What year did the battle of Sinop take place? Crimean War: Battle of Sinop. Emperor Nicholas I

The Black Sea Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, who played an outstanding role in the Battle of Sinop, was a bold successor to these glorious traditions.

In order to correctly assess the progressive direction of Nakhimov's views, one must take into account that these words were spoken in the most cruel era of serfdom, the Arakcheev regime and the Nikolaev reaction, when they looked at the soldier and sailor as if they were a living machine, when an official, soulless attitude towards the people was the main principle of the state management.

In such a gloomy era, Nakhimov respected and appreciated the sailors, took care of them and taught this to the officers of the fleet.

Nakhimov passionately loved the naval service and strove to make every person who came to the fleet like it. An ardent follower of the best traditions of Ushakov, Nakhimov was a model of honesty, disinterestedness and selfless love for the fleet for sailors and officers. The sailors who served under Nakhimov were ready to follow him into fire and into water.

Commanding the Silistria, Nakhimov actively participated in the hostilities off the coast of the Caucasus. It was here, off the coast of the Caucasus, that the Black Sea sailors in the 30-40s of the 19th century received combat training, which served them greatly during the Battle of Sinop and the heroic defense of Sevastopol.

In the struggle for the annexation of the Caucasus, whose peoples historically and economically gravitated towards Russia, the troops of tsarist Russia had to meet strong opposition from capitalist England, which sought to turn the Caucasus with its richest natural resources into its colony. England supported Turkey and Persia in every possible way in their struggle for the Caucasian lands.

Deploying subversive activities in the Caucasus, the British and Turks pinned great hopes on the spread of Muridism there.

Muridism, a reactionary, anti-popular religious and political movement, began to spread among the Caucasian highlanders as early as the end of the 18th century, when the ruling circles of England and Turkey tried, under the banner of "gazavat", that is, the "holy" war of Muslims against the "infidels", to unite the Caucasian Muslims for war with Russia. In the 40s of the 19th century, the main forces of Muridism were headed by Shamil. As Marx pointed out, Shamil corresponded with the Turkish sultan, who promised him the title of king of the Transcaucasus after the capture of Tiflis. Marx also noted that the English squadron was supposed to enter into contact with the Circassians, and the Turkish fleet was supposed to deliver weapons to them.

The main efforts of the Anglo-Turkish agents in the northwestern Caucasus were aimed at eliminating the Black Sea coastline, which consisted of twelve small fortifications built by Russian troops in 1830-1839. on the eastern coast of the Black Sea from Anapa to Sukhumi.

In the winter of 1840, the highlanders, incited by England, taking advantage of the small number of garrisons left by the Russian command in the forts of Velyaminovskiy and Psezuap, captured these points; On February 16, Fort Psezuape was taken, and on March 4, Fort Velyaminovskiy.

During the defense of this fortification, Arkhip Osipov, an ordinary Tenginsky regiment, performed a patriotic feat. When the highlanders broke into the fortification, Osipov went inside the powder magazine and blew it up, destroying several hundred highlanders along with him. The village of Arkhipovo-Osipovka, located in the valley of the Vulan River, 1 km from the Black Sea coast, in the middle between Tuapse and Gelendzhik, was named after the infantry hero.

In Vladikavkaz (now Dzaudzhikau), where the Tenginsky regiment came to stay, a monument was erected to Osipov. For the first time in the history of the Russian army and navy, the name of a hero-soldier was entered forever in the lists of the unit. When Osipov's name was called at roll call, the next private of the 1st company of the Tenginsky regiment, following him on the list, answered: "He died for the glory of Russian weapons at the Mikhailovsky fortification."

The tradition of entering forever into the lists of the most distinguished heroes was subsequently continued by the Soviet Army and Navy.

In April 1840, the squadron of the Black Sea Fleet received the task of landing troops and, together with the ground forces, liberating the forts Psezuape and Velyaminovskiy, captured by the highlanders. A major role in this landing was played by the commander of the flagship Silistria, the future leader of the Sinop battle P. S. Nakhimov.

The participation of the Black Sea sailors in the Caucasian landings improved the artillery art of the Russian sailors, which was fully manifested in the historical Battle of Sinop.

The military activity of P. S. Nakhimov in the Caucasian campaign of 1840 was highly appreciated by Vice Admiral M. P. Lazarev, who wrote in his report to Menshikov on June 19, 1840: “Commander of the 41st naval crew and the ship Silistria, captain 1st rank Nakhimov, commander of the 38th crew, captain 2nd rank Kornilov, who constantly distinguished himself by exemplary service, commanded during the occupation of Tuapse and Psezuap, the first - the left, and the second - the right flank of the rowboats, during the landing of the landing troops at both of these points, fulfilling the order he had made with speed and with perfect order, unanimous participation contributed to the happy end of the landing expedition when occupying two points on the eastern coast of the Black Sea ... ".

Near the Caucasian shores, in the difficult conditions of the then little-known coast, the Black Sea sailors showed the art of interacting with the ground forces; P. S. Nakhimov showed himself to be a master of this important type of combat activity of the fleet.

In September 1845, Nakhimov received the rank of rear admiral and at the same time was appointed commander of the 1st brigade of the 4th naval division.

In September 1853, to reinforce the troops of the Separate Caucasian Corps, the Black Sea Fleet was instructed to transfer by sea from Sevastopol to the Caucasian coast - to Sukhumi and Anakria - the 13th Infantry Division with attached to it. artillery, convoy with ammunition, food and other equipment. The implementation of this military enterprise was entrusted to Nakhimov.

Under the flag of Vice-Admiral Nakhimov, the Black Sea Fleet, consisting of 34 ships and vessels of various classes, despite adverse weather, made the transition from Sevastopol to Sukhumi and Anakria in seven days. The landing of an entire division took Nakhimov only eight hours. 16393 people were transported, 2 light batteries, 824 horses, ammunition, food, hospital equipment and more.

The success of this transportation testified to the exceptionally high combat training of the Black Sea squadron, especially if we take into account that the landing of people, the unloading of artillery, ammunition and horses was carried out on an unequipped coast, in autumn stormy weather and with very primitive loading and unloading means.

Transportation of ground troops by sea is one of the most complex activities of the fleet. As you know, the Americans, even 45 years later, did not know how to hold such events. So, for example, during the landing of American troops in Cuba in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, it turned out that not only the military units were incorrectly divided into ships, but the cargo was also incorrectly distributed. Field guns and pontoons were placed at the very bottom of the holds; above them was a store of provisions. As a result, the pontoons could only be obtained on the third day of unloading, and the guns began to be unloaded only on the fourth day.

The Black Sea squadron during operations off the coast of the Caucasus received excellent hardening, went through a harsh school of combat training, which was brilliantly manifested in the battle of Sinop.

On the eve of the Crimean War, in October 1853, Nakhimov was appointed commander of the squadron of the Black Sea Fleet.

By the beginning of the 50s of the XIX century, the aggravation of the Anglo-Russian contradictions in the Eastern question began to manifest itself especially strongly. In October 1853, the Crimean War broke out. Turkey opened hostilities. England, France, Sardinia also opposed Russia.

England played a leading role in unleashing the war. England and France sought to disarm Russia in the Black Sea and, using Turkey on their side, to achieve dominance in the Middle East. The British bourgeoisie, in search of new markets, sought to oust Russia from the Transcaucasus, the North Caucasus and the Middle East. In addition, the Anglo-French ruling circles intended to wrest Poland, Lithuania, Finland, part of the Ukraine from Russia and establish themselves on the Russian Pacific shores.

In turn, Russian tsarism sought to seize the Black Sea straits and gain access to the Mediterranean Sea. Russia's desire to access the Mediterranean and to expand foreign trade was partly due to the economic development of the country. In addition, Russia needed to protect its Black Sea borders. The weakening of Turkey in the war with Russia objectively contributed to the liberation movement of the Balkan peoples who fought against the Turkish yoke.

The United States actively contributed to the incitement of the Crimean War. Marx noted: "The pressure of the American Union on the Areopagus of the five great powers, who until now were the rulers of the fate of the globe, is a new force that is destined to contribute to the fall of the exclusive system created by the Vienna treatises."

England and France did not immediately enter the war. At first, according to traditional English policy, they waged war with the hands of others, in this case the hands of Turkey, while remaining behind the scenes themselves.

Stalin described the essence of British politics, pointing out that “... the English bourgeoisie does not like to fight with its own hands. She always preferred to wage war by proxy. And sometimes she really managed to find fools who were ready to drag chestnuts out of the fire for her.

The provocative behavior of British diplomacy hastened the start of the war. Back in September 1853, the Anglo-French fleet entered the Sea of ​​Marmara through the Dardanelles to reinforce the Turkish fleet, which had been repeatedly beaten by the Russians during previous wars, and to provoke the Turkish government into opening hostilities against Russia. Turkey, which broke off diplomatic relations with Russia back in May 1853, on October 11, instigated by England and France, attacked the ships of the Russian Danube flotilla in the Isacci region. On the night of October 15-16, the post of St. Nicholas, located on the Caucasian coast, south of Poti, was attacked by the Turks.

In autumn, in Sevastopol, it became known about the intentions of the British to organize an offensive by the Turks from the Transcaucasus. For this purpose, the transfer of Turkish troops and supplies by sea from the Bosporus to the eastern coast of the Black Sea was being prepared. Additionally, it became known that Turkish ships received an order to attack Russian ships when they met at sea.

In this regard, the Russian Black Sea Fleet was entrusted with the task of monitoring the actions of the enemy in the Black Sea and, if necessary, by force of arms to prevent the transfer of Turkish troops to the Caucasus.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet was ordered - “1) not to attack Turkish coastal cities and harbors; 2) if the Turkish fleet goes to sea, try to destroy it; 3) try to cut off communication between Constantinople and Votum, and if foreign escorts would take it into their heads to prevent our attacks on Turkish ships, then look at them as an enemy "

At that time, the squadron of the best warships of the Black Sea Fleet, which in fact were its main combat core, was commanded by Nakhimov. Another squadron of the Black Sea Fleet was commanded by Rear Admiral Novosilsky. Novosilsky's squadron was in full combat readiness on the Sevastopol roadstead, and Nakhimov, having sent several frigates and brigs to monitor the Bosphorus, from October 11, cruised with his squadron along the eastern shores of the Black Sea, between Crimea and Anatolia.

It was the season of ferocious Black Sea autumn storms. Overcoming the raging sea, Nakhimov's squadron observed the communication routes between Constantinople, the Anatolian ports and Batum. On November 1, 1853, Nakhimov received the news delivered by the Bessarabia steamer and the Kovarna frigate about the outbreak of war between Russia and Turkey.

