BATTLE OF ATHOS 1807, during the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-12. Took place during the 2nd Archipelago Expedition (see Archipelago Expeditions) in the Aegean Sea in the area of ​​the Athos Peninsula (now Aion Oros) and the northwestern tip of the island of Lemnos between the Russian squadron of Vice Admiral D. N. Senyavin (10 battleships, 754 guns) and the Turkish fleet of Kapudan Pasha Seyit Ali (9, then 10 battleships, 5 frigates and 3 corvettes, 1196 guns). The Russian squadron blocked the Dardanelles, the Turkish fleet tried to force it to lift the blockade. Senyavin, trying to defeat the Turkish fleet in a naval battle, gave it the opportunity to leave the strait, and then cut off the path to retreat to the east. On the morning of June 19 (July 1), the Turkish fleet was discovered off the island of Lemnos. Senyavin decided to take a windward position and strike three enemy flagships with six specially designated ships. Each Turkish flagship was supposed to attack two Russian ships from a grapeshot range (about a cable length - 185 m). The remaining forces of the Russian fleet under the command of Senyavin and junior flagship A.S. Gresh were supposed to prevent the Turkish vanguard from coming to the aid of their flagships. At about 8 hours 30 minutes, 3 tactical groups of 2 ships approached the Turkish flagships at a distance of half a cable (90-100 m) and opened fire. The remaining ships of the Russian fleet surrounded the Turkish vanguard and attacked it from both sides. By 11 o'clock the first phase of the battle was over; Turkish ships, taking advantage of the leeward position, began to leave for the Athos Peninsula. By 13:30, the Russian ships ceased fire due to the ensuing calm. Soon the wind changed direction, and the Turkish ships began to retreat north in disarray, towards the island of Thassos. The damaged Turkish admiral's ship Sedd-ul-Bahr was captured by the Russians on the night of June 20 (July 2). The battleship, frigate and corvette accompanying him were cut off by Russian ships and destroyed by their crews. On the way to the Dardanelles, 2 Turkish frigates sank; a battleship and a frigate are blown up off the island of Thassos. Losses of the Turkish fleet - over 1000 people killed and wounded, 774 prisoners; Russian squadron - 250 people killed and wounded.

In the Battle of Athos, D. N. Senyavin developed the tactics of attacking a wake column by several tactical groups, developed by F. F. Ushakov, directing the main blow against the enemy’s flagships. The persistent pursuit of the retreating Turkish fleet allowed it to inflict significant losses. Battle of Athos together with victories Russian army on the Danube and the Caucasus forced the Ottoman Empire to sign a truce on August 12 (24).

Lit.; Shcherbachev O. A. Battle of Athos. M.; L., 1945; Russian naval art. M., 1951. S. 147-152.

On June 19, at five o'clock in the morning, enemy ships were discovered off the southwestern tip of the island of Lemnos. The Turkish squadron consisted of 10 ships, 5 frigates, 3 sloops and 2 brigs - a total of 1196 guns, one and a half times more than D.N. Senyavin. Having lined up in battle formation: the battleships made up the first line, in the center of which were the flagships, the frigates were located in the second line.

At 5.15, at a signal from the flagship, the Russian squadron headed towards the enemy. Preparing for a meeting with the Turkish fleet, D.N. Senyavin outlined his battle plan in orders to ship commanders dated May 23 and June 12. To give the battle a decisive character, Senyavin intended to take a windward position and strike at the enemy’s flagship ships. He decided to use a new tactical technique - each of the three Turkish flagships was to be attacked by two Russian ships from one side at a range of grape shot. The following were assigned to attack the Turkish flagships: “Raphael” with “Strong”, “Selafail” with “Uriel” and “Powerful” with “Yaroslav”. Thus, three pairs of ships were created, which provided the attackers with superiority in artillery fire.

The remaining ships under the command of D.N. Senyavin and junior flagship Rear Admiral A.S. Greig were, if necessary, to strengthen the attackers and prevent the ships of the Turkish vanguard from coming to the aid of their flagships.

Choosing the flagship ships of the Turks as the target of the main attack, D.N. Senyavin took into account the characteristics of the enemy: the personnel of the Turkish fleet fought well only as long as the flagship held out. At the same time, the admiral relied on the good combat and naval training of the Russian sailors and their significant superiority in this regard over the Turkish sailors.

At 7.45, the flagship signal was raised on the Tverdy: “Assigned ships to attack enemy flagships closely.” Six ships in three tactical groups on parallel courses began to descend on the enemy almost perpendicular to his battle line in order to simultaneously attack all the flagship ships. If they were moving in a wake column, the tactical deployment would take considerable time.

The remaining ships were approaching the Turkish vanguard. D.N. Senyavin sought to carry out a maneuver to cover the head of the Turkish fleet and exclude the possibility of assistance to the attacked flagships from the vanguard ships. As the Russian squadron approached, the Turks opened fire, trying to damage the sails and spars of the Russian ships in order to deprive them of maneuverability.

Our ships, without responding to it, approached the Turks in silence and, only when approaching a grape shot, opened brutal fire. Raphael was the first to approach the enemy line. He fired a salvo from all the guns on the left side (loaded with twin cannonballs) at Sayd-Ali's ship "Messudiye". However, having lost control due to damaged sails, the Rafail itself fell into the wind and cut through the enemy line between the Messoudieh and the Sed el-Bahri. He was attacked by two battleships, two frigates and a brig. “Messudiye” was already preparing to board, but the well-aimed fire of “Raphael” forced the Kapudan Pasha to retreat.

Following the Raphael, the remaining ships of the attacking group entered the battle, acting against the enemy ships assigned to them. "Uriel" was forced to transfer fire from "Sed-el-Bahri" to "Messudieh" to replace "Raphael". By 9 o'clock "Selafail", "Strong", "Powerful" and "Yaroslav" took their places against the three Turkish flagships. From a range of grapeshot and even a rifle shot, with well-aimed fire they inflicted serious damage on their sails and hit the personal remains of the Turkish ships. At the same time, “Selafail” fought one-on-one with “Sed-el-Bahri” for almost an hour.

Around 9 o'clock D.N. Senyavin on the Tverdy, and after him the other three ships of his group - Skory, Retvizan and St. Elena" - went to the head of the Turkish fleet. The “Solid”, having shot down a Turkish frigate that had moved forward, blocked the path of the lead ship and fired a longitudinal salvo at it almost point-blank. Having received damage, the Turkish ship began to drift and thereby stopped the movement of all other ships. Thus, the maneuver of enveloping the head of the enemy fleet was completely carried out.

Having rounded the lead Turkish ship, D.N. Senyavin went to the aid of the Rafail, which by this time had repaired its damage and, having caught up with the Turkish vanguard, fired from both sides. The actions of Tverdoy and the rest of the ships of Senyavin’s group led to the fact that the tour vanguard was put on two fires. The heavily damaged vanguard ships descended into the wind, breaking formation. Having brought to the wind, the "Solid" blocked the path of the Turkish flagships and fired a longitudinal salvo under the bow of the "Sed-el-Bahri", which had previously suffered from the fire of the "Selafail" and "Uriel".

Inspired by example flagship, subordinates tried to outdo each other: the battle spread throughout the line, some ships fought within pistol shot and repaired their damage without stopping the battle. So, for example, on the ship “Selafail” (commander P.M. Rozhnov), in the very heat of battle, under strong grapeshot fire, the tops-yard was changed.

Unable to withstand the fire of Russian ships, the Turkish flagship Messudiye veered towards the west at about 10 o'clock. At a signal from D.N. Senyavin's "Strong" rushed after him, entering the thick of the enemy fleet and fighting back on both sides.

On the ship "Yaroslav" all the running rigging was broken and control of the sails was lost. The ship turned to port tack, and it began to diverge from the Turkish squadron on counter courses, but did not stop the battle. Passing three Turkish ships of the enemy rearguard and two frigates, he energetically fired at them. At the same time, the crew repaired the damage. The Turks tried to destroy a Russian ship that had separated from the squadron. A battleship and a frigate tried to attack him, but Yaroslav forced them to retreat with grapeshot fire. After which he turned to port tack and went to join his squadron.

By 11 o'clock, three and a half hours from the start of the battle, thanks to the successful action of artillery and the skillful maneuvering of our ships, the enemy's battle formation was completely disrupted. Turkish ships, taking advantage of the leeward position, began to leave for the Athos Peninsula. At about 12 o'clock the ships of the Turkish rearguard tried to assist their flagships, but the Tverdy stopped them with longitudinal fire from the starboard side. By 13:00 the wind died down and at 13:30 the Russian ships ceased fire; both squadrons, having stopped the battle, were in disarray near the Athos Peninsula.

A.P. Bogolyubov. Battle of Athos

The Russian ships received serious damage in a stubborn battle, and D.N. Senyavin ordered them to be urgently corrected, hoping to resume the battle.

After 14 o'clock the west wind began to blow. Taking advantage of this, the Turks set into a steep bydewind and began to move away to the north.

The heavily damaged Sed el-Bahri and the battleship and two frigates escorting it headed for the Gulf of Aion Oros. D.N. Senyavin sent “Selafail” and “Uriel” in pursuit. On the night of June 20, Sed el-Bahri was captured off the Athos peninsula by Selafail. When the Russian ship appeared, the ships accompanying the Turkish flagship abandoned the damaged ship and went deep into the bay to the island of Nikolinda. "Selafail" took "Sed-el-Bahri" in tow and led it towards the squadron.

