Yesterday, the network began to celebrate a significant date: July 7, which is the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the Russian fleet's victory over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesme.
It is impossible not to note that this event is given relevance by the current political situation, which we manage to find ourselves in due to incompetent leadership based on criminal motivation: to do nothing and exist at the expense of other people’s labor and other people’s achievements.
Therefore, they shook off the archival dust from past victories and praised Count Orlov Chesmensky. However, since we are talking about genuine heroism and glorious successes, it would be nice to honor those who actually achieved this glory. Honesty is an integral component of honor, which suddenly began to be remembered.
Born in 1713 into the family of nobleman Andrei Alekseevich Spiridov (1680-1745), who served during the time of Peter I as commandant of Vyborg recaptured from the Swedes, and his wife Anna Vasilievna Korotneva. He began his service at the age of 10, becoming a fleet volunteer during the life of Peter I. His first mentor on the ship “Saint Alexander” became a veteran of Peter the Great's fleet, captain-commander P.P. Bredal. Five years later he entered the Naval Academy.
At the age of 15, after passing exams in navigational sciences, he was promoted to midshipman and sent to the Caspian Sea; commanded the hookboats “St. Catherine” and “Shah-Dagai”, sailed from Astrakhan to the coast of Persia, studying with A.I. Nagaev, later a famous admiral, hydrographer and compiler of nautical charts. Nagaev was very pleased with the diligence of the capable sailor.
Since 1732, Grigory Andreevich served in Kronstadt, where he received the rank of midshipman ahead of schedule, and was annually on voyages in the Baltic Sea. In 1735, the frigate Mitava, on which he served as a midshipman, was assigned to patrol Danzig. However, no war was declared between Russia and France. Not far from Danzig, the Mitava was surrounded by a French squadron. The captain of the Mitava, Peter Defremeri, went to the French admiral to clarify the situation. There he was arrested. The French then captured the frigate. So Spiridov was captured. Soon the incident was settled and an exchange of prisoners took place. But the reputation was ruined, and I had to say goodbye to the prestigious service in the Baltic.
In 1738, becoming an adjutant to Vice Admiral P.P. Bredal, participated with him in the Azov expedition of the Don military flotilla, which, together with the land army, waged a war with Turkey; in this war, Spiridov acted bravely in all naval battles and received combat training. Closeness to the commander allowed me to take a closer look at the art of naval leadership. Soon after peace was concluded, he was promoted to lieutenant. Now Spiridov sails a lot on various ships, gradually rising through the ranks. With the rank of captain 1st rank he receives under his command the 84-gun battleship "St. Nicholas".
In 1741, he was sent to the port of Arkhangelsk, from where he made the transition to Kronstadt on one of the newly built ships. For ten years he commanded court yachts and battleships, and became famous in the Baltic Fleet and in St. Petersburg. In 1754, Spiridov was promoted to captain of the 3rd rank and sent to Kazan to organize the delivery of scaffolding to the St. Petersburg Admiralty. In 1755, he became a member of the commission for reviewing regulations for the fleet, and the following year he was appointed company commander in the Naval Gentry Cadet Corps.
The measured course of service was interrupted by the Seven Years' War of 1756 - 1763. The dominance of the Russian fleet in the Baltic contributed to Russia's successful fight against Prussia in the land theater of war. Participating in the campaigns of the Baltic Fleet, Grigory Spiridov commanded the ships “Astrakhan” and “St. Nicholas”, went to Danzig (Gdansk) and Sweden, to Stralsund and Copenhagen. In 1761, with a landing force of two thousand, he came to the aid of General P. Rumyantsev, who was besieging the seaside fortress of Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), and earned high praise from him for his actions. Rumyantsev characterized him as an “honest and brave officer.”
Since 1762, with the rank of rear admiral, he was a member of the Admiralty Board and the Maritime Commission, created by Empress Catherine II to reform and strengthen the Russian fleet. At the same time, he led a squadron that provided communication by sea with the Russian army in Prussia. In 1764 G.A. Spiridov was promoted to vice admiral and appointed chief commander of the port of Revel, and from 1765 - of the port of Kronstadt.
In 1768, the Russian-Turkish War began - one of the key wars between the Russian and Ottoman empires. The main goal of the war on Russia’s part was to gain access to the Black Sea; Turkey hoped to receive the Podolia and Volhynia promised to it by the Bar Confederation, and to expand its possessions in the Northern Black Sea region and the Caucasus.
During the war, the Russian army under the command of Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov defeated Turkish troops in the battles of Larga, Kagul and Kozludzhi, and the Mediterranean squadron of the Russian fleet under the command of Alexei Orlov and Grigory Spiridov defeated the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chios and Chesma.
The war was preceded by a complex European diplomatic game waged against each other by Russia and France, as well as a political crisis in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a result of French and Polish intrigues, the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III declared war on Russia, using the actions of the Russian army in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as a pretext. The Crimean Khanate, its vassals, including the Nekrasovites, and the Dubrovnik Republic fought on the side of Turkey. In addition, the Turkish government enlisted the support of Polish Confederate rebels. On the Russian side, in addition to the regular army and navy, combat operations were carried out by detachments of Don, Terek, Little Russian and Zaporozhye Cossacks, including a flotilla of Cossacks, as well as Kalmyks. During the war on the territory of the Ottoman Empire in 1770, with the support of the Russian fleet, the Greeks of the Peloponnese rebelled, and in 1771 Egypt and Syria rebelled.
On July 10 (21), 1774, the Ottoman Empire was forced to sign the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty with Russia. As a result of the war, which ended with the victory of the Russian Empire, it included the first lands in Crimea - the fortresses of Kerch and Yenikale (the rest of Crimea was annexed to Russia 9 years later - in 1783), on the northern coast of the Black Sea - Kinburn with adjacent territories, as well as Azov and Kabarda. The Crimean Khanate formally gained independence under Russian protectorate. Russia received the right to trade and have a navy in the Black Sea.
The most difficult and responsible period of Spiridov’s military biography occurred during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. Catherine II decided to support the land campaign against Turkey with actions in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas and send an expedition of the Russian fleet to the Greek archipelago. Spiridov, who had just been promoted to admiral, was placed at the head of the first squadron. On July 17, 1769, Catherine II visited the ships preparing to sail, awarded the admiral the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and, blessing him for the campaign, placed the image of John the Warrior around his neck. She ordered the officers and sailors to be given a four-month salary “not counted” and demanded that the squadron immediately set sail. The admiral was faced with a difficult task - to pave the way to the eastern part of the Mediterranean, making the first passage from the Baltic Sea in the history of the Russian fleet.
Vice Admiral Spiridov took up the matter with his characteristic zeal. At the beginning of July 1769, the squadron entered the raid. It consisted of seven battleships, a frigate, a bombardment ship and nine auxiliary ships. Just before sailing, the Empress awarded Spiridov the rank of full admiral and the title of “first flagship of the Russian fleet.”
Spiridov raised his flag on the 66-gun battleship "Saint Eustathius Placida". On July 17, the squadron went to sea. The swim was not easy. First, the squadron found itself in a zone of storms, then mass illnesses began. For some time the admiral himself was on the verge of death, but God was merciful to him. After repairs in England, the squadron continued sailing in several detachments. The flagship "Eustathius" was the first to reach the collection point - the island of Menorca.
The transition was complicated by the lack of our own bases along the route, difficult weather conditions, and Grigory Andreevich’s illness at the beginning of the journey. Due to damage to the ships and their forced stops for repairs, the squadron moved slowly. This displeased the empress, who demanded from Spiridov: “...do not allow him to be put to shame in front of the whole world. All of Europe is looking at you and your squadron.” Chief General Alexei Orlov, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition and was waiting for the Russian fleet in Livorno, was also nervous.
In addition to the trials that befell Spiridov’s squadron during the passage around Europe, he also suffered personal grief: one of his two sons, who were sailing as part of the Archipelago expedition, died from illness. In February 1770, Spiridov arrived at the Morea Peninsula (Peloponnese), and soon the second squadron under the command of D. Elphinstone arrived there. Under the general leadership of Count Orlov, the squadrons began hostilities, which were complicated by additional circumstances - friction between the count and the admiral, as well as Elphinstone's indiscipline. In February - May, the squadrons landed several troops on the Morea and captured the Navarin and Itilon bases. Turkey was forced to redirect its fleet from supporting the ground army to fighting at sea, and at the same time divert part of its ground forces from the Danube theater of war.
For a short time, Spiridov successfully landed troops, formed legions of Greek rebels, and captured the Navarino fortress on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The Turks begin to transfer troops from the Danube to Greece. By this time, the 2nd Archipelago Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral John Elphinstone arrived in the Mediterranean Sea. All of Spiridov’s attempts to find a common language with Elfiiston end in nothing.
Alexei Orlov, who had arrived in Greece in the meantime, managed to subdue Elphinstone almost by force. After this, the combined squadron went out to search for the Turkish fleet. Soon the Turks were discovered in the strait near the island of Chios. Only in battleships did the Turks have a threefold superiority, and in smaller ships even more. At the council of flagships, Spiridov spoke in favor of a decisive attack.
The squadron was divided into three parts. The rearguard was headed by Elphinstone, the center by Orlov, and Spiridov’s vanguard consisting of three battleships. He still kept his flag on the Eustathia. On the morning of June 24, 1770, the Russian squadron began to descend on the Turkish fleet anchored. The battle immediately became fierce. Essentially, only 6 of ours fought against 17 Turkish ships, since Elphinstone’s rearguard never approached the battlefield.
On June 24, 1770, in the Chios Strait, the following picture was revealed to the eyes of Russian sailors: Turkish ships were anchored, forming a double arc-shaped line.
The Turkish fleet consisted of 16 battleships, including the 84-gun Burj u Zafer and the 60-gun Rhodes, 6 frigates, 6 xebeks, 13 galleys and 32 small vessels. The ships were built in two arched lines of 10 and 6 battleships respectively. There are different opinions about whether the ships of the second line could fire through the gaps between the ships of the first or not. Frigates, xebecs and other small ships were behind. The fleet was commanded by Kapudan Pasha Hasan Bey.
The Turkish fleet was almost twice as large as the Russian fleet in terms of the number of ships; the Turks had 1,430 guns, while the Russian ships had 820 of them. The timid Orlov chose to cede the development of the action plan to Spiridov. The battle plan proposed by Admiral Spiridov involved a complete abandonment of the classical linear tactics then used by European fleets. In the wake column, the Russian vanguard ships under the command of the admiral went towards the enemy perpendicular to his battle line and attacked the vanguard and part of the center of the Turks from a short distance. In fact, the Russian naval commander was the first to use the method of conducting naval combat. which only 35 years later is used in the Battle of Trafalgar by the English Admiral Nelson, who became a celebrity. The speed of approach, a concentrated strike, fire, pressure - and the Turkish fleet began to lose control. His second line, with a headwind, could not help the attacked first line. Spiridov commanded the battle in full dress uniform, with his sword drawn. There was music playing on his ship Eustathius.
Before the start of the battle, Orlov had 9 battleships, 3 frigates, 1 bombardment ship, 1 packet boat, 3 kicks and another 13 smaller ships. The Russian fleet was lined up in three battle lines - vanguard, corps de battalion (middle row) and rearguard. Admiral Spiridov was in the vanguard, carrying his flag on the ship "St. Eustathius" (commander - captain 1st rank Cruz) with the battleships "Europe" (captain 1st rank Klokachev) and "Three Saints" (captain 1st rank Khmetevsky) and the frigate "St. Nikolai" (Lieutenant Palikouti). In the “corps de battle” there are three battleships: “Three Hierarchs” (captain-brigadier Greig), “Rostislav” (captain 1st rank Lupandin), “Saint Januarius” (captain 1st rank Borisov) and two frigates “Nadezhda Blagopoluchiya” (captain- Lieutenant Stepanov) and “Africa” (Lieutenant Captain Kleopin); commander of the corps de battalion Greig on the “Three Hierarchs”, on the same ship the supreme commander of the entire squadron, Count Alexei Orlov. In the rearguard are three battleships “Don’t touch me” (on this ship the flag of Elphinstone, the commander is captain 1st rank Beshentsev), “Saratov” (captain 2nd rank Polivanov), “Svyatoslav” (captain 1st rank V.V. Roxburgh) and several small ships.
Orlov's order for operations of Russian ships in the battle was simple:
1. In the event that we may have to attack the enemy fleet at anchor, we must prepare ourselves for this by ordering all ships and other vessels on both sides to prepare one anchor, tying the cables to the eye, for springing at both sides; and if it comes to laying anchor, then drop it on the side that is from the enemy; According to the unknown orders of the enemy fleet, how to attack is not prescribed, but at the discretion will henceforth be given...
Argunov Ivan “Portrait of Admiral Samuil Karlovich Greig”
At 4 am on the Three Hierarchs, Greig raised the signal “Chase the enemy” and the Russian squadron moved towards the Turks in the Chios Strait. The progress of the ships was quite slow and only by 9 am almost the entire Russian fleet was very close to the Turks. The ships of the vanguard began to drift, waiting for the ships of the rear line. Orlov and the commanders of all the battleships arrived on Spiridov’s ship “Three Hierarchs” and held the last military council before the battle (lasted less than an hour), after which they returned to their ships. At 11:00 Count Orlov gave the signal: the entire fleet should attack the enemy. The commanders of the Russian squadron used new military tactics. To deliver the decisive blow, they launched an attack in a line perpendicular to the enemy. This maneuver was very risky, since the Russian ships approached the Turkish ones in a wake column almost perpendicular to the enemy line and were at the same time subjected to longitudinal artillery fire from some of the Turkish ships, being themselves deprived of the opportunity to respond with a broadside salvo. The calculation was based on quickly approaching the enemy, which made it possible to somewhat minimize losses. It was taken into account that the firing sectors of naval artillery at that time were very limited and the enemy would not be able to concentrate the fire of all its guns on the Russian fleet.
At 11:30 the leading ship Europa approached to within 3 cables (560 meters) of the center of the Turkish line and the Turks opened fire with all guns. Their guns hit mainly the spar and rigging to make it difficult for the attackers to maneuver. The Russian ships did not respond until they approached a pistol shot, then from a distance of 80 fathoms (about 170 meters) they fired three salvos one after another, forcing the leading Turkish ships to weaken their fire.