In his orders to the squadron to declare war on Russia by Turkey and to put the ships on alert, Nakhimov gives his subordinates a number of important instructions. “... without spreading in instructions,” Nakhimov wrote, “I will express my opinion that, in my opinion, in maritime affairs, a close distance from the enemy and mutual assistance to each other is the best tactic ...”.

Preparing for a battle with the enemy, Nakhimov wrote in an order for the squadron: ".. in the event of a meeting with an enemy that exceeds our strength, I will attack him, being absolutely sure that each of us will do his job ...".

On November 4, 1853, the first military clash in this campaign took place on the Black Sea. The steamer of the Nakhimov squadron "Bessarabia" noticed the Turkish steamer "Medjari-Tejaret" near Cape Kerempe, sailing from Sinop. After a short chase, the Turkish steamer was captured. This was the first time in naval history that one armed steamer was captured by another.

The next day, November 5, Russian sailors captured another Turkish ship. The large Turkish steamship-frigate "Pervaz-Bahri" was intercepted by the steamship-frigate (i.e., a frigate that had somewhat lighter sailing equipment and a steam engine) "Vladimir", which was cruising, and as a result of a stubborn battle was taken prisoner. This was the first battle of steam ships in the history of naval art; Russian sailors emerged victorious from it. A great merit in this belongs to the founder of the tactics of the steam fleet, later the famous admiral, and at that time captain-lieutenant G. I. Butakov, who commanded the steam-frigate "Vladimir" in this battle.

On November 6, Nakhimov went to Sinop, as he received information from the captured Turks from the Medjari-Tejaret that the Turkish squadron, marching to the Caucasus, took refuge from the storm in the Sinop Bay.

On November 8, in the evening, Nakhimov was already at Sinop, on the roadstead of which he first managed to find 4 Turkish ships.

A fierce storm that rose at night, which was then replaced by thick fog, did not allow Nakhimov to immediately start hostilities, especially since the ships of the Nakhimov squadron were badly damaged by the storm - two ships and one frigate had to be sent to Sevastopol for repairs.

Having sent the Bessarabia steamer with a report to Sevastopol, Nakhimov, with his detachment of three ships and a brig, remained to block the enemy fleet at Sinop, waiting for better meteorological conditions.

On November 11, when the weather improved, Nakhimov came close to Sinop Bay to clarify the strength of the Turkish squadron. It turned out that on the roads of Sinop there were not 4, as was found at the beginning, but 12 Turkish warships, 2 brigs and 2 transports.

Nakhimov immediately sent the brig "Eney" to Sevastopol with a request to quickly send the ships "Svyatoslav" and "Brave" sent for repair to Sinop, as well as the frigate "Kulevchi", which had been delayed in Sevastopol. Nakhimov himself, with the forces of the three ships he had, proceeded to blockade the Turkish squadron.

The Russian ships blocking Sinop kept at the very entrance to the bay in order to stop any attempt by the Turks to break into the sea. This maneuver - to keep close to the coast under sail in severe stormy conditions - required great maritime skill and knowledge of the matter; Russian sailors clearly proved that they perfectly master these qualities.

The Turks did not dare to go to sea; the Turkish squadron preferred to remain on the Sinop roadstead under the protection of coastal batteries.

On November 16, Novosilsky's squadron, consisting of 3 ships and a frigate, approached Sinop. The second frigate, the Kulevchi, approached on November 17. After that, Nakhimov had three 120-gun ships: "Paris", "Grand Duke Konstantin" and "Three Saints", three 84-gun ships: "Empress Maria", "Chesma" and "Rostislav" and two frigates: 44-gun "Kagulom" and 56-gun "Kulevchi". In total, Russian ships had 710 guns. Of this number, 76 guns were bombing. As you know, the bombing guns of the XIX century. were improved Russian "unicorns" of Shuvalov-Martynov of the 18th century, but qualitatively they were still new guns that fired explosive bombs of great destructive power.

The Turkish squadron consisted of 7 frigates, 2 corvettes, 1 sloop, 2 ships and 2 transports. In addition to these warships, two merchant brigs and a schooner stood on the Sinop roadstead.

The Sinop Bay with depths from 13 to 46 m is one of the largest and safest bays on the Anatolian coast of the Black Sea. A large peninsula, far out into the sea, protects the bay from strong winds. The city of Sinop, spread out in the middle of the peninsula, was covered from the sea by six coastal batteries, which served as reliable protection for the Turkish squadron.

Nakhimov decided to attack the enemy. On the morning of November 17, on the ship Empress Maria, which was carrying the admiral's flag, Nakhimov gathered the second flagship of Rear Admiral Novosilsky and the ship commanders and briefed them on the attack plan. Nakhimov's plan provided for a tactical deployment phase, the organization of two tactical groupings to strike and the allocation of a maneuverable reserve to pursue enemy steam ships. In order to reduce the time spent under enemy fire, both columns had to approach the battlefield at the same time, having flagships in front, who determined the combat distance to the enemy, and anchored using the spring method, according to the disposition.

Nakhimov refused to deliver a series of successive attacks on the enemy and from the very beginning he intended to bring all his ships into battle. Separate tasks were assigned to the ships of the squadron. The terminal ships of both columns "Rostislav" and "Chesma" had to perform an extremely responsible role - to fight the enemy's coastal batteries on the flanks. The frigates "Cahul" and "Kulevchi" as the fastest were supposed to remain under sail during the battle and oppose enemy ships. At the same time, Nakhimov, as before, in his orders emphasized that each ship was obliged to act independently, depending on the prevailing situation, and to help each other.

At 11 o’clock in the morning, Nakhimov’s order was already being read on the ships of the squadron, ending with the words: “... Russia expects glorious deeds from the Black Sea Fleet, it depends on us to live up to expectations!”

Nakhimov decided to destroy the numerous enemy, well-armed and protected by coastal fortifications, who were waiting for reinforcements from Constantinople.

The morning of November 18, 1853 came - the day of the Sinop battle. A strong southeast wind was blowing, and it was raining.

At ten o'clock, a signal went up on the Russian admiral's ship: "Prepare for battle and go to the Sinop raid." In a short time, the ships prepared for battle. At 10 am, the teams were given lunch.

Noon, which Nakhimov did not miss to mark with a signal, as if it were an ordinary everyday day, and not the moment of the highest pre-battle tension, found the Russian ships built in two columns, going under full sail to the enemy raid. Russian naval flags fluttered proudly. The right column was headed by the ship "Empress Maria", on which was Admiral Nakhimov; at the head of the left column on the ship "Paris" was Novosilsky. At 12 o'clock. 28 min. the first shot was fired from the Turkish flagship frigate "Auni-Allah", and at the same moment the ship "Empress Maria" opened fire ...

Thus began the famous Battle of Sinop, which had not only tactical, but also strategic importance, since the Turkish squadron, defending from the storm in Sinop, had to go to capture Sukhum and assist the highlanders. Engels wrote about this: “In November, the entire Turkish and Egyptian fleet went to the Black Sea to divert the attention of the Russian admirals from the expedition, which was intended to land on the Caucasian coast with weapons and ammunition for the rebellious highlanders.”

The intention of the enemy to attack Sukhumi was also emphasized by Nakhimov in his order of November 3, 1853. This was also mentioned in the journal of the ship "Three Saints" for 1853. Thus, the Sinop battle was an anti-landing event, exemplarily organized and carried out by Nakhimov.

On the first shot from the Turkish flagship, all Turkish ships opened fire and, somewhat late, the enemy coastal batteries. The poor organization of service in the Turkish coastal defense (from the Russian ships it was visible how the Turkish gunners fled from the neighboring village to the batteries, hurrying to take their places at the guns) allowed the Nakhimov ships to pass the enemy batteries located on the cape without much damage; only the longitudinal fire of two batteries - No. 5 and No. 6, located in the depths of the bay - served as some obstacle to the advance of Russian ships.

The fight flared up. Following the "Maria" and "Paris", strictly observing the distance, the rest of the Russian ships entered the raid, sequentially taking their places according to the disposition. Each ship, having anchored and started the spring, chose an object for itself and acted independently.

The Russian ships, as envisaged by the Nakhimov plan of attack, approached the Turks at a distance of no more than 300-350 meters. The first flurry of Turkish fire hit the Empress Maria. While the ship was approaching the appointed place, most of the spars and standing rigging were killed by cannonballs. Despite these damages, Nakhimov's ship, having opened crushing fire on enemy ships, anchored not far from the enemy admiral's frigate "Auni-Allah" and fired at it from all its guns. The Turkish flagship could not withstand the well-aimed fire of the Russian gunners - he riveted the anchor chain and threw himself ashore. The same fate befell the 44-gun frigate "Fazli-Allah", on which Nakhimov suffered destructive fire after the flight of "Auni-Allah". Embraced in flames, "Fazli-Allah" threw himself ashore after his admiral's ship.

Other Russian ships were no less successful. Pupils and associates of Nakhimov destroyed the enemy, sowing horror and confusion in his ranks.

The crew of the ship "Grand Duke Konstantin", skillfully operating with bombing guns, 20 minutes after the fire was opened, blew up the Turkish 60-gun frigate "Navek-Bakhri". Soon, the 24-gun corvette Nejmi-Feshan was hit by well-aimed fire from Konstantin.

The ship "Chesma", acting mainly against coastal batteries No. 3 and No. 4, razed them to the ground.

The ship "Paris" opened fire with all sides on battery No. 5, on the 22-gun corvette "Gyuli-Sefid" and on the 56-gun frigate "Damiad". Istomin - the commander of the "Paris" - did not miss the opportunity to hit the longitudinal fire so destructive for sailing ships (i.e., artillery fire along the entire length of the enemy ship) and the wrecked flagship frigate "Auni-Allah" when the latter drifted ashore past " Paris." The corvette "Gyuli-Sefid" took off into the air, the frigate "Damiad" threw itself ashore. Then the heroic crew of the "Paris" transferred their fire to the 64-gun frigate "Nizamie"; catching fire, "Nizamiye" washed ashore after "Damiad". After that, "Paris" transferred his fire to battery No. 5, located in the depths of the bay.

The fighting of the Paris team was excellent, and Nakhimov decided to thank her. But it turned out that during the battle all the signal halyards were killed on the Maria, and there was nothing to raise the signal on.

Go on the boat, - Nakhimov ordered his flag officer, - pass it on in words.

