4 Chesme battle. Chesme battle (1770). Battle in Chesme Bay

Chesme naval battle (1770)

The Chesme naval battle between the Russian and Turkish fleets went down in history as one of the best naval battles of the 18th century.

The Turkish fleet, consisting of ships with a total armament superior to the strength of the Russian fleet, had a double numerical advantage. The Turkish fleet was commanded by Ibrahim.

The Russian fleet countered the enemy with arched defense lines. In the first line were built ships of the line. In the second line were 6 frigates and auxiliary vessels.

The following plan of attack was undertaken. To the ships of the line, Spiridov proposed to reorganize and, taking advantage of the windward position, approach the enemy at an angle. Instead of an even distribution of ships, Spiridov proposed a plan of attack that had nothing in common with those plans that had been used before.

At the same time, the risk was that when approaching the enemy at a right angle, the lead ship of the Russian squadron, before reaching the distance of an artillery salvo, fell under longitudinal fire from the entire line of the enemy fleet. However, Admiral Spiridov, taking into account the high training of the Russians and the poor training of the Turks, believed that the enemy fleet would not be able to cause serious harm to the Russian squadron at the time of its rapprochement.

On the morning of June 24, the Russian squadron entered the Chios Strait and, at the signal of the commander-in-chief Alexei Orlov, who was on the battleship Three Hierarchs, lined up in a wake column. The lead ship was Europe, followed by Eustathius, on which Admiral Spirids, commander of the vanguard, held his flag. At about 11 o'clock, the Russian squadron, in accordance with the previously developed plan of attack, turned to the left and began to descend on the enemy almost at a right angle. In order to speed up reaching the distance of an artillery salvo and deploying forces for an attack, Russian ships are in close formation. For the first volley, the guns were loaded with charges and two cores. The gunners were at their guns, waiting for the signal to open fire.

At about 11:30, when the lead ship of the Russian squadron approached the enemy at a distance of 3.5 cab., The Turks opened fire, which, however, did not cause much harm to the Russians. Having made a move towards the enemy, the Russian avant-garde at 12:00 approached him at a distance of 0.5 cab. and, turning to the left, fired a powerful volley from all guns at pre-distributed targets. Several Turkish ships were seriously damaged. Damage to the spars and sails was also received by the Russian ships "Europe", "Evstafiy", "Three Hierarchs", that is, those that were part of the avant-garde and were the first to start the battle. Following the vanguard, the ships of the center entered the battle. The fight took on an extremely tense character. The flagships of the enemy were especially hard hit. With one of them, called "Real Mustafa", the battle was fought by "Evstafiy". The Russian ship caused a number of serious damage to the Turkish ship, and then boarded. In hand-to-hand combat on the deck of an enemy ship, Russian sailors and officers showed courage and heroism. So, one of the Russian sailors, whose name is unknown, was wounded in his right hand while trying to take possession of the Turkish flag. Then he grabbed the flag with his left hand. When the Janissary who ran up wounded him with a blow of a saber and left hand, the sailor grabbed the flag with his teeth and did not let it go until his last breath. A fierce boarding battle on the deck of the Real Mustafa ended in victory for the Russians.

Describing the actions of the battleship Evstafiy in the Battle of Chesme, Orlov wrote in a report to Catherine II: “All ships attacked the enemy with great courage, all performed their duties with great diligence, but the admiral’s ship Evstafiy surpassed all others. The British, French, Venetians and Maltese admired the patience and fearlessness of Russian sailors. Despite flying projectiles and various dangers, representing death itself, terrifying mortals, they were not strong enough to produce timidity in the hearts of the Russians who fought the enemy, the tested sons of the fatherland ... "

Soon after the capture of the enemy flagship, a fire broke out on it, which then spread to the Eustathius; when the fire reached the hook chamber, both ships exploded. Admiral Spiridov, before the explosion, managed to leave the burning ship and go to another. The death of the Turkish flagship finally disrupted the control of the enemy fleet. At 1300, the Turks, unable to withstand the Russian attack and fearing the spread of fire to other ships, hastily began to cut the anchor ropes and retreat to Chesme Bay under the protection of coastal batteries, where they were blocked by the Russian squadron.

Thus, as a result of the first stage of the battle, which lasted about two hours, one Ship perished on each side; the initiative passed entirely to the Russians.

At the military council on June 25, Count Orlov adopted Spiridov's plan, which consisted in the destruction of Turkish ships in his own base. Taking into account the crowding of enemy ships, which excluded the possibility of maneuver for them, Admiral Spiridov proposed to destroy the Turkish fleet with a combined strike of naval artillery and firewalls, with the main blow to be delivered by artillery. To attack the enemy on June 25, 4 fireships were equipped and a special detachment was created under the command of the junior flagship S.K. Greig, consisting of 4 battleships, 2 frigates and the Thunder bombardment ship. The idea of the attack, developed by Spiridov, boiled down to the following. The ships allocated for the attack, taking advantage of the darkness, were supposed to covertly approach the enemy at a distance of 2-3 cab on the night of June 26. and, having anchored, open a sudden fire: battleships and the bombardment ship "Thunder" - on ships, frigates - on enemy coastal batteries.

At midnight, when all the preparations for the battle were completed, at the signal of the flagship, the ships assigned to attack, weighed anchor and headed for the places indicated for them. Having approached a distance of 2 cables, the Russian ships took their places according to the disposition established for them and opened fire on Turkish ships and coastal batteries. The Thunder and some of the ships of the line fired mainly with brandskugels. Behind the battleships and frigates, 4 fireships were deployed in anticipation of an attack.

