After the defeat of the Egyptian-Turkish fleet in Navarin Bay by a joint Anglo-Franco-Russian squadron in October 1827, Great Britain and France did not want to enter into a further military conflict with Turkey, which Russia so sought. The Turkish government, given the differences between the three powers, stubbornly refused to give Greece autonomy and honor treaties with Russia. Relations between European powers and Turkey have become complicated. This created a tactical advantage for its closest neighbor, Russia, which could now act more decisively against Turkey. Türkiye's policy only pushed Russia's expansionist circles towards aggression.
The successful completion of the war with Iran and the signing of the Turkmanchay Peace allowed Nicholas I to start a war against Turkey. Russia saw the goal of this war as a solution to the problem of its control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits - “the keys to its own home,” as the Russians said at that time. Russia wanted to ensure freedom of access to the Mediterranean and consolidate its influence in the Balkans and Transcaucasia.
The formal reason for the outbreak of hostilities was Turkey’s “non-compliance” with the Akkerman Convention concluded with Russia in 1826, in particular, the article on freedom of passage Russian merchants through the Black Sea straits and on the right of Russian intercession in the affairs of the Danube principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia, and Serbia.
Having secured non-interference in the conflict from Great Britain, which, by virtue of the convention of 1827 and its participation in the Battle of Navarino, maintained neutrality and even pledged not to interfere with the advance of Russian troops, on May 7, 1828, Russia began a war of conquest with Turkey. The international situation really favored the Russian aggressors. Of all the great powers, only Austria openly provided material assistance to the Turks. France, for the same reasons and in view of the close ties established between the Bourbon government and the Russian Romanov government, also did not oppose Russia. Prussia took a neutral position towards Russia.
Incompetently managed, especially with the personal intervention of the Tsar, the Russian army, despite the bravery of the soldiers, for a long time could not overcome the not very strong resistance of the Turkish army, which was in the stage of reformation. Numerous mistakes by the Russian command delayed the war until the autumn of 1829. More or less successful military operations took place only in Transcaucasia. But in Europe it sometimes seemed that the Russians would leave with nothing and the whole enterprise would end in failure.
The Austrian Foreign Minister, Count Clement Metternich, who supported the Turks, hastened to notify the embassies of Great Britain, France and Prussia about the allegedly hopeless position of Russian troops in Balkan Peninsula and began to propose to the European powers to demand from militarily weak Russia an immediate end to the war. However, neither the governments nor the liberal part of society in these countries thought so, knowing well the Turkish Sultan Mahmud II as a representative of bloody despotism, the culprit of unheard-of atrocities against the Greeks.
The outcome of the war in Asia was decided after the army of Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich captured an important strategic point - Erzurum (1829). In the European theater of war, the army of Field Marshal Ivan Dibich, having finally killed the main Turkish forces at Kulevcha, broke through the Balkans and, reaching the Maritsa River valley, captured the city of Edirne (Adrianople). The vanguard of Russian troops began to threaten Istanbul (Constantinople).
The Turkish government, having suffered a series of military failures, began to seriously fear the occupation of the Turkish capital and the Bosporus and Dardanelles by enemy troops. Mahmud II decided to ask for peace. Negotiations began. Fearing international complications, as well as the fact that Turkey would learn about the weakness of the Russian army, which was not able to take Istanbul (about four thousand soldiers were in hospitals), Russia was in a hurry to end the war and put forward its demands. On September 14, 1829, in Edirne (Adrianople), a peace treaty that was enslaving to the vanquished was signed between Russia and Turkey. Türkiye agreed to Russian demands. Under the terms of the agreement, she gave Russia part of her territories: the entire Black Sea coast from the mouth of the Kuban River to the pier of St. Nicholas (near Poti) and part of the Akhaltsykh pashalyk. In the European part, the border between the two states was established along the Prut River before its confluence with the Danube; islands in the Danube Delta went to Russia. Turkey finally agreed to recognize the annexation of the Transcaucasian regions conquered by Russia at the beginning of the 19th century to Russia, as well as the Turkmanchay Peace Treaty with Iran. Russian ships have received confirmation of the right of passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles.
Russian troops remained in the Danube principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, as well as in the Bulgarian fortress of Silistria until all the conditions of the Treaty of Adrianople were fulfilled. According to the Russian-Turkish treaty of 1829, these principalities henceforth retained internal autonomy with the right to have a “zemstvo army,” i.e. they were independent in internal management, but vassal principalities in relation to Turkey. In relation to Serbia, which by that time had begun another uprising, the Turkish government undertook to fulfill the terms of the Bucharest Treaty on granting the Serbs the right to submit, through their deputies, to the Sultan demands for the urgent needs of the Serbian people. The following year, 1830, the incessant unrest of the Serbs (to whom Russia paid Special attention, since the Serbs and Russians adhered to the Eastern Greek-Christian religion) forced the Turkish Sultan to issue a decree according to which autonomy was also recognized for Serbia.
One of the important consequences of the Russian-Turkish war was the granting of independence to Greece. In the Treaty of Adrianople, Türkiye accepted all the conditions that determined the internal structure and borders of Greece. In 1830: Greece was declared an independent state, bound to the Turkish Sultan only by the obligation to pay 1.5 million piastres per year, and these payments began only in the fifth year after Turkey accepted the terms of the treaty. However, Greece did not include the disputed territories - part of Epirus, Thessaly, the island of Crete, the Ionian Islands and some other once Greek lands.
After lengthy negotiations between Great Britain, France and Russia regarding the structure of Greece, the population of the country was given the right to elect as sovereign any prince from the Christian dynasties reigning in Europe, but not an Englishman, not a Russian or a Frenchman. A monarchy was formed in Greece, headed by the Prussian Prince Otto. No matter how hard Russia tried, Greece soon came under the financial and then political control of Great Britain.
Thus, Russia's victory over Turkey provided Greece with state independence and strengthened the autonomy of Serbia, Wallachia and Moldova. The Adrianople Treaty gave Russia great benefits: it was an important milestone in the liberation of the Balkan peoples from Turkish rule, and also contributed to the fact that Russia had the opportunity to withdraw its troops from the Balkans in order to use them to pacify the uprising that broke out in 1830 in Poland and Belarus and Lithuania, as well as to deploy forces against the murids who continue to wage a people’s war in the Caucasus.
Thus, the strengthening of Russia’s position in the Balkans and Asia as a result of the war of 1828 - 1829. further aggravated the Eastern question. By this time the situation Ottoman Empire was significantly complicated due to the open rebellion against the power of the Sultan by another rebellious Turkish vassal - the Egyptian Pasha Muhammad Ali.
war between Russia and Turkey for the territories of Transcaucasia and the Balkan Peninsula.
This war was part of the "Eastern Question". Türkiye was worse prepared for war than Russia. In the Caucasus, the Russian army took the Turkish fortresses of Kars and Bayazet. In the Balkans in 1829, the Russian army inflicted a number of defeats on Turkish troops and took the city of Adrianople, located near the capital of Turkey. In September 1829, the Treaty of Adrianople was signed. Significant territories of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and part of the Armenian regions belonging to Turkey were transferred to Russia. Wide autonomy for Greece was guaranteed. In 1830, an independent Greek state was created.
(Cm. historical map“Territory of the Caucasus, transferred to Russia by the 1830s”).
Excellent definition
Russian-Turkish War 1828-1829
After the defeat of the Egyptian-Turkish fleet in Navarin Bay in 1827 by a united Anglo-Franco-Russian squadron, relations between the European powers and Turkey became more complicated. This created a tactical advantage for Russia, which could now act more decisively against Turkey. The Turkish government, by its policy, only facilitated the armed uprising of Russia. It refused to implement the Akkerman Convention concluded with Russia in 1826, in particular the articles on the rights and privileges of Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia, and constrained Russian maritime trade.
The successful completion of the war with Iran and the signing of the Turkmanchay Peace allowed Nicholas I to start a war against Turkey. In the spring of 1828, Russian troops crossed the border.
The international situation was favorable to Russia. Of all the great powers, only Austria openly provided material assistance to the Turks. England, by virtue of the convention of 1827 and its participation in the Battle of Navarino, was forced to maintain neutrality. France, for the same reasons and due to the close ties established between the Bourbon government and the tsarist government, also did not oppose Russia. Prussia also took a favorable position towards Russia.
Nevertheless, numerous mistakes by the Russian command delayed the war until the autumn of 1829. The outcome of the war in Asia was decided after Paskevich’s army captured an important strategic point - Erzurum (1829). In the European theater of war, Diebitsch's army broke through the Balkans, entered the Maritsa River valley and entered the city of Adrianople (Edirne), threatening the occupation of Constantinople (Istanbul).
After these military successes of Russia, the Turkish government, under pressure from England, which feared the occupation of the Turkish capital and the Black Sea straits by Russian troops, entered into peace negotiations, and on September 14, 1829, a Russian-Turkish peace treaty was signed in Adrianople. According to its terms, the border between Russia and Turkey in the European part was established along the Prut River until its confluence with the Danube. The entire Black Sea coast of the Caucasus from the mouth of the Kuban to the post of St. Nicholas (near Poti) finally passed to Russia. Turkey recognized the annexation of the regions of Transcaucasia, which became part of Russia in 1801-1813, to Russia, as well as in accordance with the Turkmanchay Peace Treaty with Iran.
Moldavia and Wallachia retained internal autonomy with the right to have a “zemstvo army.” In relation to Serbia, which had started a new uprising, the Turkish government pledged to fulfill the terms of the Bucharest Treaty on granting the Serbs the right to submit demands to the Sultan through their deputies about the urgent needs of the Serbian people. In 1830, a Sultan's decree was issued, according to which Serbia was recognized as independent in internal administration, but a vassal principality in relation to Turkey.
An important consequence of the Russian-Turkish war was the granting of independence to Greece. In the Treaty of Adrianople, Türkiye accepted all the conditions that determined the internal structure and borders of Greece. In 1830 Greece was declared completely independent. However, part of Epirus, Thessaly, the island of Crete, the Ionian Islands and some other Greek lands were not included in Greece. After lengthy negotiations between England, France and Russia regarding the structure of Greece, a monarchy was formed there, led by the German prince Otto. Greece soon fell under the financial and then political control of England.
Strengthening Russia's position in the Balkans and Asia as a result of the war of 1828-1829. further aggravated the Eastern question.
By this time, the situation in Turkey had become significantly more complicated due to the open action of the Egyptian Pasha Muhammad Ali against the Sultan.
Excellent definition
Incomplete definition ↓
Russian- Turkish war 1828–1829 was caused by Turkey's desire to preserve the disintegrating Ottoman Empire. Russia, supporting the uprising of the Greek people against Turkish rule, sent a squadron of L.P. to the shores of Greece. Heyden for military operations together with the Anglo-French fleet (see Archipelago Expedition of 1827). In December 1827, Turkey declared a “holy war” on Russia. Russian troops successfully operated in both, the Caucasian and Balkan, theaters of war. In the Caucasus, troops of I.F. Paskevich took Kars by storm, occupied Akhaltsikhe, Poti, Bayazit (1828), captured Erzurum and reached Trebizond (1829). At the Balkan theater, Russian troops P.Kh. Wittgenstein crossed the Danube and took Varna (1828), under the leadership of I.I. Dibich defeated the Turks at Kulevcha, captured Silistria, made a bold and unexpected transition through the Balkans, directly threatening Istanbul (1829). Under the peace treaty, Russia acquired the mouth of the Danube, the Black Sea coast from Kuban to Adjara and other territories.