The ship "Three Saints", following the "Paris" in a column, chose the frigates "Kaidi-Zefer" and "Nizamiye" as its objects, but when one of the first Turkish cores broke its spring and the ship turned to the wind, the Turkish coastal battery No. 6 longitudinal fire caused him great damage in the spars, that is, in the wooden part intended for setting sails. The crew of the ship "Three saints" under strong enemy fire brought on longboats (large rowing boats) verp (an anchor) and, turning the stern of their ship, again concentrated fire on the frigate "Kaidi-Zefer" and other ships. The Turkish frigate was forced to withdraw from the battle and throw itself ashore.

Russian sailors and officers behaved heroically in battle. The sailor Dehta, the commander of the ship "Three Saints", held the fuse at the gun that had just fired, and although the two sailors standing next to him were killed by a Turkish cannonball, Dehta remained at the combat post. Midshipman Varnitsky from the ship "Three Saints", while on a longboat for the delivery of a Verp, was wounded in the cheek, but did not leave his place and brought the matter to an end. On the ship "Rostislav" midshipman Kolokoltsev with several sailors put out a fire near the ammunition storage room, preventing the ship from exploding. The senior navigation officer of the Paris battleship Rodionov, helping to correct the ship's artillery fire, indicated with his hand the direction of the enemy battery. At that moment he was wounded in the face. Wiping the blood with one hand, Rodionov continued to indicate the direction of the Turkish battery with the other hand. Rodionov remained at his combat post until he fell, struck down by an enemy cannonball that tore off his arm.

The end Russian ship of the left column "Rostislav" at first became against battery No. 6 and 24 of the Feyzi-Meabud cannon corvette, at the same time helping "Paris" to fight against the frigate "Nizamie". However, when battery No. 6 aimed at the ship "Three Saints" and the cores of its guns began to fall on the Russian ship, the commander of "Rostislav", remembering Nakhimov's admonition that "mutual assistance to each other is the best tactic", and that under changed circumstances everyone should " act completely independently at his own discretion, ”transferred all his fire to battery No. 6 and the Feyzi-Meabud corvette. The battery was damaged, and the corvette washed ashore.

Less than two hours after the start of the battle, the Turkish squadron ceased to exist. Burning wreckage of ships and their mutilated hulls stuck to the shore - that's all that was left of the Turkish squadron after a duel with the Russians.

Only one Turkish 20-gun steamer Taif escaped this fate, which at the very beginning of the battle took to its heels. On the Taif was the Englishman Slade, an English adviser to the head of the Turkish squadron, Vice Admiral Osman Pasha, who held the post of assistant commander of the fleet in Turkey. Saving his own skin, Slade abandoned the Turkish squadron to the mercy of fate. Jumping out from behind the line of the Turkish squadron, Taif, under the cover of thick powder smoke that covered the bay, went out to the open sea. The frigates "Kagul" and "Kulevchi", prudently left by Nakhimov, were chasing the "Taif", but the steamer, using its advantage in speed, began to move away from the sailboats.

At this time, Kornilov approached the battlefield with three steamships - "Odessa", "Crimea" and "Khersones", hurrying to the aid of Nakhimov from Sevastopol.

It was at 13:00. 30 minutes, when the Sinop battle was in full swing. Kornilov, who at that time was the chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet, ordered his ships to pursue the Taif, but only the Odessa steamer managed to get close to the Taif at a distance of artillery fire and come into combat contact with it. However, despite the fact that the Taif had two dozen inch bomb guns and two dozen other guns, and the Odessa had only one bomb gun capable of firing, the Taif, the enemy's three times strongest steamer, did not take the fight. Having fired several volleys at the Russian steamer and taking advantage of the advantage in the course, the Taif again cowardly eluded the Russian ships. The only survivor of the Turkish squadron "Taif" and brought to Constantinople the news of the Sinop defeat.

The destruction of the coastal batteries No. 5 and No. 6 by the fire of "Paris" and "Rostislav" at about four o'clock in the afternoon, the battle of Sinop ended.

Evening came. A northeasterly wind blew, and it rained at times. The evening sky, covered with clouds, was illuminated by a crimson glow from the burning city and the burning remnants of the Turkish squadron. A huge flame engulfed the horizon over Sinop.

In the Battle of Sinop, the Russians lost 38 men killed and 235 wounded. The Turks lost over 4 thousand killed, many Turkish sailors were captured, and among them were two ship commanders and the commander of the Turkish squadron, Vice Admiral Osman Pasha.

Russian sailors began to prepare for their return to Sevastopol. It was necessary to hurry: the ships were severely damaged, it was far from their native port, and the journey lay ahead in autumn stormy weather.

Having corrected the damage received in battle, Nakhimov's squadron left Sinop and, after a two-day transition through a stormy sea, arrived in Sevastopol on November 22.

The meeting of the Nakhimov squadron was very solemn. The entire population of the city, as on the day of a big holiday, welcoming the winners, went to Primorsky Boulevard, Grafskaya pier and the shores of the Sevastopol Bay.

November 23, 1853 Nakhimov gave the order for the squadron. “.I want to personally,” he wrote, “congratulate the commanders, officers and teams on the victory and thank them for their noble assistance to my assumptions and announce that with such subordinates I will proudly meet with any enemy European fleet.”

An analysis of the battle at Sinop allows us to draw the following conclusions.

Nakhimov in the battle of Sinop carried out a talented maneuver of breaking sailing ships into the enemy bay. For the first time in history, Nakhimov used with great efficiency the latest artillery technology of his time - bombing guns, and this played an important role in the complete defeat of the Turkish squadron.

Russian sailors showed a clear combat organization, skillfully fighting simultaneously against the ships of the enemy squadron and coastal batteries of the enemy.

Nakhimov brought his ships into the bay perpendicular to the location of the enemy ships. He distributed his six ships along the entire length of the Turkish ships. Being firmly convinced that the squadron personnel subordinate to him would quickly complete the intended maneuver, Nakhimov was not afraid of longitudinal fire from Turkish ships.

In the Battle of Sinop, the Nakhimov sailors accomplished a feat worthy of a Chesme victory.

The victory at Sinop showed the whole world the resilience and heroism of Russian sailors. The Battle of Sinop glorified Russian naval art at the last stage of the existence of the sailing fleet. He once again showed the superiority of Russian national naval art over the naval art of foreign fleets.

It is also important to note that the victory at Sinop thwarted Turkey's aggressive plans aimed at capturing Sukhumi.

The memory of the Sinop heroes has been preserved to this day, the people have composed many tales and songs about the Sinop victory.

The news of the Sinop victory was painfully received in the diplomatic circles of England and France. The English were furious at this news; in their opinion, the Russians “did it badly” by attacking the Turkish squadron in the Sinop Bay; the English ambassador, Lord Seymour, even declared that the Russian naval victory was "an insult to the English fleet." A somewhat more reserved position was taken by French diplomacy. At first, the French ambassador in St. Petersburg, Castelbajac, even congratulated Nicholas I on his victory, and only a few days later the French government made it clear that the national pride of the French was also offended by the defeat of the Turkish fleet.

Fearing the dominance of the Russian fleet after the Sinop victory, England and France on January 6, 1854 brought their squadrons into the Black Sea.

It is known that, in principle, the question of the war between England and France against Russia was predetermined by the British and French governments even earlier; the stop was only behind the establishment of methods and terms for the denouement of the planned war. The British and French were interested in the fact that the period of single combat between Turkey and Russia lasted as long as possible. This, according to their plans, was to weaken both sides, after which the Anglo-French capitalists could negotiate a higher price from Turkey for their "intercession".

In the light of these facts, the true meaning of the numerous steps of the Anglo-French diplomats, allegedly aimed at appeasing the Russian-Turkish conflict, the essence of their proposals to mediate a truce between Russia and Turkey, etc. becomes clear. Hiding behind the mask of "peacekeepers", pretending to be friends of Russia, the British and French, in fact, during the whole of 1853, stubbornly provoked the outbreak of war between Russia and Turkey.

But the rapid outbreak of hostilities was especially embarrassing for the French Emperor Napoleon III. Frightened by the revolution of 1848, he was afraid of the specter of a new revolutionary explosion, a frequent companion of protracted wars. Napoleon III wanted a short and victorious war, which, in his opinion, could defuse the political atmosphere in France, as it would cause a wave of patriotic frenzy and distract the masses from "revolutionary passions" for a while. It is precisely this that explains why the French government has always taken a vacillating position.

According to the strategic plan of the Turks, the main attention was paid to the Caucasian theater of operations. An advance from Batumi, which was then under the rule of the Turks, to the north of the Caucasus, with the support of the Caucasian highlanders, provoked by Anglo-Turkish agents, would give the Turks the opportunity to cut off the Russian South Caucasian army from the land. At the same time, the landing by the Turkish squadron and the unloading of equipment for the Caucasian Turkish army and mountaineers in the Sukhumi region should have been of decisive importance. With this turn of events, the British and French might not have been in a hurry to enter the war.

But the defeat of the Turkish squadron in the Sinop Bay disrupted all the calculations of Russia's opponents. The Caucasian "enterprise" of the Turks suffered serious damage. Turkey has lost a fleet in the Black Sea; the Russian fleet became dominant in the Black Sea theater. Russia could no longer be afraid of landing on the Caucasian coast since Turkey lost the opportunity to take major offensive actions in the Caucasus.

All this gave the Russian command the opportunity to win the time it needed so much. The importance of this factor was emphasized by Marx and Engels. They wrote: “All Russia needs is a delay, enough time to recruit a new army, distribute it throughout the empire, concentrate it and suspend the war with Turkey until it copes with the Caucasian highlanders.”

However, such a pause was in no way part of the plans of the British and French. If earlier they based their calculations on the mutual attrition of Turkey and Russia during hostilities, now they had to rush to enter the war so that this war would not get an undesirable protracted nature for them. .

The battle of Sinop made significant adjustments to international relations. Nicholas I, by the course of events, was drawn into the war not so much against Turkey, but against much more dangerous opponents for Russia - England and France. In the words of V. I. Lenin, a “boring war” began, in which no one wanted to act decisively. It was a continuation of the policy of delay and delay in the diplomacy of all the great powers, only ". .. other (namely: violent) "means"".

On the side of Turkey, in addition to England and France, later came out and Sardinia.

On March 15-16, 1854, England and France officially declared war on Russia, and on April 10, 1854, an Anglo-French squadron of 19 battleships and 10 steam-frigates bombarded Odessa and tried to land troops in order to capture the city. This attempt was repulsed by the Odessa coastal batteries.