At the beginning of the 2nd hour, a fire broke out on one of the Turkish ships from a hit brandskugel, which quickly engulfed the entire ship and began to be transferred to neighboring enemy ships. The Turks were confused and reduced their fire. This created favorable conditions for the attack of firewalls. At 1:15 a.m., 4 fireships, under the cover of fire from battleships, began to move towards the enemy. Each of the fireships was assigned a specific ship with which it had to grapple. Three firewalls for various reasons did not reach their goal, and only one under the command of Lieutenant Ilyin completed the task. Under enemy fire, he approached the 84-gun Turkish ship and set it on fire. Fireship team, together with Lieutenant Ilyin, boarded boats and left the burning fireship. Soon there was an explosion on the Turkish ship. Thousands of burning debris scattered throughout the Chesme Bay, spreading fire to almost all ships Turkish fleet. At this time, the bay was a huge flaming torch. Turkish ships exploded one after another and took off into the air. At 4 o'clock the Russian ships ceased fire. By this time, almost the entire Turkish fleet had been destroyed. Of the 15 battleships, 6 frigates, 50 auxiliary ships survived and were captured by the Russians, only one survived battleship"Rhodes" and 5 galleys. The Russian fleet had no losses in ships.

Thus, the Battle of Chesme ended with the complete destruction of the Turkish fleet, on which many hopes were pinned. Assessing this battle, Admiral Spiridov, in his report, the President of the Admiralty Collegiums wrote: “... Honor to the All-Russian Fleet! 25 to 26, the enemy navy ... attacked, defeated, broke, burned, let them into the sky, drowned and turned into ashes, and they themselves began to be in the entire archipelago ... dominant.

The heroes of Chesma were Admiral Spiridov, according to the plans and under whose leadership the Russian fleet won an outstanding victory, junior flagship S.K. Europe”), Khmetevsky (“Three Hierarchs”), Lieutenant Ilyin (fireship commander) and many others who received high awards.

The Chesme battle is the clearest example of the destruction of the enemy fleet at its base. The victory of the Russian fleet over twice the enemy's forces was achieved due to the correct choice of the moment for delivering a decisive blow, the surprise of the attack at night and the use of fire-ships and incendiary shells unexpected for the enemy, well-organized interaction of forces, as well as the high morale and combat qualities of the personnel and naval the art of Admiral Spiridov, who boldly abandoned the stereotyped linear tactics that dominated at that time in the Western European fleets. On the initiative of the admiral, such combat methods were used as the concentration of all the forces of the fleet against part of the enemy forces and the conduct of battle at an extremely short distance.

The victory of the Russian fleet in the Battle of Chesma had a great influence on the further course of the war. Thanks to this victory, the Russian fleet seriously disrupted Turkish communications in the Archipelago and established an effective blockade of the Dardanelles.

In memory of the Chesme victory, a medal was knocked out, which was awarded to all participants in the battle. Count Orlov was awarded the order St. George of the 1st degree and received an honorary addition to his surname Chesmensky; Admiral Spiridov received the highest order Russian Empire- St. Andrew the First-Called; Rear Admiral Greig was awarded the Order of St. George 2nd degree, which gave him the right to hereditary Russian nobility. In honor of this victory, in 1775, the Chesme obelisk was erected in Gatchina, and in 1778, the Chesme column was erected in Tsarskoye Selo. In St. Petersburg, the Chesme Palace was built in 1774–1777, and the Chesme Church in 1777–1778. The name "Chesma" in Russian fleet worn by an armadillo and a battleship. A battlecruiser and a destroyer were named after Lieutenant Ilyin.