Archipelago Expedition (1827)
Archipelago expedition of 1827 - expedition of the Russian squadron L.P. Heyden to the shores of Greece to support the Greek anti-Turkish uprising. In September 1827, the squadron joined the Anglo-French fleet in the Mediterranean for joint action against the Turks. After Turkey rejected the Allied ultimatum to cease hostilities against Greece, the Allied fleet completely destroyed the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Navarino. Heyden's squadron distinguished itself in the battle, destroying the center and right flank of the enemy fleet. During the subsequent Russian-Turkish war of 1828–1829. The Russian squadron blocked the Bosphorus and Dardanelles.
Navarino naval battle (1827)
The battle in Navarino Bay (the southwestern coast of the Peloponnese Peninsula) between the united squadrons of Russia, England and France, on the one hand, and the Turkish-Egyptian fleet, on the other, took place during the Greek national liberation revolution of 1821–1829.
The united squadrons included: from Russia - 4 battleships, 4 frigates; from England - 3 battleships, 5 corvettes; from France - 3 battleships, 2 frigates, 2 corvettes. Commander - English Vice Admiral E. Codrington. The Turkish-Egyptian squadron under the command of Muharrem Bey consisted of 3 battleships, 23 frigates, 40 corvettes and brigs.
Before the start of the battle, Codrington sent a parliamentarian to the Turks, then a second one. Both envoys were killed. In response, the united squadrons attacked the enemy on October 8 (20), 1827. The Battle of Navarino lasted about 4 hours and ended with the destruction of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet. His losses amounted to about 60 ships and up to 7 thousand people. The Allies did not lose a single ship, with only about 800 men killed and wounded.
During the battle, the following distinguished themselves: the flagship of the Russian squadron "Azov" under the command of Captain 1st Rank M.P. Lazarev, who destroyed 5 enemy ships. Lieutenant P.S. acted skillfully on this ship. Nakhimov, midshipman V.A. Kornilov and midshipman V.I. Istomin - future heroes of the Battle of Sinop and the defense of Sevastopol in Crimean War 1853–1856
The feat of the brig "Mercury"
The brig "Mercury" was laid down in January 1819 at the shipyard in Sevastopol, launched on May 19, 1820. Tactical and technical characteristics: length - 29.5 m, width - 9.4 m, draft - 2.95 m. Armament: 18 24-pounder guns.
There was a Russian-Turkish war of 1828–1829. In May 1829, "Mercury" as part of a small detachment under the flag of Lieutenant Commander P.Ya. Sakhnovsky, together with the frigate "Standart" and the brig "Orpheus", carried out patrol duty in the Bosphorus area. On the morning of May 26, a Turkish squadron consisting of 18 ships was discovered, including 6 battleships, 2 frigates and 2 corvettes. The overwhelming superiority of the enemy was undeniable, and therefore Sakhnovsky gave the signal not to accept the battle. Having raised all sails, "Standard" and "Orpheus" escaped the pursuit. "Mercury", built from heavy Crimean oak, and therefore significantly inferior in speed, lagged behind. The high-speed ships of the Turkish fleet, the 110-gun battleship Selimiye and the 74-gun Real Bay, rushed in pursuit and soon overtook the Russian brig.
Seeing the inevitability of a battle with the enemy, the brig commander, Lieutenant Commander A.I. Kazarsky gathered the officers. Traditionally, the first to speak was the youngest lieutenant of the corps of naval navigators I.P. Prokofiev expressed the general opinion - to accept the battle, and in the event of a threat of capture of the ship - to blow it up, for which purpose leave a loaded pistol near the cruise chamber.
The brig was the first to fire a salvo at the enemy. Kazarsky skillfully maneuvered, preventing the Turks from conducting aimed fire. Somewhat later, Real Bay was still able to take up a firing position on the left side and Mercury came under crossfire. The Turks showered the brig with cannonballs and cannonballs. Fire started in many places. Part of the team began to extinguish it, but the well-aimed fire from the Turkish ships did not weaken. The Russian gunners managed to inflict such significant damage to the Selimiye that the Turkish ship was forced to drift. But Real Bay continued to fire at the Russian brig. Finally, he also received a cannonball hit in the front mast and began to fall behind. This unprecedented battle lasted about 4 hours. "Mercury", despite the fact that it received 22 hits in the hull and about 300 in the rigging and masts, emerged victorious and the next day joined the Black Sea squadron. For the feat, captain-lieutenant A.I. Kazarsky was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree and promoted to captain of the 2nd rank, and the ship was awarded the stern St. George flag and pennant. In addition, the imperial rescript stated that “when this brig falls into disrepair, build according to the same drawing and in perfect similarity with it the same ship, named “Mercury”, assigning it to the same crew, to which it will be transferred and St. George's flag with a pennant."
This tradition, which has developed in the Russian fleet, continues to this day. In the wide expanses of the seas and oceans, the sea minesweeper "Kazarsky" and the hydrographic vessel "Memory of Mercury" fly the Russian flag.
The commander of the legendary brig A.I. Kazarsky was appointed to the retinue of Nicholas I in April 1831 and soon received the rank of captain 1st rank. On June 28, 1833, he died suddenly in Nikolaev. In Sevastopol according to the project of A.P. Bryullov, a monument to the brave sailor was laid. On the stone truncated pyramid there is a stylized model of an antique warship and a short inscription: “To the Kazars - as an example to posterity.”
Russia's assistance to the Greek people, who rebelled against Turkish rule, led to a worsening of relations between Russia and Turkey. After the defeat of the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Navarino on October 8, 1827, the Turkish Sultan announced the termination of the Russian-Turkish agreements and called on his subjects to a “holy war” against Russia. The Turkish government, instigated by Austria, which sought to weaken Russian influence in the Balkans, closed the straits to the passage of Russian ships and began to impede Russian trade in the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
The Russian government declared war on Turkey on April 14, 1828. According to the war plan of the main army under the command of Field Marshal P.Kh. Wittgenstein was given the task of occupying Moldavia and Wallachia, then, crossing the Danube, operating in Bulgaria and Rumelia, the Caucasian Army under the command of General I.F. Paskevich - conduct operations in the direction of Erzurum to the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral A.S. Greig was entrusted with the task of destroying the Turkish fleet if it left the Bosphorus, assisting the army in capturing the western shore of the Black Sea, capturing Anapa, and fighting Turkish shipping. The task of the Danube Rowing Flotilla is to assist the army in its operations on the Danube, the Mediterranean squadron of Vice Admiral L.P. Heyden - act against the Turks in the Morea and blockade the Dardanelles.
Actions on the Black SeaThe Russian Black Sea Fleet consisted of 9 battleships, 6 frigates, a corvette, 5 brigs, a brigantine, 2 schooners, 3 luggers, 4 boats, 2 bombardment ships, 3 steamships and 17 transports.
The Turkish fleet consisted of 6 battleships, 3 frigates, 9 small ships.
With the outbreak of the war, the Black Sea Fleet launched active military operations against Turkish naval fortresses and shipping. The first Turkish fortress that was taken with the active participation of the fleet was Anapa, which posed a threat to Kuban and Crimea.
Siege and capture of Anapa May 6 - June 12, 1828The Anapa fortress was located on an elevated cape. From the land it was surrounded by a rampart with 4 bastions and surrounded by a deep moat. High and steep banks made it difficult to attack from the sea. The fortress was armed with 83 guns. The garrison under the command of Osman-oglu numbered about 5 thousand people. In addition, up to 8 thousand highlanders were concentrated in the vicinity of Anapa, operating in the rear of Russian troops in the Caucasus.
On April 21, a squadron of the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral A.S. Greig, consisting of 7 battleships “Paris”, “Emperor Franz”, “Panteleimon”, “Parmen”, “Nord-Adler”, “Pimen”, “John Chrysostom”, 4 frigates “Flora”, “Eustathius”, “Standard” ", "Hasty", sloop "Diana", corvette "Jason", 2 bombardment ships "Podobny", "Experience", brigs "Mercury", "Ganymede", "Pegasus", steamship "Meteor", 5 small ships and transport The “Snake” left Sevastopol and headed towards Anapa. With the squadron on 8 chartered merchant ships, a landing force was sent consisting of two infantry regiments and 1 battery company (5 thousand people and 8 guns) under the command of Rear Admiral Prince A.S. Menshikov. The squadron and ships with the landing force arrived at Anapa on May 2.
The next day, a detachment of Colonel Perovsky (900 people) arrived from Taman. On May 6, under the cover of Perovsky’s detachment, the landing troops were landed on the shore, where they camped 2 km from the fortress and began siege work.
Admiral A.S. Greig
To disrupt the sea communications of the fortress, frigates and light ships from the A.C. squadron. From the first days of the siege, Greig was cruising off the Caucasian coast.
On May 6, in connection with the attack of significant forces of the highlanders on the troops besieging Anapa, the frigate "Eustathius" (captain 2nd rank G.A. Polsky), the schooner "Sevastopol" (Lieutenant I.A. Arkas), and the boat " Lark" (Lieutenant B.S. Kharechkov) and the steamer "Meteor" (Lieutenant A.P. Skryagin). With their fire they supported the coastal flank of the ground forces. On the same day, the brig “Ganymede” (Lieutenant-Captain A.S. Ushakov) captured a Turkish ship near Sudzhuk-Kale, which was carrying 310 soldiers to reinforce the garrison of Anapa. At the same time, the “Falcon” boat destroyed a second Turkish ship off the coast, which had previously managed to land troops ashore. On May 8, the same boat captured and brought to Anapa a two-masted ship carrying 300 soldiers and officers.
The Russian command decided to destroy the fortifications of the fortress by shelling from the sea, and then take it by storm. On May 7, from 11 to 15 hours, a detachment allocated from the squadron: battleships “Nord-Adler”, “Panteleimon”, “Pimen”, “Parmen”, “John Chrysostom”, frigates “Eustathius”, “Pospeshny”, “Flora” , "Standart" and bombardment ships "Podobny" and "Experience" (567 guns), bombarded the fortress, firing up to 8,000 shells. As a result of the return fire from the fortress batteries, the Russian ships participating in the bombardment received over 80 holes in the hulls and up to 180 hits in the spars and rigging, 113 killed and wounded. The most damaged were the battleship Panteleimon and the frigates Eustathius and Pospeshny.
Due to the shallow water, the ships could not approach the shore within range of actual artillery fire, as a result of which it was not possible to destroy the walls of the coastal fortifications, which in turn did not make it possible to carry out the planned assault on the fortress by ground forces, so it was decided to begin the siege of Anapa.