During the summer campaign of 1854, the Anglo-French fleet made robbery raids on the Russian coast of the Baltic, appearing near Kronstadt and Sveaborg. English ships made several pirate attacks on Russian fishing villages in the North. In the Far East, on August 13-24, 1854, the British tried to land troops and take possession of Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka, but their attempt failed. The small garrison of Petropavlovsk heroically drove off the enemy, who, having suffered heavy losses, was forced to leave.

Having failed in their adventurous attempts in the Baltic, the North and the Far East, the Anglo-French command concentrated all its efforts on the Black Sea theater.

Even before that, the British and French landed a 50,000-strong army near Varna. At this time, Turkey was conducting intense battles on the Danube against the Russians, who were besieging the fortress of Silistria. “And yet, during this decisive siege,” Engels said, “20,000 English and 30,000 French soldiers -“ the color of both armies ”- stood at a distance of only a few transitions from this fortress, complacently lit their pipes and complacently prepared to receive cholera ... There is no second such an example in military history that the army, which could so easily come to the rescue, so cowardly left its allies to their fate.

On August 24, 1854, a huge enemy fleet, consisting of 89 warships and 300 transport ships, withdrew from Varna and, with a 62,000-strong Anglo-French-Turkish landing army on board, appeared off the coast of Crimea 8 days later. The enemy fleet for the most part consisted of steam-powered ships of the line and frigates armed with long-range artillery of the latest design.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet was two times smaller in number than the combined fleet of the enemy and was almost five times inferior to it in the number of steam ships. If the British and French had the fiftieth paddle and screw steamers, the Russians had only 11 paddle steamers and not a single propeller. Russian sailing ships were unable to fight on the high seas with such an enemy.

The backwardness of the economy of feudal Russia, the feudal system of which hampered the development of the country's productive forces, the lack of a regular supply of troops, impassability (a hay cart transported for the needs of the army from Melitopol to Simferopol was completely eaten by the horse that carried it) were the main reasons for Russia's unpreparedness for a big war The mediocrity of the high command - Nicholas I, Menshikov, Gorchakov, embezzlement - made the situation of the outbreak of war even more difficult for Russia.

The Russian army by this time numbered about a million people. Of this number, only 35,000 people were on the Crimean coast, of which 10,000 were in Sevastopol. Tsarist Russia could not send more soldiers to Crimea because of peasant unrest in the country. Popular unrest in Tambov, Voronezh, Kyiv and other provinces forced the government of Nicholas I to keep significant armed forces inside the country. In addition, in the Baltic, the North and the Far East, troops were needed to repel the aggressive aspirations of the British and French.

It would seem that with such a balance of forces of the warring parties, the denouement should have happened quickly and not in favor of Russia. But the unparalleled heroism of ordinary Russian people, who stood up to defend their native land and went into battle under the command of such advanced Russian officers as Nakhimov, Kornilov, Izilmetyev, Khrulev, Khrushchev and others, frustrated all the calculations of the enemy. It must also be borne in mind that the leading officers of the fleet and army strove to achieve high combat training of personnel, sought various innovations in certain branches of military art; this, of course, had a positive effect in the very first battles with the Anglo-French troops.

As already mentioned, the balance of forces at sea at the time of the appearance of the enemy combined fleet off the coast of Crimea was far from in favor of the Russians. Sevastopol itself remained almost unprotected from land because of the myopia, carelessness and mediocrity of the Nikolaev generals. Therefore, the Anglo-French troops, which outnumbered the Russian units in terms of numbers and technical equipment, managed to land an expeditionary army on the Crimean peninsula, in the Evpatoria region.

The first battle took place at Alma on September 8, 1854. The outcome of the battle was decided in favor of the enemy due to the significant superiority in the strength of his weapons: all English soldiers were armed with rifled guns that fired at 1100-1200 steps, while the Russian troops had a total of 72 rifled guns. The vast majority of Russian soldiers had only antediluvian flintlock smoothbore guns that fired no further than 300 paces. Nevertheless, in the battle of Alma, the enemy met a crushing rebuff from the Russians and refused to pursue them further; Russian troops retreated in good order.

The battle of Alma had no effect on the overall strategic situation and had only tactical significance.

After the battle of Alma, the Anglo-French troops did not dare to immediately attack Sevastopol from the north side. They moved to the Inkerman-Balaklava region and began a long siege of Sevastopol from the south and southeast. The base of the British was Balaklava, the base of the French was Kamysheva Bay.

After the battle of Alma, the army of Menshikov, who was afraid that the Anglo-French would not cut off the communications of the Crimea with the rest of Russia, without stopping in Sevastopol, withdrew through the northern side to Bakhchisaray.

At this time, literally before the eyes of the enemy, when the enemy was already on the outskirts of the city, Russian soldiers and sailors, under the leadership of Kornilov and Nakhimov, began to turn defenseless Sevastopol into a stronghold.

On September 14, 1854, Nakhimov, appointed chief of defense of the southern side of Sevastopol (Kornilov was appointed chief of defense of the northern side), gave the order to flood the ships of the Black Sea Fleet in order to block the entry of enemy ships into the bay, and to strengthen the Sevastopol bastions with guns taken from the sunken ships.

The sailors perceived this order of Nakhimov as the gravest grief. It was hard for Nakhimov and his associates to destroy their brainchild - the Black Sea Fleet, glorified in battles with the enemy.

On September 10, the first seven ships were sunk. (The rest of the ships were sunk later, at the end of February 1855). The Chernomorians went to the bastions. The heroic defense of Sevastopol began, which, in the words of Engels, had no analogue in history.

About how great was the energy of the defenders of Sevastopol, says this fact. In 20 days, that is, from September 15 to October 4, 170 guns taken from sunken ships were installed on the coastal positions of Sevastopol under the leadership of Nakhimov and Kornilov. The sailors, accustomed to hard work on sailing ships, managed in an insignificantly short time to create a powerful defensive line around the city, which allowed them to put up stubborn resistance to the significantly superior and well-armed enemy for 11 months.

All the fortifications and batteries of the defensive line, with very few exceptions, were armed with guns mounted on naval gun carriages. Separate parts of the defensive position - bastions - were occupied by ship crews in full force along with their officers. Sinop heroes began to fight valiantly on land, defending their native Sevastopol.

At the initiative of Nakhimov, the usual ship order was introduced on the coastal bastions. Just like on a ship, people kept watch, time was measured with bottles, etc. These little things of ordinary ship life had a very beneficial effect on sailors. Remaining in the circle of their former comrades, obeying the same orders and having their former bosses, the sailors very soon got used to the new service on the shore.

On October 5, 1854, during the first big bombardment of Sevastopol on the bastion of Malakhov Kurgan, one of the heroic leaders of the defense of Sevastopol, Kornilov, was mortally wounded. In fact, only Nakhimov, the hero of Sinop, remained the head of the defense of Sevastopol.

The old sailor, naval commander Nakhimov, who, as a result of the current military situation, became the commander of the city's defense on land, applied in new conditions for him all the many years of experience that he had acquired at sea. And I must say that he turned out to be the same exemplary leader for the soldiers, as he always was for the sailors.

The entire civilian population of Sevastopol knew him by sight. Wherever the greatest danger or difficulty arose, Nakhimov invariably appeared. His fearlessness, tireless energy, fair exactingness, combined with cordiality and simplicity, attracted the hearts of people to him. He was a national hero of Sevastopol, the soul of its defense.

Nakhimov's personal courage inspired the defenders of Sevastopol to new exploits. And the Sevastopol residents performed many feats. Sailors and soldiers Rybakov, Bolotnikov, Eliseev, Zaika, Dymchenko, Kuzmenko, Koshka, Petrenko, Lubinsky, Shevchenko and many, many other ordinary Russian people, with their fearlessness, high service to military duty, wrote many glorious pages in the heroic history of the defense of Sevastopol. So, for example, boatswain Petrenko, in hand-to-hand combat with a group of enemy soldiers, put them to flight and brought 6 French guns with him to the bastion. Lubyansky and his comrade grabbed the bomb that had fallen on the deck of the Yagudiel ship with their hands and threw it overboard before it had time to explode. Sailor Koshka almost every night made his way into the enemy's trenches and always returned with trophies; sometimes he brought with him a captured Englishman, sometimes a Frenchman, sometimes he brought several guns, etc. The sailor Shevchenko covered the commander with his body ... All the exploits of the valiant defenders of Sevastopol cannot be listed!

Sinoptsy - as the participants in the Sinop battle were called - were tirelessly on the front lines of defense, on the hottest bastions. So, for example, captain of the 1st rank Yergomyshev, who commanded the 120-gun ship "Grand Duke Konstantin" in the Sinop battle, during the Sevastopol defense commanded the artillery of the 3rd bastion with batteries adjoining it; sailor - Sinopets Kuznetsov was an active defender of the Malakhov Kurgan, on which during the June bombardment he was seriously shell-shocked; with him on the Malakhov Kurgan was the twice wounded sailor Shikov. No less heroic were sailors from Sevastopol, Gordeev, Yurovsky, Litvin, Gorbunov and many other sailors who went ashore to defend their native Sevastopol, on the Sevastopol bastions. In fierce battles with the invaders, they increased the fighting traditions of the Sinop battle.

The fight was too unequal. On March 8, the former commander of the battleship "Paris", the hero of Sinope, Rear Admiral Istomin, was killed on Malakhov Kurgan, and on June 28, Nakhimov himself was mortally wounded on the same Malakhov Kurgan.

After the death of Nakhimov, the people of Sevastopol steadfastly held out for another two months. The garrison was then ordered to withdraw to the north side. After a 349-day defense that amazed the whole world with its heroism, the central and southern parts of the city were abandoned.

Having occupied the ruins of the central and southern parts of the city, the British and French achieved negligible results. The Russian army in the Crimea did not give the enemy the opportunity to develop any active operations; besides, the enemy, who suffered colossal losses, did not have sufficient forces for this.

The situation on other fronts also did not please the Anglo-French command. On September 17, 1855, the Russian troops of the Caucasian Front stormed the heavily fortified Turkish fortress of Kars, which was considered impregnable.

Nevertheless, the loss in this war for Russia was already a foregone conclusion. The Nikolaev empire, this "colossus with feet of clay", could not withstand a long war. The war further shattered the foundations of feudal-serfdom Russia, and socio-economic contradictions aggravated even more. Peasant unrest grew in the country; there were signs of a revolutionary situation (1859-1861). Nicholas I, frightened by the specter of recent revolutions in Europe, was in a hurry to sign peace on any terms.

In turn, in the camp of Russia's opponents, voices for the speedy conclusion of peace were also increasingly heard. The aggravated Anglo-French-Turkish contradictions, the heavy losses of the coalition troops near Sevastopol were an important factor contributing to this desire.