To pursue and destroy the ship and frigates that had taken refuge in the Gulf of Aion Oros, Senyavin sent the ships “Retvizan”, “Strong”, “Uriil” and “St. Elena" under the command of A.S. Greig. On the morning of June 21, seeing the hopelessness of their situation, not daring to engage in battle, the ship and both frigates ran aground and, after bringing the teams ashore, were burned by the Turks themselves.

The enemy's losses in the Battle of Athos were not limited to this. Heavily damaged by our artillery fire, the ship and frigate could not stay at sea and were burned by the Turks themselves off the island of Tino, and two frigates sank off the island of Samothraki. In total, the Turks lost 3 battleships, 4 frigates and a corvette. The remaining surviving ships were heavily damaged. The extent of the Turks' loss in people can be judged by the fact that on the captured ship, out of 800 crew members, 230 were killed and 160 were wounded. Our ships also suffered significantly, receiving extensive damage to the hull and mast, but the total number of killed and wounded on all ships of the squadron did not exceed 200 people. Among those killed in the Battle of Athos was the commander of the ship "Raphael", captain 1st rank D.A. Lukin, famous for his extraordinary strength.

The 74-gun battleship Selafail is towed by the Turkish admiral's 80-gun battleship Sed-el-Bahri, which he took.

If the Russian squadron had continued to pursue the Turks, their defeat would have been complete. News of dangerous situation garrison of the fortress on the island of Tenedos, attacked by a strong Turkish landing force, forced D.N. Senyavin, instead of pursuing the defeated enemy fleet, rush to Tenedos, where he headed after the return of the A.C. detachment. Greig. But due to contrary winds, he arrived at the island only on June 25. If the squadron had not arrived in time, the garrison would not have been able to hold the island longer. Russian ships surrounded Tenedos. Avoiding bloodshed, the admiral, having entered into negotiations with the chief of the Turkish troops, invited the Turks to surrender on the condition that the disarmed Turkish troops would be transported to the Anatolian coast. The Turkish commander accepted the conditions, and on June 28, about 5,000 Turks were transported ashore, all siege guns and weapons were surrendered to the Russians, and the fortress was blown up.

The British, who have not yet provided any assistance to D.N. Senyavin, they now agreed with joint forces to launch an attack on the Turkish fleet stationed in the Dardanelles. On June 29, an English squadron under the command of Lord Collingwood arrived at Tenedos. For a whole month, the squadrons stood nearby while negotiations took place in Tilsit between Alexander I and Napoleon. On August 1, both squadrons moved to the island of Imbros with the goal of attacking the Turks in the Dardanelles. But on August 12, the corvette “Kherson” delivered D.N. Senyavin's rescript from Alexander I on the cessation of hostilities against Turkey, sent from Tilsit on June 16. And on June 25, the Peace of Tilsit was concluded between Russia and France. The inevitable consequence of the alliance with France was Russia's joining the continental blockade, which made us expect an early break with England, in which the position of our squadron in the Archipelago would become extremely dangerous. On August 28, squadron D.N. Senyavina left the Archipelago for Corfu. The Treaty of Tilsit did not allow the Russian government to take advantage of the victories of D.N.’s squadron. Senyavin over the Turkish fleet.

The defeat of the Turkish fleet and the successes of the Russian army on land forced the Turkish government to begin peace negotiations, which ended with the signing of a truce on August 12, 1807.

Captain 1st Rank V.I. ANDREEV

Outstanding Russian naval commander of the late 18th century - early XIX century Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin was born on August 6, 1763. His ancestor Naum Senyavin became famous for his major naval victory in the battle near Fr. Ezel in 1719 during Northern War. Dmitry Nikolaevich’s father also served in the navy.

In 1773 D.N. Senyavin was enrolled in the Naval Corps and, thanks to his great abilities, was one of the first to graduate.

In November 1777, Senyavin was promoted to midshipman and sailed in this rank for several campaigns.

On May 1, 1780, Senyavin was promoted to midshipman and assigned to the ship "Prince Vladimir", which was part of a squadron sent to Portugal to maintain armed neutrality. Senyavin was on the voyage for about a year, and it gave him good sea training. Upon his return, he was assigned to the Azov Fleet.

In 1783, Senyavin was promoted to lieutenant and appointed flag officer of Rear Admiral Mekenzi, who was in charge of the construction of the Sevastopol port. Senyavin remained in this position (with interruptions) until 1786, when he transferred to the floating staff. He was appointed commander of the packet boat "Karabut", which maintained relations with the Russian ambassador in Turkey.

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791. Senyavin went through a harsh combat school under the command of Admiral Ushakov. During the first period of the war, he served as flag captain in Voinovich's squadron. On July 3, 1788, the first victory of the Black Sea Fleet was won near the island. Fidonisi, where F.F. especially distinguished himself. Ushakov, commander of the Russian vanguard.

At a time when a strong Turkish fleet was helping the besieged Ochakov from the sea, Senyavin with five cruisers was sent to the shores of Anatolia to disrupt Turkish communications and divert the attention of the Turkish fleet from Ochakov. It should be noted that already here, in his first independent actions, Senyavin showed extraordinary abilities and had a number of successes - he took several prizes, destroyed about a dozen Turkish merchant ships, etc.

After these successful actions, Senyavin was appointed commander of the ship "Leonty Martyr", and then commander of the ship "Vladimir". 1791 - the fourth year of the war - found Senyavin as commander of the ship "Navarchia" as part of F.F.'s squadron. Ushakova.

After the end of the war D.N. Senyavin continued to command the battleship as part of Ushakov’s squadron. On August 13, 1798, a squadron under the flag of Vice Admiral Ushakov, consisting of six battleships, seven frigates and three brigs, left Sevastopol and headed to Constantinople to join the Turkish fleet. In Constantinople, the Russian squadron was joined by 4 ships, 6 frigates, 4 corvettes and 14 gunboats from the forces of the Turkish fleet, and the combined squadron entered the Mediterranean Sea for military operations against the French.

Ushakov's first task was to occupy the Ionian Islands, occupied by the French, to create a squadron base on them. The most protected of the islands were Corfu and Santa Mavra. The capture of Santa Mavra was entrusted to Captain 1st Rank Senyavin, who commanded the ship St. Peter. The frigate Navarhiya and two Turkish ships were assigned to help him. Senyavin brilliantly coped with the task assigned to him, and on November 2, the Santa Mavra fortress surrendered. Ushakov, reporting on the capture of the fortress, gave the most positive assessment of Senyavin’s actions. Russian sailors also occupied other Ionian islands, and then liberated the Kingdom of Naples and Rome from the French.

Upon the return of Ushakov's squadron to Sevastopol in 1800, Senyavin was appointed commander of the Kherson port. In 1803 he was transferred to Sevastopol to the same position. The following year, Senyavin was appointed naval commander in Revel, where he remained until 1805. This year, Senyavin was put at the head of the Russian squadron, sent to the Mediterranean Sea for military operations against the French.

International situation at the beginning of the 19th century. was quite difficult. After the victories of the Russian troops under the command of the great commander A.V. Suvorov and the Russian fleet under the command a wonderful naval commander F.F. Ushakova in late XVIII V. Russia's international importance and its influence on European affairs have increased significantly. The main place in the international life of that time was occupied by the fierce struggle between capitalist England and its competitor France, which had also embarked on the capitalist path of development. This struggle was waged for dominance in Europe and throughout the world, i.e. was of an aggressive nature.

The protege of the French bourgeoisie, Napoleon understood that without an alliance with Russia he would not defeat England. But Napoleon's active aggressive policy in Europe and, especially, in the Balkans and the Middle East threatened Russia's interests. All this led to the aggravation of Franco-Russian contradictions.

Beginning in 1804, Russia began to concentrate its forces in the Mediterranean Sea to fight France. From the Black Sea Fleet, 2 battleships, 2 frigates, 6 corvettes and 4 brigs were sent there under the command of Captain-Commander Sorokin. In addition, an infantry division was transferred from Sevastopol to Corfu. From Kronstadt to the Mediterranean Sea in 1804, a squadron consisting of two battleships and two frigates arrived - in addition to the forces from the Black Sea Fleet stationed there.

In March 1805, an agreement was concluded between Russia and England on joint actions against France. Austria and Naples joined this union. Thus, the English government managed to create a coalition to fight against France.

On September 10, 1805, the main forces of the Russian fleet under the command of D.N. left Kronstadt for the Archipelago. Senyavin, who had just been promoted to vice admiral. The squadron included 5 battleships and a frigate. On the way, the squadron was joined by 2 brigs. On January 18, 1806, Senyavin arrived safely in Corfu and here took command of the Russian naval and ground forces on the Mediterranean Sea. In total, Senyavin commanded 11 battleships, 7 frigates, 5 corvettes, 7 brigs and 12 gunboats (1,154 guns and 8,000 crew). There were about 15 thousand ground forces.

Senyavin was given the task of defending the Ionian Islands as the base of the Russian fleet and preventing Napoleon from capturing Greece. At first, based on the current situation, Senyavin took active action. He occupied the Cattaro region and Montenegro with the fortresses of Boco di Cattaro and Castel Nuovo. To attract the population to his side, Senyavin freed the inhabitants of the regions occupied by the Russians from all duties and organized the convoy of ships going to Trieste and Constantinople, which greatly contributed to the development of trade in these regions.

