The Athos battle became one of the most important in the Russo-Turkish war of 1806-1812. Unfortunately, today few people remember him or even just heard - too many of these feats are known in our history. But telling about this event to broaden the horizons of readers will be very useful.
When did the battle
The Mount Athos took place on June 19, 1807. At that time, the Russian Empire once again waged a fierce struggle with the Ottoman Empire - there were 4 such conflicts only in the 19th century. At the same time, the far-sighted ruler Alexander the First seriously feared the rapidly growing strength of France and had already joined the anti-French coalition.
But first, it was necessary to solve the problem with the Turks in the Mediterranean Sea. By the way, the Ottoman Empire declared war on us with the filing of the French diplomat, General Sebastiani, who wanted Russia to fight on two fronts and could not throw all his strength into the struggle that erupted in Europe.
Who took part in it
In fact, the Athos battle of 1807 is only a small but very memorable episode of the Russo-Turkish war of 1806-1812. In general, a large number of countries fought in this war. The Megrelian, Guril and Abkhazian principalities acted on the side of Russia (the latter switched sides with the enemy in 1808, but again became a vassal of Russia in 1810), the Republic of Seven Islands, Moldova, Wallachia, Montenegro and Serbia. The Turks were supported by the Dubrovnik Republic, the Budzhak Horde, the Imereti Kingdom, and Persia.
But still, the Athos battle was the moment when only two fleets - Russian and Turkish, converged, no allies, vassals and assistants. The powerful powers, which had a huge influence in their regions, had to fight in an honest duel. Therefore, if we talk about the Mount Athos , the participants here were strictly defined.
Reasons for the battle
As mentioned above, the situation in Europe by 1807 was extremely tense. Having received a certain strategic advantage, France could well capture not only the Ionian Islands, but also the Balkans. Well, an alliance with the Ottoman Empire would be able to cause serious problems for all of Europe and, first of all, Russia, which waged a war with the Turks.
That is why Alexander the First sent a squadron to the Adriatic Sea under the command of Vice Admiral D.N.Senyavin, consisting of ten battleships. Arriving at the place and having weighed all the pros and cons, the admiral realized that it would not be possible to break through the Dardanelles. Too large forces of the Turks accumulated here. Therefore, a different decision was made - to block the strait for its part, not allowing Constantinople to receive food along the sea routes. This was to force the rulers of the Ottoman Empire to withdraw their fleet to battle with the Russian squadron. And so it happened afterwards.
Therefore, we can say that the Dardanelles and Athos battles are closely related.
Who commanded the battle
Two admirals participated on each side of the conflict: Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin and Aleksey Samuilovich Greig - from ours, Seyd-Ali-Pasha and Bekir-Bey led the Turkish squadron into battle.
Perhaps the most interesting figure here is Senyavin. A student and associate of Admiral Ushakov himself, he adopted the best from his mentor. Senyavin used to use non-standard tactics, skillfully plan his actions, which brought the Russian fleet another victory. Moreover, in a completely unequal battle - the Ottoman Empire had a larger and more powerful squadron.
Forces of the parties
The Russian squadron consisted of ten battleships with weapons from 64 to 84 guns. The total number of guns was 754.
The Ottoman naval forces significantly exceeded ours - only the flagship battleship "Majesty of the Sultan" carried weapons from 120 guns. He was supported by nine more battleships equipped with 74–84 guns. The squadron also included five frigates carrying 44 to 50 cannons, two sloops - 28 and 32 cannons, and two small brigs - 18 cannons each. The total number of guns was 1196.
As you can see, the advantage in firepower and the number of ships was on the side of the Turks. The only thing the Russian sailors could rely on was courage, excellent training, the ability to act in concert and, of course, the tactical genius of Dmitry Senyavin. All these advantages made it possible to inflict a crushing defeat on the superior forces of the enemy.
Tactical News
By the time the Battle of Athos of 1807 took place, the base of tactical techniques among European sailors and admirals (among which, of course, the Russians belonged) was simply huge. Each naval power paid great attention to the training and education of officers and ordinary sailors. But even against the background of the other experienced admirals, Senyavin favorably differed.
An experienced officer who entered the Naval Cadet Corps at the age of 10 years went through all the stages, from the usual midshipman to the vice admiral by 1807.
He was well aware that it would not be possible to defeat the Turks in an ordinary naval battle, he carefully calculated all their possible actions, correctly thought out the psychological features and, taking into account the data received, began to plan the Athos naval battle. On paper, it was won long before the first real cannon fire was fired.
For example, Senyavin knew that immediately after the loss of flagships, the Turks lose their motivation to fight, they seek to retreat. Therefore, he immediately identified six of the ten battleships available in order to destroy three powerful Ottoman flagships. Senyavin himself commanded these ships. The remaining four went under the command of Admiral Greig and were to impose a long-range battle on the remaining fleet. Their main task was to detain him, not allowing them to come to the aid of the flagships.