Battle of Chesme (tour. Cesme Deniz Savasi) - a naval battle on July 5-7, 1770 near and in the Chesme (tour. Cesme) bay between the Russian and Turkish fleets.
background
After the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war in 1768, Russia sent several squadrons from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to divert the attention of the Turks from the Black Sea fleet.
Two Russian squadrons (under the command of Admiral Grigory Spiridov and English adviser Rear Admiral John Elphinstone), united under the general command of Count Alexei Orlov, discovered the Turkish fleet in the roadstead of the Chesme Bay (western coast of Turkey).
The Russian fleet included 9 battleships, 3 frigates, bombardment ship Grom, 17-19 auxiliary ships and transports.
The Turkish fleet consisted of 16 battleships, including the 84-gun Real Mustafa and the 60-gun Rhodes, 6 frigates, 6 shebeks, 13 galleys and 32 small ships. The ships were built in two arcuate lines of 10 and 6 ships of the line, respectively. There are different opinions about whether the ships of the second line could shoot through the gaps between the ships of the first line or not. Frigates, xebecs and other small craft were behind. The fleet was commanded by Kapudan Pasha Hassan Bey.
July 5, battle in the Chios Strait
After agreeing on a plan of action, the Russian fleet, under full sail, approached the southern edge of the Turkish line, and then, turning around, began to take up positions against Turkish ships. The Turkish fleet opened fire at 11:45, the Russian - at 12:00. The maneuver failed for three Russian ships - Europe skipped its place and was forced to turn around and stand behind Rostislav, Three Saints rounded the second Turkish ship from the rear before being able to become operational and was mistakenly attacked by the ship of the Three Hierarchs, and St. Januarius was forced to turn around before he became in service.
St. Eustathius, under the command of Spiridov, began a duel with the flagship of the Turkish squadron, Real Mustafa, under the command of Gassan Pasha, and then tried to board it. After the burning mainmast of Real Mustafa fell on St. Eustathius, it exploded. After 10-15 minutes, Real Mustafa also exploded. Admiral Spiridov and the commander's brother Fyodor Orlov left the ship before the explosion. The captain of St. Eustathius Cruz (Eng. Kruse) also escaped. Spiridov continued command from the ship Three Saints.
By 14.00, the Turks cut off the anchor ropes and retreated to the Chesme Bay under the cover of coastal batteries.
July 6-7, battle in Chesme Bay
In the Chesme Bay, Turkish ships formed two lines of 8 and 7 ships of the line, respectively, the rest of the ships took up a position between these lines and the coast.
During the day of July 6, Russian ships fired on the Turkish fleet and coastal fortifications from a long distance. Of the four auxiliary vessels, fireships were made.
At 17:00 on July 6, the bombardment ship Grom anchored in front of the entrance to the Chesme Bay and began shelling Turkish ships. At 0:30, the ship of the line Europe joined him, and by 1:00 - Rostislav, in whose wake the fireships arrived.
"Europe", "Rostislav" and approached "Do not touch me" formed a line from north to south, engaging in battle with Turkish ships, "Saratov" was in reserve, and "Thunder" and the frigate "Africa" attacked batteries on west bank bays. At 1:30 or a little earlier (at midnight, according to Elphinstone), as a result of the fire of the Thunder and / or Don't Touch Me, one of the Turkish battleships exploded due to the transfer of flame from burning sails to the hull. The burning debris from this explosion pelted other ships in the bay.
After the explosion at 2:00 of the second Turkish ship Russian ships ceased fire, and fire-ships entered the bay. Two of them, under the command of Captains Gagarin and Dugdale, the Turks managed to shoot (according to Elphinstone, only Captain Dugdale's fireship was shot, and Captain Gagarin's fireship refused to go into battle), one under the command of Mackenzie grappled with an already burning ship, and one under the command of Lieutenant D. Ilyin grappled with an 84-gun ship of the line. Ilyin set fire to the firewall, and he, along with the team, 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 had not yet burned, but only one of them, the 60-gun Rhodes, was able to be taken out. From 04:00 to 05:30, 6 more battleships exploded, and at 7 o'clock - at the same time 4. By 08:00, the battle in Chesme Bay was over.
Aftermath of the battle
After the Battle of Chesma, 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 Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty.
By order of Catherine II, to glorify the victory, a memorial Chesme Hall was created in the Great Peterhof Palace (1774-1777), 2 monuments were erected to this event: the Chesme obelisk in Gatchina (1775) and the Chesme column in Tsarskoye Selo (1778), and the Chesme palace (1774-77) and the Chesme Church of St. John the Baptist (1777-80) in St. Petersburg.
Pictures of the Battle of Chesma were commissioned by the Russian government for Hackert. The artist painted them based on the impressions of the participants in the battle of Count A. Orlov, admirals G.A. Spiridova, S.K. Greig and other officers. Six canvases depict dramatic moments of the first and decisive battle between the Russian fleet and the Turkish fleet in Chesma Bay.
When painting the picture of the burning of the Turkish fleet, the artist first made a number of inaccuracies, which he explained by the fact that he had never seen a burning ship. To give him such an opportunity, on the orders of Empress Catherine II in Italy, on the roadstead of the port of Livorno, one of the Russian ships was blown up. By agreeing to provide the artist with such an expensive model, the Russian empress pursued a political goal: she again made Europe talk about the brilliant victory of the Russian fleet. The extravagance of the Russian government, which did not spare the warship, struck more than one Goethe. Nearby is placed another picture, which depicts the ships of the victorious Russian fleet, returning from Chesma Bay, with the Rhodes, the only ship remaining from the entire Turkish fleet. The Turkish flag was lowered on its mast and replaced by the Russian one. Russian fleet salutes the winners.
In memory of the Chesme victory, gold and silver medals were cast. The medals were made according to the "decree of her Imperial Majesty Empress Ekaterina Aleksevna”: “We bestow this medal on all those who were on the 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 their buttonhole.” Ekaterina.

The 18th century was the century of constant clashes between the Russian and Ottoman Empires. The interests of St. Petersburg and Istanbul intersected in the Balkans, the Transcaucasus, the Crimea and even Poland. To support the national liberation movement in Greece and destabilize the situation inside Ottoman Empire The Morea 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. Alexei wrote to Gregory about the tasks of such an expedition and the whole war: “If we are going to go, then go to Constantinople and free all Orthodox and pious people from the heavy yoke. And I will say as the sovereign said in the letter: and drive their unfaithful Mohammedans into the sandy steppes to their former dwellings. And here piety will start up again, and let's 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 promulgated: Orthodox Church ours, seeing the efforts used for faith and our law, which we tried in Poland to bring into its ancient advantages approved by the treatises, which at times were forcibly stolen from him, breathing revenge, despising all the rights of the people and the very truth, for that only one thing, by her characteristic treachery, destroying the eternal peace concluded with our empire, she began the most unjust, for without any legitimate reason, she is against us at war, and thereby convinced us now to use the weapon given to us by God ...

Out of jealousy for our Orthodox Christian law and regret for the peoples of our faith suffering in Turkish enslavement, living in the areas mentioned above, we exhort all of them in general, and each in particular, to take advantage of the circumstances of this war that are useful for them to overthrow the yoke and to bring themselves to still in independence, taking up arms where and when it is convenient, against the common enemy of all Christianity, and trying to cause possible harm to him.