The leading ship "Europe" made a turn and broke down. Having described the arc, he found himself behind the corps de battle ship "Rostislav" and again entered the battle. There are two different versions of why this happened. First: the commander of the "Europe", captain 1st rank Klokachev, had to give in to the insistent demands of the Greek pilot, who indicated the need to make a turn so as not to land the ship on the pitfalls that were on his bow. The second version - "Europe" received very severe damage to the rigging and spar, lost control and could not maintain speed for some time.
The departure of the “Europe” from the vanguard of the column led to the fact that the leading ship of the Russian squadron became the “Saint Eustathius”, on which Admiral Spiridov held his flag; the fire of three Turkish battleships (including the flagship of the Turkish squadron) and one xebecs. Music thundered on the ship's quarterdeck, and the admiral ordered the musicians to “play to the last.” "Saint Eustathius" concentrated fire on the flagship of the Turkish fleet, the 80-gun battleship "Burj-u-Zafer", approached this ship and began to throw firebrands at it. A fire broke out on the Burj u Zafer, and the crew rushed into the sea in panic to swim to shore. “Saint Eustathius” by this time had already lost control due to damage to the rigging from the shelling of Turkish ships and was carried by the current directly towards the “Burj u Zafer”. To tow the St. Eustathius, the captain ordered the rowing vessels to be lowered, but they were unable to overcome the current. The two ships collided, with the bowsprit of the Burj u Zafera ending up between the main and mizzen masts of the Saint Eustache. Russian officers and sailors ran across the rigging and yards to the enemy ship and entered into a desperate boarding battle with the Turks remaining on the Turkish ship. The boarding battle ended in favor of the Russian sailors; the Turks remaining on the ship jumped overboard and began to swim for safety, but the fire on the Burj-u-Zafer could not be put out. The flame spread to the "St. Eustathius", the burning mainmast of the "Burj-u-Zafera" collapsed onto the deck of the "St. Eustathius", sparks and brands fell into the open hatch of the powder magazine (the hook chamber was open to replenish the artillery with gunpowder and shells during during the battle), and the ship exploded. “Saint Eustathius” took off, followed by “Burj-u-Zafer”.
In accordance with the regulations, Admiral Spiridov left the ship a few minutes before the explosion. Together with the commander-in-chief's brother Fyodor Orlov, they moved to the packet boat "Postman", and then Spiridov transferred his flag to the battleship "Three Saints". The total death toll on St. Eustace varies. According to initial estimates, 34 officers and 473 soldiers and sailors were killed. According to other sources, 22 officers and 598 lower ranks were killed. 58 crew members were saved. Among those rescued was the ship's commander, Cruise.
Battleship "Eustathius Placida"
The closest to the Saint Eustathius was the battleship Three Saints. This ship also lost control as a result of Turkish fire and crashed into the middle of the Turkish line. The ship came under crossfire - mistaking the ship for an enemy in the clouds of smoke, they fired a full salvo at it, also from the “Three Hierarchs”. Of the entire Russian fleet, the most effective actions were carried out precisely on the “Three Hierarchs”, on which Alexey Orlov and Samuel Greig were located. It was this ship that most clearly of all the Russian ships performed the maneuver, was able to come close to the ship on which the flag of Kapudan Pasha was flying (Kapudan Pasha himself did not participate in the battle, he was on the shore on the day of the battle and inspected the guns of the fortress) and very strongly fired at him. Due to poor maneuvering of the Turkish sailors, for more than a quarter of an hour the captain's ship of the Turkish fleet (in Russian sources "Kapudan Pasha") was stern to the "Three Hierarchs", which allowed the flagship of the Russian fleet to inflict very heavy damage on the Turkish ship without any harm to itself. The ships “Rostislav” and “Saint Januarius” were located near the “Three Hierarchs” and also operated successfully. The rearguard of the Russian fleet fired at the Turkish ships at a considerable distance and only towards the end of the battle approached the Turkish ships, which prevented them from causing significant harm.
After the explosion of their flagship at about 14:00, the Turkish ships hastily left the battlefield and took refuge in Chesme Bay, protected by several batteries. Russian ships blocked the exit from it and began to prepare to continue the battle later. Only the bombardment ship "Grom" was left near the entrance to the bay; from this bombardment ship they bombarded the Turkish fleet in the evening and all night after the battle. To cover the Thunder, the battleship Svyatoslav fired cannons at the coastal batteries of the Chesma fortress.
The sides lost one battleship each, and several Turkish ships suffered significant damage. Of the Russian ships, only the Three Saints and Europe suffered minor damage. The ship "Three Saints" received 5 holes, 2 of them below the waterline. Crew losses on all Russian ships, except for the St. Eustathius, were relatively small. On the Three Saints, 1 officer and 6 sailors were killed; the commander, 3 officers and 20 sailors were wounded; on “Europe” 4 people were killed and several were wounded; on "Don't touch me" 3 people were killed and several people were wounded; 1 sailor was wounded on the “Three Hierarchs”. The losses of the Turkish crews are unknown, but based on the damage on the Turkish ships, they should be greater than the Russians.
Soon the Turks fled from the Chios Strait and hid in the cramped waters of Chesme Bay under the cover of coastal batteries. “It was easy for me to foresee,” Spiridov recalled, “that this would be their refuge and their grave.”
On the night of June 26, Chief General Orlov and Admiral Spiridov decided to attack and destroy the Turkish fleet.
In Chesme Bay, Turkish ships formed two lines of 8 and 7 battleships, respectively, the rest of the ships took a position between these lines and the shore.
According to the admiral's plan, a combined attack was launched with fire ships (incendiary ships filled with fuel and gunpowder) and powerful artillery fire from close ranges.
During the day of July 6, Russian ships fired at the Turkish fleet and coastal fortifications from a great distance. Fireships were made from four auxiliary vessels.
At 17:00 on July 6, the bombardment ship Thunder anchored in front of the entrance to Chesme Bay and began shelling Turkish ships. At 0:30 he was joined by a battleship Europe, and by 1:00 - Rostislav, in whose wake the fireships came.
Europe, Rostislav and came up Dont touch me formed a line from north to south, engaging in battle with Turkish ships, Saratov stood in reserve, and Thunder and frigate Africa attacked the batteries on the western shore of the bay. At 1:30 or a little earlier (midnight, according to Elphinstone), as a result of the fire Thunder and/or Dont touch me one of the Turkish battleships exploded due to the transfer of flame from the burning sails to the hull. Burning debris from this explosion scattered other ships in the bay.
After the explosion of the second Turkish ship at 2:00, the Russian ships ceased fire, and fire ships entered the bay. Two of them are under the command of captains Gagarin and Dugdale. Dugdale) the Turks managed to shoot (according to Elphinstone, only Captain Dugdale's fireship was shot, and Captain Gagarin's fireship refused to go into battle), one under the command of Mackenzie (eng. Mackenzie) grappled with an already burning ship, and one under the command of Lieutenant D. Ilyin grappled with an 84-gun battleship. Ilyin set fire to the fireship, and he and his crew left it on a boat. The ship exploded and set fire to most of the remaining Turkish ships. By 2:30, 3 more battleships exploded.
At about 4:00, Russian ships sent boats to save two large ships that were not yet burning, but only one of them was taken out - a 60-gun Rhodes. From 4:00 to 5:30, 6 more battleships exploded, and in the 7th hour, 4 exploded simultaneously. By 8:00, the battle in Chesme Bay was over.
By three o'clock in the morning the fire engulfed almost the entire Turkish fleet, and by ten o'clock in the morning 15 battleships, 6 frigates and more than 40 small enemy ships were burned. The Turks lost about 11 thousand people killed and wounded, the Russians lost 11 killed.
Spiridov reported to St. Petersburg: “Glory to God and honor to the All-Russian Fleet! From the 25th to the 26th the enemy fleet was attacked, defeated, broken up, burned, and sent into the sky.” In honor of the Chesma victory, Catherine II ordered the erection of a special column and church, as well as a commemorative medal with an image of the burning Turkish fleet and an eloquent inscription above it: “Was.” The Empress presented Spiridov with a high award - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. A. Orlov received special favor, receiving the honorary prefix “Chesmensky” to his surname.
Spiridov's reward for Chesma was the highest of Russian orders - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the Yaroslavl village of Nagorye. Although Alexei Orlov was officially declared the winner of the Battle of Chesma, everyone understood who was the true author of this unprecedented victory in naval history. Soon Orlov moved to Italy again, leaving all maritime affairs to Spiridov.
After the victory at Chesma, Spiridov dominated the Greek archipelago for three years. He not only carried out the blockade of the Dardanelles, but also began to systematically control enemy communications in the Aegean Sea in order to prevent the supply of food and raw materials to Istanbul from Greece. The island of Paros was used as a base for the Russian fleet, where an admiralty and a shipyard were built, as well as shops, hospitals, and a church. Between the blockade detachment of ships and the main forces of the fleet, several cruising detachments were constantly operating, completely blocking the Aegean Sea in its narrowest part. In 1772, the Russian admiral extended his actions to the entire eastern part of the Mediterranean, starting from the Ionian Islands and to the coasts of Egypt and Syria. Together with expeditionary ground forces, Spiridov's fleet carried out active operations against Turkish coastal fortresses and ports on the Aegean Sea.
In June 1773, the 60-year-old admiral asked to resign; the resignation, according to some assumptions, was due to the admiral’s resentment that all his merits in the field of the Russian-Turkish War were attributed to the favorite Orlov. He was also tired of clashes with Count Orlov. In February of the following year, Spiridov received permission to leave his position, as well as the right to a pension in the amount of the full admiral's salary. Returning to Russia, Grigory Andreevich lived for another 16 years. Only once over the years did he put on his ceremonial uniform - when he received news of the victory of Fyodor Ushakov’s fleet at Fidonisi. Spiridov died in Moscow and was buried on his estate - the village of Nagorny, Yaroslavl province, in the crypt of a church previously built at his expense. He was seen off on his last journey by local peasants and his faithful friend, Stepan Khmetevsky, commander of the “Three Hierarchs” in the Battle of Chesma. In the Highlands, a monument was erected to him and the main street was named in his honor. In the now restored Church of the Transfiguration in Nagorye, access to the admiral’s grave is open.
Used: Wikipedia materials, article by V. Shigin “The First Flagship of the Russian Fleet” (Marine Collection magazine No. 2, 2013), Grigoriy Spiridov,
P.S. It is significant that the exhibition about Admiral Spiridov is located in the Museum “Boat of Peter I” near Pereslavl (the village of Nagorye is nearby). This is the homeland of the Russian fleet, where the young tsar built his amusing fleet at the end of the 17th century.
Admiral Spiridov. Winner of Chesma was last modified: July 8th, 2016 by Natali
Sometimes history is unfair to people who left a significant mark on it, and ascribes their achievements to others. But time puts a lot of things into place and allows you to take a fresh look at past events. One of these people, whose feat was underestimated by his contemporaries, is the hero of the Battle of Chesma - full admiral Spiridov Grigory Andreevich, interesting facts from whose life are brought to the attention of the readers of this article.
Midshipman Spiridov
The outstanding Russian naval commander Grigory Andreevich Spiridov was born on January 31, 1713 in the family of the commandant of Vyborg, a city conquered by Peter I from the Swedes during the Northern War. Having received a home education befitting a young nobleman, he volunteered for the navy. Already at the age of fifteen, having successfully passed exams in navigational sciences, he received his first rank - midshipman.
That year, a group of young sailors was sent from St. Petersburg to the Caspian Sea, among whom Spiridov also left for active service. Grigory, having fallen under the command of the experienced naval commander and hydrographer Alexei Nagaev, very successfully mastered the wisdom of marine science. A few years later, he was entrusted with the command of two gekbots - three-masted sailing ships for transporting cargo and troops. In those years, Spiridov’s voyage routes ran from Astrakhan to Persia.
Service in the Baltic
In 1732, the young and promising sailor was transferred to Kronstadt, where, having received the rank of midshipman ahead of schedule, he continued to serve on the ships of the Baltic Fleet, and six years later he was appointed adjutant to Vice Admiral Peter Bredale. It was next to this outstanding naval commander that Spiridov underwent real combat training. Grigory Andreevich, whose biography has been inextricably linked since those years, accompanied the vice admiral on the Azov expedition against the Turkish fleet and participated in all battles as part of the Don Flotilla.
Following this, his track record is replenished by three years spent in the North of Russia, in Arkhangelsk, from where Spiridov makes the transition to the piers of Kronstadt, so memorable to him, on a newly built warship. Here, over the next ten years, he commanded not only ships of the line, but also - which is very important for his future career - court yachts. This gives him the opportunity to gain fame among the command of the Baltic Fleet, and most importantly, in the circles of the highest nobility.
The result was immediate, and in 1754 his uniform was decorated with shoulder straps of a captain of the third rank. With this rank, Grigory Andreevich Spiridov becomes a member of the state commission, which was entrusted with the development of a new Charter of the Navy. Upon completion of his work, he was appointed head of the Naval Gentry Cadet Corps, where, with the rank of company commander, Spiridov trained its future admirals for Russia.
Participation in the Seven Years' War
Grigory Andreevich spent the years of the Seven Years' War, in which Russia, along with many leading powers of the world, became a participant in the Baltic Fleet, carrying out combat missions, during which he led operations off the coast of Sweden, Danzig, Copenhagen and Stralsund. When in 1761, General Pyotr Rumyantsev, who was besieging the Kolberg fortress (present-day territory of Poland), needed reinforcements, it was Spiridov who delivered him a 2,000-strong landing party on his ships.
The young Empress Catherine II, who ascended the throne in 1762, appreciated the merits of the “honest and brave officer” (this is how General Rumyantsev spoke of him), and Grigory Andreevich Spiridov was promoted to rear admiral and appointed commander of the Revel squadron. It was a very responsible post. The responsibilities of the newly appointed admiral included ensuring the security of Baltic sea communications. At the end of the Seven Years' War, he briefly held the position of head of the Kronstadt and Revel ports, and then became commander of the Baltic Fleet, where he once began serving as a midshipman.
