Sea battle near Cape Kaliakria: history, consequences and interesting facts

The Russian navy has always been famous for its achievements. In the list of his greatest victories is the battle at Cape Kaliakria. It happened in the years of the Russo-Turkish War. When we recall the sea battle at Cape Kaliakria, history takes us to the past, and we find ourselves in 1791.

Small forces

To understand how grand was our victory, we must have an idea of what power the enemy possessed. Captain Pasha Hussein had 18 ships and 43 small ships belonging to Algeria, Tripolitania, Tunisia and Constantinople. The whole fleet consisted of 16 ships, two bombardiers, two frigates and 19 small ships. The head of the battle at the cape Kaliakria commander F. F. Ushakov.

Before making a stop, the Turkish army had to travel the Black Sea. In June, the ships of the enemy appeared near the coast of the Crimea near Balaklava. Having no information that Anapa has already been taken by the Russians, the Turkish fleet set off in that direction. However, making sure that the city is busy, turned back. In the same month, a battle took place on the Danube, in which the Turkish troops were defeated. But the enemy fleet did not give up hope of victory. On their ships were a huge number of people from 800 to 1500 on each. The Turks hoped for boarding, and not for artillery.

The beginning of the battle

The enemy anchored near the Rumeli coast in the Varna area. This intelligence was reported to Ushakov, and he decided to lead his squadron into battle. It's hard to imagine that just a few days before our fleet could not go to sea. Perhaps this delay helped the Russians find themselves in the right place and at the right time. And it happened because of insufficient supply and unpreparedness of several ships. Also, no information was received as to where the enemy ships are located. The mistake of the Turkish troops was that they could not know in advance that the enemy was moving towards them. If they had sent the sentinel ship in time, the battle at Cape Kaliakria could not have taken place. In addition, enemy ships were lined up along the coastline and attacks from this side they did not expect, considering it sufficiently protected.

Sly maneuver

Admiral Ushakov decided to use the moment of surprise. He sent his squadron between the shore and the enemy ships. In addition, the Russian wind was accompanied. The battle in Izmail near Cape Kaliakria began with a sudden attack, which caused panic on enemy ships. After all, even their artillery guns were turned towards the sea, which meant that the sailors could not retaliate. The commander of the Turkish fleet ordered his ships to line up in the battle line. However, this maneuver was not easy for them. To deploy ships, the sailors of the Turkish fleet began to cut the ropes. Time to raise anchors, they did not have. In addition, hurrying to reorganize, enemy ships collided with each other, inflicting damage to each other: tearing sails, breaking tackles.

The enemy will not pass

The Algerian ships were ruled by Admiral Seyit-Ali, who promised the Turkish sultan to bring "Ushak Pasha". Under his leadership, they tried to clamp the main ships of the Russian fleet. This maneuver was noticed by Admiral Ushakov, who was on a ship called "Christmas". It was on him that he rounded the Algerian ship and attacked it. At close range, the enemy's ship was heavily damaged, shot down the fore-stem and main-marsa-rei. Algerians retreated, but the battle continued and the sailors on the ship "Christmas" continued the heroic battle, turning the enemies into flight. The sea battle at Cape Kaliakria lasted three hours.

What happened next

The defeat of the Turkish fleet was unconditional. However, the strong wind that helped the Russians, when the battle at Cape Kaliakria took place, died down, and this time helped the enemies hide. However, when they were sent to the Bosporus, the element was again played out, and some ships failed to return to the parking lot. They went to the bottom. The Turkish fleet suffered significantly. Only on the Algerian flagship, 450 people were killed and wounded, he nearly sank. The Russians, on the other hand, lost only 17 people killed and 27 wounded, almost no damage was inflicted on the ships. And those that were, it was very quickly corrected.

Why we won

Of course, Ushakov played a major role in this battle. The correct decision made him to gain time and ensure the surprise, which is so important in the conduct of military operations. Not without reason for this victory he was awarded the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky. His maneuver, in which our squadron had to pass between the shore and the ships of the enemy, was risky. However, the winners are not judged. In addition, this tactic was used by Admiral Nelson during the Russo-French war and also led to victory. Excellent commanders - that's not all. The training of the sailors was also of great importance when the battle took place at the cape Kaliakria. And they were excellent, which allowed them to react quickly and repel enemy attacks and, ultimately, preserved the lives of people.

Results of the war

It is interesting that when the battle took place near Cape Kaliakria, the date of which was July 31, 1791, preliminary conditions for peace between Prince Repnin and the Grand Vizier were signed. On this day, the inhabitants of Constantinople felt a real threat. Damaged ships with their appearance confirmed rumors that Ushakov will soon reach the Turkish capital. This prompted the Porte to speed up the signing of an opinion on the world. Although until this day he still had some doubts. This was said by the fact that the Turks' defeats did not weaken their desire to fight further.

Otherwise it could not be

They sought to strengthen their army and navy, inviting other countries to take part in the war. Having strengthened their fleet, the Turks hoped to win on the sea territory. Therefore, Ushakov received orders only to attack. General G. Potemkin wrote him a letter, in which he spoke directly about the fact that the admiral was expected to win. Ushakov could not do otherwise. The motherland asked him for help, he should not allow the Turks to dominate the Black Sea. The battle at Cape Kaliakria was a decisive battle that affected the outcome of the war and brought it closer to completion. After this battle, Potemkin said that the Turks began to fear the Russian Empire. Her power was no longer questioned. The battle at Cape Kaliakria, he said, established the rule of the Russian fleet on the northern Black Sea coast, including the Crimea.

One can only admire the courage of our Black Sea fleet at the time of Admiral Ushakov. Although life has shown that even now our sailors are not inferior in preparedness and courage to their ancestors who lived and fought for Russia in the XVIII century.