HARD WAY

On August 6, 1769, Spiridov's squadron went to sea. And it began. On August 20, a leak opened on the most powerful ship "Svyatoslav" - he hardly returned to Revel. Around the same time, the ship St. Evstafiy Plakida "lost the foremast. Upon arrival in Copenhagen on September 10, there were more than 300 sick people on the ships. 54 people have died. In return, 800 Danish sailors were hired. In the same place, in Copenhagen, Spiridov, by his own decision, attached the 66-gun ship Rostislav to the squadron, sailing from Arkhangelsk to the Baltic. We spent 10 days in Copenhagen. Six days later, while sailing at night in the Kattegat Strait, a Pink Lapomnik ran into the reef. The other ships of the squadron barely escaped his fate thanks to a cannon signal - however, they could not save the pink by removing it from the reef. On October 6, the squadron stood in the roadstead of the English port of Hull. Here they had to leave for repair the ship "Three Saints", the pink "Venus" and the bombardment ship "Thunder". The number of patients then exceeded 700 people. Driven 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. In total, on November 17, 1769, one "Evstafiy" approached Gibraltar from the entire Russian squadron.

In general, by Christmas in the port of Magon in the Balearic Islands, seven pennants were collected: 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 at the shores of Greece - where it was supposed to start fighting. It's funny that the Turkish fleet missed the chance to destroy the Russian ships one by one - it just didn't occur to them that the Russians might appear from this side.

The first operations of the Russian fleet were amphibious, and the bulk of the paratroopers were Greek rebels ... Among the Peloponnesian operations is the capture of the strong fortress of Navarino - in the bay of which 57 years later, in 1827, the combined Anglo-French-Russian fleet will once again burn the Turkish-Egyptian fleet. Then, in 1770, at Navarin, the grandfather's brother A.S. Pushkin - the foreman of artillery I. A. Hannibal, the eldest son of "Arap 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, in all its specifics, similar to the path of its predecessors - the Tver ship that left Kronstadt was lost along the way, as well as the Northern Eagle ship picked up in Portsmouth, which had lagged behind Spiridov’s squadron. In the same place, in England, a locally built frigate was purchased in return and a number of sailors were hired.

FORCES OF THE PARTIES

The Russian squadron included 9 battleships of various armaments, a bombardment ship, 3 frigates and several small ships that played supporting roles. The total number of crews was about 6500 people. The actual leader of the operation was Admiral Grigory Spiridov.

The Turkish fleet of the Kapudan Pashas of Ibrahim Husaeddin, Hassan 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, the Turkish sailors were significantly inferior to the Russian sailors in training.

BYL

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.

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 advantage of the enemy was so great.

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

The first chords were played in the Strait of Chios on July 5, 1770. Russian ships attacked the southern tip of the enemy formation. The beginning of the collision was unfortunate for the Russian sailors due to the fact that the lead ships could not simultaneously perform a rendezvous maneuver, destroying the battle formation. However, Admiral Spiridov boldly abandoned his flagship St. Efstafiy" against "Real Mustafa" - the Turkish flagship. While the "Efstafiy" broke through to the "pistol distance", a fire started on it from numerous hits. But it was impossible to stop the movement of the ship. The two ships grappled with their sides, and boarding began. The fire spread to the Real Mustafa and after a while both ships exploded. The demoralized Turks withdrew to the Chesme Bay. A similar tactic will be used by Admiral G. Nelson in 1805 at the entrance to the Battle of Trafalgar, although Admiral Spiridov must be considered its inventor.

On July 5, the Baltic squadron shelled the bay. At the same time, 4 firewalls (special vessels that were used for sabotage) were prepared from small vessels. On the evening of July 6, the bombardment ship Grom stood in the roadstead of the bay and started a firefight with the Turks. He was supported by the battleships "Europe" and "Rostislav". The shooting was supposed to be of a psychological nature and to divert the attention of the Turks from the Turks from the firewalls. The first three firewalls could not complete the task - one of them ran aground and sank because of this, the team deserted from the second firewall, the third firewall under the command of Prince. Gagarin was set on fire too early and could not inflict damage on the Turkish fleet. However, the firewall under the command of Lieutenant Ilyin successfully reached the location of the Turkish fleet and set fire to the battleship. The explosion of the powder magazine on the ship caused gigantic destruction: burning fragments flew into other ships, spreading fire. At the end of the battle, the Russians were forced to stop firing and rescue the surviving Turks. By 8 am on July 7, it was all over.

The Ottoman Empire at once lost most of the fleet. 15 battleships were lost, 6 frigates, 1 battleship and 5 galleys were captured. This brilliant victory became a real school of Russian naval combat, 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. From the blows of the cannons, the surface of the sea was on fire. The enemy ships, throughout the entire naval battle, were under sail in order to protect themselves from danger and death in seven ports. The entry of Captain Pasha into the port of Chesmensky, judging by the obviousness of the case, was undertaken by the power of fate.

While Captain Pasha was making every effort to repulse the enemy, these latter sent several fireships filled with oil and other combustible substances against our Fleet. Some of our ships have been set on fire by them; while others, hastening to their aid and uniting with them, were also enveloped in flames and burned. This happened on the night of the 14th, the month of Rebi-eli-evvel in 1184 from Gejira.

The troops that were on other ships scattered without a fight along the banks of Smyrna and other places. Captain Pasha and Dzhezairlu-Hasan Bey were wounded. Ali, the ruler of the ship and other officers, wishing to save themselves by swimming, perished in the waves of the sea.