The dissatisfaction of the French population with the protracted war seriously frightened Napoleon III, who was afraid of a new revolutionary explosion. The government of Napoleon III began peace negotiations with Russia. Under the then prevailing conditions, England was also unable to continue the war and count on any effective successes.

The Anglo-French army remained in the central and southern parts of Sevastopol until March 30, 1856, and left only after the conclusion of the Paris Peace Treaty.

The feudal-feudal system of tsarist Russia, with its horrendous economic backwardness, was the most important reason for the military weakness of the Romanov Empire and predetermined the unsuccessful outcome of the war.

The immediate result of the war was that "The tsarist government, weakened by a military defeat during the Crimean campaign and intimidated by peasant" riots "against the landlords, was forced to abolish serfdom in 1861."

According to one of the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty, Russia was deprived of the opportunity to keep a navy in the Black Sea. However, taking advantage of the favorable international situation, Russia in the early 70s. 19th century again began to recreate the fleet on the Black Sea.

The heroism of Russian sailors in the Crimean War, in the battle of Sinop and in the defense of Sevastopol, raised the prestige of the Russian people in the eyes of the entire world public opinion. The halo of Sinop glory inspired respect for the Russian navy.

A hundred years have passed since the battle of Sipop.

During the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders, the glory of Sevastopol once again thundered all over the world, when the Soviet people, worthy descendants of the Sinop and Sevastopol heroes, defended the city from the Nazi hordes for 250 days, multiplying the heroic deeds of the Sevastopol residents of the Crimean period. war.

On March 9, 1944, the Soviet government established an order and a medal in honor of PS Nakhimov. The most distinguished sailors and officers were awarded medals and orders of Nakhimov for military prowess and glorious military deeds.

By decision of the Soviet government, the Nakhimov Schools were organized, where the children of Soviet soldiers are brought up - sailors and partisans of the Patriotic War who died in battles with the Nazi invaders.

The village of Volochek, where PS Nakhimov was born, was renamed Nakhimovskoye; the school has been named after him. A new monument to Admiral Nakhimov is being built in Sevastopol.

Near Sinop in 1853, according to the recall of the hero of the Sevastopol defense V A. Kornilov, there was "a glorious battle, higher than Chesma and Navarin." Under Sinop, the best traditions of heroism and patriotism, shown by Russian sailors in the naval battles that preceded Sinop, were multiplied. In the battles that followed after Sinop, Russian sailors steadily followed the best traditions of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers - the heroes of Sinop and Sevastopol.

The glorious heroic traditions of the older generation of Russian sailors are highly honored by the Soviet people. New generations of Soviet sailors are brought up on these traditions, who showed valor and patriotism, selfless devotion to their beloved socialist Motherland in battles with the enemies of the Soviet people.

The battle of Sinop, which took place on November 30, 1853, was preceded by many events. At the beginning of the year, the Eastern Question escalated, the Black Sea Fleet deprived the Caucasian highlanders of an important source of income, but made a mistake in their strategic calculations and almost missed the Turkish ships at Sinop, an important transshipment base through which the Caucasian "revolutionaries" were supplied. Having obtained permission to attack the enemy, Admiral Nakhimov did not shelve the matter.

Admiral Nakhimov's plan

On November 16, the Russian steamer "Bessarabia" captured the Turkish steamer "Medzhir Tadzhiret". The prisoners showed that a Turkish squadron was stationed in Sinop: three frigates, two corvettes and cargo transports - all sailing. Scouts were immediately sent to the port, who found seven frigates, two corvettes (in fact there were three) and two paddle steamers there.

Because of the storm, Nakhimov approached Sinop only on November 23. The next day, he received permission to attack the Turkish squadron in Sinop. But only a squadron. It was ordered to refrain from fire on the city (Menshikov's order clearly states: "spare Sinop") and open fire only if the Turks start firing first.

Sinop Bay today

At that time, Nakhimov had only three battleships, so the Russians refrained from attacking, organizing the blockade of Sinop and waiting for Rear Admiral Fyodor Novosilsky's squadron to help: three battleships and two frigates. Novosilsky joined Nakhimov only on 28 November. According to the plan, the Russian squadron in the ranks of two wake columns (the ships followed one after the other along the course line) was supposed to break through to the Sinop raid and deliver a fire attack on enemy ships and batteries. The first column was to be commanded by Nakhimov. It included the ships "Empress Maria" (flagship), "Grand Duke Konstantin" and "Chesma". The second column - "Paris" (second flagship), "Three Saints" and "Rostislav" - was to be led by Novosilsky. Further, the ships anchored in front of the line of Ottoman frigates and fired at them until they were completely destroyed. Concluding his instructions, the Vice Admiral ordered, “having tied up business with enemy ships, try as much as possible not to harm the consular houses, on which their national flags will be raised”. He also emphasized that “All preliminary instructions under changed circumstances can make it difficult for a commander who knows his business, and therefore I leave everyone to act completely independently at their own discretion, but without fail to do their duty.”

On November 30, 1853, the composition of the Russian squadron under the command of Admiral Nakhimov was as follows:

Name	ship type	guns
Grand Duke Konstantin	Battleship
Three Saints	Battleship
Paris	Battleship
Empress Maria	Battleship
Chesma	Battleship
Rostislav	Battleship
Kulevchi
Cahul
A separate division of steam frigates under the command of Admiral Kornilov
Odessa	steamshipfrigate
Crimea	steamshipfrigate
Chersonese	steamshipfrigate

Battle of Sinop

At 6 am on November 30, 1853, a signal was raised on Nakhimov's flagship, the 84-gun ship Empress Maria. "Prepare for battle!". On a gloomy rainy morning, with a squally wind, Russian ships moved in two columns towards the Sinop Bay. The time was not chosen by chance: Muslims at this moment were performing namaz. The Russians are really lucky. Either because of prayer, or simply because the Turkish coastal batteries did not expect the Russians to launch an attack, Nakhimov passed the danger zone of rapprochement without opposition from the coast. In the log of the ship "Three Saints" it is noted:

“Passing (...) the batteries, marked by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, they did not see the slightest movement, but the Turks who had fled from the village of Ada-Kioi were in a hurry, probably to take their places: however, our squadron managed to pass by the batteries ».

Those batteries that nevertheless entered into battle with the Russian ships were armed with old 14- and 19-pounder guns, the effectiveness of which was close to zero. In addition, they were protected by earthen parapets and they were served not by the army, but by the local police. The poor condition of the batteries had previously been repeatedly reported to Istanbul.

Sinop battle plan

But even without the opposition of the batteries, due to the weather and uncomfortable wind, slips occurred. In particular, the left Russian column anchored further from the enemy than planned, which allowed the Turkish steam frigate Taif to escape. "Empress Maria", the flagship of Nakhimov himself, did not reach the center of the bay, which is why the "Chesma", the end in the right column, could not act against Turkish ships, and the battle for her was reduced to fighting batteries No. 3 and No. 4. In addition "Chesma" and "Grand Duke Konstantin" interfered with each other, blocking the sectors of fire, so they had to change the anchorage under Turkish fire. At the beginning of the battle, the spring was broken at the “Three Saints”, the ship turned around, and in the heat of battle, the gunners of the 120-gunner continued to fire, but on their own. Several cores fell into the "Paris" and "Rostislav", until Novosilsky raised the signal to the "Three Saints" to cease fire.

At 12:30 the Russians approached, and the battle did begin. Coastal batteries Nos. 4, 5 and 6 also came into action. At 12:45, the most powerful Turkish steam frigate Taif set off steam. It is still not clear whether he passed between the warring parties or between the Turkish ships and the coast, but then the Taif passed battery No. to Istanbul. Later, his captain, Yahya Bey, who was awaiting a reward for saving the ship, was put on trial and dismissed from service for misbehavior. Sultan Abdulmejid expressed his displeasure: "I would prefer that he did not flee, but died in battle, like the rest."

13:00. The 84-gun Empress Maria, which stood on a spring opposite the Turkish "Avnullah", simply tore the frigate to pieces with full broadside salvos, and the flagship of the Turks threw itself ashore. Nakhimov moved the fire to Fazlullah. He followed the example of the flagship. "Grand Duke Konstantin" entered the battle with two frigates at once - "Nâvek-i Bahrî" and "Nesîm-i Zafer". The first, which also came under fire from the approaching Chesma, exploded after 15 minutes of battle. The second, engulfed in flames, was carried to the pier near battery No. 5. The Necm-Efşân corvette was also completely destroyed.

Sinop battle. Artist A.P. Bogolyubov

13:05. The 120-gun "Paris" unleashed several volleys on battery No. 5, formally following the order "respond only to shelling from the shore", and then transferred fire to the Dimyad frigate and the Gül-i Sefîd corvette. The corvette exploded almost immediately, and the frigate was knocked off the spring and drifted to the shore. "Paris", by the way, spent more 68-pound bombs than any other Russian ship - 70 out of 893 stocked. "Empress Maria" spent five out of 176, "Grand Duke Konstantin" - 30 out of 457, "Three Saints" - 28 out of 147, and finally, "Rostislav" - 16 out of 400. In total, the Black Sea Fleet spent 167 bombs during the battle.

13:30–14:00. "Three Saints" began the battle with "Kaaid-i Zafer", "Nizamiye" and battery No. 6. A crazy cannonball from the battery broke the ship's spring, turned the stern to the battery, and the 120-gunner survived several unpleasant minutes, besides giving several volleys by their own. Within 15 minutes, a new werp was launched under fire, the ship turned around and unleashed powerful volleys on its opponents. The first frigate washed ashore and exploded at 14:00.

By 16:00, not only the Turkish squadron was on fire - the whole city was already on fire. The fire from the batteries spread to residential buildings. The Russians sent parliamentarians to the walls of the fortress several times, passing on the words of the commanders: “Stop firing from the city, the Russians will not shoot back along the coast". However, it was simply impossible to hear them.

The main loss of the Turks was not even warships, but transport workers, on which transfers to the Caucasian coast were carried out. The words of Nakhimov, spoken to the prefect of Sinop, sounded like a refined mockery:

“I am leaving this port and addressing you as a representative of a friendly nation, counting on your services to explain to the city authorities that the imperial squadron had no hostile intention either against the city or against the port of Sinop”.