From May 9 until the end of the siege, the fortress was fired daily from the sea by a battleship and a frigate or a battleship and bombardment ships, which were replaced every day. The battleships “Panteleimon”, “Parmen”, “Pimen”, “Skory”, “Nord-Adler”, the frigate “Flora”, bombardment ships “Experience”, “Podobny” and the brig “Pegasus” took part in the bombing.
During the siege, small ships and transports delivered ammunition and food to the squadron and troops and transported the wounded and sick to Kerch and Sevastopol.
At the end of April, information was received that the Turkish fleet was in the Bosphorus and was preparing to go to sea. To cover ships delivering supplies to the ports of Romania and the blockade of Varna, a detachment of Vice Admiral F.F. was sent from Anapa to Cape Kaliakria on May 15. Messer consisting of 3 battleships “Emperor Franz”, “Pimen”, “John Chrysostom”, 3 frigates “Eustathius”, “Standart”, “Raphael”, brig “Mercury” and brigantine “Elizabeth”.
The Turks, with the active participation of the mountaineers, launched several forays from the fortress, which were repulsed by Russian troops. The battles on May 18 and 28 were especially stubborn, in which up to 6 thousand people took part on both sides. On May 18, a detachment consisting of the battleships Parmen, Nord-Adler and the frigate Flora and two bombardment ships held the Anapa fortress under fire all day. As a result, the foray undertaken by the Turks against the Russian troops besieging the fortress was unsuccessful.
The assault on the fortress was scheduled for June 10. The Turkish command, considering further resistance useless, began negotiations on surrender. On June 12, Anapa capitulated. 4,000 prisoners, 83 guns, 29 banners and a large amount of military supplies and equipment were taken from the fortress.
Two days after the surrender, the capitulated Anapa garrison was loaded onto transport ships and, accompanied by the frigates Flora and Pospeshny, sent to Kerch.
Having received landings and siege artillery from the shore, the squadron of Admiral A.S. Greiga left Anapa for Sevastopol on July 3. Several small ships were abandoned off the coast of the Caucasus.
On July 8, the brig "Orpheus" (Lieutenant-Captain of the Guards crew N.P. Rimsky-Korsakov), with the task of assisting the ground forces storming the Kyustendzhi fortress (Constanza), stood on the spring at a distance of a rifle shot from the coastal batteries, within five seconds spent half an hour shelling the fortress. The Turks, in turn, concentrated fire on the small Russian ship. The Orpheus received 66 holes in the hull, including 6 underwater ones, and a lot of damage to the mast and rigging. As a result of the assault and shelling from the sea, the fortress was forced to capitulate.
Having replenished its supplies of combat supplies and food, the squadron on July 9 headed to the Rumelian shores to join the detachment cruising here under the command of Vice Admiral F.F. Messer for operations against the fortress of Varna.
Siege and capture of Varna July 22 - September 29, 1828The fortifications of the Varna fortress consisted of 12 bastions with 11 guns each and two with 17 guns. Inside the fortress there was a well-fortified citadel. The garrison under the command of Izzet Mehmet Pasha numbered 12 thousand people.
The eastern front of the fortress was covered by the sea, the southern - by the swamp. Because of the shallow waters, the ships could not approach Varna closer than 5-6 cabs. This allowed the Turks to concentrate the main forces of the garrison to protect the northern and eastern faces of the fortress.
Squadron of Admiral A.C. Greiga arrived at Kovarna on July 13, where she joined up with the detachment of Vice Admiral F.F. Messer. The troops of A.S. Menshikov (10 thousand people) were landed on the shore and headed towards Varna. On the same day, two battleships were sent to Varna, and a frigate and a brig cruised between Kovarna and Varna.
Russian troops, having taken a position near the village of Buyuk Franga, began to besiege the fortress from the north. From the south, the command decided to limit itself to observation until reinforcements arrived. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Russian forces on the southern side, the Turks in July - August transferred reinforcements to the fortress (12 thousand people in total).
On July 22, the A.S. squadron arrived at Varna. Greig (6 battleships, 3 frigates, 6 small ships). Due to the fact that Admiral Greig’s offer to the commandant of Varna to surrender the fortress was refused on July 25, it was decided to begin the siege of the fortress from land, supporting the army’s actions with systematic bombardment of Varna from the sea.
On the night of July 26, a detachment of 18 armed boats - two each from the ships and frigates of the squadron - under the command of the chief of staff of the fleet, captain 2nd rank V.I. Melikhov attacked a Turkish flotilla of 14 rowing ships standing under the walls of the fortress. After half an hour of resistance, all Turkish ships, despite the fire of the fortress batteries, were captured and brought to the squadron. This allowed Russian ships to bombard the fortress every day from July 26 to September 29 without hindrance.
On August 7, the main forces of the fleet took part in the shelling of the fortress - the battleships "Pimen" (Captain 1st Rank M.N. Kumani), "Emperor Franz" (Captain 1st Rank M.A. Umanets), "Parmen" (Captain 1st Rank I .S. Skalovsky), "Paris" (captain 1st rank D.E. Balsam), "John Chrysostom" (captain 1st rank E.D. Papaegorov), "Panteleimon" (captain 2nd rank S.A. Esmont), " Nord-Adler" (captain 1st rank I.I. Stozhevsky), "Skory" (captain 2nd rank S.M. Mikhailin). Because of the shallow waters, only one ship could approach the fortress. Therefore, the ships, maneuvering under sail in a wake column formation, forming a kind of “carousel”, approached Varna one by one and fired at it from a distance of 0.5 cabs. As a result of the shelling, which lasted 3.5 hours, the fire of the seaside bastion was suppressed. The garrison lost up to 500 people killed; the Russian ships had no losses.
Repeated attacks by the Turks (the most significant on August 9 and September 18) were unable to disrupt the siege work that was already underway at the walls of the fortress.
In early August, it became known that in the small Turkish fortress of Inade, located on the Rumelian beret halfway from the Bosphorus to Varna, large reserves of gunpowder, shells and ammunition were concentrated, intended for delivery to besieged Varna. To destroy these stocks A.C. Greig sent a detachment of captain 1st rank N.D. Kritsky consisting of two 44-gun frigates “Raphael” and “Pospeshny”, a 14-gun brigantine “Elizabeth” and a 12-gun boat “Nightingale”. Approaching Inada at dawn on August 17, the detachment stood within grapeshot range.
The frigates stood against the redoubts and silenced the Turkish batteries, while the brigantine and the boat cleared the landing site with fire. Under the cover of naval fire, a landing party of 370 sailors under the command of Kritsky was landed on the shore. With an energetic attack, the landing party captured a 4-gun coastal battery, after which the Turks, stunned by the determination and pressure of the sailors, hastily abandoned them as the landing force approached other fortifications.
Having occupied the fortress, the landing party captured 12 copper cannons, riveted the rest, blew up fortifications and warehouses with supplies and returned to the ships by dark, losing one killed and 5 wounded.
Due to the fact that ships and frigates could not approach the fortress at close range due to the draft, 5 Iols were transferred to Varna at the end of August from the Danube and Nikolaev, each of which had one 18-pound gun and 5 gunboats, weapons which consisted of three 24-pound guns each. The arrival of these rowing ships made it possible to carry out continuous bombardment of the fortifications and, most importantly, the southern front of the fortress, where large ships had absolutely no access.
On August 27, Emperor Nicholas I arrived in Varna on the frigate Flora, who and his retinue settled on the 110-gun battleship Paris. A telescope was installed on the poop of the ship so that Nicholas I could observe the actions of troops and ships.
The next day, the Guards Corps (25.5 thousand people) approached Varna. The Guards crew under the command of Rear Admiral F.F. also arrived with him. Bellingshausen consisting of eight companies. Companies of the guards crew were stationed on the battleships Paris, Pimen, Parmen, frigates Flora, Shtandart, Pospeshny and Rafail, crew commander F.F. Bellingshausen raised his flag on the ship Parmen.
The successful bombardment of the Varna fortress by ships of the squadron and a detachment of the rowing flotilla, carried out on August 31, contributed to the capture of one of the fortifications of the fortress by ground forces. In one day, the enemy lost up to 500 people.
110-gun battleship Paris
On September 25, the assault on the fortress began. The main blow was delivered to the seaside bastion, which was systematically fired upon by Russian ships. At the same time, a demonstrative attack was carried out on the western front of the fortress. Suffering heavy losses, the Turks repelled the attacks of Russian troops. However, the garrison's forces were exhausted by the prolonged siege. On September 29, not counting on outside help, the fortress capitulated. Of the 27,000 people in the fortress garrison, only 9,000 remained at the end of the siege. 291 guns and a large amount of ammunition were taken.
On October 2, the Emperor moved from Paris to the battleship Empress Maria, and it, accompanied by the Meteor steamship and the Uteha yacht, headed for Odessa. The ships arrived in Odessa only on the night of October 7–8, having withstood a severe storm during the transition.
On October 6, the ships of the squadron, having taken the sick and wounded from the shore, as well as fortress artillery, left for Sevastopol.
During 1828, the Turkish fleet did not dare to enter the Black Sea.
From November 1828 to February 1829, detachments of ships, each of which included two battleships, a frigate and a brig, replacing each other, cruised between Varna and the Bosporus. The detachments were commanded by rear admirals M.N. Cumani and I.I. Stozhevsky. Heading out for cruising, Rear Admiral M.N. Cumani gave instructions to the commanders of the ships: “if the ship is carried away by a storm to the Bosporus and it cannot move away from the strait, under full sail, break through to the Sea of Marmara and from there to the Archipelago to Heyden’s squadron.”
Russian ships inspected the bays and fortified points of the Pharos Gulf (Messembria, Achiollo, Burgas, Sizopol). After this M.N. Cumani proposed to capture the weakly fortified Sizopol with a surprise attack, which could serve as a good maneuverable base for fleet operations in the summer of 1829.
Capture of the Sizopol fortress on February 16, 1829On February 11, 1829, a squadron under the command of Rear Admiral M.N. Kumani as part of the battleships "Pimen" (flag of Rear Admiral M.N. Kumani, captain 1st rank L.I. Chernikov), "Empress Maria" (captain 1st rank G.A. Papakhristo), "Panteleimon" (captain 1 rank S.A. Esmont), frigates "Rafail" (captain 2nd rank S.M. Stroynikov), "Eustathius" (captain-lieutenant Y.Ya. Shostenko), gunboats "Angry", "Badger", "Tarantul" (335 guns) and several chartered ships, having received a landing force (1162 people, including 500 from the guards and naval crews with 10 guns), left Varna and arrived at the Sizopol roadstead on the 15th. The Turks opened fire on the ships. The squadron anchored, and a parliamentarian was sent ashore with a proposal to surrender the fortress. The commandant of the fortress refused. After this, the ships opened fire on the fortifications. By 15 o'clock all the Turkish batteries were shot down. A Turkish envoy arrived on the flagship for negotiations. The fortress capitulated.
The next day, the landing troops occupied the fortress without opposition. The garrison fled, leaving two banners, 9 fortress and 2 field guns and a large amount of ammunition and equipment. Sailors and troops began to restore and arm the fortifications.
