye. The Pereslavl-Zalessky Historical and Art Museum also preserves his memory. In honor of the Chesme victory, designed by the architect Yu. M. Felten in 1777-1780. The Chesme Palace and the Chesme Church, located on Lensoveta Street, were built. Once upon a time, a memorial plaque was installed on this church: “ This temple was built in the name of St. John the Baptist in memory of the victory over the Turkish fleet won at Chesma in 1770 on his birthday. Laid out in the fifteenth summer (in 1777) during the reign of Catherine II in the presence of King Gustav II of Sweden under the name of Count of Gotland. Consecrated 1780 June 24 days in the presence of HIS MAJESTY the Roman Emperor Joseph ΙΙ under the name of Count Falkenstein».

In the Catherine Park of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin) in the middle of the Big Pond stands the Chesme Column. The fust (rod) of the column is decorated with six marble rostras, and the capital is crowned with a bronze eagle. The column was built in honor of the victory at Chesma according to the design of the architect A. Rinaldi; masonry master - Pinketti; the author of the bronze figure of an eagle is the sculptor I. Schwartz. The monument was opened in 1778. The height of the monument is about 25 meters.

In Gatchina Park on the cape of White Lake, by order of Count Grigory Orlov, an obelisk was erected in honor of the victory at Chesma, won under the command of his brother Alexei. The monument was designed by the architect A. Rinaldi and opened around 1775. The height of the obelisk is 15 meters.

In the Admiralty of Pushkin it is constantly open current exhibition, dedicated to the Archipelago sea expedition of Russian warships of 1768-1774.

G. Spiridov had five children: daughter Alexandra, sons: Andrei, Matvey, Alexey and Grigory. During the time of Catherine II, Alexey became a flagship and took part in battles at sea in the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-90. Under Emperor Alexander I, he became a full admiral and was the chief commander of the Revel and then Arkhangelsk ports. Admiral G. A. Spiridov died on April 19 (8) in Moscow. Son Andrei died in Port Mahon in 1770. An atoll (Takapoto) in the group of Russian islands in the Pacific Ocean is named after G. Spiridov. In 1992, in preparation for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet in the village of Nagorye, a monument to Admiral G. Spiridov was solemnly unveiled. His name was assigned to ships of the Russian fleet.

The Chesma victory and its heroes were glorified by the best Russian poets: G. R. Derzhavin, V. I. Maikov, M. M. Kheraskov; the great Chesma spoke enthusiastically French writer Voltaire. Theaters staged performances dedicated to the glorious naval victory. The Naval Cadet Corps staged a complex and lush ballet on the theme of the Battle of Chesma. M. M. Kheraskov wrote in the poem “Chesma Battle”: “ I boldly promise you eternal glory, descendants will imagine you in their memory, heroes will imitate you in battle. As long as they feel the direct glory, the peoples will not forget the battle of Chesma“.

S.P.Siry. Chairman of the military-historical section of the House of Scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences, historiographer and chairman of the section of the history of the Russian fleet of St. Petersburg MS, Honored Worker of Russian Higher Education, Professor, Captain 1st Rank, retired

The commander of the battle was A. Orlov, who was on the “Three Hierarchs”. Rearguard:

• “Don’t touch me” (66-gun, commander 1st-rank captain Beshentsev)
• "Svyatoslav" (84 guns, commander 1st Rank Captain Roxburgh)
• "Saratov" (66 guns, commander 2nd rank captain Polivanov Afanasy Timofeevich).

The rearguard was commanded by Rear Admiral D. Elphinston, who was on the Svyatoslav. The battleships: “Eustathius”, “Three Saints”, “Ianuarius”, “Three Hierarchs” and “Svyatoslav”, as well as the frigates “Nadezhda Prosperity” and “St. Nicholas”, the bombardment ship “Grom” were built at the “Admiralty Shipyards” . The remaining ships were built in Arkhangelsk at the Solombala shipyard.