In turn, the Bocians and Montenegrins created a flotilla of about 30 ships, armed with 8-20 cannons each, to help the Russian squadron. These ships successfully operated, disrupting French trade relations.

Further actions of Senyavin's squadron, right up to the break with Turkey, were of the same nature: actions against fortresses, fighting the enemy's trade and skirmishes with the light forces of the French.

In December 1806, Türkiye, incited by Napoleon, declared war on Russia.

On January 1, 1807, a new squadron under the command of Captain-Commander Ignatiev arrived in Corfu to reinforce Senyavin’s squadron. It consisted of five battleships, a frigate, a corvette and a sloop. At the same time, Senyavin learned about the break with Turkey.

In accordance with the war plan outlined in St. Petersburg, on January 8, 1807, Senyavin was sent instructions that stated: “... the main goal of our actions should be to strike at the very core of the Ottoman Empire by reaching and conquering its capital...” ".

This instruction further stated: with ten or more ships and several frigates, go to the Dardanelles and interrupt communication between the European and Asian shores; if possible, then interrupt communication throughout the Dardanelles Strait and the Sea of ​​Marmara; try to occupy the main points in the Archipelago, including the islands of Rhodes, Mytilene and others, on which there are shipyards and ship scaffolding; dispatch several ships to blockade Egypt; for landing troops, use ground forces, which must be taken to the squadron in such a way that the defense of Corfu and other places is not weakened; leave as many ships in the Adriatic Sea as circumstances require; establish cruising between all specified places; try to have relations with the commander of the Russian army in Moldavia and Wallachia; especially "to pay attention to the increasing obstacles to any communication between the French and the Turks, so that not only their troops could pass through, but even couriers and written communications could not be allowed through."

Analyzing this instruction, it should be noted first of all big number tasks assigned to Senyavin. In fact, Senyavin had to capture Constantinople, blockade Egypt, defend Corfu, and prevent communication between the French and the Turks. If Senyavin had blindly followed this instruction, he would inevitably have been defeated, since his forces would have been scattered. It should be recognized that Senyavin’s decision to leave part of his forces to defend Corfu, and with the main forces to go to the Archipelago, where the main task was being solved, was quite correct.

On February 10, 1807, a squadron consisting of eight battleships and a frigate with a landing force of 1,256 people headed for the Aegean Sea. Considering that surprise has a stunning effect, Senyavin delayed all the merchant ships along the way so that no one would notify the enemy about the movement of the Russian squadron.

The hopes of government circles that the English squadron of Admiral Duckworth would help Senyavin were not justified. St. Petersburg strategists forgot the old tradition of England - to rake in the heat with the wrong hands. The British did not want to reinforce Senyavin’s squadron with their ships, but tried to prevent events and capture Constantinople before the Russians.

On February 7, 1807, an English squadron consisting of seven ships, two frigates and two bombardment ships under the flag of Admiral Duckworth passed the Dardanelles and suddenly appeared near Constantinople, destroying several small Turkish ships along the way. The British began negotiations with the Turks, but the latter, deliberately delaying the negotiations, managed to strengthen the fortifications in the strait so much that Duckworth had to leave hastily, suffering heavy losses.

Thus, when Senyavin and his squadron arrived in the Archipelago, the Dardanelles were already very strongly fortified and the task of breaking through them turned out to be difficult. Duckworth, as one would expect, flatly refused to reinforce Senyavin’s squadron and left for Malta on March 1.

On February 28, Senyavin convened a military council, at which, due to the prevailing circumstances, it was decided not to break through the Dardanelles, but to limit themselves to their blockade.

In connection with the adopted plan for the blockade of the Dardanelles, it was necessary to occupy a maneuverable base for the fleet. The choice fell on the island located in close proximity to the strait. Tenedos. A landing force was landed on the island and besieged the Tenedos fortress. Thanks to the decisive actions of the landing party and assistance from the ships of the squadron, the Turks were forced to surrender the fortress. On March 10, 1807, the Turkish garrison was released to the Anatolian coast, since Senyavin could not leave a large mass of “mouths” on his squadron.

Having secured himself a base, Senyavin began to blockade the Dardanelles. For this purpose, two ships were assigned in turn; they were anchored near the strait for 10-12 days. At the same time, ships were sent to cruise on enemy trade routes and to operate against enemy shores. But still, the main task for Senyavin was the destruction of the Turkish fleet, since as long as this fleet continued to exist, surpassing the Russian squadron in numbers, Senyavin’s position in the Archipelago could not be strong.

Battle of the Dardanelles (May 10-11, 1807)

The blockade of the Dardanelles caused famine and discontent among the population in Constantinople. The Turkish government demanded that the command of its fleet lift the blockade of the strait and destroy the Russian squadron. Fulfilling this requirement, on May 7, the Turkish fleet, consisting of eight battleships, six frigates, four boats, a brig and over 50 rowing ships, left the strait.

Senyavin, wanting to pull the enemy away from the strait and coastal batteries, and also to go out into the wind, went to the island. Imbros. The next day it became fresh, and Senyavin returned to Tenedos. There he learned that during the absence of the squadron, the Turks, under the command of French officers, unsuccessfully attacked Tenedos. In addition, Senyavin learned that the Turkish fleet was stationed a few miles from Tenedos, near the island. Mavra.

On May 10, taking advantage of a favorable southwest wind, the Russian squadron weighed anchor and approached the enemy. The Turkish fleet raised the sails and, not wanting to take the fight, went to the Dardanelles. Senyavin ordered the Russian squadron to raise all sails and attack as best they could. Only at 6 o'clock in the evening, already not far from the Dardanelles, the Russian ships caught up with the Turks and began the battle. Russian squadron. numerically inferior to the enemy, she maneuvered perfectly. The Russians, much earlier than the Turks, learned to use fire on both sides of ships. Without adhering to formation, Senyavin's ships cut through the enemy line and, being under fire from enemy ships and coastal batteries, continued the battle in the darkness, in which the excellent combat training of the Russian sailors played a major role. At night, in the darkness, Turkish batteries fired at both the Russians and their own ships. By midnight the wind died down and the battle stopped. Heavily damaged, 3 Turkish ships were forced to run into the shallows under the Asian coast. The remaining ships managed to slip into the Dardanelles.

Russian ships anchored near the strait. At dawn on May 11, boats launched from Turkish ships began to tow 3 damaged ships into the strait. Senyavin ordered four ships and one frigate to cut off the enemy. The Turkish ships were attacked, one of them managed to enter the Dardanelles, and the other two washed ashore.

This ended the Battle of the Dardanelles, as a result of which 3 enemy ships were disabled. Personnel losses reached 2000 people.

Meanwhile, as a result of the blockade of the Dardanelles, which led to a fatal cessation of the supply of food to Constantinople, the discontent of the population intensified. All this ended in a coup: Selim III was overthrown and Sultan Mustafa IV came to power.

Although the first exit of the Turkish fleet from the Dardanelles ended in failure, the population demanded active action from the government and the fleet and breaking the blockade.

The Turkish government set a task for the fleet commander: avoiding a battle with the Russian fleet, to capture the island of Tenedos with the help of a landing force. The Turkish government believed that Senyavin, having lost his base, would be forced to lift the blockade of the Dardanelles. This assumption of the Turks was erroneous, since if they had managed to take Fr. Tenedos, the Russian squadron could choose any of the many islands near the Dardanelles as a base. The Turkish command could achieve lifting of the blockade only by winning the battle, which it carefully avoided and feared.

On June 10, the Russian observation post on Tenedos reported that the enemy squadron, consisting of 10 battleships, five frigates, two brigs and three sloops, was leaving the strait. The Turkish fleet took up a position near the island. Imbros. The Turkish rowing flotilla concentrated off the Asian coast. It carried a 6,000-strong landing force intended for landing on Tenedos Island.

Until June 14, weather conditions did not allow Senyavin to approach the enemy. On June 15, Senyavin, wanting to go out into the wind, approached Fr. Imbros and took a position between Imbros and the European coast, thus finding himself between the Turks and the strait. The Turkish fleet descended to Tenedos and unsuccessfully attempted to land troops on the northern side of the island. On June 16, under the cover of naval artillery fire, the Turks managed to land troops of about 6,000 people, who began the siege of the fortress.

Senyavin, making sure that the Turkish fleet was located at Fr. Tekedos hurried there with the squadron. Seeing the Russian squadron, the commander of the Turkish fleet, Seid-Ali, weighed anchor and went to sea in a southwestern direction. Senyavin, approaching Tenedos around noon on June 17, learned that the garrison was running out of shells and that the Turks had intensified their attack, rushing to capture the fortress before it received help from the squadron. Hoping to still catch up with the enemy, Senyavin supplied the fortress with ammunition and destroyed the Turkish rowing ships carrying troops. On the morning of June 18, Senyavin’s squadron went to sea and by the evening took over from Fr. Imbros position, blocking the Turks' path to the Dardanelles.