On March 13, the battleships Empress Maria and Parmen delivered 1,000 people from Varna to reinforce the garrison of Sizopol. Two weeks later, on March 28, Turkish troops numbering up to 6 thousand people attacked Sizopol. "Empress Maria" and "Parmen" took part in repelling the attack, which was repulsed with heavy losses for the Turks.
On April 19, the squadron of Admiral A.S. moved from Sevastopol to the Sizopol roadstead. Greig for action against the Turkish fleet. Sizopol became its maneuver base.
At the beginning of April, information was received about the preparations of the Turkish fleet to go to sea, and on April 12, about the departure to sea of a detachment of a battleship, a frigate and a brig. To search for him, but with great delay, on April 21, a detachment of captain 1st rank I.S. was sent. Skalovsky (battleships “Parmen”, “Nord-Adler”, “John Chrysostom”, frigates “Pospeshny” and “Standard” and brig “Mingrelia”). Not finding the enemy near the Bosphorus, the detachment went along the Anatolian coast. From a survey of commercial vessels, it became known that a Turkish battleship that had just been launched from the slipway was being armed in Penderaklia, and a 26-gun corvette was being built and prepared for launching in Achkesar. I.S. Skalovsky decided to seize these ships or, as a last resort, destroy them.
On May 3, the detachment approached Penderaklia and fired at the coastal battery at Cape Baba, which covered the entrance to the bay. On the night of May 4, armed rowing ships were sent from the detachment to capture and destroy enemy ships, including 60-push. battleship, but due to heavy fire from the batteries, these ships were forced to return. In the morning, a detachment of volunteers from ships under the command of midshipman Treskin on a boat under fire from Turkish riflemen from the shore, approaching the battleship, nailed hemp fenders covered in resin to its side and set it on fire, as a result of which the ship burned and set fire to military transport and military vehicles standing nearby. 15 small vessels. On May 5, artillery fire from 44 guns. frigate “Pospeshny” and brig “Mingrelia” from the detachment I.S. Skalovsky near the town of Achkesar, a Turkish 20-push being built on a slipway was destroyed. corvette. After this, the detachment returned to Sizopol.
While the detachment of I.S. Skalovsky operated off the Anatolian coast; there was not a single Russian vessel left near the Bosporus to monitor the strait.
Taking advantage of this, the Turkish fleet of 18 pennants (6 battleships, 3 frigates and 9 small ships) left the Bosphorus on May 11 and headed east, expecting to meet and defeat the detachment of I.S. Skalovsky.
The next day, one of the most shameful events of this war for our fleet occurred. The 44-gun frigate "Raphael" (Captain 2nd Rank S.M. Stroynikov), which set out on a cruising cruise between Sinop and Batum on May 10, met a Turkish squadron at dawn on May 12 in the Penderaklia area, 30 miles from the Anatolian coast. Due to low wind conditions, the frigate was unable to escape and was surrounded by the enemy. At the military council, the officers decided to “fight to the last drop of blood,” but the confused Stroynikov showed cowardice, negotiated with the enemy and surrendered the frigate. The Turkish fleet then turned towards the Bosphorus.
After the conclusion of the Adrianople Peace Treaty, the Raphael crew returned to Russia. According to the court, the commander and all the officers were demoted to sailors without length of service (except for one midshipman, who was in the cruise chamber at the time of surrender). Emperor Nicholas I pronounced the sentence: “If the Raphael ever falls into our hands again, we must put it to the fire as unworthy of wearing the Russian flag.” The former commander of the frigate, demoted to sailor, was forbidden to marry, “so as not to have offspring of a coward and a traitor in Russia.”
The frigate "Raphael", renamed by the Turks as "Fazli-Allah" (" God given"), existed in the Turkish fleet until 1853, when it was destroyed in the Battle of Sinop on November 18, 1853 by the squadron of Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov.
Just three days after this shameful incident, an event of exactly the opposite nature occurred.
Battle of the brig "Mercury" with the Turkish battleships May 14, 1829On May 12, a detachment of ships consisting of the frigate "Standard" and the brigs "Orpheus" and "Mercury" went to the Bosphorus Strait to observe the enemy fleet. On May 14, Russian ships met a Turkish squadron (18 pennants) heading towards the Bosporus. The faster "Standard" and "Orpheus", having set all sails, broke away from the pursuit. "Mercury" was overtaken by two Turkish battleships - the 110-gun "Selime" under the flag of Kapudan Pasha (commander-in-chief) and the 74-gun "Real Bay" under the rear admiral's flag. The wind that died down for a while allowed the brig, “at the oars,” to stay out of range of enemy fire for some time and even increase the distance to him. He began to move away from the Turks, but the wind freshened, and the Turkish ships, having set all upper sails, again began to catch up with the brig. “Selime” tried to get around “Mercury” on the right, “Real Bay” on the left.
The commander of the brig, captain-lieutenant A.I. Kazarsky gathered the officers of the brig for a military council. According to tradition, the first to speak was the youngest of the officers - Lieutenant of the naval navigator corps I. Prokofiev, who proposed to take the fight, and if there was a threat of capture, to get close to the enemy and blow up his ship. All officers supported this proposal. The decision was announced to the team, which unanimously approved it. A.I. Kazarsky ordered to prepare for a decisive battle. A loaded pistol was placed on the spire in front of the entrance to the cruise chamber, so that at a critical moment for the ship, the last surviving officer of the brig would blow up the ship along with the enemy by shooting into a barrel of gunpowder.
Brig "Mercury"
Captain-Lieutenant A.I. Kazarsky
At about 13.30 both Turkish ships came within effective fire range and began the battle. In an effort to put the brig under two fires, the enemy intended to force it to surrender, initially hitting it with longitudinal shots from running guns. Exceptionally skillful maneuvering of A.I. Kazarsky, who used both sails and oars to prevent the enemy from using his tenfold superiority in artillery, made it difficult for him to conduct aimed fire.
Half an hour later, the Turkish ships managed to put the brig on two fires and fire two salvos at it, after which the Turkish flagship shouted in Russian: “Surrender, remove the sails!” In response, the brig opened fire from all cannons and rifles to a loud “hurray.” The Turks continued to destroy the Russian brig with all their guns.
Of course, soon the Mercury was completely beaten, the sails were torn, water entered the hold through underwater holes, fires broke out three times, but were extinguished. The situation was becoming critical, but A.I. Kazarsky, inspiring the team, continued the fight.
The Mercury gunners fired mainly at the enemy's spars and rigging. With well-aimed fire they managed to destroy several mains gear on the Kapudan Pasha's ship "Selime", which forced him to drift. They then concentrated their fire on the second ship. At about 17.30, two yards were broken on it, and foxes were shot down. After this, Real Bay also stopped pursuing and began to drift.
The battle lasted 4 hours. Thanks to the skillful maneuvering of A.I. Kazarsky not only prevented the enemy from using his tenfold superiority in artillery, but inflicted heavy damage to the Turkish ships in the sails and spars.
The Mercury's losses were: 4 killed, 8 wounded, including brig commander A.I. Kazarsky. The brig received 22 holes in the hull, 16 damage to the spar, 148 damage to the rigging, and 133 holes in the sails. On May 15, he met with a squadron that had left Sizopol to help him. The brig was sent to Sizopol for corrections, and on the 30th it went to Sevastopol for repairs.
The brig's feat aroused not only the admiration of his compatriots, but also the recognition of the enemy. One of the Turkish navigators who took part in the battle wrote that “when the ship of Kapudan Pasha and the second one caught up with the brig and opened heavy fire, an unheard-of and incredible thing happened - we could not force it to surrender. He fought, retreating and maneuvering, with all the skill of an experienced battle captain, to the point that - I’m ashamed to admit - we stopped the battle, and he continued his path with glory...”
By decree of Emperor Nicholas I of July 28, 1829, the brig "Mercury" was awarded the St. George flag. To perpetuate the memory of the heroic deed, it was decided that after the brig fell into disrepair, to build a new one called “Memory of Mercury” and in the future to always have a ship in the fleet under that name.
A.C. Greig and the squadron went to sea on May 15, having received information from the frigate "Standard" about the exit of the Turks. After meeting with the Mercury, the squadron, having stayed at sea for 10 days, returned to Sizopol on May 26.
In May, the Turkish fleet entered the Black Sea five times. However, the Turks, although slightly inferior in number to the Russian squadron, did not move far from the Bosphorus and avoided meetings with the Russian squadron. Several times they tried to pursue Russian patrol ships, but they could not catch up with any of them. But also A.S. Greig never took advantage of the opportunity to defeat the Turkish fleet.
On June 1, the Turkish fleet entered the Black Sea for the last time, after which it defended itself in Constantinople until the end of the war.
The vanguard of the Russian army reached the southern slopes of the Balkans on July 8. To assist the ground forces in advancing to Adrianople, the fleet took a chain of fortresses on the Bulgarian coast.
On July 9, the squadron of Admiral A.S. Greiga, consisting of 3 battleships, 3 frigates and 2 bombardment ships, approached the Messembria fortress besieged by Russian troops and began bombarding it. A successful shot from the bombardment ship “Podobny” blew up the powder magazine in the fortress. Two days later, Messemvria surrendered.
A landing force of 77 people landed from 20 guns. brig "Orpheus" (Lieutenant-Captain E.I. Koltovsky) on July 11, the fortress and city of Achiollo were taken. Together with the captured part of the garrison, a corvette that was not fully completed (named “Olga” in honor of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, daughter of Nicholas I) was captured and 13 guns and a large number of military supplies and weapons were taken.
On July 21, a landing party consisting of three companies (236 people), landed from the frigate "Pospeshny" (Lieutenant-Captain E.I. Koltovsky), the brig "Orpheus" (Lieutenant N.A. Vlasyev) and the steamer "Meteor" (Lieutenant-Captain G.I. . Nemtinov), the fortress and the city of Vasiliko were occupied. The Turkish garrison of 300 people, fearing encirclement, left the city without a fight.
Three days later, on July 24, the same detachment of ships, joined by the frigate "Flora" (Lieutenant-Captain K.N. Baskakov) and 8 Iols, approached the city of Agatopol and suppressed coastal batteries, landed an assault force of 800 people, which captured the city . The Turkish garrison of 1,200 people retreated without taking the fight, leaving 7 guns, a large number of shells and about 400 pounds of flour in the city.
Brig "Orpheus"
Detachment of Rear Admiral I.I. Stozhevsky, consisting of the battleships "John Chrysostom", "Pimen", the brigs "Ganymede", "Mingrelia" and the bombardment ships "Experience", "Similar" and the lugger "Glubokiy" on August 13, approaching the Midia fortress, stood at the disposition and bombarded Turkish fortifications. Landing units were landed from the ships, but they were unable, however, to cross the deep river that blocked the path to the fortress under enemy fire. As a result, the landing party was returned to the ships. The fortress fortifications of Media, located at a high altitude, turned out to be accessible only to the mounted fire of mortars, while the fire of the ships, which also fired in a large swell, did not produce results, and the operation was stopped. The battleships participating in the bombing received big number damage.
On August 17, the landing force landed from 8 Iol under the command of Lieutenant Panyutin occupied the Midia fortress, the garrison of which consisted of 700 infantry and 300 cavalry. 9 guns with a large supply of shells and gunpowder were taken from the fortress.