Admiral Nakhimov on the quarters of the "Empress Maria" during the battle

After the battle, Nakhimov wrote to the tsar:

« The command of Your Imperial Majesty was carried out by the Black Sea Fleet in the most brilliant manner. The first Turkish squadron, which decided to go into battle, On the 18th (30th) of November, she was exterminated by Vice Admiral Nakhimov. The Turkish admiral Osman Pasha, who commanded it, was wounded, captured and brought to Sevastopol. The enemy was on the Sinop roadstead, where, fortified by coastal batteries, he accepted the battle. At the same time, he destroyed seven frigates, a sloop, two corvettes, one steamer and several transports. Behind this, one steamer remained, which escaped due to its excellent speed. This squadron, apparently, is the one that was equipped to capture Sukhum and assist the highlanders».

Effects

Foreign diplomats in Istanbul reacted differently to the battle: "The British melancholy pondered the results of Sinop" while the French "indulged in rejoicing". At the suggestion of the British ambassador to Turkey, Stratford de Redcliffe, the Port banned all "conversations on political topics, including Sinop, in bazaars, in coffee houses, teahouses, etc.", whom the Turks "surrendered with rapture".

The wind, unprecedented in strength, which began in the Bosporus region, caused additional damage to the Turks: on November 30 - December 2, 1853, he simply threw the ships ashore. Actually, in this situation, the Ottomans almost accepted the Russian conditions. If our ships appeared after Sinop in front of the Bosphorus, history would have taken a different path. This was the main mistake of Nicholas I after Sinop. On December 3, 1853, shortly after the battle, he wrote to Menshikov:

“I think that the big actions of the fleet are over and rest. It seems that we now must have enough 4 frigates and ordinary steamers, when the main enemy squadron no longer exists. If for sure the British and French enter the Black Sea, we will not fight with them, but let them taste our batteries in Sevastopol, where you will receive them with salute. I am not afraid of landings, and if there was an attempt, it seems that now it is possible to beat them off. In April, we will have the entire 16th division with its artillery, a brigade of hussars and horse batteries, more than necessary to make them pay well.

Actually, the further course of events was decided in three or four days after Sinop. Send your Russian ships then to the Bosphorus - there would be no Crimean War. The Turkish government was ready to sign any treaties. In addition, Turkey, however, as always, had no money at all for the war. They wanted to borrow 30,000,000 kurush from Austria, but this was not allowed to be done by the British, who offered their loan, but not in money, but in goods, weapons and advisers. The Sultan wanted exactly the money - these silver and gold circles, because the same soldiers of the Istanbul garrison perceived paper money in Turkey very nervously, and it was impossible to anger them.

Immediately after the news of the defeat, the sultan issued a firman on the unhindered passage of Russian merchant (and not so) ships through the straits without inspection until February 23, 1854 inclusive. The most important result was the burning of the squadron and Sinop, which dealt a terrible moral blow to the highlanders in the Caucasus. The people there always respected only strength, and strength was demonstrated very visibly. Now there is a solid basis for negotiations and confidence that the elders of local teips will at least listen to the Russians.

The glow of Sinop. Artist I. Aivazovsky

The reaction of the British to what happened is well reflected in the words printed in the Illustrated Landon News on December 2, 1853: "A minor victory not matched by loud clucking about it". The same newspaper wrote that Emperor Nicholas really deserved at least one resounding victory in the war, which clearly began unsuccessfully for him. Some publications have claimed that "the battle was not fair", after all "Nicholas took advantage of the helplessness of the Turkish fleet". The Naval Chronicle reported that there would be no Sinop if the English fleet was in the Black Sea.

But the other side of the Sinop battle, which we often simply do not know about, turned out to be really important. The opposition announced that Prime Minister Aberdeen had secret agreements with Nikolai and, in general, he was one of the culprits of the Sinop battle. The press, in fact, accused the Prime Minister of England of being a bit of a spy for Russia. Moreover, even Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria, is also a spy for the Russian emperor. We even agreed that "the prince, being a German, is not able to relate to the events in the world from the point of view of English liberalism".

On December 5, 1853, the French ambassador, on behalf of England, Austria and Prussia, asked the Sultan what he sees as a way out of this situation. According to the ambassador, England, France, Austria and Prussia were to become mediators between Turkey and Russia. But then the news of Sinop came to France. It seemed that Nicholas had outwitted everyone and would now make peace without intermediaries. It turned out that France was left with a nose. Moreover, in the minds of Napoleon III, Russian squadrons were already marching towards the Bosphorus, and Russian troops were landing in Istanbul.

On December 17, 1853, the English ambassador to the French court had a conversation with Napoleon III, after which he immediately informed the Minister of Foreign Affairs: “ The French government believes that the Sinop affair, and not the crossing of the Danube, should be a signal for the action of the fleets". Before the minister had time to come to his senses, the ambassador informed him that the French emperor had called him again and directly stated that it was necessary “ sweep away the Russian flag from the sea and that he, the emperor, would be disappointed if this plan was not accepted by England. Moreover, Napoleon III ordered his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Walevsky, to inform London that even if England refused to enter its fleet into the Black Sea, the French would enter there themselves and act as they saw fit.

Naturally, it was a bluff. But this bluff worked. Napoleon lived in England for a long time and knew the psychology of the British: they wanted to participate in any division of any territories and shuddered greatly from actions at sea without their participation. The coalition against Russia began to take shape rapidly. Actually, it was Sinop who made the British and French forget their age-old enmity and unite against Russia. Of course, this was not the only factor in the formation of the anti-Russian coalition, but it gave the politicians from the “war party” an excellent trump card, which they could now use to intensify the confrontation with Russia, simultaneously solving their local political interests in the struggle for power.

Sinop battle in 1853- Naval battle between the Russian and Turkish squadrons in the Sinop Bay. The date of the battle is November 18, 1853. The commander of the Russian squadron in the battle of Sinop was vice admiral. The Russian fleet won a convincing victory over the Turkish troops. This event went down in history as the last major battle of military sailing fleets.

Short plan:

Naval battle in Sinop Bay: causes and prerequisites

By the time this battle took place, Russia and Turkey (Ottoman Empire) had already been at war for 1.5 months. Britain and France played a decisive role in the development of the crisis. They were concerned about the increased influence of the Russian Empire in the European possessions of Turkey, as well as its active expansion in the Caucasus and the Black Sea region. The Ottoman Empire was provided with comprehensive diplomatic and military assistance in its conflict with Russia, which eventually escalated into the Crimean War of 1854-1855.

Turkish ships supplied weapons and supplies to the Caucasian mountaineers fighting against the Russian army. Sinop was an important transshipment base for this supply. The Black Sea Fleet of Russia was tasked with blocking this channel. 2 weeks before the battle, prisoners from the captured Turkish steamer showed that ships were grouping in the Sinop Bay. They will carry to the Caucasus not only military supplies for the highlanders, but also troops that will land in Sukhum and Poti.

Brief description of the battle

The Russian squadron, commanded by the Chief of the Fifth Fleet Division, Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, attacked the Turkish ships in the roadstead. Despite the fire support of six coastal batteries, the Ottoman squadron was completely defeated in a few hours. 15 Turkish ships were burned or washed ashore in a significantly damaged state. Only one 22-gun steam-sailing frigate "Tayif" was able to escape from the trap that the bay had become for them. The fire of all coastal batteries was suppressed.

The attacking Russian squadron consisted of 11 ships. Many of them were seriously damaged during the battle, but all were able (on their own or in tow) to get to Sevastopol.

Main stages of the Battle of Sinop

On November 23, 3 battleships, one of which was Nakhimov, approached Sinop and made sure that the information received from captured Turkish sailors was correct. The Russian commander decided to refrain from attacking with small forces and waited for reinforcements to arrive, which arrived in time on November 28. 3 battleships and 2 frigates arrived under the command of Rear Admiral Novosilsky, as well as a division of 3 sail-steam frigates under the command of Vice Admiral Kornilov.

Directly in the bombardment of enemy ships and coastal batteries, 6 battleships participated. Two frigates - the 44-gun Kagul and the 54-gun Kulevchi - were assigned the task of drifting at the exit of the bay to intercept Turkish ships that would try to escape. The 12-gun steamer-frigates "Odessa", "Khersones" and "Crimea" played an auxiliary role: they were supposed to take the ships damaged in battle in tow.

At 9:30 am on November 30, in rain and gusty winds, the ships of the line entered Sinop Bay in two columns.

First column:

• The 84-gun flagship "Empress Maria", on board of which was the commander of the Russian squadron, Vice Admiral Nakhimov;
• 120-gun "Grand Duke Konstantin";
• 84-gun "Chesma".

Second column:

• 120-gun "Paris", which was the second Russian commander, Rear Admiral Novosilsky;
• 84-gun "Rostislav";
• 120-gun "Three Saints".

The Turks did not expect an attack. They thought that the Russian squadron had come only to blockade the exit of ships from the bay, and did not expect that it would begin to bombard ships and the city in which there were English and French consulates. Therefore, fire from coastal batteries was opened late, when all Russian ships entered the bay and turned around to fire on Turkish ships in the roadstead.

The active phase of the battle began at about 12:30, with shots from the Turkish 44-gun frigate Aunni Allah.

• The dense fire of the Empress Maria flagship simply torn to pieces the 44-gun frigates Aunni Allah and Fazli Allah. Both of them, after half an hour of fighting, threw themselves ashore; "Fazli Allah" exploded and burned to the ground.
• "Grand Duke Konstantin", walking behind the "Maria", shot the 60-gun frigates "Naviek Bakhri" (exploded and burned), "Nesimi Zefer" (stranded ashore and burned) and the corvette "Nijmi Feshan" (broken, thrown ashore ).
• "Chesma", closing the first column, due to the premature stop of the first two ships, could not act against Turkish ships, but suppressed the fire of the 3rd and 4th coastal batteries.
• The flagship of the second column, which entered from the other side of the bay - "Paris" - at the beginning of the battle shot the 22-gun corvette "Gyuli Sefid" (exploded) and the 56-gun frigate "Damiad" (broken and thrown ashore). Then he fired on the coastal battery No. 5 and the 64-gun frigate Nizamiye.
• The Nizamiye was wrecked and set on fire by the ship Three Saints. The same fate went to the 54-gun frigate Kaidi Zefer.
• "Rostislav" shot the 24-gun frigate "Feyze Meabud" and coastal battery No. 6.

By 13:30, the Turkish squadron was finished: the ships were burning, the wind was spreading flames from one ship to another and to the city. Only the steamer-frigate "Tayif" was able to escape from the bay. left for
2 Russian frigates of the steam engine did not intercept and could not pursue it against the wind.

Finally, the resistance of the Turkish ships was crushed by 14 o'clock; coastal batteries - by 16 hours.

