The Russian navy has always been famous for its achievements. On the list of his greatest victories is the battle at Cape Kaliakriya. It happened during the Russo-Turkish war. When we recall the naval battle at Cape Kaliakria, history takes us into the past, and we find ourselves in 1791.
Small forces
To understand how grand was our victory, we must have an idea of how powerful the enemy was. Hussein's captain Pasha had 18 ships and 43 small vessels belonging to Algeria, Tripolitania, Tunisia and Constantinople. The entire fleet consisted of 16 ships, two scorers, two frigates and 19 small vessels. The battle at Cape Kaliakria was headed by the commander F. F. Ushakov.
Before making a stop, the Turkish army had to travel the Black Sea. In June, enemy ships appeared off the coast of Crimea near Balaklava. Not knowing that Anapa was already taken by the Russians, the Turkish fleet set off in that direction. However, making sure that the city was busy, he turned back. In the same month, a battle took place on the Danube, in which the Turkish troops were defeated. But the enemy fleet did not leave hope of victory. On their ships were a huge number of people from 800 to 1500 each. The Turks hoped for boarding, and not for artillery.
The beginning of the battle
Troubles anchored near the Rumeliysky coast in the Varna region. This was reported to Ushakov by intelligence, and he decided to lead his squadron into battle. It is hard to imagine that just a few days before this, our fleet could not go to sea. Perhaps this delay helped the Russians to be in the right place at the right time. But it happened due to insufficient supply and unpreparedness of several ships. Also, information about where the enemy’s ships are located has not yet been received. The mistake of the Turkish troops was that they could not know in advance that the enemy was moving in their direction. If they sent the sentinel ship on time, the battle at Cape Kaliakriya could not have taken place. In addition, the enemy’s ships were built along the coastline and they did not expect attacks from this side, considering it sufficiently protected.
Cunning maneuver
Admiral Ushakov decided to use the moment of surprise. He sent his squadron just between the shore and the enemy ships. In addition, the Russians were accompanied by wind. The battle in Ishmael at Cape Kaliakriya began with a sudden attack that caused panic on enemy ships. After all, even their artillery guns were turned towards the sea, which means that the sailors could not retaliate. The commander of the Turkish fleet ordered his ships to line up in a battle line. However, this maneuver was not easy for them. To deploy the ships, the sailors of the Turkish fleet began to cut the ropes. They did not have time to raise anchors. In addition, in a hurry to rebuild, the ships of the enemy collided with each other, causing each other damage: tore sails, broke gear.
The enemy will not pass
Algerian ships were controlled by Admiral Seyit-Ali, who promised the Turkish Sultan to bring Ushak Pasha. Under his leadership, they tried to pinch the head ships of the Russian fleet. This maneuver was spotted by Admiral Ushakov, who was on a ship called the Nativity of Christ. It was on it that he circled the Algerian ship and attacked it. At close range, the enemy ship was severely damaged, a for-stand and a mainsail-mars-ray were shot down. The Algerians retreated, but the battle continued and the sailors on the ship "Christmas" continued the heroic battle, putting the enemies to flight. The naval battle at Cape Kaliakriya lasted three hours.
What happened next
The defeat of the Turkish fleet was unconditional. However, the strong wind that helped the Russians when the battle took place at Cape Kaliakriya died down, and this time helped the enemies to hide. However, when they were heading to the Bosphorus, the elements broke out again, and some ships failed to return to the parking lot. They went to the bottom. The Turkish fleet suffered significantly. Only on the flagship Algerian ship 450 people were killed and injured, it almost sank. The Russians, on the other hand, lost only 17 people killed and 27 wounded, and the ships were almost not damaged. And those that were managed to fix very quickly.
Why we won
Of course, Ushakov played a major role in this battle. The decision he made correctly made it possible to gain time and provided the surprise, which is so important in the conduct of hostilities. No wonder he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky for this victory. His maneuver, in which our squadron had to go between the shore and the enemy’s ships, was risky. However, the winners are not judged. In addition, this tactic was used by Admiral Nelson during the Russian-French war and also led to victory. Great commanders - that's not all. The training of sailors was also of great importance when the battle at Cape Kaliakriya took place. And they had it excellent, which allowed them to quickly respond and repel the enemy’s attacks and, ultimately, saved the lives of people.
War Results
Interestingly, when the battle took place at Cape Kaliakria, the date of which was July 31, 1791, preliminary conditions were signed on the conclusion of peace between Prince Repnin and the great vizier. On this day, the inhabitants of Constantinople felt a real threat. Damaged ships with their appearance confirmed rumors that Ushakov would soon reach the Turkish capital. This made Port expedite the signing of a peace conclusion. Although until this day he still had some doubts. This was indicated by the fact that the defeat of the Turks did not weaken their desire to fight further.
It could not be otherwise
They sought to strengthen their army and navy, inviting other countries to participate in the war. Having strengthened their fleet, the Turks hoped for victory in the sea territory. Therefore, Ushakov was ordered only to attack. General G. Potemkin wrote him a letter in which he directly spoke about the victory being expected from the admiral. Ushakov could not do otherwise. His homeland asked him for help, he had to prevent the Turks from dominating the Black Sea. The battle at Cape Kaliakriya was a decisive battle that influenced the outcome of the war and brought its end closer. After this battle, Potemkin said that the Turks began to fear the Russian Empire. Her power is no longer questioned. The battle at Cape Kaliakriya, according to him, confirmed the dominance of the Russian fleet on the northern Black Sea coast, including the Crimea.
One can only admire the courage of our Black Sea fleet during the time of Admiral Ushakov. Although life has shown that even now our sailors are not inferior in preparedness and courage to their ancestors who lived and fought for Russia in the 18th century.