The personnel of the Russian fleet, after a long voyage, had good seamanship and were well trained in the use of weapons, which, combined with the inherent courage of Russian sailors, made them a formidable opponent for any enemy. In addition, the sailors of the Russian fleet already had combat experience in operations against Turkish fortresses.

Under the cover of night, Russian sailors prepared their ships for the upcoming battle. At 4 o’clock in the morning on July 5 (June 24), 1770, A. G. Orlov gave a signal to the squadron: “ Prepare for battle " The ships of G. A. Spiridov and D. Elphinstone repeated this signal.

The Russian fleet entered the Chios Strait in an orderly and menacing manner. By 9.00 am he was 30 cables away from the enemy fleet. The enemy fleet was clearly visible. A new signal followed on the “Three Hierarchs”: “ Build a battle line " Having formed a battle line, the Russian ships moved towards the Turkish squadron, which stood motionless at anchor. A. Orlov’s order required not to open fire before approaching pistol shot range, that is, almost side by side, and the ships’ guns, in accordance with this order, were loaded with a double charge. A. Orlov decided to first attack the Turkish vanguard and part of the center, and after they were defeated, strike the rest of the Turkish ships. At 11.30 the vanguard of the Russian ships approached the enemy line at a distance of 3 cables and was met by a salvo of Turkish ships. But the Russian ships, without responding to fire, continued to approach the distance of a “musket” shot (1 cable length), showing restraint and composure. The line of Turkish ships was dense, and the probability of a hit at such a short distance was very high.

At 12.30 the battle was in full swing. By one o'clock in the afternoon the rearguard ships arrived. "Eustathius" began to gradually fall onto the Turkish flagship 90-gun ship "Real Mustafa". Russian sailors were looking forward to fighting the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. At this time, the bowsprit "Eustathia" stuck into the "Real Mustafa" between the main and mizzen masts. The boarding teams rushed to the Turkish ship. A fierce fight ensued. One of the sailors grabbed the Turkish flag, the enemy’s saber cut off the daredevil’s hand, he extended left hand, but she was also wounded. Then he grabbed the end of the flag with his teeth. But it was immediately pierced through. This is how the poet M.M. Kheraskov describes this episode in his poem “Chesma Battle”: “... Then to proclaim victory over the Turks, the Russian wanted to grab their flag from the stern; he did not suddenly take it away, no matter how hard he tried, he remained hanging on it between the waves and between the skies; Having lost his hands, he did not let him go, he was deprived of all means, he grabbed the flag with his teeth; The Saracen pierces his belly with a sword, trembles, holds on, does not leave the moon; to the extreme he did not yield to her until he fell on his ship with the flag" Unable to withstand the attack, Turkish admiral Hasan Bey threw himself overboard. The entire Turkish team followed him. In a tense moment, when both ships were already grappling for boarding, a column of flame burst out from under the deck of the Turkish ship, and it all caught fire. Russian sailors rushed to save their ship. Meanwhile, the flames from the burning Real Mustafa spread to Eustathius. Boats rushed to the “Eustathius” to help, but only managed to remove Admiral G. A. Spiridov and F. G. Orlov and a few more people. On one of the boats, the commander of “Eustathia” A. I. Cruz sent the son of G. A. Spiridov Alexey with a report to A. G. Orlov. In his report, he hastened to report the capture of the enemy ship Real Mustafa. When Alexey arrived on the ship to A. Orlov, “Eustathius” was no longer there. The burning mainmast of the Turkish ship fell across the Eustathius, and the fire became general, engulfing both Russian and Turkish ships. A few more minutes passed, and a deafening explosion was heard. The fire hit the Eustathia's cruise chamber and it flew into the air. Since Eustathius was a flagship, it contained the treasury and other important documents, which burned along with the ship. Real Mustafa took off after him. Burning debris covered the Turkish ships. The Turks lost their courage. Their leading ships, unable to withstand the onslaught of the Russians, frightened by two explosions, cut the anchor ropes and randomly ran, pushing and breaking each other, into Chesme Bay, located nearby. It was 1:30 p.m. The ship “Three Hierarchs”, on which A. Orlov was, raised the signal for a general pursuit, and the Russian ships, pushing back the retreating enemy, pursued him until the very entrance to Chesme Bay. By two o'clock in the afternoon the battle was over. The Russian squadron blocked the entrance to Chesme Bay, where enemy ships were randomly crowded. Thus ended the first phase of the Battle of Chesme, which in naval history is called the Battle of Chios. Both sides lost one battleship. 620 people died on the Eustathia, including 22 officers. Only the commander, captain 1st rank A. I. Cruz, 9 officers and 15 sailors were saved. This is how Count A.G. Orlov reported to Catherine II about this phase of the battle: “ At 10.00 o'clock the signal was made for the attack; at half past twelve the leading ships began the battle; at half past twelve it became general. No matter how excellent the enemy forces were, no matter how bravely they defended themselves, they could not withstand the hot attack of the troops of Your Imperial Majesty; After two hours of fierce cannon and rifle fire, the enemy was finally forced to cut off the anchors and flee in great confusion to the port under the fortress called Chesme. All the ships attacked the enemy with great courage, all performed their duties with great diligence, but the admiral’s ship “St. Eustathius” surpassed all others. The British, French, Venetians and Maltese, living witnesses to all the actions, admitted that they had never imagined that it was possible to attack the enemy with such patience and fearlessness. The 84-gun enemy ship had already been captured by the admiral's ship, but unfortunately it caught fire and burned the ship and the St. Eustathius." Apart from the admiral, the captain and people of 40 or 50 different ranks, no one was saved from it; both were blown up into the air. No matter how sensitive the loss of the battleship was for us, seeing the enemy’s defeat, their timidity and the disorder in which they were, we were consoled, receiving the hope of completely destroying it.”