On a quest for glory
But Spiridov showed himself most clearly in the battles of the Russian-Turkish War, which began in 1768 and lasted six years. By this time, he received the rank of admiral, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and was appointed commander of a naval expedition heading to the Greek archipelago. The squadron departed from the piers of Kronstadt in July 1769 and six months later reached the Morea Peninsula in the southern Balkans, where, in accordance with the campaign plan, it joined the ships of the second expedition, led by Admiral John Elphinstone.
After some time, Chief General Count Alexei Orlov, who had arrived from Livorno and was sent by Empress Catherine II to command all Russian naval forces located in the Mediterranean, boarded the flagship ship. With his arrival, active military operations began, as a result of which the cities of Arcadia and Mystras, as well as military bases located in Navarino and Itilon, were captured. To counter the Russian fleet, the Ottoman Empire was forced to pull significant forces into this area.
Victory in the Battle of Chios
The first major battle with the Turkish fleet in this military campaign took place on June 24, 1770 and was called the Battle of Chios. In it, Orlov transferred full power to Spiridov, whom, despite personal hostility, he highly valued as an experienced naval commander. According to contemporaries, Grigory Ivanovich used a new tactic for those times in this battle, directing the vanguard of his ships at a right angle to the chain of enemy ships and launching an attack on its center from a short distance. Such a decision entailed great responsibility, which Spiridov was not afraid to take upon himself.
During the battle, Grigory Andreevich was on board the ship “Eustafia” and was on the verge of death when it exploded during a boarding battle with the Turkish flagship “Real Mustafa”. Both ships sank, and only thanks to a coincidence of circumstances the admiral remained alive and safely boarded the frigate “Three Hierarchs”. In this battle, victory was on the side of the Russian fleet, which faced an enemy almost twice its size.
The Admiral's Finest Hour
However, the main battle was still ahead, which Grigory Andreevich Spiridov won. The Battle of Chesma, which took place on the night of June 24-25, 1770, was truly his finest hour. The commander of the Russian squadron, Count Orlov, for all his undeniable merits as a statesman and military leader, had no experience in conducting naval battles. And although later it was he who received the glory of the winner in the Chesma battle, the real leadership in it was entrusted to Spiridov.
Thanks to the maneuvers he undertook, he was practically driven into Chesme Bay and found himself in an extremely disadvantageous position. According to the admiral's plan, the Turks were simultaneously subjected to artillery fire and attacked by fireships - small ships loaded with explosives and sent towards the enemy, upon collision with whom they exploded. Their crew, who had boarded boats in advance, were picked up by other ships.
This tactic allowed the Russians to set fire and send to the bottom most of the Turkish fleet, after which the Ottoman Empire lost its naval power for a long time. The statistics on the ratio of losses suffered by the warring parties in this battle are also impressive. It is known that eleven sailors were killed among the Russians, while the number of killed and wounded Turks was eleven thousand people. Simply put - 1 in 1000.
Stolen glory
This is a truly unique result in the entire history of not only sea but also land battles. On that day, its commander, Admiral Spiridov Grigory Andreevich, celebrated along with the entire Russian squadron. A photo painted in 1848 and depicting a scene from a legendary battle is presented at the end of our article.
In honor of the glorious victory, or, as they said then, “victory,” Catherine II ordered the erection of a church (its photo can also be seen in the article) and a memorial column. Spiridov Grigory Andreevich himself, whose merits were undeniable, received only the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The lion's share of honors and glory went, as stated above, to Catherine's favorite, Count Orlov.
Service in the Aegean Sea
The admiral spent the next three years in the area of the Greek archipelago, creating a base for the Russian fleet on the island of Paros and from there controlling a significant part of communications in the Aegean Sea. They almost completely blocked the supply of weapons and provisions from Greece to Constantinople, and also carried out a blockade of the Dardanelles. In 1772, Spiridov, interacting with ground forces, carried out a number of successful military operations against coastal Turkish fortresses, reaching Egypt and Syria in his campaigns.
Forgotten heroes
In 1773, Honored Admiral Spiridov Grigory Andreevich, whose short biography formed the basis of this article, sent his resignation to St. Petersburg. He was only sixty, but in his report he referred to deteriorating health. The real reason for the reluctance to continue serving, biographers consider resentment for the fact that the victory in the Battle of Chesma was attributed not to him, but to Catherine II’s favorite, Count Orlov, who took only a passive part during the battle, but went down in Russian history as its main hero.
The admiral spent the rest of his life in his ancestral village of Nagorye, Pereslavl district, where he died on April 19, 1790. His death went unnoticed by Russia, which had long since entered a new reign and was busy with other problems. The honored naval commander was seen off on his last journey only by courtyard people and one more person - his friend, like him, a forgotten hero of the Battle of Chesma - Admiral Stepan Petrovich Khmetevsky.
Outstanding Russian naval commander, full admiral (1769).
The admiral's long naval career led him to the Mediterranean Sea - to his main battle at Chesma. Then, in one night, the Turks lost 63 ships in Chesme Bay - battleships, caravels, galleys, and galliots. Turkish losses amounted to more than 10,000 people. The losses of the Russian combined squadron amounted to 11 people: 8 - on the battleship "Europe", 3 - on the battleship "Don't Touch Me"
The future naval commander was born in 1713 to the family of nobleman Andrei Alekseevich Spiridov (1680-1745), who served as commandant in Vyborg at the time. From early childhood, Gregory found himself connected with the sea. Already at the age of 10, he was registered as a volunteer on a ship and went to sea as a volunteer for five years in a row. In 1728, having passed exams for knowledge of maritime science, he was promoted to midshipman and entered active military service. The young naval officer was sent to the Caspian Sea, to Astrakhan, where for several years, commanding the gek-bots (three-masted cargo ships) “St. Catherine" and "Shah-Dagai", made voyages to the shores of Persia. Here he participated in the work of A.I. Nagaev, in the future a famous hydrographer and admiral, but for now a lieutenant who made an inventory of the Caspian Sea.
In 1732, Spiridov was transferred to Kronstadt, from where he made annual voyages around the Baltic. His zeal for service did not go without reward - he received the rank of midshipman ahead of schedule. In February 1737, a new appointment followed - to the Don Flotilla, where he became an adjutant of the “rank of captain” of its commander, Vice Admiral P.P. Bredal. This position allowed Spiridov to gain initial combat experience - the flotilla took part in the fight for Azov during the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1741.
In 1741, G.A. Spiridov was assigned to the port of Arkhangelsk, and his life was connected with the northern seas for more than three decades. Twice he had the opportunity to make a difficult transition from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt on newly built ships (in 1742-1743 and 1752); after being transferred to the Baltic, he annually made voyages from Kronstadt along the Baltic Sea and along the Neva. The service was successful - the relatively young sailor repeatedly received important assignments. So, in 1747 he commanded the frigate “Russia”, on which Prince Augustus of Holstein went to Kiel; in 1749 he was sent to attend the Moscow Admiralty office; in 1750 he commanded the court yachts.
In 1754, Spiridov, already a captain of the 3rd rank, was sent to Kazan to organize the delivery of ship timber to the St. Petersburg Admiralty. Despite the fact that he did not feel any particular desire to take on this responsible assignment, he completed it quite successfully, and upon returning from Kazan, in 1755, he became a member of the commission for reviewing the regulations for the fleet, and the following year he was appointed company commander commander in the Marine Corps.
The annual voyages enriched Spiridov's experience as a naval officer, but his (and the entire Baltic Fleet's) combat experience was small. Only in 1760-1761. For the first time, G.A. Spiridov had the opportunity to participate in a large-scale military operation - the fight for the Pomeranian fortress of Kolberg during the Seven Years' War. This powerful fortress was surrounded by a ditch and swamps, among which there were separate raised hills; on a hill dominating the area, there was a citadel. For the Russian army, the capture of Kolberg was of great importance, since it would thereby acquire a strategically advantageous bridgehead in Pomerania and the ability to supply the army by sea, cheaper and faster than the land route through Poland.
The first attempt to take Kolberg was made back in 1758, but ended in failure. And in 1760 the siege was repeated. Spiridov took part in it, commanding the ship “St. Dmitry Rostovsky"; On the campaign he was accompanied by his young sons, 8 and 10 years old. This attempt also ended in failure - despite the significant forces drawn to the fortress, there was no interaction between the ground and naval forces, moreover, rumors about the approach of the 6,000-strong Prussian corps of General Werner to help the besieged caused confusion in the camp of the besiegers, and the Russian army hastily retreated from the city.
Finally, at the end of the summer of 1761, actions against the “annoying fortress” were resumed, and now a 15,000-strong corps was acting against it. To help him, a combined Russian-Swedish fleet arrived to Kolberg, consisting of 24 battleships, 12 frigates and bombardment ships, a large number of transport ships under the command of Vice Admiral A.I. Polyansky, which delivered 7,000 reinforcements. The sheer number of troops shows how much importance was attached to the capture of Kolberg. Spiridov in this campaign commanded the ship "St. Andrew the First-Called." The blockade of the fortress from the sea lasted from August 14 to September 26. The bomber ships, on which the commander of the Kronstadt squadron S.I. Mordvinov was located, were deployed against enemy batteries. To help the siege corps, a landing force of two thousand was landed, the command of which was entrusted to “Mr. Navy Captain Grigory Spiridov.” This detachment first took part in the unloading of provisions, and then was sent into battle, and its commander again showed his best side. Mordvinov wrote to the empress that he “repeatedly heard about the brave deeds of Captain Spiridov’s fleet, in which Spiridov was given to him by gr. Rumyantsev’s certificate will be certified.” However, neither Mordvinov nor Spiridov had a chance to see the result of the operation - the fall of Kohlberg: a lack of provisions and firewood forced the fleet to return to Kronstadt in mid-October.
In 1762, Spiridov, promoted to rear admiral, commanded a squadron sent to cruise to the shores of Pomerania. The squadron anchored in the roadstead in Kolberg, from where two ships took turns setting sail. The service went on calmly; there was no need to seize other people's transports or protect our own - military operations had already ceased. In August 1762, a squadron of 7 ships returned to Revel, entered the harbor and disarmed there.
And again a calm and stable promotion. On May 4, 1764, Spiridov was promoted to vice admiral and commanded the Kronstadt squadron. Then, from July of the same year, he replaced the ill Admiral Polyansky as commander of the Revel Fleet, and in October, after Polyansky’s death, he became the main commander of the Revel port. He remained in this position for a year - in December 1765 he was transferred to the chief commander of the port in Kronstadt. In 1768, he was present at experiments on a new system of rigging and sails, developed by S.K. Greig based on the English system, and had to give an official opinion on it. Spiridov’s opinion was notable for its balance: the new system, by making the rigging easier, actually increased the speed of the vessel; but it was not applicable on all ships. Therefore, ship captains were asked to independently decide whether to introduce innovation on their ship or leave everything the old fashioned way.
Such was the naval career of G.A. Spiridov at the start of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, which became his finest hour. When in St. Petersburg, according to the project, a bold and broad plan of combined actions on land and sea off the Turkish coast was drawn up, with the goal of raising the population of the Balkan Peninsula and the Archipelago against the Turks, Spiridov was entrusted with command of the squadron.
The goals of the campaign were kept secret; tipsy sailors on the shore talked about a campaign to Azov. On June 4, 1769, Spiridov was promoted to admiral and officially appointed commander of the fleet equipped for the campaign.
The secret decree of March 20, 1769 read:
“We entrusted our Vice Admiral Spiridov with some expedition, for the sake of Adm. the board has the right to repair all kinds of things to him at his request
assistance"
How to evaluate this appointment? The French diplomat and political writer K. Ruliere characterized Spiridov as a direct, simple and courageous man, with a rough but easy-going disposition. In his opinion, Spiridov owes his rise to the Orlov brothers, whom he knew when he himself was a naval non-commissioned officer, and they were sergeants. He rose with them, although he was completely devoid of experience and talent, and remained commander of the fleet in name only, leaving the work to the Englishman Greig, and the glory to Count Orlov.
Another Frenchman, a historian of the late 18th century, also called Spiridov an incapable person. J.A.Custer. Unfortunately, the domestic historian Vl. partially agrees with them. Plugin, characterizing Grigory Andreevich as “a respectable, but quite ordinary campaigner.”
Undoubtedly, all these characteristics have their source in the hostile attitude of the French government towards the Mediterranean expedition of the Russian fleet and its leaders. Of course, Spiridov could not owe his career to Orlov, if only because in the year of birth of the eldest of them, Ivan (1733), he was already 20 years old and for 10 of them he was in naval service. This does not exclude, of course, the possibility that he was acquainted with the Orlovs, and they could have contributed to his promotion in the later stages of his career. But even before the Orlovs, there was someone to put in a good word for him - Bredal, Mordvinov, Polyansky... All of these were quite noticeable figures in the Russian fleet of that time, and they all appreciated the diligence and talents of Grigory Andreevich. As for the experience that Spiridov was allegedly deprived of, a reservation should be made here - and a fundamentally important one. On his difficult path to the rank of admiral, he served in all seas where Russia had at least some naval formations. He went through the entire path of naval service, starting from the lowest ranks; by the time of Chesma, his service had lasted almost half a century. He carried out important assignments for the Admiralty. Is it possible to say that such a person has no experience? The lack of experience that was attributed to him was not his personal shortcoming, but the shortcoming of the entire Russian fleet, which had never before made long sea voyages. But blaming Spiridov himself or anyone else for this is pointless and unfair. Whether the Orlovs patronized him or not, at that time Spiridov was undoubtedly the most worthy figure to lead the campaign to the shores of Turkey.
The task assigned to the squadron was difficult - the fleet was not adapted to such a long voyage, many ships were leaking. To prevent leaks, the underwater part of the ships was immediately sheathed with one-inch boards with pads made of sheep wool; the work proceeded at an accelerated pace - the empress was in a hurry to set out on a campaign. Finally, on June 18, the empress personally inspected the ships ready to set off, and that same night the squadron weighed anchor. In total, 7 battleships (84- and 66-guns), a 36-gun frigate and 7 small ships set sail. Spiridov himself held the flag on the Eustathia. The empress's rescript ordered him to “bring ground troops with a fleet of artillery and other military equipment to assist Count Orlov, to form an entire corps of Christians to commit sabotage to Turkey in a sensitive place; to assist the Greeks and Slavs who rebelled against Turkey, and also to help suppress the smuggling of contraband into Turkey.” Thus, Spiridov’s powers were great - he could independently issue letters of marque, could issue manifestos to the “barbarian republics to distract them from Turkish obedience”; he was given 480 thousand rubles for emergency expenses.