Battle of Athos (19 June 1807)

Even before going to sea, taking into account the experience of the battle at the Dardanelles, Senyavin gave the following combat order:

“Circumstances oblige us to give a decisive battle, but until the enemy’s flagships are severely defeated, until then we must expect a very stubborn battle, therefore, make an attack as follows: according to the number of enemy admirals, in order to attack each with two of ours, ships are assigned: “Raphael” with "Strong", "Selafail" with "Uriil" and "Powerful" with "Yaroslav". At signal No. 3, at the French huys, immediately descend on these ships to the enemy's flagships, and attack them with all possible determination, as close as possible, without fear at all, so that the enemy would want to set himself on fire. The last battle on May 10 showed that the closer you are to him, the less harm he will do, therefore, if someone happened to fall on board, then even then you can expect greater success. Came to a grape shot, start shooting. If the enemy is under sail, then hit the masts, if at anchor, then hit the hull. Attack with two on one side, but not on both sides; if you happen to give way to another ship, then under no circumstances retreat further than a grape shot, with who started the battle and ends it either by sinking or conquering the enemy ship.

Since due to many unforeseen cases it is impossible to give positive instructions to everyone, I do not disseminate them any more; I hope that every son of the fatherland will be honored to fulfill his duty in a glorious manner.

Ship "Solid". Dmitry Senyavin.

Thus, the basis of Senyavin’s order was the desire for a decisive battle. Correctly assessing the enemy, Senyavin directed the main attack on the Turkish flagships. In the direction of the main attack, he creates a double superiority of forces (six battleships against three Turkish flagships) and uses new trick: concentrated attack of two ships from one side. To ensure the success of the main attack, Senyavin leaves at his disposal 4 battleships with the goal of either supporting the main attack, or tying up the rest of the Turkish ships in battle so that they cannot come to the aid of the flagships.

At dawn on June 19, Russian ships discovered the enemy. Turkish ships were anchored near the island. Lemnos. At five o'clock the signal was raised on the flagship of the Russian squadron: "Set all possible sails and descend on the enemy."

The Turkish fleet very quickly formed a battle line so that their three flagships were in the middle of the line, and the frigates and brigs were at the head and behind the line.

The balance of forces in the battle was as follows. The Russian squadron included the following ships: "Tverdy" - 74 guns, commander - Captain 1st Rank Maleev (flag of Vice Admiral Senyavin); "Raphael" - 74 guns, commander captain 1st rank Lukin; "Uriel" - 84 guns, commander - captain 2nd rank I. Bychensky; "St. Helena" - 74 guns, commander - captain 2nd rank M. Bychensky; "Strong" - 74 guns, commander - captain 1st rank Saltikov; "Selafail" - 74 guns, commander - captain 2nd rank Rozhnov; "Yaroslav" - 74 guns, commander - captain 2nd rank Mitkov; "Skory" - 74 guns, commander - Captain 1st Rank Shelting; "Powerful" - 74 guns, commander - captain 1st rank Blood; "Retvizan" - 64 guns, commander - captain 2nd rank Rtishchev. In total, Senyavin had 10 battleships with 740 guns.

The Turkish squadron consisted of battleships: "Messudiye" - 120 guns (flag of Kapudan Pasha Seyid Ali); "Sedel-Bahri" - 90 cannons, (flag of Captain Bey Bekir Bey); "Ankai-Bakhri" - 86 cannons (flag of Sheremyat Bey); "Tausu-Bahri" - 84 guns; "Besharet-Nyuma" - 84 guns; "Tefik-Nyuma" - 84 guns; "Sayadi-Bahri" - 74 guns; "Mem-Bank-Nusaret" - 74 guns; "Khibet Endas" - 74 guns; "Kilit-Bahri" - 84 guns (did not take part in the battle); frigates: "Meskenzi Gaza" - 50 guns; "Bedriza Fet", - 50 guns; "Fuki Zephyr" - 50 guns; "Nessim Fetu" - 50 guns; "Iskandriye" - 44 guns; sloops: "Metelin" - 32 guns; "RekhberiAlim" - 28 guns; "Denuvet" - 24 guns, two brigs with 18 guns each. In total, the Turkish squadron consisted of 10 battleships, 5 frigates and 5 small ships. Total number There were 1214 guns on it.

Consequently, the Russian squadron was significantly inferior to the enemy in the number of ships and the number of guns. But in terms of the quality of tactical training of the command, the courage and courage of the personnel, Senyavin’s squadron was far superior to the Turkish one.

With a wind from the east-northeast of force 3-4, the Russian squadron descended on the enemy in two columns, of which the left consisted of 6 ships intended to attack the flagships, the right - 4 ships under the command of Senyavin himself. At about 7 o'clock, at the signal from the flagship "Go down on the enemy", the left column turned towards the enemy and went perpendicular to his course, heading towards the center of the enemy line. The right column also changed course, trying to cover the head of the enemy line. At 7 o'clock 45 min. Senyavin's signal was raised on the "Tverdy": "The assigned ships should attack the enemy flagships closely." Since the Turks were downwind and their guns had a high elevation angle, they opened fire first. The guns of the Russian ships were loaded with two cannonballs for the first salvo, and according to the order, the ships did not open fire until they came within range of a grape shot.

In an effort to get closer to the enemy as quickly as possible, the ships of the left column did not adhere to formation when approaching and walked in pairs. Each couple headed to their assigned flagship. The first pair was "Raphael" with "Strong". The fire of the entire enemy squadron was concentrated on them. When approaching the enemy line, the Rafail, having downed sails, did not obey the rudder and cut through the Turks' formation between the Messudiye and Sedel-Bahri ships, firing from both sides. "Strong" and two other pairs of ships, approaching pistol shot range, set off on a course parallel to the enemy's course. Their formation was closed so closely that the bowsprits of the rear ships lay on the stern of the front ones. Only well-trained commanders and teams could carry out this complex maneuver, being in close proximity to the enemy, under his fire. Meanwhile, the column under the command of Senyavin attacked the enemy vanguard; The flagship Tverdy very quickly shot down the leading Turkish frigate, and then, hitting the next ship in the line, forced it to drift, thereby stopping the movement of the entire enemy column. By this time, "Raphael" had come out, whose crew had already repaired the damage to the ship and, walking on a parallel course, continued to fire at the lead Turkish ship. The next two Turkish ships found themselves under concentrated fire from all four ships of Senyavin’s column and, unable to withstand their fire, also went downwind. The fourth battleship in the Turkish line was the Sedel-Bahri, the flagship of Bekir Bey, which had already been seriously damaged by artillery fire from the left column. Senyavin on the Tverdy blocked his path and with a longitudinal salvo knocked down the remaining sails and yards. "Skory" continued to fight with the first three ships and at one time was in very serious condition, but then he managed to break away from the enemy.

As a result of the bold and decisive actions of the Russian ships, by 10 o'clock the damaged Turkish ships were forced to break ranks and retreat in disarray towards Mount Athos. At 10 o'clock Senyavin raised the signal: "Go down to the enemy even closer and pursue him relentlessly."

Meanwhile, the left column was doing its job. "Powerful" and "Strong" fired concentrated fire at the "Messudiye", the remaining ships fired at other Turkish ships. Due to the stop of the line of Turkish ships, the Russian ships gradually advanced so that at about 10 o'clock. 30 min. the terminal ship "Yaroslav" caught up with the "Messudiye". However, due to loss of control, he turned around arbitrarily, and then fell onto the left tack and set off on a counter course with the end ships of the Turkish line.

By 12 o'clock the battle situation was as follows: "Skory" continued to fight with three vanguard ships; "Raphael", having passed the line, went out into the wind and put its broken rigging and sails in order; "Retvizan" and "St. Helena" were in the wind relative to the enemy's vanguard: "Powerful" was in the middle of the Turkish squadron; the remaining ships, stretched out in an arc, fought with the enemy center. The distance between the opponents gradually increased. . At one o'clock in the afternoon the wind died down completely, and both squadrons stopped fighting. The Turkish squadron was divided into three groups:

1. leeward - of three vanguard ships and three frigates;
2. the central one - of four ships and two frigates;
3. the last one, where the flagship 90-gun ship Sedel-Bahri and the ship Besharet-Nyuma, the frigate Nessim-Fetu and the sloop Metelin, were in tow without sails.

During the battle, the Turkish ships were badly beaten, and some of them barely stayed afloat. Of the Russian ships, Rafail, Tverdy, Moshchny and Skory were damaged.

By 2 o'clock in the afternoon it was completely calm, and then the wind changed and began to blow from the west. Thus, the Turkish squadron found itself in the wind and, having brought it close-hauled, began to quickly move away from the Russian ships to the north. The broken Sedel-Bahri and its escorts gradually fell behind the other ships. By 6 pm, when the wind became fresher, Senyavin ordered Uriel and Selafail to cut them off. The designated ships set off in pursuit, and at night the escorts (Besharet-Nyuma, Nessim and Metelin) abandoned the Sedel-Bahri, fleeing the Russian ships that were overtaking them. "Sedel-Bahri" surrendered. On the morning of June 20, the main forces of the Turkish squadron continued to remain in the wind and were out of reach of Senyavin, but those ships that tried to escort the Sedel-Bahri and then abandoned it did not have time to catch up with their squadron and remained under the wind near Athos. Senyavin ordered four ships to cut them off. Fleeing from persecution, the Turks were forced to run aground and burn their ships. At dawn on June 22, two large smokes were seen. It subsequently turned out that the Turks burned another ship and one frigate, so broken that they could not sail with the fleet. Soon two more Turkish frigates sank off the island. Samothrace. .