The last time the Russian fleet reached the Bosphorus was on August 21, having received information the day before about the allegedly impending exit of the Turkish fleet. But the Turks have already begun peace negotiations.
Actions on the DanubeCombat operations on land began in April 1828, when Russian troops crossed the Danube and began the siege of the Turkish fortresses of Silistria, Shumla, and Varna.
Danube rowing military flotilla under the command of captain 1st rank I.I. Zavadovsky, consisting of 25 gunboats and 17 iols with landing units and materials for building pontoon bridges, concentrated at Brailov on May 25, 1828. The flotilla was entrusted with the task of arranging crossings and assisting the Danube Army.
On May 27 and 28, a flotilla detachment under the command of captain 2nd rank N.Yu. Patanioti, consisting of 8 gunboats and 4 ships, facilitated the crossing of ground forces across the Danube near the village of Satunovo (below Brailov) and suppressed the fire of Turkish batteries on the left bank of the Danube.
A detachment of the Danube flotilla consisting of 16 gunboats under the command of captain 1st rank I.I. On May 28, Zavadovsky attacked a Turkish rowing flotilla consisting of 28 ships stationed in the Machinsky branch. As a result of a three-hour battle, 12 enemy ships were captured (4 river sloops, 7 gunboats and the boat of the head of the Turkish flotilla), one ship was sunk, and one was burned. At the same time, another part of the Russian flotilla blocked the Brailov fortress.
From July 27 to November 13, 1828 (before the river froze), the Danube flotilla (Rear Admiral I.I. Zavadovsky) consisting of 50 rowing ships blocked the fortress of Silistria, assisting the ground forces besieging it.
With the opening of navigation - from May 3 to June 20, 1829, the flotilla under the command of captain 1st rank N.Yu. Patanioti, consisting of 20 gunboats, 5 ships, and 5 transports, took part in the siege and capture of the Turkish fortress of Silistria. During the siege, the flotilla captured 15 Turkish river ships.
Actions in the ArchipelagoThe squadron of Vice Admiral L.P. remaining in the Mediterranean Sea after the Battle of Navarino. Heyden as part of the battleships "Azov", "Ezekiel", "Alexander Nevsky", the frigates "Konstantin", "Castor", "Elena", the corvette "Thundering" and the brigs "Zeldiye", "Okhta", "Achilles" with the beginning military operations with Turkey cruised in the Archipelago. To strengthen the squadron L.P. Heyden in June 1828, a detachment of Rear Admiral P.I. was sent from Kronstadt to the Mediterranean Sea. Ricorda.
April 21, 1828 near the Modon fortress 74-push. battleship "Ezekiel" (captain 1st rank I.I. Svinkin) and 36-gun. The frigate "Castor" (Lieutenant-Captain I.S. Sytin) took the Egyptian 20-gun. corvette "Eastern Star". The St. Andrew's flag was raised on it and a new name was given - “Navarin”. Its first commander was Lieutenant Commander P.S. Nakhimov is a future admiral. The corvette served in the Russian fleet for 25 years.
In the fall of 1828, Heyden received a new task - to blockade the Dardanelles in order to stop the supply of supplies from the Turkish regions of the Mediterranean Sea to Constantinople and to prevent Turkish ships from leaving the Dardanelles with weapons and troops intended for action against the Greeks.
In October from Baltic Sea a detachment of Rear Admiral P.I. arrived. Rikord as part of the battleships “Fershampenoise”, “Tsar Constantine”, “Prince Vladimir”, “Emmanuel”, frigates “Olga”, “Maria”, “Alexandra”, brigs “Ulysses”, “Telemaque”. The squadron doubled in size. Now she could operate both in the Archipelago and the Dardanelles.
On November 2, 1828, P.I. Ricord with the battleships Ferchampenoise and Emmanuel and the frigates Olga and Maria arrived at the Dardanelles and blocked the strait until February 1829.
The battleship "Tsar Konstantin" (captain 1st rank I.N. Butakov) during cruising near the island. Candia (Crete) January 28, 1829 captured the Egyptian 26-push. corvette "Lioness" and 14-push. brig "Candia".
In March 1829, almost the entire squadron of L.P. was concentrated at the Dardanelles. Heyden to implement a close blockade, which lasted until the end of the war with Turkey (September 1829). During this time, not a single Turkish ship managed to break through to Constantinople. In Smyrna alone, 150 ships from Egypt with grain for Constantinople accumulated.
On August 26, 1829, on the eve of the signing of the peace treaty, L.P. Heyden with two battleships and three frigates came to the city of Enes on the Aegean coast, where Russian troops entered.
During the war, with the assistance of the fleet, the powerful fortresses of Anapa and Varna were taken, and with the help and forces of the fleet itself, the fortresses and fortified points of Ahiollo, Agatopol, Vasiliko, Inada, Midia, Sizopol, etc., where 430 cannons and 39 mortars were taken. In addition, the fleet captured 3 corvettes, 1 brig, 30 transport and merchant ships and destroyed 1 battleship, 1 corvette and 33 transport and merchant ships. Moreover, on the Danube, the rowing flotilla captured 4 river sloops, 8 gunboats and 14 small vessels and destroyed 11 different river vessels.
On September 2, 1829, a peace treaty was concluded in Adrianople between Russia and Turkey, according to which Russia received the mouth of the Danube with adjacent islands, the eastern coast of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Kuban to the post of St. Nicholas (at the mouth of the Chorokh River, 15 km south of Poti). Türkiye recognized the annexation of Georgia, Imereti, Mingrelia, Guria, the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates to Russia.
The Bosporus and Dardanelles were declared open to the passage of Russian and foreign merchant ships, and the right of Russian subjects to trade freely within the Ottoman Empire was confirmed. Greece, Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia were granted broad internal autonomy. In addition, Turkey had to pay Russia a military indemnity in the amount of 10 million Dutch chervonets and compensation for losses in the amount of 1.5 million Dutch chervonets.
Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829
The war broke out as a consequence of the Battle of Navarino in 1827, during which the Anglo-Franco-Russian squadron defeated the Turkish fleet to stop the extermination of Greeks who opposed Turkish rule. On October 8, 1827, the Sultan's government terminated the agreement with Russia and closed the Bosporus and Dardanelles to Russian ships. In response, by spring Russia prepared to advance across the Danube into the Balkans towards Shumla and Varna; in the Caucasus it was necessary to occupy the Kars and Akhaltsikhe pashalyks. The Black Sea Fleet was to defeat the Turkish fleet if it left the Bosphorus, support the operations of troops off the Rumelian coast and capture Anapa.
The Black Sea Fleet, based in Sevastopol, consisted of 9 ships, 5 frigates and 23 smaller vessels, including 3 steamships, while the Turks in Constantinople had 6 ships, 3 frigates and 9 smaller vessels. The rowing flotilla on the Danube consisted of 25 gunboats and 17 ships.
In November 1827, Greig turned to the chief of the main staff, Adjutant General I.I. Dibich, with a request for the need to prepare provisions, disarm the fleet for repairs after a seven-month campaign and petitioned for an increase in the Danube flotilla and the 44th crew, because against 42 Russian ships with The Turks had 92 guns on the river, 109 ships with 545 guns. The admiral understood the inevitability of war. The capital also understood this. The necessary funds were allocated to prepare the Black Sea Fleet for the campaign; it was authorized to build 5 gunboats, 18 ships for the flotilla and convert two transports into bombardment ships. Since one of the tasks of the fleet was the transfer of landing troops, the chief commander instructed the head of the port in Sevastopol to build one landing rowing vessel per ship and to prepare the necessary materials for the construction of piers and fortifications in the landing areas.
On December 2, the highest decree allowed Greig to be where he considered it necessary, and to control the fleet during his absence, a general presence should be created in Nikolaev under the leadership of a flagship chosen by the chief commander. The second flagship under Greig was Vice Admiral F. F. Messer, the chief of staff was Lieutenant Commander Melikhov.
The operational plan for the war against Turkey provided for the interaction of ground and naval forces. The Black Sea Fleet should have assisted the army in capturing supply points, provided and protected shipping, act on enemy communications and participate in the capture of coastal fortresses. The first target was Anapa with a garrison of six thousand. Back in 1826, captain 2nd rank Kritsky, sent on a diplomatic mission to the Anapa Pasha, was able to take measurements of the Anapa Bay and establish its shallowness. These data contributed to the drawing up of a plan to capture the fortress. The fleet should have transferred the 3rd brigade of the 7th division from Sevastopol to the landing area and captured the fortress with the help of ground forces that were already in the Caucasus. Since the main hostilities took place on the western shore of the Black Sea, the fleet should have been used for the siege only until May 10, and then sent to the shores of Rumelia, leaving several ships near Anapa. Greig was to lead the operation. On March 30, 1828, Nicholas I sent him the highest rescript on April 20 to sail from Sevastopol to Anapa, demand the surrender of the fortress and begin hostilities. After the landing, command of the ground forces should have been taken over. D. Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral A. S. Menshikov.
On April 11, the fleet entered the raid. On April 13, a rescript dated March 30 was received. On April 14, Greig and Menshikov arrived from Nikolaev on the ship Meteor to Sevastopol. On April 17, the vice admiral raised the flag on the Paris. On April 18, the loading of troops onto ships began, and on April 19, the last orders were given. Rear Admiral Patanioti, appointed commander of the Sevastopol port, received instructions to prepare the city in case of an enemy attack, so that “... everyone knew their places and their responsibilities in advance.”
Detained by a contrary wind, at dawn on April 21, a fleet of 7 ships, 4 frigates, a sloop, a corvette, a brigantine, a schooner, 3 lugers, a cutter, 2 bombardment ships, a transport and 8 chartered ships set out. On May 2 we approached Anapa. There were 18 merchant ships under the walls of the fortress. On the ships, packages with orders to start the war were opened. To the letter about the start of the war and the proposal to surrender the fortress, Pasha Shatyr-Osman-oglu replied that he would defend himself to the last drop of blood. Since the ground forces had not yet arrived, the landing was postponed, then bad weather prevented it. On May 3, 900 men from Colonel Perovsky’s detachment approached by land, under the cover of which on May 6, landing troops (five thousand) were landed, located two kilometers from Anapa and began the siege. Menshikov took command of them.
The task turned out to be difficult, for the Greek defector reported that the garrison of six thousand in the fortress was well supplied and was awaiting reinforcements. Since there were no siege weapons, the ships of the squadron became the main firepower.
The Emperor's instructions provided for either an attack on Anapa or a siege. Greig chose the first option. On May 7, 5 battleships, 2 bombardment ships and 3 frigates fired at the fortress for four hours (from 11.00 to 15.00). The vice admiral on the ship "Meteor" walked around the ships placed in positions and directed the shelling. In the evening, a fresh wind forced the ships to withdraw. During the day, 8 thousand shells were fired, the ships had 72 holes and 180 damage to the spars and rigging, and the crews lost 6 people killed and 71 wounded. Since the ships could not get closer due to the shallow water, and firing from a distance with mounted fire had little effect, we had to move on to a proper siege.