The swim was difficult. Even in the Baltic Sea, the squadron was severely torn by storms - “such strong and gloomy weather set in with great cold that it was rarely possible to see half of the squadron.” We had to make long stops to collect stragglers and repair ships damaged by storms. What was even worse was that the crews were unaccustomed to such long voyages - the changes in air, humidity, cold, pitching, and poor nutrition caused illness among the sailors. By September 25, there were already over 600 sick people on the squadron, more than a hundred people had died; 83 people died during a long layover in the English port of Hull. Under these conditions, Spiridov made the only correct decision - he allowed the ship captains to continue their journey “as best they could,” setting a rendezvous point in Gibraltar (later he moved the gathering place to Port Mahon on the island of Minorca). He himself sailed from Hull with four ships on October 10 and finally reached Port Mahon on his Eustace on November 18; the remaining ships fell behind during the voyage.
Months of waiting followed. By the end of December, 3 more battleships and 4 small vessels arrived; the last ships arrived only in May 1770. They were in a deplorable condition - “rarely did anyone not demand, after suffering severe storms and waves, the necessary correction.” Spiridov himself, whose health was never very strong, complained of weakness and illness in almost every letter. At this time, he experienced a personal tragedy - his youngest son, who was enrolled (like his brother) in the Archipelago Expedition “for the sake of practice on long-distance voyages,” died.
The delay of the fleet at Port Mahon played a fatal role in the implementation of A.G. Orlov’s far-reaching plans - it allowed the Turks to strengthen their garrisons, supply them with food supplies and take other measures to prevent the success of the liberation uprising in the Balkans. And yet, in February - March 1770, the squadron was able to move on to active operations, first on land and then at sea. According to Spiridov, it was necessary first of all to strengthen the coastline, and only then to raise a general uprising. Therefore, on March 24, 1770, he sent a detachment of ships (two battleships - “Ianuarius” and “Three Saints” and the Venetian 20-gun frigate “St. Nicholas” chartered by Orlov) under the overall command of artillery brigadier Ivan Abramovich Hannibal (cousin of A.S. .Pushkin) to Navarino. On April 10, 1770, the Navarino fortress fell. Russian sailors took possession of one of the most convenient bases in the Peloponnese - a fleet of any size could anchor in its harbor, the narrow entrance to it was protected by fortifications on both sides.
However, this success was not further developed. As a result of miscalculations in planning ground operations, the Turks were able to defeat the landing forces, push them back to Navarino and begin a siege of the fortress from land. At the same time, it became known that a large Turkish squadron was preparing to attack the Russians from the sea. Under these conditions, Navarino harbor could become a trap for the fleet, and Spiridov with four battleships was sent to join the second Russian squadron, which was led by Admiral D. Elphinstone. However, here the human factor came into play: Elphinstone, not wanting to obey Spiridov, landed troops who headed overland to Navarino, and he himself, having learned that the enemy fleet was in Napoli di Romagna Bay, headed there. It was fatal overconfidence: he had only three battleships, one frigate and three transports. The Turkish squadron, which he saw on May 16, 1770, consisted of over twenty pennants, including 10 battleships and 6 frigates. Nevertheless, the Russian squadron moved forward and entered into battle with the advanced ships of the Turks.
Unable to withstand artillery fire, the Turks retreated under the protection of the guns of the Napolidi-Romagna fortress. Elphinstone was saved by chance: for some reason the Turks did not dare to immediately attack the Russian fleet - perhaps they considered it to be the vanguard of all Russian forces. Be that as it may, Elphinstone realized the impossibility of a battle with the Turkish fleet, which was under the protection of coastal batteries, retreated to a safe distance and moved to join Spiridov.
On May 22, the squadrons of Elphinstone and Spiridov, who incidentally took on board the troops landed by Elphinstone, successfully connected, and a showdown took place between the admirals. Elphinstone, despite the fact that he was younger in rank than Spiridov, stated that he considered himself equal to him. Without coming to an agreement, the admirals nevertheless moved on to joint action, trying to force a battle on the Turks. However, all attempts were in vain. Meanwhile, on June 11, they were joined by A.G. Orlov, who, having found “the commanders among themselves in a great quarrel, and the sub-commands in despondency and displeasure,” raised the Kaiser flag on the “Three Hierarchs,” which meant that all orders , coming from this ship, are given the name of the empress.
Ultimately, the entire Russian squadron gathered in the area of the island of Milos - ships that had pulled up from different places and were ready for a naval battle. Having learned that the Turks were grouping their forces behind the island of Paros, the squadron moved there - but the enemy was no longer there. The Turks' idea was to lure the Russian fleet into the labyrinths of the Archipelago with its many islands, in the meantime, to gather all their forces - and deliver a decisive blow. True, Kapudan Pasha Ibrahim Hassan-ed-din was known for his indecisiveness, but his assistant, the Algerian Hassan Pasha, the de facto leader of the Turkish fleet, an experienced sailor and brave naval commander, promised the Sultan to destroy the Russian fleet, bringing his ships close to the Russian ships and blowing up their cruise chambers, which will lead to the death of both Turkish and Russian ships along with their people. Then the majority of the Turkish fleet, numerically significantly superior to the Russian one, will remain intact and win. Even if the prisoners of war, from whose words this was known, exaggerated something, this plan was very reminiscent of what the Russian fleet later carried out at Chesma.
On June 23, the combined Russian squadron, after reconnaissance that revealed the location of Turkish ships, approached the strait between the island of Chios and the entrance to Chesme Bay on the coast of Asia Minor. Here the ship's crews had the opportunity to see almost the entire Turkish fleet: sixteen battleships (one 100-gun, one 96-gun, four 74-gun, eight 60-gun, two 50-gun caravels), six 40-gun frigates, up to sixty brigantine, xebec, half-galley and other ships. On board there were 15 thousand people and 1430 guns. The Russian squadron was outnumbered by almost half the enemy, numbering only nine battleships, three frigates, three kicks, one packet boat (the second crashed off the coast of the Seas), thirteen chartered and prize ships, which had 6,500 people and 608 guns. Commander-in-Chief Alexei Orlov wrote to the Empress about his impressions of this spectacle: “Seeing such a structure, I was horrified and in the dark - what should I do?”
On the night of June 24, a council met at the “Three Hierarchs”, in which Alexey and Fedor Orlov, G.A. Spiridov, D. Elphinstone, S.K. Greig and General Yu.V. Dolgorukov took part. At the council, a plan was developed for attacking the Turkish fleet: to descend on the enemy in a wake column almost parallel to his battle line and attack from a short distance (50-70 m). This plan was bold and innovative, it broke the usual canons of linear tactics, and this was precisely its strength. So, in accordance with the disposition on the morning of June 24, the Russian squadron moved towards the enemy.
The first column (vanguard) was under the command of G.A. Spiridov himself. It consisted of the flagship battleship "Eustathius" under the command of captain 1st rank A.I. Kruse, the battleship "Europe" (commander captain 1st rank F.A. Klokachev), and the battleship "Three Saints", (commander captain 1st rank S P. Khmetevsky).
The second column (corps de battalion) marched under the flag of Commander-in-Chief A.G. Orlov. It included the battleship “Three Hierarchs” (commander captain-brigadier S.K. Greig), the battleship “Ianuarius” (commander captain 1st rank I.A. Borisov), the battleship “Rostislav” (commander captain 1st rank V. M.Lupandin).
Finally, the third column (rearguard) was commanded by D. Elphinston, under whose command were the battleship “Don’t touch me” (commander captain 1st rank P.F. Beshentsov), battleship “Svyatoslav” (commander captain 1st rank V.V. Roxburgh ) and the battleship "Saratov" (commander captain 2nd rank A.G. Polivanov). The remaining ships under the overall command of Brigadier I.A. Hannibal were supposed to cover the flanks of the attacking columns.
We must pay tribute to the enemy: the Turkish fleet was well prepared for battle overnight. According to the observation of S.K. Greig, “the Turkish line of battle was excellently arranged, the distance between the ships was no more than the length of two ships.” The Turkish fleet was built in two lines: 10 battleships in one line, 7 battleships, 2 caravels and 2 frigates in the other, and they were staggered, so that the ships of the second line occupied the spaces between the ships of the first and could fire along with them on all sides. Thus, Russian ships came under simultaneous fire from approximately 700 guns.
When approaching the enemy, Spiridov used a kind of “psychic attack”: the ships approached the enemy in complete silence, without opening fire. This silence, with a constant increase in tension (and the rapprochement lasted 4 hours, from 8 to 12 o’clock!) should in itself lead the Turks into confusion and bewilderment. The admiral's calculations were completely justified: the Turks lost their nerve, and they opened fire on the Russian squadron as soon as it approached within firing range. The Russian ships responded to this with silence: the order was not to open fire before approaching the Turks with a pistol shot. Only after reaching this distance did the ships return fire.
Europe was the first to approach the enemy. Turning broadside, she fired a salvo and slowly moved along the entire Turkish line. However, unexpectedly her captain turned to starboard tack and left the line. Spiridov, who saw this and did not know the reason for such a maneuver, furiously shouted from his bridge: “Mr. Klokachev! Congratulations to you as a sailor!” However, Klokachev was not to blame: the Greek pilot warned him about the stones that lay right on his course. "Eustathius" took the place of "Europe". "Eustathius" became the lead in the vanguard, and fire from three enemy ships immediately fell on it. G.A. Spiridov, in full dress uniform, with all the orders and with a drawn sword, walked on the quarterdeck and calmly led the battle, encouraging the sailors.
Music thundered on the quarterdeck of the ship: under enemy fire, the orchestra carried out the admiral’s order: “Play to the last!”
Concentrated enemy fire destroyed the gear on the Eustathia and deprived it of the ability to move independently. The ship began to drift towards the Turkish fleet - it was carried straight towards the flagship Turkish ship Real Mustafa. At the same time, he did not stop firing for a minute, aimed at the enemy flagship. When the Eustathius rested its bowsprit on it, the Russian and Turkish sailors fought in fierce hand-to-hand combat. One of the Eustathius sailors managed to make his way to the stern Turkish flag. He tried to rip it off - but his right hand was immediately broken; he tried again with his left hand - the same thing. Then he grabbed the enemy flag with his teeth - and tore it off! The tattered flag was delivered to Spiridov.
At one o'clock in the afternoon the fire of the unicorns "Eustathia" caused a fire under the quarterdeck of the "Real Mustafa". Hassan Pasha, in order to avoid capture, retreated to the 100-gun ship "Kapudan Pasha" on a boat waiting on the opposite side, and the fire on the "Real Mustafa" continued to flare up, now threatening the "Eustathia". Under these conditions, Spiridov, as the senior flagship in charge of the battle, in accordance with the requirements of the Naval Regulations, decided to leave the ship and transfer his flag to the Three Saints.
The boat barely managed to take Spiridov and Fyodor Orlov away when the mainmast of the Real Mustafa, engulfed in fire, collapsed, and its burning fragments fell into the open cruise chamber of the Eustathia. There was an explosion of enormous power, and after some time a second one: “Real-Mustafa” shared the fate of “Eustathia”. Of the entire crew of the Eustathia, only its commander, Captain 1st Rank Cruz, who was wounded and burned, but held on to the water by a piece of the mast, 9 officers and 51 sailors, were saved.
The explosion of the Real Mustafa caused panic in the ranks of the Turkish fleet. The ships tried to move away from the terrible place so as not to catch fire, and in disorder they retreated to Chesme Bay. At the same time, the panic was clearly disproportionate to the real situation - only one ship was lost, Hassan Pasha escaped from the exploding ship and found refuge on the Kapudan Pasha, from where he could easily lead the battle. But the crew of this ship was by no means in a fighting mood: about an hour before the explosion of the Real Mustafa, it came under heavy fire from the Three Hierarchs, and due to an unsuccessful maneuver when unanchoring, it stood under devastating longitudinal shots for about fifteen minutes from a Russian ship. The confusion on the Turkish ships was intensified by the fact that many of them collided with each other while fleeing. At about half past two, Hassan Pasha withdrew the last ships from the battle and took them to Chesme Bay.
So, as a result of the battle, which lasted about two hours, the Turkish squadron was completely demoralized. However, numerical superiority still remained on her side. In addition, due to the lack of wind, enemy ships towed by rowing galleys easily escaped the Russian squadron, which did not have rowing galleys. The enemy also had an advantage in speed. However, the Russian ships reliably blocked the exit from the bay, and the bombardment ship "Grom" already at 17.00 began shelling the Turkish squadron with mortars and howitzers. The bombardment, which included the battleships Svyatoslav and Three Hierarchs and the packet boat Postman, continued throughout the day on June 25, further increasing the demoralization of the Turks.
A day after the battle in the Chios Strait, on June 25, at five o’clock in the afternoon, a military council met under the chairmanship of Commander-in-Chief Count Alexei Orlov on the battleship “Three Hierarchs”, on which he held the Kaiser’s flag. The sailors insisted on decisive and immediate action so as not to miss the favorable moment of forced paralysis of the enemy in a cramped bay. The plan to defeat the Turks was proposed by G.A. Spiridov and I.A. Hannibal. His idea was simple: to use transport ships that accompanied the squadron and were not of significant value as fire ships. It was necessary to load them with flammable materials (resin in barrels, saltpeter, sulfur in canvas hoses), and soak the deck, spars and sides with turpentine. Such a fireship would pose a mortal danger if it managed to approach an enemy ship and latch on to it. To do this, hooks were attached to the bowsprit and the ends of the yards, with which his team tried to hook onto the bulwarks and superstructures of the enemy ship. The equipment of the fire ships and the selection of their commanders were entrusted to Brigadier Hannibal.
To implement this plan, cold-blooded and experienced officers were required who were not afraid to risk their lives. The first to respond to Hannibal's call were lieutenant captain R.K. Dugdal, lieutenants D.S. Ilyin and T. Mekenzi (later the admiral, after whom the heights in the vicinity of Sevastopol were named) and midshipman Prince V.A. Gagarin. Fireboat teams were also recruited from volunteers.