Introduced Senyavin and a new method of naval battle. Usually, in the presence of numerical superiority, the enemy’s ship was taken “in the pincers” - ships came to him from two sides to fire as densely as possible. But in this case, the enemy was able to use guns on both sides of the side. This time a different decision was made - the ships had to go in pairs, as tightly as possible after each other, to cause the greatest damage to the enemy, preventing him from using all the firepower - only one side could shoot.
To inflict a crushing blow, the admiral ordered to approach the enemy at a minimum distance that allows shooting shotshot - about 100 meters. And after that, open fire using nuclei. In addition, for the first salvo, each cannon was loaded with two cores - at a great distance this would not allow firing, and at a small one it made huge holes in the enemy’s side.
Finally, ten battleships were divided into five detachments, each of which received a specific goal, instead of acting together, on a united front.
Battle progress
The Mount Athos battle began in 1807 on June 10 at 5 hours and 15 minutes. Senyavin ostentatiously weakened his presence on the island of Tenedos, where the Russian base was located. Taking advantage of this, the Turks immediately sent their ships here and landed troops. Having achieved the desired result, the admiral quickly threw the fleet and cut off the retreat of the Ottoman ships. The decisive battle began only after 9 days - June 19.
Further, the Athos battle developed exactly as Senyavin planned.
The battleships that were supposed to destroy the Turkish flagships were simply masterly. Gakaborta ships lay directly on the bowsprit following them. Only one of the battleships - “Raphael” - received damage to the sails when approaching, due to which he could not maneuver for some time and dropped out of battle.
The firing part of the contact took only 3 hours - an amazingly short time for naval battles, which sometimes lasted several days. Some of the ships of the Turks were destroyed, several of them were burned by themselves so as not to leave the enemy, and only a few managed to escape to the Dardanelles. Senyavin did not pursue the leaving fleet and preferred to return to the base on the island of Tenedos as quickly as possible, where his people bravely fought off the Turkish landing.
Alas, due to the headwind, the Russian squadron was only able to arrive at its destination on June 25th. The Turkish landing, realizing that it could not withstand the power of the ships, laid down its arms and handed over the guns, after which it was delivered to the Anatolian coast, which was part of the Ottoman Empire.
Loss of both sides of the conflict
Despite the fact that the Russian fleet entered the Mount Athos, having significantly less strength, he came out victorious, having suffered minimal losses. Not only was not destroyed, but not one of the battleships seriously damaged. 77 sailors died and another 189 were injured of varying severity.
The Turks suffered a crushing blow. About a thousand people were killed, 774 were captured. But much more serious damage was the loss of part of the ships. The Ottoman Empire missed two battleships, two frigates, and also a sloop. In addition, one of the battleships was captured by Russian troops.
Results of the Mount Athos
The only naval battle lasting only three hours was of great strategic importance. The Ottoman fleet was so weakened that it did not pose a threat to its neighbors for a decade. The Dardanelles, through which a huge number of military, passenger and cargo ships passed, fell under the control of the Russian Empire. This, combined with the outstanding success of the Russian troops operating on land, led to the fact that the Turks had to sign the Slobodzey truce in August of the same year.
But the prestige of the Russian fleet soared to heaven. European military experts closely followed incoming reports. Our sailors and officers again proved that they are one of the best specialists in their field. At the same time, the Russian Empire seriously strengthened its position in the Mediterranean Sea, not allowing the French fleet to host here.
More than three thousand sailors received various awards for their courage and excellent training. Among the commanders of the ships, three captains of the first rank were especially distinguished - Lukin (who commanded Rafail), Rozhkov (Selafail) and Mitkov (Yaroslav).
Trace in art
Of course, such a significant event could not but leave a definite mark on the culture of the Russian people.
Perhaps the most famous work in which this historical moment is displayed is the artistic canvas by A. P. Bogolyubov "The Russian Fleet after the Battle of Athos". The picture is really impressive and immerses the viewer in the realities of the 19th century.
This battle is not forgotten to this day. For example, in 2017, the issue of the magazine “Russian History” was born, which spoke in detail about it. The article “The Athos Battle in the Light of New Archival Documents” (Russian History 2017. No. 6. P. 83–93.) Clearly shows that many of our contemporaries are not indifferent to the exploits of grandfathers.
Conclusion
This can end the article. Now you know enough about the course of the Athos battle itself and its results, as well as about the reasons that made it inevitable. Therefore, you can demonstrate outstanding erudition in any company of historians. Well, knowledge of the history of the native state will never be superfluous.