SPIRIDOV'S REPORT

Spiridov reported to St. Petersburg to the Admiralty College to its President, Count Chernyshov:

“Glory to God and honor to the All-Russian Navy! From the 25th to the 26th, the enemy fleet was attacked, defeated, broken, burned, let into the sky, sunk and turned into ashes, and left a terrible disgrace in that place, 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 caused by the Chesma victory, A.G. Orlov vividly expressed in a letter to his brother:

“Sir, brother, hello! I'll tell you a little about our voyage: They were forced to leave the Sea, lighting a fire everywhere; with the fleet they went after the enemy, reached him, approached him, grabbed, fought, defeated, defeated, broke, drowned and turned into ashes.

A.G. Orlovin the project "100 great commanders"

,
G. A. Spiridov,
D. Elphinstone

Kapudan Pasha Husameddin Ibrahim Pasha,
Jezairli Ghazi Hassan Pasha,
Cafer Bay Side forces

9 battleships
3 frigates
1 bombing ship
17-19 small craft
OK. 6500 people

16 battleships
6 frigates
6 shebek
13 galleys
32 small craft
OK. 15,000 people

Losses

Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774)

Two Russian squadrons (under the command of Admiral Grigory Spiridov and Rear Admiral John Elphinstone (commanded the closing division of 3 ships)), united under the general command of Count Alexei Orlov, discovered the Turkish fleet on the roadstead of the Chesme Bay (western coast of Turkey).

Main ships	guns	Type
Europe(a)	66	Battleship
St. Eustathius(b)	68	Lin. box ; exploded
Three Saints	66	Battleship
St. Januarius	66	Battleship
Three Hierarchs(in)	66	Battleship
Rostislav	68	Battleship
Dont touch me	66	Battleship
Svyatoslav(G)	84	Battleship
Saratov	66	Battleship
Other ships	guns	Type
Thunder	12	Bombardier ship
St. Nicholas	26/38?	Frigate
Africa	32	Frigate
Hope	32	Frigate
St. Paul	8	Pink
Postman	14	messenger ship
Count Chernyshev(e)	22	Voor. merchant ship
Count Panin(e)	18	Voor. merchant ship
Count Orlov(e)	18	Voor. merchant ship
? (cap. Dugdale)		Fireman; sunk
? (cap. Mekenzie)		Fireman; used
? (cap. Ilyin)		Fireman; used
? (capt. Gagarin)		Fireman; sunk
The warships of the squadron of Count Orlov are indicated in pink, Spiridov in blue, Elphinstone in yellow. (a) Captain Klokachev; (b) Spiridov's flagship, Captain Cruz; (c) Orlov's flagship, Captain S. Greig; (d) Elphinstone's flagship; (e) English ships hired to support the fleet

Russian fleet

The Russian fleet included 9 battleships, 3 frigates, bombardment ship Grom, 17-19 auxiliary ships and transports.

Turkish Navy

At 17:00 on July 6, the bombarding ship Thunder anchored in front of the entrance to the Chesme Bay and began shelling Turkish ships. At 0:30 a battleship joined him Europe, and by 1:00 - Rostislav, in the wake of which the fireships came.

Europe, Rostislav and approached Dont touch me formed a line from north to south, engaging in battle with Turkish ships, Saratov was in reserve and Thunder and frigate Africa attacked batteries on the western shore of the bay. At 1:30 or a little earlier (at midnight, according to Elphinstone), as a result of the fire Thunder and/or Dont touch me one of the Turkish battleships exploded due to the transfer of flame from burning sails to the hull. The burning debris from this explosion pelted other ships in the bay.

After the second Turkish ship exploded at 02:00, Russian ships ceased fire, and fire-ships entered the bay. Two of them, under the command of Captains Gagarin and Dugdale (eng. Dugdale) the Turks managed to shoot (according to Elphinstone, only Captain Dugdale's fireship was shot, and Captain Gagarin's fireship 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 firewall, and he, along with the team, 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 0400, Russian ships sent boats to rescue two large ships that had not yet burned, but only one of them, a 60-gun ship, was able to be taken out. Rhodes. From 4:00 to 5:30, 6 more battleships exploded, and at 7 o'clock, 4 at the same time. By 8:00, the battle in Chesme Bay was completed.

Aftermath 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 Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty.

In memory of the Chesme victory, gold and silver medals were cast. The medals were made according to “the decree of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Ekaterina 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 we allow them to wear them on a blue ribbon in memory in the buttonhole." Ekaterina.

There is Cape Chesma in the Gulf of Anadyr, named in 1876 by an expedition on the clipper ship "Rider".

In July 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed amendments to the law "On the days of military glory and memorable dates in Russia", which supplement the list of days military glory the date of 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.
Nautical encyclopedic Dictionary. T. 3. St. Petersburg: Shipbuilding, p. 389-390.
Tarle E.V. Battle of Chesma and the first Russian expedition to the Archipelago. 1769-1774 / USSR Academy of Sciences. - M .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1945. - 110 p. - 15,000 copies.(reg.)
Tarle E., acad. Chesma // Ogonyok, No. 6-7, February 20, 1945. S. 13-14.
F. S. Krinitsyn Chesme battle. - 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 journals of Russian battleships // Gangut. 2014. No. 81.

An excerpt characterizing the Chesme battle

- Cheating, guys! Lead to yourself! shouted the voice of the tall fellow. - Don't let go, guys! Let him submit a report! Hold on! shouted the voices, and the people ran after the droshky.
The crowd behind the police chief with a noisy conversation headed for the Lubyanka.
“Well, gentlemen and merchants have left, and that’s why we’re disappearing?” Well, we are dogs, eh! – was heard more often in the crowd.