Results of the battle

The battle ended with the complete destruction of the Turkish squadron. Among the 200 prisoners was Rear Admiral Osman Pasha. The Russians lost 37 killed and 233 wounded. Despite serious damage (60 holes were counted in the hull of the Empress Maria), all ships, after urgent repairs, safely reached Sevastopol.

“The destruction of the Sinop squadron - the thunderstorm of the Caucasus - saved him from a large invasion of the Turks” (Rear Admiral Vukotich).

The victory caused a great patriotic upsurge, a map of the battle was published everywhere. But many people foresaw the inevitable entry into the war of England and France after Sinop and understood how difficult the war would be.

The battle was inspired by the famous painter Aivazovsky (paintings "Sinop battle", "Sinop. Night after the battle"). The Sinop victory in 1995 was included in the list of public holidays - the Days of Military Glory of Russia (the date is set for December 1).

The battle of Sinop on November 18 (30), 1853 is inscribed in gold letters in the Russian military chronicle. It was the last major battle in the sailing fleet. In this battle, Russian sailors and commanders showed what they are capable of if they are led by such great people as Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, the admiral, who was loved and respected with all his heart by the people around him. In the battle of Sinop, the Russian fleet almost completely destroyed the Turkish squadron, while suffering minimal losses. This naval battle became an example of the brilliant preparation of the Black Sea Fleet, led by one of the best representatives of the school of Russian military art. Sinop, struck all of Europe with the perfection of the Russian fleet, fully justified the many years of hard educational work of Admirals Lazarev and Nakhimov.

Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov (1802 - 1855)

The future admiral was born on June 23 (July 5), 1802 in a family of poor Smolensk noblemen. His small homeland was the village of Gorodok in the Vyazemsky district. His father, Stepan Mikhailovich Nakhimov, was an officer and even under Catherine the Great, he retired with the rank of second major. Of the eleven children born in the family, five boys became military sailors. One of them, Pavel's younger brother, Sergei, rose to the rank of vice admiral, headed the Naval Cadet Corps.

Already at the age of 13, Pavel was enrolled in the Naval Cadet Corps, he studied brilliantly. In 1817 he received the rank of midshipman and participated in the campaign of the Phoenix brig. In 1818 he entered the service on the frigate "Cruiser" and, under the command of Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, made a trip around the world. During the voyage he was promoted to lieutenant. Already in these youthful years, Pavel Nakhimov showed a curious feature, which his comrades and colleagues immediately noticed. This feature dominated Nakhimov until his death during the defense of Sevastopol. Naval service was for Nakhimov the only thing in life. He did not know any personal life, except for the service, and did not want to know. Naval service was everything to him. He was a patriot who selflessly loved his Motherland, the Russian fleet, who lived for Russia and died at his military post. As the well-known Russian historian E.V. Tarle: “Because of lack of time and too much preoccupation with maritime interests, he forgot to fall in love, forgot to marry. He was a fanatic of maritime affairs, according to the unanimous opinion of eyewitnesses and observers. Even during a round-the-world trip, he almost died saving a sailor who had fallen overboard.

Nakhimov during a long trip around the world - it lasted from 1822 to 1825, became a favorite student and follower of Mikhail Lazarev, who, together with Bellingshausen, became the discoverer of Antarctica. Lazarev quickly appreciated the abilities of the young officer, and they practically never parted in the service. After completing the round-the-world trip, Pavel Nakhimov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree. Together with Lazarev, the young lieutenant in 1826 transferred to the battleship Azov, on which he took part in the famous Navarino battle in 1827. The ship "Azov" from the combined Anglo-French-Russian fleet came closest to the Turkish naval forces. The fleet said that "Azov" smashed the enemy almost at a distance of a pistol shot. Nakhimov commanded a battery in this battle. Pavel Nakhimov was wounded, the ship suffered the greatest losses, but also caused more harm to the enemy than the best ships of the allied fleet. Lazarev, who, according to the commander of the Russian squadron L.P. Heiden, "managed the movements of" Azov "with composure, art and exemplary courage", was promoted to rear admiral. The ship "Azov" was the first in the Russian fleet to be awarded the St. George flag. Pavel Nakhimov was awarded the rank of lieutenant commander and the Order of St. George, 4th degree. So brilliantly Pavel Stepanovich began his military career.

In 1828, Nakhimov already became the commander of the ship - the Navarin corvette. It was a prize ship captured from the Ottomans. In Malta, the ship was restored, armed and took part in the blockade of the Dardanelles. Nakhimov proved to be a tireless worker. Moreover, his comrades never reproached him for the desire to curry favor, careerism. Everyone saw that their commander was dedicated to the cause and worked harder than anyone else. Since 1830, upon returning to the Baltic, he continued to serve on the Navarino. In 1831 he headed the new frigate "Pallada". Soon the frigate became indicative. On August 17, 1833, Nakhimov saved the squadron; in poor visibility, the sailor noticed the Dagerort lighthouse and gave a signal that the ships were under threat.

In 1834, at the request of Lazarev, who commanded the Black Sea Fleet, Nakhimov was transferred to the southern maritime borders of the empire. In 1836, Pavel Stepanovich received command of the battleship Silistria, built under his own supervision. A few months later he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank. Nakhimov served on this ship for 9 years. Pavel Stepanovich made the Silistria an exemplary ship and carried out a number of responsible and difficult assignments on it. The commander became known to the entire fleet. Pavel Stepanovich was the head of the Suvorov and Ushakov schools, believing that the entire strength of the fleet was based on the sailor. “It's time for us to stop considering ourselves landowners,” Nakhimov said, “and sailors as serfs. The sailor is the main engine on a warship, and we are only the springs that act on it. The sailor controls the sails, he also points the guns at the enemy; the sailor will rush to board if necessary; the sailor will do everything if we, the bosses, are not egoists, if we do not look at the service as a means of satisfying our ambition, but at the subordinates as on the steps of our own elevation. The sailor, according to him, was the main military force of the fleet. “That’s who we need to elevate, teach, inspire courage and heroism in them, if we are not selfish, but really servants of the fatherland.” He offered to look up to Nelson, who "understood the spirit of popular pride of his subordinates and, with one simple signal, aroused the passionate enthusiasm in the common people who had been brought up by him and his predecessors." With his behavior, Pavel Nakhimov brought up a team that had to be completely confident in him. So, once during the exercises, the Adrianople ship made an unsuccessful maneuver, making a collision with the Silistria inevitable. Nakhimov ordered everyone to retire to a safe place, he himself remained in the quarterdeck. He was not injured in the collision. The captain explained his action by the need to show the team "presence of mind", in battle this will be of great benefit. The crew will have complete confidence in their commander and will do everything possible and impossible to win.

In 1845, Nakhimov was promoted to Rear Admiral. Lazarev appointed him commander of the 1st brigade of the 4th naval division. In 1852 he received the rank of vice admiral and led a naval division. His authority during these years extended to the entire fleet and was equal to the influence of Lazarev himself. All his time was devoted to the service. He did not even have an extra ruble, giving everything to the last to the sailors and their families. Service in peacetime was for him the time that fate let go to prepare for war, to the moment when a person will have to show all his best qualities. At the same time, Pavel Stepanovich was a man with a capital letter, ready to give the last penny to a person in need, to help an old man, woman or child. All the sailors and their families became one big family for him.

Lazarev and Nakhimov, like Kornilov, Istomin, were representatives of a school that demanded moral high ground from an officer. “War” was declared among the officers on laziness, sybaritism, drunkenness and card games. The sailors under their command were to become warriors, not toys of the whims of the "naval landowners." They demanded from the sailors not mechanical skills during reviews and parades, but a genuine ability to fight and, understanding what they were doing. Corporal punishment became a rarity on the Black Sea ships, external servility was reduced to a minimum. As a result, the Black Sea Fleet has become an excellent fighting machine, ready to stand up for Russia.

Nakhimov perspicaciously noted the feature of a significant part of the Russian elite class, which in the end will destroy the Russian Empire. “Many young officers surprise me: they fell behind the Russians, they didn’t stick to the French, they also don’t look like the British; they neglect their own, they envy others, they do not understand their own benefits at all. It's no good!"

Nakhimov was a unique person who reached amazing heights in his moral and mental development. At the same time kind and sympathetic to someone else's grief, unusually modest, with a bright and inquisitive mind. His moral influence on people was enormous. He pulled up the command staff. I spoke with the sailors in their language. The devotion and love of the sailors for him reached unprecedented heights. Already on the Sevastopol bastions, his daily appearance aroused incredible enthusiasm among the defenders. Tired, exhausted sailors and soldiers were resurrected and were ready to repeat miracles. No wonder Nakhimov himself said that with our dashing people, showing attention and love, you can do such things, which is just a miracle.

Monument to P. S. Nakhimov in Sevastopol.

War

The year 1853 has come. Another war with Turkey began, which soon led to a global conflict involving the leading world powers. The Anglo-French squadron entered the Dardanelles. Fronts were opened on the Danube and in Transcaucasia. Petersburg, which was counting on a quick victory over the Porte, a decisive advance of Russian interests in the Balkans and a successful solution to the problem of the straits, received the threat of war with the great powers, with vague prospects. There was a threat that the Ottomans, followed by the British and French, would be able to provide effective assistance to the highlanders of Shamil. And this is the loss of the Caucasus and a serious advance of the enemy forces from the south. In the Caucasus, Russia did not have enough troops to simultaneously hold back the offensive of the Turkish army and fight the highlanders. In addition, the Turkish squadron supplied the troops on the Caucasian coast with ammunition.

Therefore, the Black Sea Fleet received two tasks: first, to hastily transport reinforcements from the Crimea to the Caucasus; secondly, to strike at Turkish maritime communications. Pavel Nakhimov completed both tasks. On September 13, in Sevastopol, they received an emergency order to transfer an infantry division with artillery to Anakria (Anaklia). At that time, the Black Sea Fleet was restless. There were rumors about the performance on the side of the Ottomans of the Anglo-French squadron. Nakhimov immediately took over the operation. In four days he prepared the ships and deployed the troops in perfect order: 16 battalions with two batteries - more than 16 thousand people, 824 people and all the necessary equipment. On September 17, the squadron entered the stormy sea and on the morning of September 24 came to Anakria. By evening, the unloading was completed. The operation involved 14 sailing ships, 7 steamships and 11 transport ships. The operation was recognized as brilliant, among the sailors there were only 4 people sick, among the soldiers - 7.

Having solved the first problem, Pavel Stepanovich proceeded to the second. It was necessary to find a Turkish squadron in the sea and defeat it. Prevent the enemy from carrying out a landing operation in the area of ​​Sukhum-Kale and Poti, helping the highlanders. A 20,000 Turkish corps was concentrated in Batumi, which was to be transferred by a large transport flotilla - up to 250 ships. The landing was to be covered by Osman Pasha's squadron.