Thus, as a result of the Battle of Athos, the Turkish squadron lost 3 battleships, 4 frigates and a sloop. The losses in personnel were extremely high. For example, on Sedel-Bahri alone there were 230 killed, 160 wounded, and 774 people were captured by the Russians. There were no losses in the ship's personnel on the Russian side.

After the battle, Senyavin went to the rescue of his base - Tenedos, which heroically held out in the fight against numerically superior enemy forces. When the Russian squadron approached Tenedos, the Turks besieging the fortress found themselves between two fires - between the fortress and the ships. Having entered into negotiations with the commander of the Turkish landing, Senyavin proposed that the Turks surrender on the condition that the disarmed Turkish troops would be delivered to the Anatolian coast. The Turks agreed. On June 28, about 5,000 Turks were transported ashore, all siege guns and weapons were surrendered to the Russians. The Turkish squadron entered the Dardanelles on June 26 and never left the strait. The Russian fleet gained supremacy at sea.

The immediate political result of the Athos victory was an appeal from the Turkish government with a proposal to begin negotiations on a truce. In August, these negotiations ended with the conclusion of a truce.

What ensured the success of Russian sailors in the Battle of Athos? First of all, victory over the enemy was achieved thanks to the excellent training, courage and heroism of the sailors and officers of Russian ships. The Russian squadron made long journeys and had... wonderful practice. Much attention The squadron paid attention to discipline, organization of service, combat training and the art of maneuvering. All ship commanders had previously thoroughly studied the combat order and assimilated the admiral's plan. The order itself was distinguished by its simplicity and clarity of presentation. Given the good preliminary training of the ship commanders, he gave them freedom of action.

In the Battle of Athos, Senyavin showed himself to be an outstanding naval commander, a worthy successor to the traditions of Ushakov. He excellently used the strengths of the Russian fleet - good maneuverability of ships, combat training of personnel, negating the superiority of the enemy's material part. Having a smaller number of ships, Senyavin concentrated a double superiority of forces in the decisive sector of this battle - against the flagship ships (two of his ships against one side of the enemy ship). Senyavin knew that Turkish ships fought steadfastly only until their flagships were disabled, and then their combat effectiveness dropped sharply, since the commanders were not prepared for independent actions. Where the situation was clear and could change little during the battle (left column), Senyavin gave the commanders the opportunity to act independently; where the situation was rapidly changing, Senyavin took leadership upon himself. He directly commanded the right group that attacked the enemy vanguard.

* * *
Senyavin won a brilliant victory over the Turks. But the conclusion of the Tilsit Peace did not allow the Russian squadron to use the results of its victory. On August 23, Senyavin received an order to cease hostilities and immediately transfer the Ionian and Dalmatian Islands and the province of Cattaro to France, and Tenedos to Turkey and return to Russia.

In pursuance of this order, Senyavin sent the Black Sea Fleet ships at his disposal (5 ships, 4 frigates, 4 corvettes and 4 brigs) and 20 prize ships under the command of Captain-Commander Saltanov to Sevastopol. The squadron of Captain-Commander Baratynsky, located in Venice, was ordered to go to the Baltic. On September 19, Senyavin’s squadron, including ten ships and three frigates, left Corfu to proceed to Russia. Senyavin was warned about the possibility of war with England and the need in this regard to avoid meetings with its fleet.

On October 28, 1807, the Russian squadron arrived in Lisbon. It is unlikely that any of the Russian admirals had to be in such a difficult and dangerous situation as Senyavin found himself in during the Lisbon “sitting”. The English squadron blocked Lisbon from the sea. Lisbon itself at the end of November 1807 was occupied by French troops under the command of General Junot. Senyavin found himself between two fires. Exceptional diplomatic skill was required to preserve the Russian squadron. Napoleon sought to use Russian ships to fight against England. Russian Tsar Alexander I sent a decree to Senyavin, in which he was asked to fulfill all the instructions “that will be sent from His Majesty Emperor Napoleon.” Senyavin, who was extremely hostile to the Peace of Tilsit and to the “friendship” of Russia with Napoleon, managed to save the Russian squadron from encroachment by Napoleon.

In August 1808, British troops entered Lisbon. The British understood that the Russian squadron would not surrender and that a bloody battle was ahead. Therefore, the English Admiral Cotton was forced to negotiate and sign a special convention with Senyavin on August 23. According to this convention, the Russian squadron was supposed to go to England and stay there until peace was concluded between England and Russia, after which it would return to Russia. On August 31, 1808, Senyavin's squadron under the Russian flag left Lisbon and on September 27, 1808 arrived at the Portsmouth roadstead.

On August 5, 1809, Russian teams left Portsmouth and arrived in Riga on September 9. The people who were with D.N. Senyavin, during a difficult, almost four-year voyage in foreign lands, appreciated him. Later generations also highly appreciated his military and diplomatic skills. According to Alexander I and Senyavin’s closest superiors, they were unfriendly to this worthy successor of Ushakov’s traditions, just as they were unfriendly to Ushakov himself. Alexander I took revenge on Senyavin for his popularity and fame in Russia, for his independent way of thinking and independence of action. In 1810, Senyavin was appointed to the secondary position of commander of the Revel port. During Napoleon's invasion of our homeland in 1812, Senyavin submitted a request to the Tsar to assign him to the active army. Alexander I wrote on the petition: “Where? In what type of service? And how?” The admiral was offended by these questions. “I will serve,” he replied, “in exactly the same way as I have always served and as loyal and committed Russian officers usually serve.” Alexander I did not like such answers, and Senyavin was not accepted into the active army. Moreover, on April 21, 1813, he was dismissed with half a pension.

During the Decembrist movement, although Senyavin himself did not take direct part in it, the name of the famous admiral was associated with the Decembrists. From the materials of the investigation into the case of the Decembrists, it is clear that the Decembrists intended to put him at the head of the Provisional Government of Russia. Already in last years life of D.N. Senyavin was again called up for service. Approaching new war with Turkey. Senyavin was entrusted with commanding a squadron heading to England for further travel to the Archipelago. In a remarkable order issued on August 5, 1827 addressed to Heyden, Senyavin expressed his attitude towards the sailors:

“I consider it very important to draw your Excellency’s special attention to the treatment of Messrs. commanders and officers with lower ranks and servants. The comments I have made on this subject show me that Messrs. Officers have false rules when it comes to maintaining discipline among their subordinates. There is no doubt that rigor is necessary in the service, but, first of all, it must teach people what to do, and then retaliate against them and punish them for omissions. It is necessary to distinguish between an involuntary omission from an intentional or neglectful one: 1) sometimes requires leniency, 2) immediate punishment without relief. .. Chiefs and officers must be able to arouse competition for diligent service in their subordinates by encouraging the most excellent. They must know the spirit of the Russian sailor, to whom we sometimes thank most dearly. Obscene curses during work should not come from the lips of officers, and faults and misdeeds of sailors are punished according to established military discipline. Since it may happen that your squadron will be used for military operations, then all the more should Messrs. commanders and officers acquire the sincere love of their subordinates for themselves, in order to use them with better benefit right time... I propose to your Excellency, whenever convenience presents itself, to visit the ships and frigates that are on your command, to inspect the serviceability of them in all parts, the maintenance of people, the sick, and to test the knowledge of sailors in exercises. Moreover, the poor knowledge of sailors, especially in handling artillery, puts you in an indispensable need to train them in cannon execution as often as possible and bring them to proper success in this regard, for artillery decides victories.”

Before the beginning Russian-Turkish War 1806-1812 The military presence of Russian naval forces in the Ionian Sea continued, based on the island of Corfu. To strengthen these forces and to protect the Republic of the Seven United Islands, formed under Admiral F.F. Ushakov, Emperor Alexander I sent a squadron under the command of Captain-Commander Alexei Samuilovich Greig - the son of the famous Admiral Samuil Karlovich Greig, an associate of Catherine II, a participant in the Battles of Chios and Chesme in 1770.

Admiral Alexey Samuilovich Greig. Unknown artist. OK. 1848

In October 1804, a detachment of ships consisting of the 66-gun ship “Retvizan” (flag of A.S. Greig, commander-lieutenant F. Selivanov), 74-gun “St. Elena" (commander captain 1st rank I.T. Bychensky) and two frigates - the 44-gun "Venus" (commander captain 1st rank R. Elphinston) and the 24-gun "Avtroil" (commander captain-lieutenant N. Baskakov) left Kronstadt. At his destination, Greig received an order to coordinate his actions with the commander of the ground forces, Major General R. von Anrep, who was there, and the plenipotentiary representative of Russia, Count G.D. Mocenigo. 11 (January 23), 1805 detachment of Rear Admiral A.S. Greiga arrived safely at Corfu.

Admiral Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin. Artist M.I. Drommeter. 1930s

The arrival of Russian naval forces in the Ionian Sea coincided with changes in the foreign policy arena. The successes of French troops in Italy and the capture of the Genoese Republic accelerated the conclusion of a new alliance treaty between Russia and England - its signing took place in St. Petersburg on March 30 (April 11), 1805. This treaty marked the beginning of the third anti-French coalition, which was joined in the same year by Austria, Sweden, Denmark and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Having allocated an army of many thousands to help the Austrians for operations in the land theater, Emperor Alexander ordered the reinforcement of the A.S. detachment. Greig prepared an additional squadron, and appointed Vice Admiral Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin as commander-in-chief of naval and ground forces in the Mediterranean.