On the evening of September 1, after his meeting with Kutuzov, Count Rastopchin, upset and offended 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 to him in the camp , in which the question of the calmness 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 supper, the count, without undressing, lay down on the couch 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 beyond Moscow, would it be desirable for the count to send police officials to lead the troops through the city. This news was not news to Rostopchin. Not only from yesterday’s meeting with Kutuzov on Poklonnaya Gora, but also from the battle of Borodino itself, when all the generals who came to Moscow unanimously said that it was impossible to give another battle, and when, with the permission of the count, state property and residents were already taken out every night to half we left, - Count Rostopchin knew that Moscow would be abandoned; but nevertheless this news, reported in the form of a simple note with an order from Kutuzov and received at night, during the first dream, surprised and annoyed 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 Moscou et d "en faire partir les habitants. [Keep calm in Moscow and expel from If we admit this dual goal, any action of Rostopchin turns out to be impeccable. Why weren’t the Moscow shrine, weapons, cartridges, gunpowder, grain supplies taken out, why were thousands of residents deceived by the fact that Moscow would not be surrendered, and ruined? in order to keep calm in the capital, answers the explanation of Count Rostopchin. Why were piles of unnecessary papers taken out of government offices and Leppich's ball and other objects? - In order to leave the city empty, the explanation of Count Rostopchin answers. One has only to assume that something threatened people's peace, and every action becomes justified.
All the horrors of terror were based only on concern for the people's peace.
What was the basis of Count Rostopchin's fear of public peace in Moscow in 1812? What reason was there to suppose a tendency to rebellion in the city? Residents were leaving, the troops, retreating, filled Moscow. Why should the people revolt as a result of this?
Not only in Moscow, but throughout Russia, when the enemy entered, there was nothing resembling indignation. On the 1st and 2nd of September, 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. It is obvious that even less unrest among the people should have been expected if, after the Battle of Borodino, when the abandonment of Moscow became obvious, or at least probably, if then, instead of disturbing the people with the distribution of weapons and posters, Rostopchin took measures to the removal of all sacred things, gunpowder, charges and money, and would directly announce to the people that the city was being abandoned.
Rostopchin, an ardent, sanguine man, who always moved in the highest circles of the administration, although with a patriotic feeling, had not the slightest idea of the people he thought to govern. From the very beginning of the enemy's entry into Smolensk, Rastopchin in his imagination formed for himself the role of the 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 directed their mood through his appeals and posters, written in that snarky language, which in its midst despises the people and whom he does not understands when he hears it from above. Rastopchin 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 the ground on which he stood from under his feet, in resolutely did not know what to do. Although he knew, he did not believe with all his heart until the last minute in leaving Moscow and did nothing to this end. Residents moved out against his will. If government offices were taken out, then only at the request of officials, with whom the count reluctantly agreed. He himself was busy only with the role that he had made for himself. As is often the case with people endowed with ardent imagination, he had known for a long time that Moscow would be abandoned, but he knew only by reasoning, but he did not believe in it with all his heart, he was not transported by his imagination to this new position.
All his activity, diligent and energetic (how useful it was and reflected on the people is another question), all his activity was aimed only at arousing in the inhabitants the feeling that he himself experienced - patriotic hatred for the French and confidence in itself.
But when the event took on its real, historical dimensions, when it turned out to be insufficient to express one’s hatred for the French in words alone, when it was impossible even to express this hatred in a battle, when self-confidence turned out to be useless in relation to one question of Moscow, when the entire population, like one person , throwing their property, flowed out of Moscow, showing by this negative action the full strength of their popular feelings - then the role chosen by Rostopchin suddenly turned out to be meaningless. He suddenly felt lonely, weak and ridiculous, without ground under his feet.
Upon awakening from sleep, having received a cold and imperious note from Kutuzov, Rostopchin felt the more annoyed the more he felt guilty. In Moscow, everything that was exactly entrusted to him remained, everything that was state-owned 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 here's what they've done! Bastards, traitors!” - he thought, not properly defining who these scoundrels and traitors were, but feeling the need to hate these traitors, who were to blame for the false and ridiculous position in which he was.
All that night, Count Rastopchin gave orders, for which people from all parts of Moscow came to him. 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 ... About the fire brigade, what do you order? The warden from the jail... from the yellow house the caretaker...” - all night, without ceasing, they reported to the count.
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 diligently prepared was now spoiled by someone and that this someone would bear full responsibility for everything that would happen now.
“Well, tell this fool,” he replied to a request from the patrimonial department, “to stay on guard for his papers. What are you asking nonsense about the fire brigade? There are horses - let them go to Vladimir. Don't leave the French.
- Your Excellency, the warden from the lunatic asylum has arrived, as you order?
- How do I order? Let everyone go, that's all ... And release the crazy in the city. When we have crazy armies in command, this is what God ordered.
When asked about the stocks who were sitting in the pit, the count angrily shouted at the caretaker:
“Well, shall I give you two battalions of an escort, which is not there?” Let them go and that's it!
- Your Excellency, there are political ones: Meshkov, Vereshchagin.
- Vereshchagin! Hasn't he been hanged yet? shouted Rostopchin. - 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. All those who could ride rode by themselves; those who remained decided for themselves what they had to do.
The count ordered the horses to be brought in to go to Sokolniki, and, frowning, yellow and silent, he sat in his office with his hands folded.
In a calm, not stormy time, it seems to every administrator that it is only through his efforts that the entire population under his control is moving, and in this consciousness of his necessity, each administrator feels the main reward for his labors and efforts. It is clear that as long as the historical sea is calm, it should seem to the ruler-administrator, with his fragile boat resting against the ship of the people with his pole and moving himself, that the ship against which he rests is moving with his efforts. But as soon as a storm rises, the sea is agitated and the ship itself moves, then delusion is impossible. The ship moves on its own huge, independent course, the pole does not reach the moving ship, and the ruler suddenly from the position of a ruler, a source of strength, passes into an insignificant, useless and weak person.
Rostopchin felt this, and this irritated him. The police chief, who was stopped by the crowd, together with the adjutant, who had come to report that the horses were ready, entered the count. Both were pale, and the police chief, reporting on the execution of his order, reported that a huge crowd of people stood in the yard of the count, who wanted to see him.
Rostopchin, without answering a word, got up and with quick steps went to his luxurious bright living room, went to the balcony door, took hold of the handle, left it and went to the window, from which the whole crowd was visible. A tall fellow stood in the front rows and with a stern face, waving his hand, said something. The bloody blacksmith stood beside him with a gloomy look. Through the closed windows a murmur of voices could be heard.
Is the crew ready? - said Rostopchin, moving away from the window.
“Ready, Your Excellency,” said the adjutant.
Rostopchin again went to the balcony door.
- What do they want? he asked the police chief.
- Your Excellency, they say that they were going to go to the French on your orders, they were shouting something about treason. But a wild crowd, Your Excellency. I forcibly left. 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! That's what they did to me!" thought Rostopchin, feeling uncontrollable anger rising in his soul against someone to whom one could attribute the cause of everything that had happened. As is often the case with hot people, anger already possessed him, but he was still looking for an object for him. “La voila la populace, la lie du peuple,” he thought, looking at the crowd, “la plebe qu” ils ont soulevee par leur sottise. whom they raised by their stupidity! They need a sacrifice."] - it occurred to him, looking at the tall fellow waving his hand. And for that very reason it occurred to him that he himself needed this victim, this object for his anger.
Is the crew ready? he asked again.
“Ready, Your Excellency. What do you want about Vereshchagin? He is waiting at the porch, answered the adjutant.
- BUT! cried Rostopchin, as if struck by some unexpected memory.
And, quickly opening the door, he stepped out with resolute steps onto the balcony. The conversation suddenly ceased, hats and caps were removed, and all eyes went up to the count who came out.
- Hello guys! said the count 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 the chambers, slamming the door hard.
A murmur of approval ran through the crowd. “He, then, will control the useh of the villains! And you say a Frenchman ... he will untie the whole distance for you! people said, as if reproaching each other for their lack of faith.