The task of the fleet was to constantly bombard the fortress with one, and, if necessary, several ships. The sailors, replacing siege artillery, built a battery of ship cannons and unicorns on the shore. The sailors landed on the shore took part in the construction of fortifications and built an infirmary. The fleet was a floating warehouse for the besiegers, supplying them with ammunition, provisions and materials.
Since May 9, detachments of Russian ships carried out daily bombardment. Small vessels cruised off the coast of Abkhazia. On May 9, the boat "Falcon" brought a Turkish ship with three hundred Turkish troops, taken south of Sudzhuk-Kale; Lieutenant Vukotic was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree. The second ship with troops was taken in Sudzhuk-Kale by the brig Ganymede, the third was shot by the Falcon, because the Turks managed to escape and pull the ship ashore. The fourth prize was taken by the longboat and boat of the yacht “Uteha”, for which the captain of the yacht was also awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree. On May 17, it became known that the commander of the brig “Pegasus,” Lieutenant Commander Baskakov, destroyed a Turkish ship in Gelendzhik after the battle.
The main commander did not want to leave Anapa in the care of the ground forces alone. Since the siege dragged on, in accordance with the instructions of the Emperor, Greig sent 3 ships and 2 frigates under the command of Vice Admiral Messer to ensure the navigation of ships along the coast of Rumelia (Romania and Bulgaria). The squadron should have taken trophies, sent them to Sevastopol and collected information about the Turkish fleet and the situation in Constantinople. Of course, it was risky to separate forces, but the vice admiral did not expect that the Turks would be able to enter the Black Sea so early.
On May 18, noticing that the enemy was preparing a sortie, Greig sent two ships and a frigate, which helped the ground forces repel the enemy attack from the fortress and the Chechens from the mountains with fire. On May 20, a retaliatory move was made. Captain-Lieutenant Nemtinov received an order to cut out the ships stationed there from under the walls of the fortress. Commanding a group of rowing vessels from ships and frigates, Nemtinov took possession of three vessels, earning him the Order of St. George, IV degree; It was not possible to take the rest of the ships, because they were behind the boom.
On May 28, Turks and Circassians, numbering 9-10 thousand from the fortress and from the mountains, again tried to attack, but suffered significant damage and retreated. After this day they did not advance, which contributed to the intensification of siege work.
Before the assault, on May 10, the Russian ships stopped firing, and a white negotiation flag hoisted on the Paris ship. Greig sent Botyanov, an official on special assignments, ashore with a proposal to surrender. The commandant asked for four days to think, but received only five hours. Nevertheless, negotiations continued on June 11. On June 12, the Turkish command agreed to the terms of surrender offered to it. On the same day, Russian troops occupied the fortress through the gap, and the fleet greeted the raised Russian flag with a salute. The next day, the vice admiral sent the Meteor to Nicholas I with a report from Tolstoy's adjutant wing. In the report, Greig highly appreciated the actions of Prince Menshikov and reported that after sending prisoners to Kerch and accepting the landing force, he set out for the western shores.
On June 16 it became known that for the battles on May 28, Menshikov received the Order of St. George III degree, Perovsky - IV degree. On June 20, for distinction during the conquest of Anapa, Greig was promoted to admiral, Menshikov to vice admiral with confirmation as chief of the naval staff. Officers and crews received awards. The news of this reached the squadron on June 28, on the same day the admiral's flag was raised on the Paris amid the thunder of fireworks.
The time was coming for more active operations of the Black Sea Fleet off the coast of Rumelia. On May 27, Russian troops crossed the Danube, captured the fortresses of Isakcha and Kyustendzhe (Constanza), reaching the Black Sea coast. Now the path to Constantinople along the coast opened up. But it was impossible to go this way without support from the sea.
Dibich wrote that the landing troops should remain on the squadron and that the further tasks of the naval force would be the blockade and capture of Varna, an important point on the way to Constantinople. Vice Admiral Messer's squadron, cruising in the area of Cape Kaliakria - Sozopol in May-July, did not allow the enemy to transfer reinforcements to Varna, while the 3rd Corps blocked the fortress from Shumla on July 8. On July 3, the fleet left the Anapa roadstead and headed west, on July 9 it came to Sevastopol, where the wounded and sick were sent ashore, supplies were replenished, and then headed to Mangalia.
On July 12, a notification came from Dibich that Menshikov, upon arrival at the target, would leave for the Main Apartment, and the fleet would go to Varna for a blockade, but would not land troops until further instructions. Having learned that the Russian regiments had reached Kavarna, Greig headed to this port and connected with Messer, who reported that during his cruising, his ships took nine prizes.
Varna was a strong fortress with a garrison of 12 thousand people. Attempts by a four-thousand-strong detachment to begin siege operations from land on July 1 were repulsed by the defenders. But on July 21, Greig’s squadron delivered a ten-thousand-strong detachment of Vice Admiral A. S. Menshikov to Kavarna; These troops besieged Varna the next day.
Having received notification on July 15 of the Emperor’s desire to visit the fleet and then head to Odessa, Greig prepared a detachment of ships and offered to receive the monarch in Kavarna. But the next day Turkish troops appeared near the city. To ensure its defense, the admiral landed a chasseur regiment and a battery company. On July 21, an order arrived for Greig to lead the siege of Varna, and for Menshikov to command the ground forces.
The remaining troops were immediately landed on the shore and moved overland to Varna. On July 22, the fleet also approached the fortress. On the same day, the flagship sent captain 2nd rank Melikhov to inspect and take down the plan of the fortress. The next day, he himself and a group of generals and admirals on the steamer Meteor walked along the fortifications. The Turks did not open fire.
On July 24, 1828, together with a group of dignitaries, Nicholas I visited the Paris and, after inspecting the ship, expressed gratitude to Greig for the excellent organization of the fleet and the conquest of Anapa. Departing for Odessa on the frigate Flora, the Emperor ordered the destruction of the flotilla under the fortress.
On the morning of July 25, the admiral sent Botyanov to Varna with a proposal to surrender. At the same time, the ships approached the fortress, as if supporting the ultimatum. But within an hour, the Turkish official delivered the refusal of the commandant, who was counting on victory. And Kapudan Pasha Izzet-Mohammed had his reasons. The first-class fortress had a strong garrison; numerous troops outside the fortress were ready to provide support.
Having received a refusal, Greig began to take decisive action. On July 26, 22 Russian rowing ships destroyed 14 Turkish ships covering the fortress from the sea, which allowed Russian ships to fire at the fortress from July 26 to September 29. The operation was commanded by Captain 2nd Rank Melikhov. Two rowing vessels from each ship and frigate were assembled. By 20.00 they gathered at the brigantine "Elizabeth", which they placed halfway from the fleet to the fortress. At 23.00 the detachment set off and was discovered and fired upon. Nevertheless, in the night battle, Russian sailors took 14 ships and 2 armed longboats, 46 prisoners, losing only 4 people killed and 37 wounded. For this dashing deed, the Emperor expressed royal gratitude to Melikhov and granted him the following rank.
The land blockade gradually improved. If at the beginning of the campaign a detachment of two thousand could only observe the fortress, then the 10 thousand troops delivered by Greig besieged the fortress from the western and northern sides. To communicate with the siege troops, the admiral landed 350 sailors, who built a redoubt off the coast, where part of the provisions, a pier and a telegraph were transported. Another 500 people were sent to build siege batteries under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Zalessky. At the same time, shelling began from the sea: usually a ship or frigate fired the harassing fire, and if necessary, the shooting was carried out by 2 ships and 2–3 bombardment ships. In particular, on July 26, the frigate “St. Eustathius” successfully fired at a Turkish detachment trying to bypass the Russian left flank.
In order to stop the supply of the fortress along the Liman, on August 3, at the request of Menshikov, a longboat was sent there, which began hostilities on the same day.
The cruising of the ships continued. On August 5, the frigate Hasty brought back two ships taken from the walls of Media and Inada; the third ship had to be sunk.
On August 7, after the council held the day before, the admiral launched an attack with the entire fleet. The ships formed a battle line following the Redoubt-Kale transport, which was taking measurements. One after another, the ships passed by the fortress, taking turns firing at it. This maneuver, called the "Varna Waltz", lasted from 14.00 to 17.00 and caused destruction in Varna without much damage to the attackers. Because of the shallow water, the ships fired one at a time from a distance of five cables; Nevertheless, it was possible to suppress the fire of the seaside bastion.
Apparently, in response to the shelling, the Turks launched a major foray on August 9. Menshikov was wounded in the battle. Greig immediately arrived ashore with a doctor. Nicholas I, having learned about the prince’s injury, on August 15 appointed Count Vorontsov to command the troops near Varna and asked the admiral to facilitate the delivery of food to Kavarna for the troops besieging Shumla.
In August, Captain 1st Rank N.D. Kritsky distinguished himself. Having united his cruising detachment, on August 17 he headed to Inada, where the enemy had concentrated large reserves of gunpowder and shells. Leaving the sloop "Diana" as guard, he, with the frigates "Pospeshny", "Raphael", a boat and a brig, fired at the fortifications and, having landed 370 people, personally commanded the capture of the fortress, losing only 6 people (1 killed, 5 wounded). The Russians managed to load the cannons from the batteries, take 12 ships away from the port, blow up the batteries and destroy the warehouses before the Turks sent reinforcements. For the successful completion of the task, Kritsky was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, III degree.
At the same time, "Raphael" delivered information that the Turkish fleet was preparing to leave the Bosphorus. Obviously, the enemy command showed activity after the raid on Inada. However, the Sultan's fleet never appeared on the Black Sea.
In July-August, taking advantage of the fact that the passages to the fortress were open from the south, the Turks brought twelve thousand reinforcements to Varna. But on August 27, the Tsar returned and established the Main Quarters on the flagship, taking command of the land and naval forces. Every day he visited the camp on the shore, watched the progress of the siege through a telescope from the Paris and kept abreast of events. On August 28, after the arrival of the Guards Corps (25,500 people), the siege became closer, the troops successfully repelled attempts to release the fortress from inside and outside. On August 29, Adjutant General Golovin’s detachment took a position south of the fortress, finally closing the blockade ring. The next morning, a detachment of sailors (170 people) landed on the southern side of Varna and set up a redoubt and a telegraph for communication between the fleet and the army.
From the sea, battleships and bombardment ships took turns approaching and bombarding the fortress.
On September 1, a mine was detonated under the seaside bastion. An opportunity for an assault appeared. To avoid losses, Nicholas I instructed Greig to offer Kapudan Pasha Izzet-Mahomet the surrender of Varna. The admiral sent Kapudan Pasha next letter:
“As long as the fortress was not surrounded on all sides by our troops, it could hope to receive reinforcements; now all communications, both on land and at sea, are interrupted; the fortifications have been mostly destroyed, and therefore further resistance will only lead to the needless shedding of blood. Wanting to avoid this, I suggest you surrender the fortress, promising on my part the inviolability of all your property and that of your subordinates. If our envoys, who are allowed to remain on the shore for no more than two hours, return without a satisfactory answer from you, then hostilities will immediately resume.”