In the twenties of August 1805, the 74-gun ships “Yaroslav” (flag of D.N. Senyavin), “St. Peter", "Moscow", "Selafail", the 80-gun "Uriil" and the 23-gun transport "Kilduin" stretched out on the Kronstadt roadstead. On board there were two battalions of the 2nd Marine Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel F.I. Boassel, and a total of 3350 people. On September 10, 1805, the squadron left for its destination, on December 17th it safely passed Gibraltar and from Atlantic Ocean went out into the Mediterranean Sea, and on January 19th, 1806, came to Corfu.

During March - May, Russian sailors were continuously cruising in the Adriatic Sea and established contact with the leader of the Montenegrin resistance movement, Metropolitan P.P. Njegos. The armed support of the Montenegrins made it possible for D.N. Senyavin to receive an operational base in the Adriatic - in Boko di Cataro and move the theater of military operations from Corfu to the Dalmatian coast.

August 20, 1806 for reinforcement Russian forces in the Ionian Sea, the third squadron left Kronstadt under the command of Captain-Commander I.A. Ignatiev with three naval regiments; the squadron consisted of new, just launched ships “Strong” (flag of I.A. Ignatiev), “Rafail”, “Tverdy”, “Powerful”, “Skory” and the frigate “Light”. The squadron had to travel in difficult conditions, since almost the entire coast of Italy was occupied by French troops. Upon arrival at Corfu, Russian naval forces in the Ionian Sea and Adriatic consisted of 14 battleships, five frigates, three war brigs, two transports, two corvettes and several small ships, including prize ships taken from the French, as well as a frigate "Gregory of Great Armenia", converted into a hospital ship.

At that time, the Russian Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Constantinople (Istanbul) A.Ya. Italinsky repeatedly warned D.N. Senyavin “about the bad disposition of the Porte and its ill will” towards Russia. Italinsky also reported that ten military ships were in full readiness on the roadstead of Constantinople, and in total there were up to 35 combat-ready ships and frigates in the Turkish fleet. In other words, the fleet of Sultan Selim III was many times superior to the Russian naval forces on the Black Sea.

Plan of the Battle of Athos from the book by V. B. Bronevsky “Notes of a Naval Officer.” 1836

With the onset of autumn 1806, Russia’s relations with Turkey worsened even more, which was facilitated by the increased activity of French diplomacy: new ambassador France in Constantinople, O. Sebastiani regularly carried out Napoleon's instructions. In contrast to successful actions on land, the French position at sea looked truly catastrophic. In 1798, France lost most of its ships off the coast of Egypt in the battle of Aboukir, then lost the Ionian Islands and Malta, and in October 1805 there was a complete defeat of the French-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar by Vice Admiral G. Nelson. Then the “Emperor of the French” decided to resort to the old proven method - to incite the Turks to war with Russia, which he instructed his ambassador to do, and in the meantime to prepare forces for an attack on Russia.

At the insistence of the French ambassador, Sultan Selim III annulled the Russian-Turkish treaty of 1798, closed the Straits and banned the passage of Russian military ships to the Mediterranean Sea and back to the Black Sea. This immediately complicated the supply of D.N.’s squadron from Sevastopol and Kherson. Senyavin, based in Corfu, and cut it off from the Black Sea ports.

On October 15, 1806, the Sublime Porte (Turkey) announced the Russian envoy and minister plenipotentiary A.Ya. Italian persona non grata, and on December 18 (30) Turkey declared war on Russia.

In January 1807, Emperor Alexander I ordered Vice Admiral Senyavin “at every possible meeting with the enemy, not only repel, but defeat, and, if necessary, completely exterminate him.” Leaving four ships, five frigates, two corvettes and five brigs to protect the Ionian Islands, Boca di Cataro and Dalmatia, on February 10 (22), 1807, Senyavin with eight ships, the frigate Venus and the sloop Spitsbergen sailed from Corfu in the Aegean Sea, closer to the Dardanelles. The following ships entered the Archipelago: “Tverdy” (Senyavin’s flag, 74 guns, could carry up to 90 guns), “Retvizan” (flag of Rear Admiral Greig), “Strong”, “Rafail”, “Powerful”, “Swift”, “ Selafail", "Yaroslav". The squadron had two battalions (950 people) of the Kozlovsky Musketeer Regiment under the command of Colonel F.F. Padejsky, 36 garrison artillerymen and 250 Albanian light riflemen.

In early March 1807, when approaching the island of Tenedos, Senyavin was informed about an English squadron anchored there, consisting of the ships “Royal George” (100 guns, Duckworth’s flag), “Canopus” (80 guns), “Pompey” ( 74), "WindsorCastle" (98) and two bombardment ships. Two days later, the two admirals met, and Duckworth spoke about the unsuccessful attempt to break through the strait. Duckworth began his actions to force the Dardanelles on February 7 (19), and the poor condition of the fortifications on both banks, European and Asian, allowed the British to safely pass them - shots from coastal batteries did not cause any harm to the ships. At the entrance to the strait, the British met a Turkish detachment of ships consisting of one 64-gun ship, four frigates, four corvettes and two brigs; With the exception of the corvette, Duckworth burned these ships and proceeded unhindered.

On February 9 (21), Duckworth's squadron anchored in the Sea of ​​Marmara. While the British were waiting for a response to the ultimatum presented to Turkey, the Turks strengthened the defense of the strait, erected additional fortifications, and placed the ships in such a disposition that if they attempted to break through, the English squadron would inevitably be placed on three fires. Duckworth decided not to risk it and retreat to Tenedos, but as soon as his squadron prepared to weigh anchor, there was a calm that lasted eight days. The sails sagged, the ships stood motionless, and the position of the British became even more dangerous. On the tenth day, a fresh wind blew, the squadron began to move back, and the Turks met it with heavy fire from all coastal batteries. The ships were severely damaged - so much so that large stone cannonballs knocked down the masts (one even had a mainmast) and pierced the wooden hulls right through. Duckworth lost 100 personnel, and, refusing to break through again, soon took the ships to Malta.

On February 28 (March 12), 1807, a military council was held on Senyavin’s flagship ship “Tverdy”: the flagships and captains decided not to risk the squadron and abandon the breakthrough to Constantinople, as previously planned with the support of the Black Sea Fleet from the Bosphorus. Instead of crossing the strait, Senyavin decided to occupy the island of Tenedos as an operational base, limit himself to a blockade of the Dardanelles, disrupt enemy communications and stop the supply of food to the Turkish capital from the Archipelago. This decision of the commander was carried out. The blockade of the Dardanelles began, the delivery of food to Constantinople from the Archipelago and Egypt became impossible, and the Turkish capital was shaken by popular unrest caused by famine and soaring prices for food and grain.

On May 8 (20), the Turkish fleet, consisting of four ships (one 120-gun, three 80-gun), six frigates and 50 gunboats under the command of the famous military admiral Seyid-Ali, left the Dardanelles with the intention of liberating Tenedos. The eve of the Dardanelles battle, which preceded the Athos battle, had arrived.

On May 10 (22), the wind was blowing from the north-east - contrary to D.N.’s squadron. Senyavin, but at 2 o’clock in the afternoon the wind changed and moved to Z-W. On the flagship “Tverdy” they raised a signal: to keep all sails, and after some time, according to the entries in the logbooks, “on the vice admiral’s ship, with a cannon shot, a signal ordered the entire fleet to form into a marching line as a battle line. The signal ordered the entire division to take the indicated course to ONO.” The admiral ordered the ship "Selafail" to go forward, and the rear one to enter the wake of the "Tverdy".

There were ten Russian ships in the battle order, but the wind began to subside, and in the evening a fresh wind blew - favorable for the Turks to retreat into the strait under the protection of coastal batteries, if they evaded the battle. Then Senyavin made a decision: despite the approaching darkness, go into the strait and give battle to the enemy, even at risk due to the proximity of Turkish fortresses.

A participant in the Battle of the Dardanelles recalled: “Our ships, forestalling the enemy, passing forward between them, going around from the stern or bow, fought on both sides. Selafail, the first to catch up with the 100-gun ship of Kapudan Pasha, fired a salvo at the stern, and when he began to move to the starboard tack to avoid fire, Selafail, going over the jibe, forestalled him and again attacked him from the stern. Uriel got so close to the Turkish vice admiral’s ship that he broke its jig with his rigging.”

Senyavin on the Tverdy rushed towards Seyid-Ali’s ship, but on his way there was another Turkish ship, which Senyavin attacked from the other side. Then the “Solid” caught up with Seid-Ali’s ship - so that the yards almost crossed, but the Turks managed to retreat under the cover of coastal batteries, and Seid-Ali stubbornly avoided battle.

At eight o'clock it was completely dark. The fleets are mixed. The Dardanelles current carried the ships either to the Asian coast or to the European coast; marble cannonballs were fired from Turkish fortresses, which hit both their own and Russian ships. For identification, Senyavin ordered three lanterns to be raised on the mainmast of the Tverdy - after some time the Turks did the same. The Tverdy came so close to the European coast that several people were wounded by bullets, and then the admiral ordered the lights to be closed and the ship towed by boats.

