Sinope battle

The Sinop naval battle is considered the last major battle in the era of the sailing fleet. It happened in 1853, on November 18.

The situation in the Black Sea basin was aggravated in May. At that time, diplomatic relations were broken between Russia and Turkey . The Russian army entered the territory of the Danube principalities. Together with this, the British and French squadrons arrived at the Dardanelles.

Turkey at the end of September demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops, giving Russia an ultimatum. However, not waiting for the end of his term, began military operations.

The detachment of the Danube Flotilla was fired from the fortress of Isakcha in October 1853. On October 16, the Turkish army unexpectedly attacked the post of St. Nicholas, which was located between Batum and Poti on the Black Sea coast. Thus, at sea, military actions on the sea began between Russia and Turkey.

Under the command of Slade (English adviser) and Osman Pasha (Turkish Vice Admiral), the Turkish squadron followed the area of Poti and Sukhumi (Sukhum-Kale) from Istanbul for landing. It consisted of a squadron of two armed steamers, seven frigates, two brigs, two corvettes, a sloop and 500 guns. In the Sinop Bay, the Turks sheltered from the storm under the protection of thirty-eight coastal guns.

On 8 November, a Turkish squadron was discovered by squadron PS Nakhimov (Russian Vice Admiral) and blocked. The Russians had three battleships, 296 guns (76 bombs, including a frigate), a frigate.

November 16 fleet arrived at Sinop FM FM Novosilsky, consisting of three battleships and a frigate. Nakhimov, presumed to strengthen the Turks in the sea by the British, decided to attack them in the bay. On November 18, the Sinop battle began.

Nakhimov, knowing the methods of the Turks, in advance foreseeing that the enemy's fire at the approach will be concentrated not on the deck, but on the masts, decided to anchor without securing the sails. All the sailors remained below during the bombardment. Thanks to this, the lives of many fighters were saved, and the fighting squadron of the Russian squadron remained in one of the most critical stages of the battle.

Russian ships broke through a sufficiently strong defensive fire of coastal batteries and Turkish ships. Entering the harbor wake two columns, they anchored with the springs.

The Sinop battle continued with the crushing fire of the Russian squadron with one side from a distance of 300-350 meters with 312 guns. During the battle, which lasted two and a half hours, all coastal batteries and Turkish ships were destroyed. Sinope battle ended with the capture of Osman Pasha, the commanders of two ships and two hundred more prisoners. Turks killed and wounded lost about four thousand soldiers.

Slade (English adviser), one of the commanders of the Turkish squadron, fled in disgrace at the height of the battle on the twenty-gun steamer Taif. The Russian squadron of Nakhimov did not lose a single ship.

Sinope battle has summed up the centuries-old development of sailing ships, in which steamships began to arrive. In addition, the combat experience in the bay influenced the subsequent formation of fleets in many states.

The Sinop battle, the victory of the Russian squadron in it, was a graphic result of the advanced system of education and training of the Black Sea sailors, which was carried out by the best naval commanders of Russia. That high skill, which showed the sailors in the course of the battle, was achieved by them by stubborn campaigns, studies, trainings. Thousands of fighters, who possessed all the qualities necessary for the complex and difficult profession of a seaman, who did not have sufficient knowledge in maritime practice, acquired in the course of preparation and in the process of military operations invaluable experience, and their morale and combat qualities reached a high level.