Kapudan Pasha agreed to send two officials to the Paris, but they had no authority and only expressed a desire to negotiate. The Turks were asked to send representatives to the ship "Maria", which was located 400 fathoms from the fortress. The next morning, Greig arrived on the ship, but Kapudan Pasha, citing illness, sent three dignitaries. The eldest among them, Yusuf Pasha, tried to drag out the negotiations with long speeches. Obviously, the garrison was counting on the fortress being released.
The admiral, interrupting empty talk, made a direct demand for surrender and sent the Turks ashore for an answer, threatening that after the assault they should not expect leniency. The Turks asked to postpone the answer until tomorrow. Greig stated that he would try to get a response from the Tsar and, in case of refusal, two missiles would serve as a signal for the resumption of hostilities. The next day, Izzet-Mahomet himself met with Greig aboard the Maria. The admiral confidently negotiated. He produced intercepted letters in which Kapudan Pasha and Yusuf Pasha appealed to the Supreme Vizier for help and described the plight of the fortress. Kapudan Pasha went ashore without receiving the further reprieve he requested. On the same day, fighting resumed.
On September 8, Nicholas I, during reconnaissance, discovered a point from which it was convenient to fire at the fortress. Here the sailors founded a battery of 4 24-pound guns.
Soon information was received about the movement of Turkish troops from Adrianople to Varna in order to attack the besiegers from the south. Encouraged by the unsuccessful search for a detachment of Russian troops, the Turks left the camp on September 12 and, with the assistance of a sortie from the garrison, tried to break the blockade, but were repulsed. On September 18, Russian regiments attacked the enemy camp, and although the Turks held their position, they no longer dared to attack.
On September 21, two underground mines were detonated; Part of the wall with the bastion collapsed. Since the Turks showed their readiness to repel the assault, on September 22, Nicholas I again ordered that Kapudan Pasha be offered to capitulate, but to no avail. Soon the explosion of a third mine destroyed the seaside bastion.
On September 23, the Turkish command itself proposed negotiations. Count Diebitsch, who spoke with the Turks, refused to grant a thirty-hour truce. The order was given to prepare an attack. On September 25, Nicholas I, in order to reduce the number of casualties, proposed attacking the seaside bastion with a group of volunteers. The hunters took the bastion without resistance and continued their advance. During a decisive attack, a group of hunters broke into the fortress without meeting the Turks, who lined up in the center of Varna and destroyed most of the brave men who were not supported by the main forces. The Emperor, observing the battle, again proposed negotiations, and on September 25, a representative of Kapudan Pasha negotiated with Greig on the Paris.
On September 26, Kapudan Pasha was again offered to surrender. The next day, in the trenches, Greig negotiated with Yusuf Pasha. On August 28, negotiations continued. The fighting resumed. Finally, the Turks agreed to surrender, and on September 29, Russian troops occupied the fortress without resistance.
By evening, Yusuf Pasha agreed to capitulate, and on September 26, four thousand Albanians left the fortress. But Kapudan Pasha, who had fortified himself with 500 men in the citadel, refused to capitulate. The fighting resumed. After the outer fortifications were occupied, the majority of the garrison, numbering 19 thousand people, surrendered. Kapudan Pasha continued to persist, threatening to blow up the citadel, and finally received permission to leave the fortress with his armed detachment. The next day he spoke. On September 30, a prayer service was held, and on October 1, Nicholas I and Greig entered conquered Varna. He turned to Vorontsov and Greig: “I thank you both for the conquest of such an important, reputedly invincible, fortress of Varna; I witnessed important zeal and service for the benefit and glory of the fatherland.” He awarded Greig the Order of St. George, 2nd class, with the following rescript:
“Your excellent zeal for the benefits of the Empire and tireless work on the organization of the Black Sea Fleet are now marked by brilliant success.
This fleet, built and controlled by you, conquered Anapa, and it especially contributed, under your personal leadership, to the conquest of Varna, which had not yet known the power of Russian weapons. Drawing Our Royal attention to these merits, We most mercifully bestow upon you the Knight of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, second degree, whose insignia we present to you, commanding you to place it on yourself and wear it as prescribed. May this new proof of Our excellent goodwill and gratitude towards you further strengthen your exemplary zeal and desire to justify the Royal power of attorney for you with a new feat.”
During the siege, the fleet fired 25 thousand shells. To a large extent, the fire of naval and siege artillery, which was controlled by sailors, can be explained that the garrison was reduced from 27 thousand to 9 thousand people. In addition to Yusuf Pasha's 3 thousand Albanians, 6 thousand people were captured. 291 guns and other trophies were taken. The fleet took 21 trophies and 2 armed longboats; for successful actions, the Emperor granted Sevastopol and Nikolaev each a captured cannon.
Already on September 30, Greig ordered the sailors and materials used during the siege to be returned to the ships. On October 6, the squadron left Varna and on October 12 came to Sevastopol for the winter. However, the peace did not last long. The Emperor ordered the fleet to be prepared by March 1829, and in the winter to maintain a squadron at sea to guard shipping, assist the army in protecting areas on the right bank of the Danube and blockade the Bosphorus. Greig urgently left for Nikolaev, appointing Messer to oversee the repair of the fleet, and rear admirals Bychensky, Stozhevsky and Salti to prepare their detachments.
Arriving in Nikolaev, Greig discovered that the presence he had left had not completed its tasks, and sent Vice Admiral Bychensky to command the port of Sevastopol. He himself was actively involved in supplying the fleet with materials. He reported to Nicholas I that it was impossible to prepare the fleet by March 1, but since this was the time of the stormiest weather, it was unlikely that the Turks would appear on the Black Sea. Over the winter, the transport "Success" was rebuilt into a bombardment ship, two captured ships - into fire ships, the ship "Skory" was converted into a hospital ship. Additional cannons were prepared for the ships to be used to build batteries on the shore.
Already in the fall of 1828, cruising began. On November 6, the squadron of Rear Admiral M. N. Kumani entered the raid and on November 11 set out to blockade the Turkish coast. The meeting place was set at Varna and Kavarna. If the ships were blown by the wind to the Bosporus, they would have to break through the straits under sail to join Ricord’s squadron, which was cruising off the Dardanelles.
Arriving in Varna, Cumani received an offer from General Rott to appear in the Gulf of Pharos in order to divert the enemy’s attention from the land front. On November 28, the Russian squadron approached Mesemvria, on November 30 it entered the bay and captured the island of Anastasia, tearing down the fortifications on it. Having examined the coastal cities of Mesemvria, Ahiolo, Burgas and Sizopol, on December 7, Kumani, returning to Varna, proposed to take possession of Sizopol. His idea was approved by Rott and Greig.
On January 17, 1829, the ships of Rear Admiral Stozhevsky arrived to replace the first squadron. However, Cumani did not return to Sevastopol. On January 22, his ships took shelter from bad weather in Varna. In the meantime, permission came from Cumani, if he took upon himself to hold it, to take Sizopol... The rear admiral assembled a council, which recognized that it was quite possible to hold the occupied port, as well as to destroy Burgas and Mesemvria. Cumani only asked Rott for three gunboats and several chartered ships. On February 11, his squadron of three ships, two frigates, three gunboats and two ships left Varna and on February 15 entered the Sizopol roadstead. Khalil Pasha rejected the offer to surrender, but after the shelling the coastal batteries were taken, and the next morning the landing force captured the fortress and captured the pasha and his retinue, for the majority of the garrison fled. Immediately, the sailors strengthened the fortifications with guns from the ships, one and a half thousand people were transferred from Varna, and when the Turks tried to recapture the fortress on February 28, they were repulsed by ground forces with the support of the ships' artillery. An attempt to capture Ahiolo also failed due to shallow water.
The occupation of Sizopol gave Russian troops an important stronghold during the attack on Constantinople. All ranks of the squadron received awards, and Cumani was awarded the Order of St. Anne and 10 thousand rubles.
In January, an attack on Sinop was planned to divert Turkish attention from Trebizond (Trebizond), and Greig appealed for highest resolution. However, Count Chernyshev, who replaced Dibich, who was appointed commander-in-chief, said that the Emperor agreed only taking into account the fact that the exit of the Turkish fleet could at any time require the concentration of the fleet off the western shores or, at least, the strengthening of Cumani.
Nicholas I believed that the navy needed a whole brigade for landings. Later, he indicated as the main task the destruction of the enemy fleet if it entered the Black Sea. Greig was recommended to distribute the main efforts from Varna to the Bosphorus. The Emperor, if necessary, allowed the fleet to move further, leaving ships for communication off the Bulgarian coast. This was important, since the second stage of the fleet’s actions began later, with the approach of Russian troops to the Balkans.
Diebitsch, for his part, proposed that the fleet take a point in the Pharos Gulf, make a demonstration to the Bosphorus, destroy Chilia or Riva, undertake an expedition to Inada or Samokovo, return to Constantinople and, after diverting the attention of the Turks, send ships to receive the landing force by mid-June. In response, the chief commander announced that Sizopol had already been taken, that a search for Riva or Inada three miles from the Bosphorus with a strong current was dangerous, that Samokovo was 30 miles from the sea and that the best way to divert enemy attention from Shumla and the Balkans was to occupy Inada at 30 miles from the strait.
At the end of March, the Emperor ordered the withdrawal of the fleet to be hastened. On April 2, Greig appointed Rear Admiral Snaksarev as chairman of the general presence in Nikolaev, and Rear Admiral Salti as commander of the Sevastopol port. He himself arrived on April 5 in Sevastopol. The admiral raised the flag on the Paris, which, by imperial decree, was staffed with the ranks of the guards crew. When Rear Admiral Cumani announced the imminent departure of the Turkish fleet at the end of March, Greig hastened to equip the main forces. On April 12 he went to sea, on April 19 he arrived in Sizopol and took command of the fleet and troops. With the news of the departure of two ships and a brig from the Bosphorus, the flagship sent a detachment of captain 1st rank Skalovsky of two ships and two brigs to the strait.
The chief commander himself, accompanied by admirals and generals, inspected the Pharos Gulf on April 22. Noticing that the Turks were strengthening Burgas, he ordered from April 23 to begin strengthening the Holy Trinity Peninsula so that the enemy would not occupy it. Warehouses and a hospital were built on the islands, creating a fleet stronghold in Sizopol.
On April 26, the brig Orpheus arrived with a message that on April 23 the Turkish fleet was leaving the Bosphorus. The Russian fleet set out a few hours later, leaving at the disposal of Cumani a ship, a bombardment vessel and a rowing flotilla for the defense of Sizopol. On April 27, the Mercury delivered news to Skalovsky that there were only five ships at the strait and he was setting off to look for the rest to Anatolia. The chief commander approved his plan and sent the ship Nord-Adler as reinforcements.
On April 30, the frigate Flora reported that the Turkish fleet was in the strait. Taking advantage of this, on May 1, Greig sent the frigates Flora and Raphael with a landing party of sailors and the yacht Uteha to take Agatopol and blow up the fortifications. However strong wind forced him to abandon the plan, and Greig’s squadron returned to Sizopol.