Afterwards, Dmitry Nikolaevich will write to the emperor: “The battle lasted almost 2 hours. After the firing ceased on both squadrons, they maneuvered away from the strait and, due to the calmness of the wind, stopped at anchor near the islands of Mavri. During this battle, Rear Admiral Greig, ship captains, officers and crews showed perfect service, courage and efficiency, fighting almost under the walls of the batteries. Passing among the Turkish squadron, they fought temporarily on both sides and at a very close distance. The ship Uriel passed so close to the vice admiral's Turkish ship that the jig of the latter caught on the erens hoist and broke. The flight of the Turkish ships was so hasty that three ships became aground between the batteries.”

In the Battle of the Dardanelles, the Russians lost 26 people killed and 60 wounded. Among those killed was Captain-Commander Ivan Aleksandrovich Ignatiev, who led the third auxiliary squadron to Corfu. During the battle, when he was on the left waist of the ship "Strong", a Turkish cannonball hit Ignatiev in the head, mortally wounding him. The ship "Strong" received a hole in the hull as a result of being hit by a 60-pound stone ball. May 12(24) Captain-Commander I.A. Ignatiev was buried on the territory of the Tenedos Monastery.

The Turkish losses were many times greater; three ships were completely disabled.

On June 10, at 6 a.m., Russian patrol ships “let it be known by telegraph” that the Turkish squadron stationed in the Dardanelles was weighing anchor: they counted eight Turkish ships (one three-deck), five frigates, two sloops and two brigs. Over the next two days, two more ships, a frigate and a sloop, left the strait and joined the main forces.

On June 12, the commander’s order was read to the commanders of the ships “Raphael”, “Strong”, “Powerful”, “Yaroslav”, “Selafail” and “Uriel”: “You know the real circumstances that oblige us to give a decisive battle. But as long as the enemy’s flagships are not defeated, then a very stubborn battle should be expected. And so, due to these circumstances, I propose to make the attack in the following order. According to the number of enemy flagships, in order to attack each of our two, ships are assigned: Raphael with Strong, Powerful with Yaroslav, and Selafail with Uriel. Upon making signal No. 1 at the French huys, immediately sort out the registered ships for their intended purpose and stay as convenient as possible close to me and Rear Admiral Greig, maintaining a moderate distance from each other. After making signal No. 2 with a French jack, repair the execution in the same way as indicated under No. 1 with the same jack. And when signal No. 3 was made at the French huys, immediately launch the registered ships onto the enemy’s flagships and pick them off as assigned, two of them with all possible decisiveness. The last battle on May 10th showed us: the closer you are to the enemy, the less harm it causes. Consequently, if we happened to collide with an enemy ship, then even then we can expect greater success. In addition, for many unforeseen cases, it is impossible to give positive instructions for each. I hope you will be honored to fulfill your duty in a glorious manner."

Senyavin intended to concentrate the attack on the enemy’s flagship ships, for which he built a battle formation in tactical groups.

The second battle took place on June 19 (July 1), 1807 between Lemnos and the Athos peninsula, which went down in history under the name Athos. D.N. Senyavin reported to Alexander I: “At dawn on the 19th we saw 9 ships, three large frigates, 3 sloops and two brigs.” In the center of the Turkish line there was a three-deck ship "Missoudiye" (carrying 120 guns, the flag of Kapudan Pasha Seyid Ali) and the 80-gun ship of Admiral Bekir Bey "Sed? El-Bahr" ("Stronghold of the Sea"), later captured by Russian sailors. In total, the Turkish fleet had about 1,140 guns.

D.N. Senyavin had 728 guns on 10 ships:

“Solid”, commander captain 1st rank D.I. Maleev; flag of Vice Admiral D.N. Senyavin;

"Fast" - captain 1st rank R.P. Shelting;

"Retvizan" - captain 2nd rank M.M. Rtishchev. Flag of Rear Admiral A.S. Greig;

"Saint Helena" - captain 1st rank I.T. Bychensky;

"Raphael" - captain 1st rank D.A. Lukin;

“Strong” - captain 2nd rank A.P. Malygin;

"Selafail" - captain 2nd rank P.M. Rozhnov;

"Uriel" - captain 2nd rank M.T. Bychensky;

“Powerful” - captain 1st rank V. Krove;

"Yaroslav" - captain 2nd rank F.K. Mitkov.

On the morning of June 19 (July 1), a quiet, top-sail wind was blowing, and to increase speed, perform the necessary maneuvers and form into a battle order, Senyavin's squadron set the top sails - top-top sails. Dmitry Nikolaevich gave the order: “Attack the enemy flagships in pairs,” which meant dividing the squadron into small tactical groups. The following ships were assigned to the attack: “Tverdy” - “Fast”, “Selafail” - “Uriel”, “Raphael” - “Strong”, “Powerful” - “Yaroslav”, “Retvizan” - “Elena”. The "fast" followed in the wake of the "Tverdy". In such a battle formation they descended onto the Turkish line, then they drifted and prepared boats in case the enemy fireships were towed away.

Turkish ships, built by French craftsmen using new technologies and sheathed in copper, were fast. In terms of the number of artillery weapons, the balance of forces also did not look in favor of the Russians - the Turks had a clear advantage in the broadside salvo: approximately 1200 guns versus 754. Therefore, in order to achieve maximum fire density, Senyavin decided to attack the enemy so that for every Turkish flagship there would be two Russian ones. For this purpose, he appointed tactical groups to take a windward position and, on the starboard tack, attack the enemy from one side. This formation is recognized as a new effective tactical technique for the admiral. Senyavin also took into account the low moral and fighting qualities of the Turks. From previous experience, he knew that they fought as long as their flagships were in the ranks.

The Turks, being under the wind, opened fire from a long distance. The Russians did not respond to shots until they approached the enemy. As recorded in the logbook, “from a two-deck Turkish admiral’s ship they fired a cannonball at our leading ships, but the cannonball didn’t hit.” At about 8 o’clock in the morning, Greig was signaled from the flagship Tverdy to attack the enemy vanguard, then “the signal ordered the entire squadron to approach the enemy and keep to the wind. The signal ordered the ship Selafail to approach the enemy ship. The signal ordered the entire squadron to approach the enemy. Then the ship Rafail, being close to the Turkish admiral's ship, descended into the interval downwind between the admiral's ships and was hidden in smoke from the brutal firing that was taking place. The advanced enemy ships and one frigate were motionless, then, through negotiations with the vice admiral's ship, we were ordered to go down and attack the advanced enemy ships and fire at them with whatever we pleased. Soon the vice admiral's ship descended upon the enemy. Soon Elena and the vice admiral's ship closed in the smoke, and we, approaching the closest distance, firing at the admiral's Turkish ship, finally came to a pistol shot, lay down parallel to it and entered into battle with it. Then another enemy ship approached from the right side, putting us in 2 fire, which is why they were reflected on both sides with cannonballs, buckshot, on the left side from guns, blunderbuss and pistols, and from the admiral's ship. They remained in this position for more than ½ hour, waiting to be boarded. At ½ 11 o'clock the enemy ship on the right moved forward and the firing between us stopped. The admiral's ship, which was to the left, began to stick to the right and went under the stern of us so close that the bowsprit jib almost touched the rigging, and passed, came out to the right side, which is why they continued to fight with it on the right side. Soon a Turkish frigate came from the left side and, approaching within pistol shot, entered into battle with us, which is why we fought a second time on both sides.

During the continuation of this battle, the enemy ship fighting with us, having received great damage in the rigging, having all the sails shot, the jig on the bowsprit broken, moved away from us. At the beginning of 12 o'clock, 2 enemy ships approached from the left side, of which one was a 3-deck admiral's. The frigate fighting with us, having received great damage in the spar, retreated in thick smoke, descending into the wind. And the said ships fired fiercely, and we, using all possible actions, fired with cannonballs, branskugels, and being already under the wind of the rear enemy ships. The spars of our ship, the standing and running rigging were all already broken by then, and the sails were already all shot, the topmast cruising a little higher with the tops knocked down.”

The admiral reported to the emperor: “I, with the ship Skory, descended on the advanced Turkish ships and frigates, ordered Rear Admiral Greig to attack the enemy vanguard, one ship and two large frigates. Soon after, the leading frigate was shot down, and the ship held on for a few more, then it began to drift and with that movement stopped everyone following it. Then Rafail appeared to me, although with padded sails, he passed the Turkish line fairly well, and acted with artillery very regularly. The leading Turkish ship, having been severely beaten, began to descend to act along the ship Raphael, but I managed to warn him, be first on the enemy line and act with the left side on almost three Turkish ships.”

“Tverdy” fired at the Captain Bey’s ship approaching it, whose bow passed under the side of “Tverdy”. Between 11 and 12 o'clock "Tverdy" entered into battle with the Turkish rearguard, which was coming to the aid of the center. An eyewitness recalled: hundreds of guns “spewed out death and thunder, shaking not only the air, but also the very depths of the sea. The messenger holding the telescope was struck by two blows. Buckshot tore off his hand when he was handing the pipe to the admiral, and at the same moment a cannonball tore him in half and killed two more sailors.” Admiral Senyavin, being on the quarterdeck and quarterdeck of the Tverdoy, never lost his initiative and, most importantly, his presence of mind. His biographer said wonderful words: F.F. Ushakov “left him a legacy of a maneuver and another maneuver. And never before had Senyavin maneuvered so freely and brilliantly as in the Battle of Athos.”