Night fell on June 26, 1770. Weather conditions were not favorable for the attack: the sea was flooded with moonlight. From the Russian ships it was quite clearly visible what the Turkish fleet was doing in the bay, where the day before it had fled under the cover of coastal batteries. The Russians saw through their telescopes that the Turkish fleet “stands in a cramped and dishonest position”: some with their noses to the NW (northwest), others to the NO (northeast), “and with their sides towards us, several of them in cramped conditions they stand behind their people towards the shore, as they are in a heap.” To ensure the success of the operation, the battleships “Rostislav”, “Europe”, “Don’t touch me” and “Saratov”, the frigates “Nadezhda Blagopoluchiya” and “Africa” and the bombardment ship “Grom” were allocated. This detachment, under the overall command of S.K. Greig, was supposed to enter Chesme Bay and, having entered into battle with the enemy fleet, cause confusion on the Turkish ships, divert their attention to themselves, thereby opening the way for the fireships.
At 23.30, F.A. Klokachev was the first to move closer to the Turkish fleet on his “Europe”, by one in the morning he took his place according to the disposition of “Rostislav”, other ships also pulled up. At the beginning of the second, accurate fire from the bombardment ship "Grom" set fire to one of the Turkish ships standing in the center of the bay, and from it the fire spread to the ships standing nearby. At this time, at a signal from the Rostislav, fire ships went on the attack. The fire-ship of Lieutenant-Commander Dugdal was the first to be launched; however, he did not have time to travel even half the distance separating the Russian squadron and the first line of the Turkish fleet when he was noticed by the enemy; I had to blow it up prematurely and return to the Three Hierarchs. Lieutenant Mekenzie's fire-ship went second. He reached the first line of enemy ships, but due to an unsuccessful maneuver he was pressed against the side of an already burning Turkish ship. The team managed to leave the fireship and land on the shore. There Mekenzi captured several small Turkish ships, with which he returned to his own.
The third incendiary vessel was led by Lieutenant Dmitry Sergeevich Ilyin. By this point, the Turks, initially stunned by the fires, resumed hurricane artillery fire on the Russian ships of the detachment. Greig was forced, in turn, to resume firing, and the fireship found itself between two fires! Lieutenant Ilyin nevertheless made his way to the target. He brought his little boat close to the side of the 84-gun Turkish ship. Russian sailors firmly attached the fire-ship to the bulwark of the Turkish ship, then pulled up the boat and descended into it. Then Ilyin set fire to the fire-ship and jumped into the boat himself. The flames that engulfed the fireship were already creeping towards the mast of the Turkish ship, and its crew did not take any measures to prevent a disaster. Subsequently, Hassan Pasha said that he mistook Ilyin’s fireship for a deserter from the Russian squadron who decided to surrender. He got this impression when the Russians opened fire as if in pursuit of the fire-ship, and therefore he ordered not to shoot at Ilyin’s fire-ship.
After setting fire to his fireship, Ilyin, jumping into the boat, ordered the sailors to delay rowing, stood up to his full height facing the enemy, and only when he was convinced that “the big ship was on fire, and flames came to the sails, and all these masts, topmasts and yards caught fire.” ", ordered to row. He heard an explosion of terrible force when he was already with his own people: both the fireship and the Turkish ship exploded at the same time. The explosion scattered flaming debris across the roadstead and onto the decks of other enemy ships...
Although midshipman Gagarin’s fourth fire-ship could no longer be sent, it was still sent. Gagarin set it on fire halfway and, having boarded the boat, hurried to get to a safe place.
After this, Greig’s ships resumed fire - but this was unnecessary, the Turkish fleet was dying without it. Greig himself wrote in his “Handwritten Journal”: “ The fire of the Turkish fleet became general by three o'clock in the morning. It is easier to imagine than to describe the horror and confusion that seized the enemy! The Turks stopped all resistance even on those ships that had not yet caught fire. Most of the rowing ships sank or capsized from the multitude of people rushing into them. Entire teams threw themselves into the water in fear and despair; the surface of the bay was covered with countless unfortunates who were trying to escape by drowning one another. Few reached the shore, the goal of desperate efforts. The fear of the Turks was so great that they abandoned not only the ships that had not yet caught fire and the coastal batteries, but even fled from the castle and city of Chesma, already abandoned by the garrison and residents.”
The fire of the Turkish fleet and the explosions of ships continued until 10 o'clock in the morning. By this time, the water in the bay was a thick mixture of ash, mud, debris and blood.
The Turks' losses were enormous: sixty-three ships burned during the night - battleships, caravels, galleys, galliots. More than ten thousand people, two-thirds of the personnel of the Turkish fleet, died in the fire. At the same time, during the battle in the bay, the Russian combined squadron lost eleven people: 8 on the battleship "Europe", 3 on the battleship "Don't Touch Me".
After the victory, Spiridov reported to the Admiralty Board in St. Petersburg to its president, Count Chernyshov: “Glory to God and honor to the All-Russian Fleet! From the 25th to the 26th, the enemy fleet was attacked, defeated, broken up, burned, sent into the sky, drowned and turned to ashes, and left in that place a terrible disgrace, and they themselves began to be dominant in the entire Archipelago of our Most Gracious Empress.”
In honor of the Chesme victory, Catherine II ordered the erection of a special column and church, as well as a commemorative medal with an image of the burning Turkish fleet and an eloquent inscription above it: “WAS”. The Empress granted Spiridov a high award - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. A. Orlov received special favor, receiving an honorary prefix to his surname - “Chesmensky”.
“When, in his delusion, the Eagle threw Perun, in extreme courage,
The Turkish fleet at Chesme - burned Ross in the Archipelago,
Then Orlov-Zeves, Spiridov - there was Neptune!
G. R. Derzhavin
Chesma was the highest achievement of G. A. Spiridov and the greatest success during the Archipelago expedition. To develop this success, Spiridov proposed immediately, before the enemy came to his senses, to move the fleet to the straits and through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus to the Black Sea. All the sailors agreed with this plan, but Orlov insisted on his own, and D. Elphinstone went to the Dardanelles with the task of blocking them and preventing the delivery of reinforcements to the island of Lemnos, where the main Russian forces were besieging the Pelari fortress. Elphinstone failed to cope with the task, moreover, he crashed the largest Russian ship, Svyatoslav, on the rocks. Only after this Orlov relieved him of command and sent him to Russia. In his order he wrote: “ Necessary needs for the benefit of the service of Her Imperial Majesty forced me to connect the detached squadron of Mr. Rear Admiral Elphinstone with the squadron under my command, and entrust both to the precise command of His Excellency Mr. Admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov, about which gentlemen, the heads of the courts, be known».
The consequence of Elphinstone’s malfeasance was that the Russian fleet had to stop operations on Lemnos, where Turkish reinforcements had broken through the now weak blockade of the Dardanelles, and look for a new base. The choice fell on the port of Auzo on the island of Paros, which was occupied in mid-November 1770. Soon after this, Orlov temporarily left the fleet, going for treatment, and Spiridov remained as commander-in-chief. He turned Paros into a well-equipped naval base: a dock was built here for the repair of ships, fortifications were erected, and ground forces settled in camp. Reinforcements from Kronstadt arrived here - by the summer of 1771 the fleet already consisted of 10 battleships, 20 frigates, 2 bombardment ships and a significant number of smaller ships. Small detachments constantly left Paros to cruise, capturing merchant ships. During 1771, about 180 such ships were captured on enemy sea lanes.
At the beginning of 1771, G.A. Spiridov accepted 18 islands of the Archipelago into Russian citizenship, and dreamed of retaining some of them for Russia even after the end of hostilities. In his opinion, the British or French “would gladly give more than one million ducats” for the possession of such a military base in the Mediterranean as Paros and the port of Auza. Unfortunately, G.A. Spiridov’s considerations did not interest either A.G. Orlov or P.A. Rumyantsev, who headed the Russian delegation at the peace negotiations.
In 1772, the Russian fleet continued military operations, which, however, did not reach the same intensity. His actions boiled down to the fact that he looked for places where Turkish ships were concentrated and struck at them. So, in March, the 16-gun frigate “Glory” under the walls of the Lagos fortress captured 3, burned 4 and sank 2 Turkish cargo ships; in June, a detachment of light ships liberated the city of Sidon from the Turkish siege and took the city of Beirut, where 10 enemy ships were captured.
In the summer of 1772, a truce was concluded with the Turks, which was to remain in effect until November. By this time, G.A. Spiridov’s health, which had never been strong, had completely weakened: “the seizures that followed in his old age brought him to such impotence that he became completely decrepit.” Orlov, who by that time had already returned to the squadron, granted him leave in Livorno, “in the best climate before the Archipelago.” The change in climate helped: in March 1773, Spiridov returned to the squadron and, when Orlov left again, he again took over the main command of the Russian forces. By this time, the Turks no longer tried to challenge the dominance of the Russian fleet at sea; operations were carried out against coastal fortresses, and it happened that they ended in quite large losses on the part of the Russians. The biggest success here was the capture of Beirut by a detachment of captain 2nd rank M. G. Kozhukhov in the summer of 1773 - an operation that resulted in the capture of two Turkish half-galleys with 17 guns, 24 fortress cannons, a large amount of weapons and ammunition and 300 thousand piastres of indemnity. Operations of this kind, no matter how insignificant in themselves they were, drew significant Turkish forces to the Asian shores and thereby contributed to victory in the war.
But G. A. Spiridov could not stay in the Archipelago until the victory: his illnesses worsened again, and in the summer of 1773 he resigned, complaining of constant seizures and headaches. A.G. Orlov supported his request. Was this done out of bad feelings? Hardly. The Commander-in-Chief always gave the most flattering reviews about Spiridov, despite all the friction between them on specific issues. Most likely, the admiral’s health really left much to be desired, and the urgent need for his talents had already disappeared, so he could be allowed to leave the fleet. In February 1774, Spiridov, having handed over the squadron to Vice Admiral A.V. Elmanov, left for Russia. The resignation was honorable: for many years of impeccable service and exceptional merits, the admiral was given “the full salary of his rank” until the day of his death.
Returning to Russia, Grigory Andreevich lived for another 16 years.
Over the years, he only put on his ceremonial uniform once - upon receiving news of the victory at Fidonisi. The old admiral could rightfully be proud - Ushakov’s victory was brought about by a deliberate repetition of the maneuver that he himself performed at Chios - disabling the enemy flagship. But if for Spiridov himself this happened largely due to chance, then for Ushakov this became the main method of achieving victory in battles with the Turks! Spiridov died 2 months and 18 days before the Kerch victory of Ushakov’s squadron. The admiral was buried on his estate, the village of Nagorny, Yaroslavl province; for many neighbors, by that time he was just a seedy landowner from a retired military man. He was accompanied on his last journey by his old faithful friend Stepan Khmetevsky, commander of the “Three Hierarchs” at Chesma.
However, in the history of Russian military glory, Grigory Andreevich Spiridov was forever inscribed next to A.G. Orlov.
Smykov E. V., candidate of historical sciences, associate professor
Saratov State University
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Spiridov Grigory Andreevich Updated: November 26, 2016 By: admin
Spiridov
Grigory Andreevich
Battles and victories
Outstanding Russian naval commander, full admiral (1769).
The admiral's long naval career led him to the Mediterranean Sea - to his main battle at Chesma. Then, in one night, the Turks lost 63 ships in Chesme Bay - battleships, caravels, galleys, and galliots. Turkish losses amounted to more than 10,000 people. The losses of the Russian combined squadron amounted to 11 people: 8 on the battleship "Europe", 3 on the battleship "Don't Touch Me".
The future naval commander was born in 1713 to the family of nobleman Andrei Alekseevich Spiridov (1680-1745), who served as commandant in Vyborg during the time of Peter I. From early childhood, Gregory found himself connected with the sea. Already at the age of 10, he was registered as a volunteer on a ship and went to sea as a volunteer for five years in a row. In 1728, having passed exams for knowledge of maritime science, he was promoted to midshipman and entered active military service. The young naval officer was sent to the Caspian Sea, to Astrakhan, where for several years, commanding the gekbots (three-masted cargo ships) “St. Catherine" and "Shah-Dagai" made voyages to the shores of Persia. Here he participated in the works of A.I. Nagaev, in the future a famous hydrographer and admiral, but for now a lieutenant who made an inventory of the Caspian Sea.
In 1732, Spiridov was transferred to Kronstadt, from where he made annual voyages around the Baltic. His zeal for service did not go without reward - he received the rank of midshipman ahead of schedule. In February 1737, a new appointment followed - to the Don Flotilla, where he became an adjutant of the “rank of captain” of its commander, Vice Admiral P. P. Bredal. This position allowed Spiridov to gain initial combat experience - the flotilla took part in the fight for Azov during the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1741.
In 1741, G. A. Spiridov was assigned to the port of Arkhangelsk, and his life was connected with the northern seas for more than three decades. Twice he had the opportunity to make a difficult transition from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt on newly built ships (in 1742-1743 and 1752); after being transferred to the Baltic, he annually made voyages from Kronstadt along the Baltic Sea and along the Neva. The service was successful - the relatively young sailor repeatedly received important assignments. So, in 1747 he commanded the frigate “Russia”, on which Prince Augustus of Holstein went to Kiel; in 1749 he was sent to attend the Moscow Admiralty office; in 1750 he commanded the court yachts.
In 1754, Spiridov, already a captain of the 3rd rank, was sent to Kazan to organize the delivery of ship timber to the St. Petersburg Admiralty. Despite the fact that he did not feel any particular desire to take on this responsible assignment, he completed it quite successfully, and upon their return to Kazan, in 1755, he became a member of the commission for reviewing the regulations for the fleet, and the following year he was appointed company commander commander in the Marine Corps.
The annual voyages enriched Spiridov's experience as a naval officer, but his (and the entire Baltic Fleet's) combat experience was small. Only in 1760-1761. G.A. For the first time, Spiridov had the opportunity to participate in a large-scale military operation - the fight for the Pomeranian fortress of Kolberg during the Seven Years' War. This powerful fortress was surrounded by a ditch and swamps, among which there were separate raised hills; on a hill dominating the area, there was a citadel. For the Russian army, the capture of Kolberg was of great importance, since it would thereby acquire a strategically advantageous bridgehead in Pomerania and the ability to supply the army by sea, cheaper and faster than the land route through Poland.