The battle of Chesma between the Russian and Turkish fleets 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; the second - the destruction of the Turkish fleet in the Chesme Bay on the night of June 26, 1770.

By the beginning of the battle, the Russian squadron consisted of 9 battleships, 3 frigates, one bombing ship and 17 auxiliary ships with a total armament of about 740 guns. The Turkish fleet, commanded by Ibrahim Hassan Pasha, consisted of 16 ships of the line, 6 frigates and about 50 auxiliary ships with a total number of guns over 1400. Thus, the enemy fleet had a double numerical superiority in strength. It was built in two arcuate lines. In the first line there were 10 battleships, in the second - 6 battleships and 6 frigates. Auxiliary vessels stood behind the second line. The construction of the fleet was extremely close, only ships of the first line could fully use their artillery.

Having correctly assessed the situation, in particular the weaknesses of the combat formation of the Turkish fleet, Admiral G.A. Spiridov proposed the following plan of attack. The ships of the line, built in the wake formation, using the windward position, were supposed to approach the enemy at a right angle and strike at the vanguard and part of the center of the first line. After the destruction of the ships of the first line, the strike was intended for the ships of the second line. Thus, the plan of attack proposed by Spiridov was based on principles that had nothing in common with the linear tactics of the Western European fleets.

Instead of an even distribution of forces along the entire line, Spiridov proposed to concentrate all the ships of the Russian squadron against part of the enemy forces. This made it possible for the Russians to equalize their forces with the numerically superior Turkish fleet in the direction of the main attack. At the same time, the implementation of this plan was associated with a certain risk, which consisted in the fact that when approaching the enemy at a right angle, the lead ship of the Russian squadron, before reaching the distance of an artillery salvo, fell under the longitudinal fire of the entire line of the enemy fleet. However, Admiral Spiridov, given the high training of the Russians and the poor training of the Turks, believed that the enemy fleet would not be able to cause serious harm to the Russian squadron at the time of its rapprochement.

On the morning of June 24, the Russian squadron entered the Chios Strait and, at the signal of the commander-in-chief Alexei Orlov, who was on the battleship "Three Hierarchs", lined up in a wake column. The leading ship was Europe, followed by Eustathius, on which Admiral Spiridov, commander of the vanguard, held his flag. At about 11 o'clock, the Russian squadron, in accordance with the previously developed plan of attack, turned to the left and began to descend on the enemy almost at a right angle. In order to speed up the range of an artillery salvo and the deployment of forces for an attack, the Russian ships sailed in close formation. For the first salvo, the guns were loaded with double charges and two shots. The gunners were at their guns, waiting for the signal to open fire.