The Battle of Chesme 1770 was a naval battle in the Aegean Sea off the western coast of Turkey between the Russian and Turkish fleets. It is one of the largest battles of the era of the sailing fleet. It is divided into two stages: the first stage - the battle in the Chios Strait on June 24 (July 5); the second was the destruction of the Turkish fleet in Chesme Bay on the night of June 26 (July 7).

At the end of June 1770, the united Russian squadron discovered the Turkish fleet in the roadstead of Chesme Bay. It consisted of 9 battleships, 3 frigates, one bombardment ship, as well as 17 other ships and transports with a total armament of about 740 guns. The Turkish fleet, commanded by Kapudan Pasha Ibrahim Husameddin Pasha, consisted of 16 battleships, 6 frigates and about 50 auxiliary ships with 1430 guns. Thus, the enemy fleet had a double numerical superiority in strength.

The Turkish ships were built in two arched lines. The first contained 10 battleships, the second - 6 battleships and 6 frigates. Auxiliary vessels stood behind the second line. The formation of the fleet was extremely tight; only the ships of the first line could fully use their artillery.

After the destruction of the ships of the first line, the attack was intended to hit the ships of the second line. This demonstrated Spiridov’s innovation 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. This construction was associated with risk, because The Russians, approaching the enemy, were subjected to longitudinal artillery fire from Turkish ships. Spiridov's calculation was based on the speed of approach.

On the morning of June 24 (July 5), the Russian squadron entered the Chios Strait and, at a signal from Commander-in-Chief Alexei Orlov, who was on the battleship Three Hierarchs, formed a wake column. The lead ship was the Europe, followed by the Eustathius, on which the vanguard commander, Admiral Spiridov, held his flag. 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.

Battle in the Chios Strait. Fragment. Artist P.-J. Volaire

Around noon, Turkish ships opened fire on Russian ships. Spiridov ordered an attack on the Turkish flagship Real Mustafa. During the boarding battle between the Eustafia and Real Mustafa teams, the Turkish 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. This is what is written in the log of the flagship “Three Hierarchs”: “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 ships of Spiridov's squadron, the Turkish fleet retreated into Chesme Bay in disarray. 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.