At this time, the commander of the Crimean army and the Black Sea Fleet was Prince Alexander Menshikov. He sent a squadron of Nakhimov and Kornilov to search for the enemy. On November 5, Kornilov met the Ottoman 10-gun steamer Pervaz-Bahre, sailing from Sinop. Steam frigate "Vladimir" (11 guns) under the flag of the Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet Kornilov attacked the enemy. The commander of the "Vladimir" captain-lieutenant Grigory Butakov directly led the battle. He used the high maneuverability of his ship and noticed the weakness of the enemy - the absence of guns at the stern of the Turkish steamer. Throughout the battle, he tried to hold on so as not to fall under the fire of the Ottomans. The three-hour battle ended with a Russian victory. It was the first steamship battle in history. Then Vladimir Kornilov returned to Sevastopol and ordered Rear Admiral F. M. Novosilsky to find Nakhimov and reinforce him with the battleships Rostislav and Svyatoslav, and the brig Eney. Novosilsky met with Nakhimov and, having completed the assignment, returned to Sevastopol.

The battle of the Russian steam frigate "Vladimir" and the Turkish steamer "Pervaz-Bakhri".

Since the end of October, Nakhimov has been cruising between Sukhum and part of the Anatolian coast, where Sinop was the main port. The vice admiral, after meeting with Novosiltsev, had five 84-gun ships: Empress Maria, Chesma, Rostislav, Svyatoslav and Brave, as well as the frigate Insidious and the brig Eney. On November 2 (14), Nakhimov issued an order to the squadron, where he notified the commanders that in the event of a meeting with an enemy that "is superior in strength to us, I will attack him, being absolutely sure that each of us will do our job." Every day they waited for the appearance of the enemy. In addition, there was the possibility of meeting with British ships. But there was no Ottoman squadron. We met only Novosilsky, who brought two ships, replacing those battered by the storm and sent to Sevastopol. On November 8, a severe storm broke out, and the vice admiral was forced to send 4 more ships for repairs. The situation was critical. The strong wind continued after the November 8 storm.

On November 11, Nakhimov approached Sinop and immediately sent a brig with the news that an Ottoman squadron was stationed in the bay. Despite the significant enemy forces, which were protected by 6 coastal batteries, Nakhimov decided to block the Sinop Bay and wait for reinforcements. He asked Menshikov to send the ships "Svyatoslav" and "Brave", the frigate "Kovarna" and the steamer "Bessarabia" sent for repair. The admiral also expressed bewilderment why he was not sent the frigate Kulevchi, which is idle in Sevastopol, and send two more additional steamers necessary for cruising. Nakhimov was ready to fight if the Turks made a breakthrough. However, the Ottoman command, although at that time had an advantage in strength, did not dare to enter into a general battle or simply go for a breakthrough. When Nakhimov reported that the Ottoman forces in Sinop, according to his observations, were higher than previously thought, Menshikov sent reinforcements - a squadron of Novosilsky, and then a detachment of Kornilov's ships.

Side forces

Reinforcements arrived just in time. On November 16 (28), 1853, Nakhimov’s detachment was reinforced by the squadron of Rear Admiral Fyodor Novosilsky: 120-gun battleships Paris, Grand Duke Konstantin and Three Saints, frigates Cahul and Kulevchi. As a result, under the command of Nakhimov there were already 6 battleships: 84-gun Empress Maria, Chesma and Rostislav, 120-gun Paris, Grand Duke Konstantin and Three Saints, 60-gun frigate " Kulevchi" and 44-gun "Cahul". Nakhimov had 716 guns, from each side the squadron could fire a salvo weighing 378 pounds 13 pounds. In addition, Kornilov hurried to the aid of Nakhimov with three steam frigates.

The Ottomans had 7 frigates, 3 corvettes, several auxiliary ships and a detachment of 3 steam frigates. Altogether, the Turks had 476 naval guns, supported by 44 coastal guns. The Ottoman squadron was led by the Turkish Vice Admiral Osman Pasha. The second flagship was Rear Admiral Hussein Pasha. An English adviser, Captain A. Slade, was with the squadron. The detachment of steamships was commanded by Vice Admiral Mustafa Pasha. Osman Pasha, knowing that the Russian squadron was guarding him at the exit from the bay, sent an alarming message to Istanbul, asking for help, significantly exaggerating Nakhimov's forces. However, the Ottomans were late, the message was transmitted to the British on November 17 (29), a day before Nakhimov's attack. Even if Lord Stratford-Radcliffe, who at that time actually led the policy of the Porte, had ordered the British squadron to go to the aid of Osman Pasha, help would still be late. In addition, the British ambassador in Istanbul did not have the right to start a war with Russia, the admiral could refuse.

Nakhimov's plan

The admiral, as soon as reinforcements approached, decided not to wait, to immediately enter the Sinop Bay and attack the Ottoman ships. In essence, Nakhimov took a risk, albeit a well-calculated one. The Ottomans had good ship and coastal guns, and with appropriate leadership, the Turkish forces could inflict serious damage on the Russian squadron. However, the once formidable Ottoman navy was in decline, both in combat training and leadership. The Ottoman command itself played along with Nakhimov, placing the ships extremely inconvenient for defense. Firstly, the Ottoman squadron was located like a fan, a concave arc. As a result, the ships closed the firing sector of part of the coastal batteries. Secondly, the ships were located near the embankment itself, which did not give them the opportunity to maneuver and fire with two sides. This weakened the firepower of Osman Pasha's squadron.

Nakhimov's plan was imbued with determination and initiative. The Russian squadron in the ranks of two wake columns (the ships followed one after the other along the course line) received an order to break through to the Sinop roadstead and strike at enemy ships and batteries. The first column was commanded by Nakhimov. It included the ships "Empress Maria" (flagship), "Grand Duke Konstantin" and "Chesma". The second column was led by Novosilsky. It included "Paris" (2nd flagship), "Three Saints" and "Rostislav". The movement in two columns was supposed to reduce the time it took the ships to pass under the fire of the Turkish squadron and coastal batteries. In addition, it was facilitated by the deployment of Russian ships in battle formation when anchored. In the rearguard were frigates, which were supposed to stop the enemy's attempts to escape. The goals of all ships were also distributed in advance. At the same time, ship commanders had a certain independence in choosing targets, depending on the specific situation, while implementing the principle of mutual support.

Late 40s-early 50s. XIX century, a new conflict began to brew in the Middle East, the reason for which was the dispute between the Catholic and Orthodox clergy about "Palestinian shrines."

It was about which of the churches owns the right to own the keys to the Bethlehem temple and other Christian shrines in Palestine - at that time a province of the Ottoman Empire. In 1850, the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Jerusalem applied to the Turkish authorities for permission to repair the main dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. At the same time, the Catholic mission raised the issue of the rights of the Catholic clergy, putting forward a demand to restore the Catholic silver star taken from the Holy Manger and give them the key to the main gate of the Bethlehem Church. At first, the European public did not pay much attention to this dispute, which continued throughout 1850-52.

The initiator of the aggravation of the conflict was France, where during the revolution of 1848-1849. Louis Napoleon came to power - the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, who proclaimed himself in 1852 the emperor of the French under the name Napoleon III. He decided to use this conflict to strengthen his position within the country, enlisting the support of influential French clergy. In addition, in his foreign policy, he sought to restore the former power of Napoleonic France at the beginning of the 19th century. The new French emperor sought a small victorious war in order to strengthen his international prestige. Since that time, Russian-French relations began to deteriorate, and Nicholas I refused to recognize Napoleon III as a legitimate monarch.

Nicholas I, for his part, hoped to use this conflict for a decisive offensive against the Ottoman Empire, mistakenly believing that neither England nor France would take decisive action in its defense. However, England saw the spread of Russian influence in the Middle East as a threat to British India and entered into an anti-Russian alliance with France.

In February 1853, A.S. arrived in Constantinople on a special mission. Menshikov is the great-grandson of a famous associate. The purpose of his visit was to get the Turkish Sultan to restore all the former rights and privileges of the Orthodox community. However, his mission ended in failure, which led to a complete rupture of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. To increase pressure on the Ottoman Empire, in June the Russian army under the command of M.D. Gorchakova occupied the Danubian principalities. In October, the Turkish Sultan declared war on Russia.

On November 18, 1853, the last major battle in the history of the sailing fleet took place in the Sinop Bay on the southern coast of the Black Sea.

The Turkish squadron of Osman Pasha left Constantinople for a landing operation in the Sukhum-Kale region and made a stop in the Sinop Bay. The Russian Black Sea Fleet had the task of preventing the active actions of the enemy. The squadron under the command of Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimova, as part of three battleships, during cruising duty, discovered the Turkish squadron and blocked it in the bay. Help was requested from Sevastopol.

By the time of the battle, the Russian squadron had 6 battleships and 2 frigates, and the Turkish squadron had 7 frigates, 3 corvettes, 2 steam frigates, 2 brigs, 2 transports. The Russians had 720 guns, and the Turks - 510.

Artillery battle began Turkish ships. Russian ships managed to break through the enemy barrage, anchored and opened a devastating return fire. Especially effective were the 76 bomb cannons used for the first time by the Russians, which fired not with cannonballs, but with explosive shells. As a result of the battle, which lasted 4 hours, the entire Turkish fleet and all batteries of 26 guns were destroyed. The Turkish steamer "Taif" under the command of A. Slade, the English adviser to Osman Pasha, fled. The Turks lost more than 3 thousand people killed and drowned, about 200 people. were taken prisoner. The commander-in-chief, Osman Pasha, also ended up in Russian captivity. He, abandoned by his sailors, was rescued from the burning flagship by Russian sailors. When Nakhimov asked Osman Pasha if he had any requests, he replied: “To save me, your sailors risked their lives. I ask you to reward them with dignity." The Russians lost 37 people. killed and 235 wounded. With the victory in the Sinop Bay, the Russian fleet gained complete dominance in the Black Sea and thwarted the plans for the landing of the Turks in the Caucasus.

The defeat of the Turkish fleet was the reason for the entry into the conflict of England and France, who entered their squadrons into the Black Sea and landed troops near the Bulgarian city of Varna. In March 1854, an offensive military treaty between England, France and Turkey against Russia was signed in Istanbul (in January 1855, the Kingdom of Sardinia joined the coalition). In April 1854, the allied squadron bombarded Odessa, and in September 1854, the allied troops landed near Evpatoria. The heroic page of the Crimean War was opened - the defense of Sevastopol.