After Snaksarev’s death, the admiral had to appoint Rear Admiral Cumani as chairman of the committee in Nikolaev. For cruising eastern shores, between Sinop, Trebizond and Batum, he sent a brig, a sloop and a schooner, and then the frigate “Raphael” to the brigantine “Ekaterina”.
On May 7, "Mercury" brought 2 captured ships; Skalovsky’s detachment destroyed another 13. On the same day, Orpheus brought 3 more ships. On May 11, Skalovsky’s detachment arrived. The captain of the 1st rank reported that, having learned about the armament of the battleship in Penderaklia, he went to the port. On May 3, he was at the target and fired at the batteries covering the shipyard. An attempt on the night of May 4 to attack the enemy with rowing ships was repulsed by Turkish fire. Only on May 5, a group of hunters managed to burn the ship, as well as the transport and merchant ships standing nearby. Russian losses amounted to 7 killed, 13 wounded, there were two hundred holes and damage on the ships. After that, Skalovsky sent the frigate Pospeshny and the brig Mingrelia, which destroyed the corvette stationed at the shipyard.
Meanwhile, the Turkish fleet was leaving the strait. On May 12, off the Anatolian coast, Turkish ships surrounded the frigate Raphael, whose commander surrendered without a fight. This was such an out of the ordinary case that the Emperor ordered that if a ship captured by the Turks was encountered, it should be set on fire, which was done at Sinop on November 18, 1853.
On May 15, the commander of the frigate Standart informed Greig in Sizopol that a Turkish fleet of 18 ships had been spotted 13 miles from the Bosporus, heading into the strait from Anatolia. When the Turks rushed in pursuit of the cruising detachment, the commander of the Shtandart ordered the ships to follow their own courses. He himself headed towards Sizopol and saw the brig Mercury being overtaken by Turkish ships. Within three hours, the fleet went to sea and met the Mercury, which withstood the battle with two battleships and forced the enemy to retreat.
On May 28, the brig Orpheus arrived and destroyed two Turkish ships near Shili. Lieutenant Commander Koltovskoy reported that on May 26, from the frigate "Flora" they saw 6 ships, 3 frigates and 9 smaller enemy ships that were chasing him, but on May 27 they were not visible.
News arrived that the Turks were ready to attack Sizopol: they were only waiting for the departure of the Russian fleet. On May 31, the frigate Flora delivered news that on May 28, it had seen a fleet of 16 pennants off Kiliya, which entered the strait in the afternoon. On June 2, Koltovskoy from the brig “Orpheus” reported that the Turkish fleet (17 pennants) was chasing him on June 1 and 2; the main forces were visible at Agatopol, and the advanced ones at Cape Zeitan. Obviously, the Turks sought to attract the attention of the Russian command in order to force the fleet to leave Sizopol and facilitate its capture without risking engaging in a naval battle.
Greig, for his part, sent the Standard and Orpheus to Sinop to interrupt shipping to Penderaklia and lure the enemy out of the strait. On June 5, he sent the ship "Pimen" to cruise near Inada, "Parmen" - near Agatopol, and the frigate "Eustathius" - near Sizopol, in order to transmit the news of the departure of the Turkish fleet from the frigate patrolling at the entrance to the Bosphorus along the chain of ships.
In May, a new enemy appeared - the plague; To combat it, Greig ordered the establishment of a quarantine. The disease spread to Varna and Kavarna, and the admiral asked permission to concentrate the army's supplies in Sizopol, but in June the plague appeared there too.
On June 6, a Turkish defector reported that the twelve thousandth Turkish corps was only waiting for the fleet to appear in order to attack Sizopol. On June 15–17, due to a misunderstood signal, the admiral went to sea with the squadron. On June 25, with five ships, a frigate and a brig, Greig again went to the Bosphorus. On June 25, news arrived about the capture of Silistria. The frigate Hasty reported that a squadron of two ships, a frigate and a brig, was cruising at the entrance to the strait, but the Turks took refuge in the Bosporus before Skalovsky, sent with three ships, arrived.
So, nothing threatened Sizopol from the sea, but from land the Turks could attack the fortress. On July 1, the Emperor ordered the Sizopol garrison to be reinforced with the 12th division, which was placed at the disposal of the main commander. On July 4, the admiral returned to the port with three ships, leaving the rest at sea under Skalovsky’s flag. On July 7, he set out again with three ships, three frigates, a brig, a bombardment ship, and a schooner, and on July 8 he arrived in Mesemvria, to which General Rott’s regiments were descending from the Balkans. The Turks refused the offer to surrender. On July 9, bombardment ships fired at the fortress, on July 10, Russian troops defeated the Seraskir troops, captured the camp and the shipyard. The next day, finding himself under attack from land and ships, Osman Pasha capitulated. The corvette taken from the port was named "Olga" in honor of the Grand Duchess. On the same day, a message came from Koltovsky that he and his brig had landed troops and captured Ahiolo without a fight; most of his garrison fled. It remained for the lieutenant commander to hand over the fortress to the approaching troops.
On July 11, the commander-in-chief of the troops arrived at the Paris, and on July 12, the fleet moved to take Burgas, but along the way it became known that the city had already been occupied by ground forces, and the ships returned to Sizopol.
On July 15, Skalovsky reported that it was not possible to call the Turkish fleet from the Bosporus, although his ships interrupted communication between Constantinople and Agatopolis. The Turkish ground forces also did not show firmness. On July 21, the frigate “Hasty” captured Vasiliko; on July 24, the frigate “Flora” took Agatopol together with the army.
The number of patients grew so much that they had to be sent to Sevastopol on the ships “Emperor Franz” and “Strong”.
On August 1, the commander-in-chief notified Greig that on August 8 or 9 his main forces would gather at Adrianople, and asked for cooperation in the advance to Constantinople. On August 3, a detachment of Lieutenant-Commander Baskakov from the ship "Adler", the frigates "Flora" and "Pospeshny", the brigs "Orpheus", "Ganymede" and 2 bombardment ships set out for Inada. The fortress, which had a garrison of two thousand, was taken after a two-hour shelling and the landing of 500 sailors. On the same day, the entire fleet stood at Inada's roadstead. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Panioti took possession of the coastal village of San Stefano.
It was a short distance from Inada to the Bosphorus. The chief commander ordered the preparation of fire ships to burn the Turkish fleet, which had taken refuge near Buyuk-dere. There were many hunters, from whom the crews of fireship No. 1 (Lieutenant Skarzhinsky) and No. 2 (midshipman Popandopulo) were formed.
On August 8, Adrianople was taken, 100 thousand Turks surrendered, and Diebitsch asked Greig to take possession of Media by August 15. On August 13, the admiral instructed Rear Admiral Stozhevsky with two ships, two brigs, two bombardment ships, a luger, taking three companies of troops and a landing party of 75 sailors from the ships, to attack Media. At about 13.00, the ships opened fire, but landed troops across the river, which the troops could not cross, and they had to return to the ships. The attack was postponed due to swell. On August 17, the Turks themselves began to leave the fortifications. Lieutenant Panioti with the rowing flotilla moved to the south side. With one frigate and 50 boats he bombarded the fortress, and when the garrison, numbering a thousand people, fled, he occupied it. The crew of the lugger "Glubokiy" captured the ship off the coast in the Karaburnu area.
On August 28, the admiral returned to Sizopol after cruising. On September 1, he received notification of the occupation of the city of Enos and the establishment of contact with Heyden's squadron in the Mediterranean Sea. And on September 4, it became known about the conclusion of the Peace of Adrianople two days earlier (September 2). The next day, Greig notified the squadron of the end of the war and sent ships to notify the cruising detachments.
Peace was concluded, but the war did not seem to end. A few days later, Diebitsch approached Greig with a request for fleet support if the Turks continued unfriendly troop movements. The admiral replied that, although he had sent two ships with sick people and guns, he was ready to support the army. However, due to the autumn time, it was not possible to storm the coastal fortifications and land troops. Therefore, the chief commander proposed to go straight to Buyuk-dere, taking on board a brigade of troops accustomed to combat operations in order to take the fortifications of the European coast. Diebitsch agreed that in the event of a resumption of war, the goal of the main forces of the army and navy should be Constantinople, and promised to provide enough troops to not only capture the fortifications on the European shore of the straits, but also to land troops on the Asian shore.
No landing was required. On October 7, Greig received the highest order to return the fleet to the ports, leaving, in agreement with Diebitsch, a detachment on the shores of Rumelia. The admiral separated the detachment of Rear Admiral Skalovsky, and on October 11 received the go-ahead to return. On October 13, 4 ships and a frigate set out from Sizopol and arrived in Sevastopol on October 17. The flagship lowered the flag and set off for Nikolaev on October 19.
Greig was the first of the Russian admirals to implement broad strategic interaction between the army and navy, and used the help of Bulgarian volunteers in the fleet and the Danube flotilla.
During the campaign, the fleet took 79 guns, 16 ships; a ship, a corvette and 31 other ships were destroyed. In honor of the capture of the fortresses, Sevastopol and Nikolaev, in addition to guns from Anapa, Varna, Inada and Sizopol, were given one gun each from Mesemvria, Ahiolo, Agatopol, Inada and Media.
The success of the fleet greatly contributed to the conclusion of the Treaty of Adrianople, beneficial for Russia, according to which Russia acquired the mouth of the Danube and the eastern coast of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Kuban to the post of St. Nicholas, returned the right to freedom of merchant shipping on the Black Sea, in the straits and on the Danube, and received others advantages. The fleet trained by Greig played a significant role in achieving success.
Public opinion During the war and after it, there was indignation that Greig did not destroy the Turkish fleet, which was his main task in 1829. He was blamed for the loss of the Raphael and for the fact that the Turks, who went to sea, were never attacked. However, the reader can verify for himself from the above facts that the enemy fleet was returning to the Bosphorus too quickly and there was no way to intercept it. Like Senyavin after the Battle of Athos, Greig carried out the most important task (defense of the main stronghold of the army and navy, Sizopol) and could not risk it by going to sea for a long time, even to destroy the Turkish fleet, which had very little influence on the fighting. The chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Melikhov, who did not agree with his former chief in everything, believed that the admiral correctly kept the fleet in Sizopol, because the Turkish troops were waiting for the release of this main force to take the city. Comparing the actions of the Russian fleet in the wars of 1806–1812 and 1828–1829, Melikhov noted:
“...In the past, the existence of the Black Sea Fleet was barely noticeable, but now it has a decisive influence on the most important actions and on the success of the war.
Bringing the fleet to the position in which everyone saw it in 1828 and 1829 undoubtedly belongs to the late Admiral Alexei Samoilovich Greig. He was in the true sense of the word its transformer; The fleet owes it to him for bringing its material resources into perfect order, and the officers owe it to him for their love of service and ardent zeal in the performance of their duties.”
It is understandable that Greig's activities were noted. On October 7, 1829, a rescript was sent to the admiral:
“Alexey Samoilovich! In consideration of your excellent and diligent service and the labors you endured in the last war against the Ottoman Porte, I grant you a monogram image of my name on your epaulettes. On this occasion, I am pleased to assure you that your merits earn you the right to my constant favor.”