Scheme of the naval battle in Chesme Bay. 6/7 July 1770

In the battle, Russian sailors showed exceptional heroism and courage. So, for example, during the boarding battle between “Eustafia” and “Real Mustafa”, one of the sailors wanted to capture the Turkish flag, but at the same time he was shot in the hand, and when he extended his other hand, he was wounded by a blade. Then he grabbed the flag with his teeth.

The next day, a military council was convened under the chairmanship of Commander-in-Chief A.G. Orlov, in which G.A. participated. Spiridov, S.K. Greig, D. Elphinstone, S.W. Dolgorukov, I.A. Hannibal and other commanders. Orlov and Spiridov decided, using the night breeze blowing from the sea to the shore, to burn the Turkish fleet in Chesme Bay. In the memoirs of G. A. Spiridov it is said about this: “So, without delay 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 for burning the entire Turkish fleet." A special detachment was created 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 in confusion, to continuously throw bombs at the Turkish ships, which was done. At the same time, four fire ships began to be prepared.

Episode of a sea battle. Artist Jacob Philip Gelert. The painting was painted by the artist in 1771 as part of a general work dedicated to the Battle of Chesma

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 from this explosion scattered 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 fire ships various reasons did not achieve their goal and only one under the command of Lieutenant D.S. Ilyina 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 Turkish ship. Many burning debris scattered throughout Chesme Bay, spreading the fire to almost all the ships of the Turkish fleet.

By morning, 15 Turkish battleships, 6 frigates and over 40 auxiliary ships were burned and sunk; only one battleship "Rhodes" with 5 galleys was captured; 10-11 thousand died. Human. The Russian fleet had no losses in ships; 11 people died.

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 news of the glorious victory of the Russian fleet soon reached St. Petersburg. Catherine II wrote to Count Orlov: “All of Europe is amazed at our great feat and now turns its gaze with curiosity to you, the performer of it; impartial everyone rejoices at our successes and wishes them to spread and last; On the contrary, the powers that envy the glory and exaltation of our empire, and are angry at us for this, irritated from hour to hour in their frantic hatred, in spite of this, aggravate their cunning and tricks.”

The Empress generously rewarded 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 degree, captains Fedot Klokachev and Stepan Khmetevsky were awarded the 3rd degree of the Order of St. George, 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.

The Battle of Chesma was of great military and political significance. Turkey, 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. All this played an important role in the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty. The battle was evidence of the further growth of Russia's naval power.

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 Russian Federation V.V. Putin signed amendments to the law “On days of military glory and memorable dates 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.

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

The material was prepared in the Scientific Research
institute military history Military Academy
General Staff of the Armed Forces
Russian Federation

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In subsequent years, three more squadrons were sent to the Mediterranean. This expedition later became known as the first Archipelago expedition.

Kapudan Pasha is the title of the commander of the fleet of the Ottoman Empire.

Sokolov A. Archipelago campaigns // Notes of the Hydrographic Department of the Maritime Ministry. 1849. Part 7. P. 290.

Quote by: Dmitriev S.S. Chesme victory. M., 1945. P. 33.

Handwritten journal of Captain-Commander S. K. Greig (in the Chesma campaign) // Marine collection. 1849. T. 2. P. 805.

A fire ship is a small ship filled with flammable substances and intended to burn enemy ships. It had grappling hooks for gripping the enemy ship.

Veselago F. Brief history Russian fleet. M., 1939. P. 99.

Quote from: Marine Collection, 1855. No. 6. P. 332.

Quote from: Collection of the Imperial Russian Historical Society. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1867. P. 40.

,
G. A. Spiridov,
D. Elphinstone

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).

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 Don't 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 Don't 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 able to be taken out - a 60-gun Rhodes. From 4:00 to 5:30, 6 more battleships exploded, and at 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

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 conduct 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 very Battle of Borodino, when all the generals who came to Moscow unanimously said that it was impossible to give another battle, and when, with the count’s permission, government property was already being taken out every night and the residents were half gone, Count Rastopchin knew that Moscow would 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 Rostopchin 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, when the enemy entered, 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 would be 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 imagined 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 yourself.
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 imperative note from Kutuzov, Rostopchin 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 responded to 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 awareness 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 stepped 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.