The first attempt to take Kolberg was made back in 1758, but ended in failure. And in 1760 the siege was repeated. Spiridov took part in it, commanding the ship “St. Dmitry Rostovsky"; On the campaign he was accompanied by his young sons, 8 and 10 years old. This attempt also ended in failure - despite the significant forces drawn to the fortress, there was no interaction between the ground and naval forces, moreover, rumors about the approach of the 6,000-strong Prussian corps of General Werner to help the besieged caused confusion in the camp of the besiegers, and the Russian army hastily retreated from the city.
Finally, at the end of the summer of 1761, actions against the “annoying fortress” were resumed, and now P.A.’s 15,000-strong corps was acting against it. Rumyantseva. To help him, a united Russian-Swedish fleet arrived to Kolberg, consisting of 24 battleships, 12 frigates and bombardment ships, a large number of transport ships under the command of Vice Admiral A.I. Polyansky, who delivered 7,000 reinforcements. The sheer number of troops shows how much importance was attached to the capture of Kolberg. Spiridov in this campaign commanded the ship "St. Andrew the First-Called." The blockade of the fortress from the sea lasted from August 14 to September 26. Bomber ships on which the commander of the Kronstadt squadron S.I. Mordvinov, were placed against enemy batteries. To help the siege corps, a landing force of two thousand was landed, the command of which was entrusted to “Mr. Navy Captain Grigory Spiridov.” This detachment first took part in the unloading of provisions, and then was sent into battle, and its commander again showed his best side. Mordvinov wrote to the empress that he “repeatedly heard about the brave deeds of Captain Spiridov’s fleet, in which Spiridov was given to him by gr. Rumyantsev’s certificate will be certified.” However, neither Mordvinov nor Spiridov had a chance to see the result of the operation - the fall of Kohlberg: a lack of provisions and firewood forced the fleet to return to Kronstadt in mid-October.
In 1762, Spiridov, promoted to rear admiral, commanded a squadron sent to cruise to the shores of Pomerania. The squadron anchored in the roadstead in Kolberg, from where two ships took turns setting sail. The service went on calmly; there was no need to seize other people's transports or protect our own - military operations had already ceased. In August 1762, a squadron of 7 ships returned to Revel, entered the harbor and disarmed there.
And again a calm and stable promotion. On May 4, 1764, Spiridov was promoted to vice admiral and commanded the Kronstadt squadron. Then, from July of the same year, he replaced the ill Admiral Polyansky as commander of the Revel Fleet, and in October, after Polyansky’s death, he became the main commander of the Revel port. He remained in this position for a year - in December 1765 he was transferred to the chief commander of the port in Kronstadt. In 1768, he was present at experiments on a new system of rigging and sails developed by S.K. Greig based on the English system, and had to give an official opinion on it. Spiridov’s opinion was notable for its balance: the new system, by making the rigging easier, actually increased the speed of the vessel; but it was not applicable on all ships. Therefore, ship captains were asked to independently decide whether to introduce innovation on their ship or leave everything the old fashioned way.
Such was the naval career of G.A. Spiridov at the start of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, which became his finest hour. When in St. Petersburg, according to the project of A.G. Orlov drew up a bold and broad plan for combined actions on land and at sea off the Turkish coast, with the goal of raising the population of the Balkan Peninsula and the Archipelago against the Turks; Spiridov was entrusted with command of the squadron.
The secret decree of March 20, 1769 read:We have entrusted our Vice Admiral Spiridov with a certain expedition, for the sake of which the Administrative Board has to provide him with all kinds of assistance at his request.
The goals of the campaign were kept secret; tipsy sailors on the shore talked about a campaign to Azov. On June 4, 1769, Spiridov was promoted to admiral and officially appointed commander of the fleet equipped for the campaign.
How to evaluate this appointment? The French diplomat and political writer K. Ruliere characterized Spiridov as a direct, simple and courageous man, with a rough but easy-going disposition. In his opinion, Spiridov owes his rise to the Orlov brothers, whom he knew when he himself was a naval non-commissioned officer, and they were sergeants. He rose with them, although he was completely devoid of experience and talent, and remained commander of the fleet in name only, leaving the work to the Englishman Greig, and the glory to Count Orlov. Another Frenchman, a historian of the late 18th century, also called Spiridov an incapable person. J.-A. Caster. Unfortunately, the domestic historian Vl. partially agrees with them. Plugin, characterizing Grigory Andreevich as “a respectable, but quite ordinary campaigner.”
Undoubtedly, all these characteristics have their source in the hostile attitude of the French government towards the Mediterranean expedition of the Russian fleet and its leaders. Of course, Spiridov could not owe his career to Orlov, if only because in the year of birth of the eldest of them, Ivan (1733), he was already 20 years old and for 10 of them he was in naval service. This does not exclude, of course, the possibility that he was acquainted with the Orlovs, and they could have contributed to his promotion in the later stages of his career. But even before the Orlovs, he had someone to put in a good word for him - Bredal, Mordvinov, Polyansky... All these were quite noticeable figures in the Russian fleet of that time, and they all appreciated the diligence and talents of Grigory Alexandrovich. As for the experience that Spiridov was allegedly deprived of, a reservation should be made here - and a fundamentally important one. On his difficult path to the rank of admiral, he served in all seas where Russia had at least some naval formations. He went through the entire path of naval service, starting from the lowest ranks; by the time of Chesma, his service had lasted almost half a century. He carried out important assignments for the Admiralty. Is it possible to say that such a person has no experience? The lack of experience that was attributed to him was not his personal shortcoming, but the shortcoming of the entire Russian fleet, which had never before made long sea voyages. But blaming Spiridov himself or anyone else for this is pointless and unfair. Whether the Orlovs patronized him or not, at that time Spiridov was undoubtedly the most worthy figure to lead the campaign to the shores of Turkey.
The task assigned to the squadron was difficult - the fleet was not adapted to such a long voyage, many ships were leaking. To prevent leaks, the underwater part of the ships was immediately sheathed with one-inch boards with pads made of sheep wool; the work proceeded at an accelerated pace - the empress was in a hurry to set out on a campaign. Finally, on June 18, the empress personally inspected the ships ready to set off, and that same night the squadron weighed anchor. In total, 7 battleships (84- and 66-guns), a 36-gun frigate and 7 small ships set sail. Spiridov himself held the flag on the Eustathia. The empress's rescript ordered him to “bring ground troops with a fleet of artillery and other military equipment to assist Count Orlov, to form an entire corps of Christians to commit sabotage to Turkey in a sensitive place; to assist the Greeks and Slavs who rebelled against Turkey, and also to help suppress the smuggling of contraband into Turkey.” Thus, Spiridov’s powers were great - he could independently issue letters of marque, could issue manifestos to the “barbarian republics to distract them from Turkish obedience”; he was given 480 thousand rubles for emergency expenses.
The swim was difficult. Even in the Baltic Sea, the squadron was severely torn by storms - “such strong and gloomy weather set in with great cold that it was rarely possible to see half of the squadron.” We had to make long stops to collect stragglers and repair ships damaged by storms. What was even worse was that the crews were unaccustomed to such long voyages - the changes in air, humidity, cold, pitching, and poor nutrition caused illness among the sailors. By September 25, there were already over 600 sick people on the squadron, more than a hundred people had died; 83 people died during a long layover in the English port of Hull. Under these conditions, Spiridov made the only correct decision - he allowed the ship captains to continue their journey “as best they could,” setting a rendezvous point in Gibraltar (later he moved the gathering place to Port Mahon on the island of Minorca). He himself sailed from Hull with four ships on October 10 and finally reached Port Mahon on November 18 on his Eustace; the remaining ships fell behind during the voyage.
Months of waiting followed. By the end of December, 3 more battleships and 4 small vessels arrived; the last ships arrived only in May 1770. They were in a deplorable condition - “rarely did anyone not demand, after suffering severe storms and waves, the necessary correction.” Spiridov himself, whose health was never very strong, complained of weakness and illness in almost every letter. At this time, he experienced a personal tragedy - his youngest son, who was enrolled (like his brother) in the Archipelago Expedition “for the sake of practice on long-distance voyages,” died.
The delay of the fleet at Port Mahon played a fatal role in the implementation of A.G.’s far-reaching plans. Orlova - she allowed the Turks to strengthen their garrisons, supply them with food supplies and take other measures to prevent the success of the liberation uprising in the Balkans. And yet, in February-March 1770, the squadron was able to move on to active operations, first on land and then at sea. According to Spiridov, it was necessary first of all to strengthen the coastline, and only then to raise a general uprising. Therefore, on March 24, 1770, he sent a detachment of ships (two battleships - “Ianuariy” and “Three Saints” and the Venetian 20-gun frigate “St. Nicholas” chartered by Orlov) under the overall command of artillery brigadier Ivan Abramovich Hannibal (cousin of A.S. . Pushkin), to Navarino. On April 10, 1770, the Navarino fortress fell. Russian sailors took possession of one of the most convenient bases in the Peloponnese - a fleet of any size could anchor in its harbor, the narrow entrance to it was protected by fortifications on both sides.
However, this success was not further developed. As a result of miscalculations in planning ground operations, the Turks were able to defeat the landing forces, push them back to Navarino and begin a siege of the fortress from land. At the same time, it became known that a large Turkish squadron was preparing to attack the Russians from the sea. Under these conditions, Navarino harbor could become a trap for the fleet, and Spiridov with four battleships was sent to join the second Russian squadron, which was led by Admiral D. Elphinstone. However, here the “human factor” came into play: Elphinston, not wanting to obey Spiridov, landed troops who headed overland to Navarino, and he himself, having learned that the enemy fleet was in Napoli di Romagna Bay, headed there. It was fatal overconfidence: he had only three battleships, one frigate and three transports. The Turkish squadron, which he saw on May 16, 1770, consisted of over twenty pennants, including 10 battleships and 6 frigates. However, the Russian squadron moved forward and engaged the advanced Turkish ships. Unable to withstand artillery fire, the Turks retreated under the protection of the guns of the Napoli di Romagna fortress. Elphinstone was saved by chance: for some reason the Turks did not dare to immediately attack the Russian fleet - perhaps they considered it to be the vanguard of all Russian forces. Be that as it may, Elphinstone realized the impossibility of a battle with the Turkish fleet, which was under the protection of coastal batteries, retreated to a safe distance and moved to join Spiridov.
On May 22, the squadrons of Elphinstone and Spiridov, who incidentally took on board the troops landed by Elphinstone, successfully connected, and a showdown took place between the admirals. Elphinstone, despite the fact that he was junior in rank to Spiridov, stated that he considered himself equal to him. Without coming to an agreement, the admirals, nevertheless, moved on to joint actions, trying to force a battle on the Turks. However, all attempts were in vain. Meanwhile, on June 11, A.G. joined them. Orlov, who, having found “the commanders in a great quarrel among themselves, and the subcommanders in despondency and displeasure,” raised the Kaiser’s flag on the “Three Hierarchs,” which meant that all orders coming from this ship were given in the name of the empress.
Ultimately, the entire Russian squadron gathered in the area of the island of Milos - ships that had pulled up from different places and were ready for a naval battle. Having learned that the Turks were grouping their forces behind the island of Paros, the squadron moved there - but the enemy was no longer there. The Turks' idea was to lure the Russian fleet into the labyrinths of the Archipelago with its many islands, in the meantime, to gather all their forces - and deliver a decisive blow. True, Kapudan Pasha Ibrahim Hassan-ed-din was known for his indecisiveness, but his assistant, the Algerian Hassan Pasha, the de facto leader of the Turkish fleet, an experienced sailor and brave naval commander, promised the Sultan to destroy the Russian fleet, bringing his ships close to the Russian ships and blowing up their cruise chambers, which will lead to the death of both Turkish and Russian ships along with their people. Then the majority of the Turkish fleet, numerically significantly superior to the Russian one, will remain intact and win. Even if the prisoners of war, from whose words this was known, exaggerated something, this plan was very reminiscent of what the Russian fleet later carried out at Chesma.
On June 23, the combined Russian squadron, after reconnaissance that revealed the location of Turkish ships, approached the strait between the island of Chios and the entrance to Chesme Bay on the coast of Asia Minor. Here the ship's crews had the opportunity to see almost the entire Turkish fleet: sixteen battleships (one 100-gun, one 96-gun, four 74-gun, eight 60-gun, two 50-gun caravels), six 40-gun frigates, up to sixty brigantine, xebec, half-galley and other ships. On board there were 15 thousand people and 1430 guns. The Russian squadron was outnumbered by almost half the enemy, numbering only nine battleships, three frigates, three kicks, one packet boat (the second crashed off the coast of the Morea), thirteen chartered and prize ships, which had 6,500 people and 608 guns. Commander-in-Chief Alexei Orlov wrote to the Empress about his impressions of this spectacle: “Seeing such a structure, I was horrified and in the dark - what should I do?”
On the night of June 24, a council met at the “Three Hierarchs”, in which Alexey and Fedor Orlov, G.A. Spiridov, D. Elphinstone, S.K. Greig and General Yu.V. Dolgorukov. At the council, a plan was developed for attacking the Turkish fleet: to descend on the enemy in a wake column almost parallel to his battle line and attack from a short distance (50-70 m). This plan was bold and innovative, it broke the usual canons of linear tactics, and this was precisely its strength. So, in accordance with the disposition, on the morning of June 24, the Russian squadron moved towards the enemy.
The first column (vanguard) was under the command of G.A. himself. Spiridova. It consisted of the flagship battleship "Eustathius" under the command of Captain 1st Rank A.I. Kruse, the battleship "Europe" (commander captain 1st rank F.A. Klokachev), and the battleship "Three Saints" (commander captain 1st rank S.P. Khmetevsky).
The second column (corps de battalion) marched under the flag of Commander-in-Chief A.G. Orlova. It included the battleship "Three Hierarchs" (commander captain-brigadier S.K. Greig), the battleship "Ianuarius" (commander captain 1st rank I.A. Borisov), the battleship "Rostislav" (commander captain 1st rank V. M. Lupandin).