Battle in the Chios Strait. Artist I.K. Aivazovsky

The fight took on an extremely tense character. The flagships of the enemy were especially hard hit. With one of them, under the name "Real-Mustafa", the battle was fought by "Evstafiy". The Russian ship caused a number of serious damage to the Turkish ship, and then boarded. In hand-to-hand combat on the deck of an enemy ship, Russian sailors and officers showed courage and heroism. So, one of the Russian sailors, whose name is unknown, was wounded in his right hand while trying to take possession of the Turkish flag. Then he grabbed the flag with his left hand. When the janissary who ran up with a blow of a saber wounded him and his left hand, the sailor grabbed the flag with his teeth and did not let go of it until his last breath. A fierce boarding battle on the deck of the Real Mustafa ended in victory for the Russians.

Describing the actions of the battleship "Evstafiy" in the Battle of Chesme, Orlov wrote in a report to Catherine II: "All the ships attacked the enemy with great courage, all performed their duties with great care, but the Admiral's ship" Evstafiy "exceeded all the others. The British, the French, the Venetians and the Maltese, living witnesses to all the actions, confessed that they did not then imagine that it was possible to attack the enemy with such patience and fearlessness. And then Orlov adds: "The whistle of flying cannonballs, and the various dangers posed, and death itself, terrifying mortals, were not strong enough to produce timidity in the hearts of the Russians who fought the enemy, the tried sons of the fatherland ..."

Thus, as a result of the first stage of the battle, which lasted about two hours, one ship perished on each side; the initiative passed entirely to the Russians.

Battle of Chesme. Artist Jakob Philipp Hackert

At the military council on June 25, Count Orlov adopted Spiridov's plan, which consisted in the destruction of Turkish ships in his own base. Taking into account the crowding of enemy ships, which excluded the possibility of maneuver for them, Admiral Spiridov proposed to destroy the Turkish fleet with a combined strike of naval artillery and firewalls, with the main blow to be delivered by artillery. To attack the enemy on June 25, 4 firewalls were equipped and a special detachment was created under the command of the junior flagship S.K. Greig consisting of 4 battleships, 2 frigates and bombardment ship "Thunder". The idea of the attack, developed by Spiridov, boiled down to the following. The ships allocated for the attack, taking advantage of the darkness, were supposed to covertly approach the enemy at a distance of 2-3 cab on the night of June 26. and, anchoring, open sudden fire: battleships and the bombardment ship "Grom" - at ships, frigates - at enemy coastal batteries.

At midnight, when all the preparations for the battle were completed, at the signal of the flagship, the ships assigned to attack, weighed anchor and headed for the places indicated for them. Having approached a distance of 2 cables, the Russian ships took their places according to the disposition established for them and opened fire on Turkish ships and coastal batteries. "Grom" and some battleships fired mainly with brandskugels. Behind the battleships and frigates, 4 fireships were deployed in anticipation of an attack.

The hero of the Chesme battle is the battleship "Three Hierarchs". Artist V.S. Emyshev

Fireship team, together with Lieutenant Ilyin, boarded the boat and left the burning fireship. Soon there was an explosion on the Turkish ship. Thousands of burning debris scattered throughout the Chesme Bay, spreading the fire to almost all the ships of the Turkish fleet. At this time, the bay was a huge flaming torch. Turkish ships exploded one after another and took off into the air. At 4 o'clock the Russian ships ceased fire. By this time, almost the entire Turkish fleet had been destroyed. Of the 15 battleships, 6 frigates and 50 auxiliary vessels, only one battleship Rhodes and 5 galleys survived and were captured by the Russians. The Russian fleet had no losses in ships.

Thus, the Battle of Chesme ended with the complete destruction of the Turkish fleet, on which many hopes were pinned. Assessing this battle, Admiral Spiridov wrote in a report to the president of the Admiralty Collegiums: "... Honor to the All-Russian Navy! From 25 to 26 the enemy navy ... attacked, defeated, broke, burned, let go into the sky, sunk and turned into ashes, and they themselves began to be in the whole archipelago ... dominating.

The heroes of Chesma were Admiral Spiridov, according to the plans and under whose leadership the Russian fleet won an outstanding victory, the junior flagship S.K. Greig, promoted to rear admiral after the battle, ship commanders: captains 1st rank Cruz ("Evstafiy"), Klokachev ("Europe"), Khmetevsky ("Three Saints"), lieutenant Ilyin (fireship commander) and many others who were awarded high awards.

The Chesme battle is the clearest example of the destruction of the enemy fleet at its base. The victory of the Russian fleet over twice the enemy's forces was achieved due to the correct choice of the moment for delivering a decisive blow, the surprise of the attack at night and the use of fire-ships and incendiary shells unexpected for the enemy, well-organized interaction of forces, as well as the high morale and combat qualities of the personnel and naval the art of Admiral Spiridov, who boldly abandoned the stereotyped linear tactics that dominated the Western European fleets at that time. On the initiative of the admiral, such decisive battle methods were used as the concentration of all the forces of the fleet against part of the enemy forces and the conduct of the battle at an extremely short distance.

Commemorative medal for the Chesme victory

In memory of the Chesme victory, a medal was knocked out, which was awarded to all participants in the battle. Count Orlov was awarded the Order of St. George 1st degree and received an honorary addition to his surname Chesmensky; Admiral Spiridov received the highest order of the Russian Empire - St. Andrew the First-Called; Rear Admiral Greig was awarded the Order of St. George 2nd degree, which gave him the right to hereditary Russian nobility. In honor of this victory, in 1775, the Chesme obelisk was erected in Gatchina, and in 1778, the Chesme column was erected in Tsarskoye Selo. In St. Petersburg, in 1774-1777, the Chesme Palace was built, and in 1777-1778, the Chesme Church. The name "Chesma" in the Russian Navy was worn by an battleship and a battleship. A battlecruiser and a destroyer were named after Lieutenant Ilyin.