The Russian navy has always been famous for itsachievements. In the list of his greatest victories - the battle at Cape Kaliakria. It occurred during the Russian-Turkish war. When we remember the naval battle at Cape Kaliakria, history takes us back in time, and we find ourselves in 1791.
Чтобы понимать, насколько грандиозной была наша victory, you must have an idea of how powerful the enemy possessed. Captain Pasha Hussein had at his disposal 18 ships and 43 small vessels belonging to Algeria, Tripolitania, Tunisia and Constantinople. The whole fleet consisted of 16 ships, two scorers, two frigates and 19 small ships. Headed the battle at Cape Kaliakria commander F. F. Ushakov.
Перед тем, как сделать остановку, турецкой армии I had to travel around the Black Sea. In June, enemy ships appeared off the coast of the Crimea near Balaklava. Having no information that Anapa had already been taken by the Russians, the Turkish fleet set off in that direction. However, making sure that the city is busy, turned back. In the same month, a battle took place on the Danube, in which the Turkish troops were defeated. But the enemy fleet did not leave hope of victory. On their ships were a huge number of people from 800 to 1500 on each. The Turks were hoping for boarding, and not for artillery.
Enemies anchored around Rumeliancoast near Varna. This was reported to Ushakov by intelligence, and he decided to lead his squadron into battle. It is difficult to imagine that just a few days before our fleet could not go to sea. Perhaps this delay helped the Russians to be in the right place at the right time. And it happened because of the lack of supply and lack of preparation of several ships. Also, no information was received on where the enemy ships are located. The mistake of the Turkish troops was that they could not know in advance that the enemy was moving in their direction. If they sent the patrol ship on time, the battle at Cape Kaliakria could not have taken place. In addition, enemy ships were lined up along the coastline and they did not expect attacks from this side, considering it to be sufficiently protected.
Admiral Ushakov decided to use the momentsurprises He sent his squadron just between the coast and the ships of the enemy. In addition, the Russian wind accompanied. The battle in Izmail at Cape Kaliakria began with a surprise attack that caused panic on the enemy ships. After all, even their artillery guns were turned towards the sea, which means that the sailors could not strike back. The commander of the Turkish fleet ordered his ships to line up in a combat line. However, this maneuver was not easy for them. To deploy the ships, the sailors of the Turkish fleet began to cut the ropes. There was no time to raise the anchors. In addition, hurrying to reorganize, the enemy ships collided with each other, inflicting damage to each other: tearing sails, breaking tackles.
Algerian ships ruled by Admiral Seyit Ali,who promised the Turkish sultan to bring Ushak Pasha. Under his leadership, they tried to clamp the leading ships of the Russian fleet. This maneuver was noticed by Admiral Ushakov, who was on a ship called the “Nativity of Christ”. It was on him that he circled the Algerian ship and attacked him. At close range, the enemy vessel was severely damaged, shot down by the fore-sténgue and the main-mars-rey. The Algerians retreated, but the battle continued and the sailors on the ship “Christmas” continued the heroic battle, turning the enemy to flight. The sea battle at Cape Kaliakria lasted three hours.
The defeat of the Turkish fleet was unconditional.However, the strong wind that helped the Russians, when the battle took place at Cape Kaliakria, subsided, and this time helped the enemies to escape. However, when they were heading for the Bosphorus, the element was re-played, and some courts did not manage to return to the parking lot. They went to the bottom. Turkish fleet suffered significantly. Only on the flagship Algerian ship, 450 people were killed and injured, he almost sank. The Russians lost only 17 people killed and 27 wounded, and the ships suffered almost no damage. And those that were, managed to fix very quickly.
Of course, Ushakov played a major role in this.the battle. A correct decision made by him allowed him to gain time and ensured surprise, which is so important during the conduct of hostilities. No wonder for this victory, he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. His maneuver, in which our squadron had to go between the coast and the enemy ships, was risky. However, the winners are not judged. In addition, this tactic was used by Admiral Nelson during the Russo-French War and also led to victory. Excellent commanders - that's not all. The training of sailors was also of great importance when the battle took place at Cape Kaliakria. And they had it canceled, which allowed them to react quickly and repel the attacks of the enemy and, ultimately, saved the lives of people.
It is interesting that when the battle took place near CapeKaliakria, dated July 31, 1791, signed the preliminary conditions for peace between Prince Repnin and the Grand Vizier. On this day, the people of Constantinople felt a real threat. The damaged ships confirmed with their appearance rumors that Ushakov would soon reach the Turkish capital. This forced the Port to speed up the signing of a peace statement. Although before that day he still had some doubts. This was indicated by the fact that the defeats of the Turks did not weaken their desire to fight further.
They sought to strengthen their army and navy,inviting other countries to participate in the war. Having strengthened their fleet, the Turks hoped to win precisely on the sea territory. Therefore, Ushakov received an order only to attack. General G. Potemkin wrote him a letter in which he explicitly said that the admiral was expected to win. Ushakov could not do otherwise. Motherland asked him for help, he had to prevent the domination of the Turks on the Black Sea. The battle at Cape Kaliakria was a decisive battle that influenced the outcome of the war and brought it closer. After this battle, Potemkin said that the Turks began to fear the Russian Empire. Her power ceased to be questioned. The battle at Cape Kaliakria, he said, confirmed the rule of the Russian fleet on the northern Black Sea coast, including the Crimea.
One can only admire the courage of ourBlack Sea Fleet in the time of Admiral Ushakov. Although life has shown that even now our sailors are not inferior in readiness and courage to their ancestors who lived and fought for Russia in the 18th century.