Finally, the third column (rearguard) was commanded by D. Elphinston, under whose command were the battleship “Don’t touch me” (commander captain 1st rank P.F. Beshentsov), battleship “Svyatoslav” (commander captain 1st rank V.V. Roxburgh ) and the battleship "Saratov" (commander captain 2nd rank A.G. Polivanov). The remaining vessels under the overall command of Brigadier I.A. Hannibal was supposed to cover the flanks of the attacking columns.
We must pay tribute to the enemy: the Turkish fleet was well prepared for battle overnight. According to the observation of S.K. Greig, “the Turkish line of battle was excellently arranged, the distance between the ships was no more than the length of two ships.” The Turkish fleet was built in two lines: 10 battleships in one line, 7 battleships, 2 caravels and 2 frigates in the other, and they were staggered, so that the ships of the second line occupied the spaces between the ships of the first and could fire along with them on all sides. Thus, Russian ships came under simultaneous fire from approximately 700 guns.
When approaching the enemy, Spiridov used a kind of “psychic attack”: the ships approached the enemy in complete silence, without opening fire. This silence, with a constant increase in tension (and the rapprochement lasted 4 hours, from 8 to 12 o’clock!) should in itself lead the Turks into confusion and bewilderment. The admiral's calculations were completely justified: the Turks lost their nerve, and they opened fire on the Russian squadron as soon as it approached within firing range. The Russian ships responded to this with silence: the order was not to open fire before approaching the Turks with a pistol shot. Only after reaching this distance did the ships return fire.
Europe was the first to approach the enemy. Turning broadside, she fired a salvo and slowly moved along the entire Turkish line. However, unexpectedly her captain turned to starboard tack and left the line. Spiridov, who saw this and did not know the reason for such a maneuver, furiously shouted from his bridge: “Mr. Klokachev! Congratulations to you as a sailor!” However, Klokachev was not to blame: the Greek pilot warned him about the stones that lay right on his course. "Eustathius" took the place of "Europe". "Eustathius" became the lead in the vanguard, and fire from three enemy ships immediately fell on it. G.A. Spiridov, in full dress uniform, with all the orders and with a drawn sword, walked on the quarterdeck and calmly led the battle, encouraging the sailors.
Music thundered on the quarterdeck of the ship: under enemy fire, the orchestra carried out the admiral’s order:Play until the last!
Concentrated enemy fire destroyed the gear on the Eustathia and deprived it of the ability to move independently. The ship began to drift towards the Turkish fleet - it was carried straight towards the flagship Turkish ship Real Mustafa. At the same time, he did not stop firing for a minute, aimed at the enemy flagship. When the Eustathius rested its bowsprit on it, the Russian and Turkish sailors fought in fierce hand-to-hand combat. One of the Eustathius sailors managed to make his way to the stern Turkish flag. He tried to rip it off - but his right hand was immediately broken; he tried again with his left hand - the same thing. Then he grabbed the enemy flag with his teeth - and tore it off! The tattered flag was delivered to Spiridov.
At one o'clock in the afternoon the fire of the unicorns "Eustathia" caused a fire under the quarterdeck of the "Real Mustafa". Hassan Pasha, in order to avoid capture, retreated to the 100-gun ship "Kapudan Pasha" on a boat waiting on the opposite side, and the fire on the "Real Mustafa" continued to flare up, now threatening the "Eustathia". Under these conditions, Spiridov, as the senior flagship in charge of the battle, in accordance with the requirements of the Naval Regulations, decided to leave the ship and transfer his flag to the Three Saints.
The boat barely managed to take Spiridov and Fyodor Orlov away when the mainmast of the Real Mustafa, engulfed in fire, collapsed, and its burning fragments fell into the open cruise chamber of the Eustathia. There was an explosion of enormous power, and after some time a second one: “Real-Mustafa” shared the fate of “Eustathia”. Of the entire crew of the Eustathia, only its commander, Captain 1st Rank Cruz, who was wounded and burned, but held on to the water by a piece of the mast, 9 officers and 51 sailors, were saved.
The explosion of the Real Mustafa caused panic in the ranks of the Turkish fleet. The ships tried to move away from the terrible place so as not to catch fire and retreated in disarray to Chesme Bay. At the same time, the panic was clearly disproportionate to the real situation - only one ship was lost, Hassan Pasha escaped from the exploding ship and found refuge on the Kapudan Pasha, from where he could easily lead the battle. But the crew of this ship was by no means in a fighting mood: about an hour before the explosion of the Real Mustafa, it came under heavy fire from the Three Hierarchs, and due to an unsuccessful maneuver when unanchoring, it stood under devastating longitudinal shots for about fifteen minutes from a Russian ship. The confusion on the Turkish ships was intensified by the fact that many of them collided with each other while fleeing. At about half past two, Hassan Bey withdrew the last ships from the battle and took them to Chesme Bay.
So, as a result of the battle, which lasted about two hours, the Turkish squadron was completely demoralized. However, numerical superiority still remained on her side. In addition, due to the lack of wind, enemy ships towed by rowing galleys easily escaped the Russian squadron, which did not have rowing galleys. The enemy also had an advantage in speed. However, the Russian ships reliably blocked the exit from the bay, and the bombardment ship "Grom" already at 17.00 began shelling the Turkish squadron with mortars and howitzers. The bombardment, which included the battleships Svyatoslav and Three Hierarchs and the packet boat Postman, continued throughout the day on June 25, further increasing the demoralization of the Turks.
A day after the battle in the Chios Strait, on June 25, at five o’clock in the afternoon, a military council met under the chairmanship of Commander-in-Chief Count Alexei Orlov on the battleship “Three Hierarchs”, on which he held the Kaiser’s flag. The sailors insisted on decisive and immediate action so as not to miss the favorable moment of forced paralysis of the enemy in a cramped bay. The plan to defeat the Turks was proposed by G.A. Spiridov and I.A. Hannibal. His idea was simple: to use transport ships that accompanied the squadron and were not of significant value as fire ships. It was necessary to load them with flammable materials (resin in barrels, saltpeter, sulfur in canvas hoses), and soak the deck, spars and sides with turpentine. Such a fireship would pose a mortal danger if it managed to approach an enemy ship and latch on to it. To do this, hooks were attached to the bowsprit and the ends of the yards, with which his team tried to hook onto the bulwarks and superstructures of the enemy ship. The equipment of the fire ships and the selection of their commanders were entrusted to Brigadier Hannibal.
To implement this plan, cold-blooded and experienced officers were required who were not afraid to risk their lives. The first to respond to Hannibal's call were Lieutenant Commander R.K. Dugdal, lieutenants D.S. Ilyin and T. Mekenzi (later on - the admiral, after whom the heights in the vicinity of Sevastopol are named) and midshipman Prince V.A. Gagarin. Fireboat teams were also recruited from volunteers.
The night fell from 25 to 26 June 1770. Weather conditions were not favorable for the attack: the sea was flooded with moonlight. From the Russian ships it was quite clearly visible what the Turkish fleet was doing in the bay, where the day before it had fled under the cover of coastal batteries. The Russians saw through their telescopes that the Turkish fleet “stands in a cramped and dishonest position”: some with their noses to the NW (northwest), others to the NO (northeast), “and with their sides towards us, several of them in a cramped they stand behind their people towards the shore, as they are in a heap.” To ensure the success of the operation, the battleships “Rostislav”, “Europe”, “Don’t touch me” and “Saratov”, the frigates “Nadezhda Blagopoluchiya” and “Africa” and the bombardment ship “Grom” were allocated. This detachment under the overall command of S.K. Greig was supposed to enter Chesme Bay and, having entered into battle with the enemy fleet, cause confusion on the Turkish ships, divert their attention to himself, thus opening the way for the fireships.
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At 23.30 F.A. was the first to move closer to the Turkish fleet. Klokachev on his “Europe”, by one o’clock in the morning took his place according to the disposition of “Rostislav”, other ships also pulled up. At the beginning of the second, accurate fire from the bombardment ship "Grom" set fire to one of the Turkish ships standing in the center of the bay, and from it the fire spread to the ships standing nearby. At this time, at a signal from the Rostislav, fire ships went on the attack. The fire-ship of Lieutenant-Commander Dugdal was the first to be launched; however, he did not have time to travel even half the distance separating the Russian squadron and the first line of the Turkish fleet when he was noticed by the enemy; I had to blow it up prematurely and return to the Three Hierarchs. Lieutenant Mekenzie's fire-ship went second. He reached the first line of enemy ships, but due to an unsuccessful maneuver he was pressed against the side of an already burning Turkish ship. The team managed to leave the fireship and land on the shore. There Mekenzi captured several small Turkish ships, with which he returned to his own.
The third incendiary vessel was led by Lieutenant Dmitry Sergeevich Ilyin. By this point, the Turks, initially stunned by the fires, resumed hurricane artillery fire on the Russian ships of the detachment. Greig was forced in turn to resume firing, and the fireship found itself between two fires! Lieutenant Ilyin nevertheless made his way to the target. He brought his little boat close to the side of the 84-gun Turkish ship. Russian sailors firmly attached the fire-ship to the bulwark of the Turkish ship, then pulled up the boat and descended into it. Then Ilyin set fire to the fire-ship and jumped into the boat himself. The flames that engulfed the fireship were already creeping towards the mast of the Turkish ship, and its crew did not take any measures to prevent a disaster. Subsequently, Hassan Pasha said that he mistook Ilyin’s fireship for a deserter from the Russian squadron who decided to surrender. He got this impression when the Russians opened fire as if in pursuit of the fire-ship, and therefore he ordered not to shoot at Ilyin’s fire-ship.
After setting fire to his fireship, Ilyin, jumping into the boat, ordered the sailors to delay rowing, stood up to his full height facing the enemy, and only when he was convinced that “the big ship was on fire, and flames came to the sails, and all these masts, topmasts and yards caught fire.” ", ordered to row. He heard an explosion of terrible force when he was already with his own people: both the fireship and the Turkish ship exploded at the same time. The explosion scattered flaming debris across the roadstead and onto the decks of other enemy ships...
Although midshipman Gagarin’s fourth fire-ship could no longer be sent, it was still sent. Gagarin set it on fire halfway and, having boarded the boat, hurried to get to a safe place.
After this, Greig’s ships resumed fire - but this was unnecessary, the Turkish fleet was dying without it. Greig himself wrote in his “Handwritten Journal”: “The fire of the Turkish fleet became general by three o’clock in the morning. It is easier to imagine than to describe the horror and confusion that seized the enemy! The Turks stopped all resistance even on those ships that had not yet caught fire. Most of the rowing ships sank or capsized from the multitude of people rushing into them. Entire teams threw themselves into the water in fear and despair; the surface of the bay was covered with countless unfortunates who were trying to escape by drowning one another. Few reached the shore, the goal of desperate efforts. The fear of the Turks was so great that they abandoned not only the ships that had not yet caught fire and the coastal batteries, but even fled from the castle and town of Chesma, which had already been abandoned by the garrison and residents.”
The fire of the Turkish fleet and the explosions of ships continued until 10 o'clock in the morning. By this time, the water in the bay was a thick mixture of ash, mud, debris and blood.
The Turks' losses were enormous: sixty-three ships burned during the night - battleships, caravels, galleys, galliots. More than ten thousand people, two-thirds of the personnel of the Turkish fleet, died in the fire. At the same time, during the battle in the bay, the Russian combined squadron lost eleven people: 8 on the battleship "Europe", 3 on the battleship "Don't Touch Me".
After the victory, Spiridov reported to the Admiralty Board in St. Petersburg to its President, Count Chernyshov:Glory to God and honor to the All-Russian Fleet! From the 25th to the 26th, the enemy fleet was attacked, defeated, broken, burned, sent into the sky, drowned and turned to ashes, and left in that place a terrible disgrace, and they themselves began to dominate the entire Archipelago of our Most Gracious Empress.
In honor of the Chesme victory, Catherine II ordered the erection of a special column and church, as well as a commemorative medal with an image of the burning Turkish fleet and an eloquent inscription above it: “WAS”. The Empress granted Spiridov a high award - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. A. Orlov received special favor, receiving an honorary prefix to his surname - “Chesmensky”.
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Chesma was the highest achievement of G.A. Spiridov and the greatest success during the Archipelago expedition. To develop this success, Spiridov proposed immediately, before the enemy came to his senses, to move the fleet to the straits and through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus to the Black Sea. All the sailors agreed with this plan, but Orlov insisted on his own, and D. Elphinstone went to the Dardanelles with the task of blocking them and preventing the delivery of reinforcements to the island of Lemnos, where the main Russian forces were besieging the Pelari fortress. Elphinstone failed to cope with the task, moreover, he crashed the largest Russian ship, Svyatoslav, on the rocks. Only after this Orlov relieved him of command and sent him to Russia. In his order, he wrote: “Necessary needs for the benefit of the service of Her Imperial Majesty forced me to connect the separated squadron of Mr. Rear Admiral Elphinstone with the squadron under my command, and entrust both to the precise command of His Excellency Mr. Admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov, about which gentlemen Let the captains of the courts be known."
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Chesme Column in Tsarskoe Selo
(Pushkin)
The consequence of Elphinstone’s malfeasance was that the Russian fleet had to stop operations on Lemnos, where Turkish reinforcements had broken through the now weak blockade of the Dardanelles, and look for a new base. The choice fell on the port of Auzo on the island of Paros, which was occupied in mid-November 1770. Soon after this, Orlov temporarily left the fleet, going for treatment, and Spiridov remained as commander-in-chief. He turned Paros into a well-equipped naval base: a dock was built here for the repair of ships, fortifications were erected, and ground forces settled in camp. Reinforcements from Kronstadt arrived here - by the summer of 1771 the fleet already consisted of 10 battleships, 20 frigates, 2 bombardment ships and a significant number of smaller ships. Small detachments constantly left Paros to cruise, capturing merchant ships. During 1771, about 180 such ships were captured on enemy sea lanes.
At the beginning of 1771 G.A. Spiridov accepted 18 islands of the Archipelago into Russian citizenship, and dreamed of retaining some of them for Russia even after the end of hostilities. In his opinion, the British or French “would gladly give more than one million ducats” for the possession of such a military base in the Mediterranean as Paros and the port of Auza. Unfortunately, the considerations of G.A. Spiridov was not interested in either A.G. Orlova, nor P.A. Rumyantsev, who headed the Russian delegation at the peace negotiations...