By 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the Turkish ships, finding themselves under the wind, began to leave the battlefield and go to the Athos peninsula. At 1:30 a.m. there was a calm; the Russian squadron remained in place and ceased fire. The commander ordered repairs to the damage, mainly to the spar, and intended to wait for wind to continue the battle. Towards evening, they noticed how two Turkish ships and two frigates were far behind their own, and the admiral ordered to catch up with them and cut them off from the main forces. At night, "Selafail" caught up with the 80-gun Turkish ship of Admiral Bekir Bey, "Sed-El-Bahr" ("Stronghold of the Sea") and captured it. The Russians got rich trophies: the Sed-El-Bahra had excellent copper artillery of 42, 22 and 12-pound caliber, but, most importantly, on this ship there were eleven captured Russian sailors from the corvette Flora, crashed off the coast of Albania. Diplomatic official Pavel Svinin, who was on the squadron and witnessed the battle, recalled: “Poor people, almost naked, were chained with heavy chains to the cannons and were forced to fire” at their compatriots. “The Janissaries with drawn sabers watched their actions,” but the most amazing thing is that during the entire battle, not a single Russian cannonball ever hit them.”

At Athos, the Russians lost 80 people killed, 160 wounded and not a single ship, the Turks lost three battleships, four frigates, over 1000 people killed and 774 prisoners. A contemporary testified: “The Turks fought desperately and courageously, up to 500 people were killed and wounded on Seyid Ali’s ship, and out of 20 enemy ships on the eve of the battle, 12 entered the Dardanelles.” The captured Turkish admiral Bekir Bey, giving his flag to Senyavin, said: “If fate forced me to lose the flag, then I have not lost honor and I hope that my winner will testify that I defended it to the last extreme.” Having accepted the flag, Senyavin returned Bekir Bey’s saber, invited him to his cabin and “with sincere treatment, he so tied him to himself that when they parted, they parted as sincere friends. Bekir Bey is very witty. When the defeated Turkish fleet entered the Dardanelles, he was asked why all the ships had gilded lions instead of figureheads, and Bekir Bey, sighing, replied: “Good Muslims have the hearts of lions, it’s just a pity that they have donkey heads.”

The Russian sailors won, and in those conditions, with a sharp inequality of forces and an incapable wind, Dmitry Nikolaevich did everything he could. The strong headwinds that blew over the next 24 hours did not allow him to pursue the Turks; moreover, he was worried about the fate of the Kozlov musketeer regiment, which remained on Tenedos and withstood heavy battles with the enemy. Therefore, the admiral ordered to proceed to Tenedos.

Following the results of the Battle of Athos, “for the difference shown in the battle that took place with the Turkish squadron on the 19th of last June and in the defense of the fortresses on the island of Tenedos, His Imperial Majesty most graciously deigned to reward the 8th fleet captain and lieutenants with golden swords with the inscription: “For courage ", 13 legions of light riflemen to the officials of the saber, and to the priest of this legion a golden cross." Two Albanian officers also received golden sabers. D.N. The emperor granted Senyavin the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, Greig the Order of St. Anna, 1st degree; other naval officers received the same Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree. The chief of the Kozlov musketeer regiment, Colonel F. Padeisky, became Knight of St. George 3 classes.

The emperor did not deprive the lower ranks of the squadron of awards, who received “three hundred and fifty insignia of the military order.” “30 insignia of the military order” were received by “600 lower military personnel of the Kozlovsky Musketeer Regiment.” And the exploits of naval gunners testify to their skill and, most importantly, to the fact that the battle took place at close ranges.

Episode of the Battle of Athos June 19 (July 1), 1807
Copy of L.D. Blinov from a painting by A.P. Bogolyubova.

Many ships had severe damage to their rigging, broken sails and lost steering control. In an important source - the Yaroslav's logbook - it is written: “Having caught up with the 100-gun Pashinsky ship, we fought with it and the two ships closest to it. At ½ 11th hour the main topsail and the rigging were broken.” The ship did not listen well to the helm, and having shot all the ammunition on one side, it made a turn and began to shoot on the other side (right), and the enemy ships avoided the battle. Having corrected the broken rigging, on the “Yaroslav” they “added as many sails as possible and followed in line to their place. While fighting, they descended from the wind behind the enemies” and continued to fight with the Turkish ship and frigate. On the Yaroslav they saw and recognized all the signals from the flagship Tverdy and strictly followed them until Senyavin signaled to stop the attack. And the “half-compass figure” mentioned by Senyavin was explained by midshipman Vladimir Bronevsky, who served on the frigate “Venus,” by saying that the Russian ships found themselves in such a position at the moment when they were pressing the Turkish ships huddled together. Bronevsky specified the culmination of the battle: “Some of our ships, being covered in sails, changed them. Captain P.M. Rozhnov, in the very heat of battle, under grapeshot shots, changed the broken yard. Many captains repaired the damage without stopping fighting.”

The Battle of Athos on June 19 (July 1), 1807 is inscribed in golden letters in the military chronicle Russian fleet and serves as an example of patriotism and honest performance of military duty by sailors. Naval historians of the 19th century considered the Battle of Athos to be as outstanding as the Battle of Trafalgar, when in October 1805 the British defeated the Spanish-French fleet with small forces, and appointed Admiral D.N. Senyavin is on the same level as the English admiral Lord G. Nelson.

Galina Grebenshchikova,
professor of St. Petersburg State
maritime technical university,
Doctor of Historical Sciences

Battle of Athos
	Aegean Sea, off the Athos Peninsula
	Victory of the Russian fleet
Commanders
D. N. Senyavin
A. S. Greig	Bekir Bey Surrendered
Strengths of the parties
10 battleships	10 battleships, 5 frigates, 3 sloops, 2 brigs
77 killed, 189 wounded	2 ships of the line, 2 frigates, 1 sloop, 1 ship of the line captured, up to 1000 killed, 774 captured

Battle of Athos, also known as Battle of Mount Athos And Battle of Lemnos- occurred on July 1 (June 19 according to the Julian calendar) 1807 near the Athos peninsula in the Aegean Sea as part of the Second Archipelago Expedition campaign of the Russian fleet during the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812. During the battle, the Russian squadron of Vice Admiral D.N. Senyavin (10 battleships, 754 guns) attacked and defeated the Turkish squadron of Kapudan Pasha Seyit-Ali (10 battleships, 5 frigates, 3 sloops and 2 brigs, 1196 guns). Turkish losses: 3 battleships, 4 frigates and 1 sloop.

Battle

For a month after the defeat of the Turkish fleet at the Battle of the Dardanelles, the Russian fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Senyavin maneuvered, trying to lure the enemy out of the straits. Finally, on June 15 (27), taking advantage of the fact that the Russian squadron was delayed near the island of Imbros by weak winds, the Ottoman fleet moved out of the straits to the island of Tenedos, a temporary Russian base in the Aegean Sea, and landed troops there. For two days, ships and troops stormed the coastal fortifications of the island, but on June 17 (29) the sails of the Russian squadron appeared on the horizon.

Trying to avoid battle and distracting the fleet from Tenedos, the Turkish squadron circled it from the south and rushed to the west. Senyavin, leaving small ships to help the fortress, set out to search for the enemy and discovered him on June 19 (July 1) in an unsettled position at anchor between the island of Lemnos and Mount Athos.

From past experience, Senyavin knew that the Turks fight bravely unless their flagship is sunk or taken prisoner, since in the Ottoman Empire it was necessary to reach the flagship for leaving the battle the death penalty. Therefore, he concentrated all the fire on the Turkish flagships. By evening the enemy began to retreat, avoiding battle. In distress was the 2nd flagship of the Turkish squadron, the ship of Captain Bey Bekir Bey, on which all the yards and all the sails were shot down, and which was in tow behind a battleship and two frigates. However, upon seeing the Russian squadron, these ships abandoned the tow and fled, abandoning the admiral's ship, which was boarded.

On the morning of June 20 (July 2), it was discovered that the entire Turkish squadron, having caught a fair wind, was moving north to the island of Thassos, and the battleship and two frigates (previously helping the captain-bey’s ship) were cut off from it by the Russian squadron. On June 21 (July 3), Senyavin sent Rear Admiral Greig with three battleships in pursuit of the latter, but the Turkish sailors threw their ships ashore and set them on fire. At dawn on June 22 (July 4), another battleship and a frigate exploded in the retreating Turkish squadron, and two damaged frigates sank off the island of Samothraki. Of the 20 Turkish ships, only 12 returned to the Dardanelles.

On June 23 (July 5), Senyavin decided to no longer pursue the enemy and return to the aid of besieged Tenedos. However, due to headwinds and calm conditions, he arrived there only on June 25 (July 7). The Turkish landing surrendered and, leaving all their cannons and weapons, was transported to the Anatolian coast.

As a result of the battle, the Ottoman Empire lost its combat-ready fleet for more than a decade and agreed to sign the Slobodzeya Truce on August 12 (24).

Strengths of the parties

Name in Turkish

Name in Russian

Number of guns