In 1772, the Russian fleet continued military operations, which, however, did not reach the same intensity. His actions boiled down to the fact that he looked for places where Turkish ships were concentrated and struck at them. So, in March, the 16-gun frigate “Glory” under the walls of the Lagos fortress captured 3, burned 4 and sank 2 Turkish cargo ships; in June, a detachment of light ships liberated the city of Sidon from the Turkish siege and took the city of Beirut, where 10 enemy ships were captured.
In the summer of 1772, a truce was concluded with the Turks, which was to remain in effect until November. By this time, the health of G.A. Spiridov, who had never been strong, completely weakened: “the seizures that followed in his old age brought him to such impotence that he became completely decrepit.” Orlov, who by that time had already returned to the squadron, granted him leave in Livorno, “in the best climate before the Archipelago.” The change in climate helped: in March 1773, Spiridov returned to the squadron, and when Orlov left again, he again took over the main command of the Russian forces. By this time, the Turks no longer tried to challenge the dominance of the Russian fleet at sea; operations were carried out against coastal fortresses, and it happened that they ended in quite large losses on the part of the Russians. The biggest success here was the capture of Beirut by a detachment of captain 2nd rank M.G. Kozhukhov in the summer of 1773 - an operation that resulted in the capture of two Turkish half-galleys with 17 guns, 24 fortress cannons, a large number of weapons and ammunition and 300 thousand piastres in indemnity. Operations of this kind, no matter how insignificant in themselves they were, drew significant Turkish forces to the Asian shores and thereby contributed to victory in the war.
But stay in the Archipelago until G.A. wins. Spiridov could not: his illnesses worsened again, and in the summer of 1773 he resigned, complaining of constant seizures and headaches. A.G. Orlov supported his request. Was this done out of bad feelings? Hardly. The Commander-in-Chief always gave the most flattering reviews about Spiridov, despite all the friction between them on specific issues. Most likely, the admiral’s health really left much to be desired, and the urgent need for his talents had already disappeared, so he could be allowed to leave the fleet. In February 1774, Spiridov, having handed over the squadron to Vice Admiral A.V. Elmanov, left for Russia. The resignation was honorable: for many years of impeccable service and exceptional merits, the admiral was given “the full salary of his rank” until the day of his death.
Returning to Russia, Grigory Andreevich lived for another 16 years. Over the years, he only put on his ceremonial uniform once - upon receiving the news of F.F. Ushakov's victory at Fidonisi. The old admiral could rightfully be proud - Ushakov’s victory was brought about by a deliberate repetition of the maneuver that he himself performed at Chios - disabling the enemy flagship. But if for Spiridov himself this happened largely due to chance, then for Ushakov this became the main method of achieving victory in battles with the Turks! Spiridov died 2 months and 18 days before the Kerch victory of Ushakov’s squadron. The admiral was buried on his estate, the village of Nagorny, Yaroslavl province; for many neighbors, by that time he was just a seedy landowner from a retired military man. He was accompanied on his last journey by his old faithful friend Stepan Khmetevsky, commander of the “Three Hierarchs” at Chesma.
However, in the history of Russian military glory, Grigory Andreevich Spiridov was forever inscribed next to A.G. Orlov:
When, in his delusion, Perun threw
G.R. Derzhavin
Eagle, in supreme courage,
The Turkish fleet at Chesme - burned Ross in the Archipelago,
Then Orlov-Zeves, Spiridov - there was Neptune!
SMYKOV E. V., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Saratov State University
Literature
History of the Russian Army and Navy / Ed. A.S. Grishinsky, V.P. Nikolsky, N.L. Treasure. M., 1912. Issue. 8
Russian biographical dictionary. Published under the supervision of A.A. Polovtseva. St. Petersburg, 1905. T. 12
Tarle E.V. Chesme battle and the first Russian expedition to the Archipelago // Tarle E.V. Works in 12 volumes. M., 1959. T. 10
Chernyshov A.A. Great battles of the Russian sailing fleet. M., 2010
Yunga E.S. Admiral Spiridov. Hero of Chesma: A brief sketch of life and work. M., 1957
Internet
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Kosich Andrey Ivanovich
1. During his long life (1833 - 1917), A.I. Kosich went from a non-commissioned officer to a general, commander of one of the largest military districts of the Russian Empire. He took an active part in almost all military campaigns from the Crimean to the Russian-Japanese. He was distinguished by his personal courage and bravery.
2. According to many, “one of the most educated generals of the Russian army.” He left behind many literary and scientific works and memories. Patron of sciences and education. He has established himself as a talented administrator.
3. His example served the formation of many Russian military leaders, in particular, General. A. I. Denikina.
4. He was a resolute opponent of the use of the army against his people, in which he disagreed with P. A. Stolypin. "An army should shoot at the enemy, not at its own people."
Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich
Admiral, Hero of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, commander of the Black Sea Fleet. One of the leaders of the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941 - 1942, as well as the Crimean operation of 1944. During the Great Patriotic War, Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky was one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Being the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at the same time in 1941-1942 he was the commander of the Sevastopol Defense Region.
Three Orders of Lenin
three Orders of the Red Banner
two Orders of Ushakov, 1st degree
Order of Nakhimov, 1st degree
Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree
Order of the Red Star
medals
Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich
He managed to bring his subordinate troops to the Don in full force, and fought extremely effectively in the conditions of the civil war.
Istomin Vladimir Ivanovich
Istomin, Lazarev, Nakhimov, Kornilov - Great people who served and fought in the city of Russian glory - Sevastopol!
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
The great Russian commander, who did not suffer a single defeat in his military career (more than 60 battles), one of the founders of Russian military art.
Prince of Italy (1799), Count of Rymnik (1789), Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Generalissimo of the Russian land and naval forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian troops, Grandee of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Prince of the Royal Blood (with the title "King's cousin"), Knight of all Russian orders of their time, awarded to men, as well as many foreign military orders.
Stalin (Dzhugashvili) Joseph Vissarionovich
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Victory in the Great Patriotic War, saving the entire planet from absolute evil, and our country from extinction.
From the first hours of the war, Stalin controlled the country, front and rear. On land, at sea and in the air.
His merit is not one or even ten battles or campaigns, his merit is Victory, made up of hundreds of battles of the Great Patriotic War: the battle of Moscow, battles in the North Caucasus, the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Kursk, the battle of Leningrad and many others before the capture Berlin, success in which was achieved thanks to the monotonous inhuman work of the genius of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Denikin Anton Ivanovich
The commander, under whose command the white army, with smaller forces, won victories over the red army for 1.5 years and captured the North Caucasus, Crimea, Novorossia, Donbass, Ukraine, Don, part of the Volga region and the central black earth provinces of Russia. He retained the dignity of his Russian name during the Second World War, refusing to cooperate with the Nazis, despite his irreconcilably anti-Soviet position
Izylmetyev Ivan Nikolaevich
Commanded the frigate "Aurora". He made the transition from St. Petersburg to Kamchatka in a record time for those times in 66 days. In Callao Bay he eluded the Anglo-French squadron. Arriving in Petropavlovsk together with the governor of the Kamchatka Territory, Zavoiko V. organized the defense of the city, during which the sailors from the Aurora, together with local residents, threw the outnumbered Anglo-French landing force into the sea. Then he took the Aurora to the Amur Estuary, hiding it there After these events, the British public demanded a trial of the admirals who lost the Russian frigate.
Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich
During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, and until his heroic death he was the immediate superior of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomina. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Yevpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to sink the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors for the defense of Sevastopol from land.
Slashchev-Krymsky Yakov Alexandrovich
Defense of Crimea in 1919-20. “The Reds are my enemies, but they did the main thing - my job: they revived great Russia!” (General Slashchev-Krymsky).
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
“I studied I.V. Stalin thoroughly as a military leader, since I went through the entire war with him. I.V. Stalin knew the issues of organizing front-line operations and operations of groups of fronts and led them with full knowledge of the matter, having a good understanding of large strategic questions...
In leading the armed struggle as a whole, J.V. Stalin was helped by his natural intelligence and rich intuition. He knew how to find the main link in a strategic situation and, seizing on it, counter the enemy, carry out one or another major offensive operation. Undoubtedly, he was a worthy Supreme Commander."
(Zhukov G.K. Memories and reflections.)
Stalin (Dzhugashvilli) Joseph
Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich
Successes in the Crimean War of 1853-56, victory in the Battle of Sinop in 1853, defense of Sevastopol 1854-55.
Chapaev Vasily Ivanovich
01/28/1887 - 09/05/1919 life. Head of the Red Army division, participant in the First World War and the Civil War.
Recipient of three St. George's Crosses and the St. George's Medal. Knight of the Order of the Red Banner.
On his account:
- Organization of the district Red Guard of 14 detachments.
- Participation in the campaign against General Kaledin (near Tsaritsyn).
- Participation in the campaign of the Special Army to Uralsk.
- Initiative to reorganize the Red Guard units into two Red Army regiments: them. Stepan Razin and them. Pugachev, united in the Pugachev brigade under the command of Chapaev.
- Participation in battles with the Czechoslovaks and the People’s Army, from whom Nikolaevsk was recaptured, renamed Pugachevsk in honor of the brigade.
- Since September 19, 1918, commander of the 2nd Nikolaev Division.
- Since February 1919 - Commissioner of Internal Affairs of the Nikolaev district.
- Since May 1919 - brigade commander of the Special Alexandrovo-Gai Brigade.
- Since June - head of the 25th Infantry Division, which participated in the Bugulma and Belebeyevskaya operations against Kolchak’s army.
- Capture of Ufa by the forces of his division on June 9, 1919.
- Capture of Uralsk.
- A deep raid of a Cossack detachment with an attack on the well-guarded (about 1000 bayonets) and located in the deep rear of the city of Lbischensk (now the village of Chapaev, West Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan), where the headquarters of the 25th division was located.
Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky Pyotr Alexandrovich
Gagen Nikolai Alexandrovich
On June 22, trains with units of the 153rd Infantry Division arrived in Vitebsk. Covering the city from the west, Hagen's division (together with the heavy artillery regiment attached to the division) occupied a 40 km long defense line; it was opposed by the 39th German Motorized Corps.
After 7 days of fierce fighting, the division's battle formations were not broken through. The Germans no longer contacted the division, bypassed it and continued the offensive. The division appeared in a German radio message as destroyed. Meanwhile, the 153rd Rifle Division, without ammunition and fuel, began to fight its way out of the ring. Hagen led the division out of encirclement with heavy weapons.
For the demonstrated steadfastness and heroism during the Elninsky operation on September 18, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 308, the division received the honorary name “Guards”.
From 01/31/1942 to 09/12/1942 and from 10/21/1942 to 04/25/1943 - commander of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps,
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich
The commander, who was repeatedly placed in the most difficult areas, where he either achieved success in the offensive or defensive, or brought the situation out of crisis, transferred a seemingly inevitable catastrophe into non-defeat, a state of unstable equilibrium.
G.K. Zhukov showed the ability to manage large military formations numbering 800 thousand - 1 million people. At the same time, the specific losses suffered by his troops (i.e., correlated with numbers) turned out to be lower over and over again than those of his neighbors.
Also G.K. Zhukov demonstrated remarkable knowledge of the properties of the military equipment in service with the Red Army - knowledge that was very necessary for the commander of industrial wars.
Fedor Ivanovich Tolbukhin
Major General F.I. Tolbukhin distinguished himself during the Battle of Stalingrad, commanding the 57th Army. The second “Stalingrad” for the Germans was the Iasi-Kishinev operation, in which he commanded the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
One of the galaxy of commanders who were raised and promoted by I.V. Stalin.
The great merit of Marshal of the Soviet Union Tolbukhin was in the liberation of the countries of South-Eastern Europe.
Today is the day of remembrance of the outstanding Russian naval commander Admiral Grigory Andreevich Spiridov, who died on April 8, 1790.
The future admiral was born in 1713 into the family of an officer. Having been enlisted in the naval service at the age of 10, Spiridov was promoted to midshipman in 1733, and in 1741 he was already the commander of a battleship. He participated in two Russian-Turkish wars (1735-39 and 1768-74) and the Seven Years' War (1756-63). During the siege of Kolberg, he commanded a 2,000-strong amphibious assault force. In 1762, Spiridov was promoted to rear admiral and was soon appointed chief commander of the Revel and Kronstadt ports. Having become an admiral in 1769, he commanded one of the five squadrons that made the first passage from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean in order to pull back part of the Turkish forces from the Danube theater of operations.
Before the squadron departed for the campaign, on July 17, 1769, Empress Catherine II visited the ships preparing to sail, awarded Spiridov the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and, blessing him for the campaign, placed the image of John the Warrior around his neck. Commanding the 1st squadron of Russian ships (the overall command of the expedition was exercised by Count A.G. Orlov), Spiridov managed to capture Mizithra and Arcadia, and, having won the Battle of Navarino, take the Turkish fortress of Navarino. No less successfully, Spiridov led the battle in the Chios Strait in 1770. On June 26, in Chesme Bay, the Russian fleet under the command of Orlov (and in fact Spiridov, who drew up the plan for the destruction of the fleet) and Rear Admiral S.K. Greig defeated the Turkish fleet. The Turks suffered a crushing defeat, losing almost all their ships and about 10 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners (while only 11 people died on the Russian side). As a result of the brilliant Chesme victory, the Russian fleet established its dominance in the area of the Greek Archipelago, gained the opportunity to blockade the Dardanelles and conduct active combat operations on the sea lanes of Turkey. On the occasion of this glorious victory, Spiridov reported to St. Petersburg: “Glory to God and honor to the All-Russian Fleet! From the 25th to the 26th, the enemy fleet was attacked, defeated, broken, burned, and sent to heaven.” In honor of the Chesme victory, Catherine II ordered the erection of a special column and church, as well as a commemorative medal with an image of the burning Turkish fleet and an eloquent inscription above it: “Was.” The Empress granted Spiridov a high award - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Count Orlov received special favor, receiving the honorary prefix “Chesmensky” to his surname.
Spiridov was distinguished by decisive action and personal courage, had extensive experience as a naval commander and made a major contribution to the development of Russian naval art during the period of the sailing fleet.
In 1774, the admiral retired for health reasons. Spiridov died in Moscow and was buried on his estate - the village of Nagorye, Yaroslavl province, in the crypt of a church previously built at his expense.
