"Everyone's life belongs to the Fatherland, and not daring, but only true courage brings him benefit."
- Admiral P. Nakhimov
The Sinop naval battle took place on November 18 (30), 1853 between the Russian squadron under the command of Admiral P. S. Nakhimov and a Turkish squadron under the command of Osman Pasha, during the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856. The battle took place in the harbor of Sinop. The battle was won by a Russian squadron. This was the last major battle of the sailing era.
Crimean War of 1853-1856 went down in Russian history as a symbol of one of the most difficult defeats, but at the same time it gave the clearest examples of the unprecedented courage that was shown by Russian soldiers and sailors. And this war began with one of the most outstanding victories of the Russian fleet. It was the defeat of the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Sinop. The large Turkish fleet was defeated in a few hours. However, the same battle served as a pretext for Great Britain and France to declare war on Russia and turned the Crimean War into one of the hardest tests for the people and the government.
Background
On the eve of the war with Turkey, Vice Admiral F. S. Nakhimov with a squadron, which included 84 cannon battleships "Empress Maria", "Chesma" and "Rostislav", was sent by Prince Menshikov to cruise to the shores of Anatolia. The reason for this was information that the Turks in Sinop are preparing forces for the landing at Sukhum and Poti. And in fact, approaching Sinop, Nakhimov saw in the bay a large detachment of Turkish ships protected by six coastal batteries. Then he decided to closely block the port, so that later, upon arrival of reinforcements from Sevastopol, to attack the enemy fleet. 1853, November 16 - the squadron of Rear Admiral F. M. Novosilsky - 120-gun battleships "Paris", "Great Duke Constantine" and "Three Saints", as well as frigates "Cahul" and "Kulevchi".
Squadron commanders: 1) P. S. Nakhimov; 2) Osman Pasha.
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Battle plan
Admiral Nakhimov decided to attack the enemy fleet in two columns: in the first, closest to the Turks, the ships of Nakhimov, in the second - Novosilsky. The frigates needed to observe the Turkish steamers under sail in order to prevent the possibility of their breakthrough. The consular houses and the city in general decided to spare as much as possible, concentrating artillery fire only on ships and batteries. For the first time, it was supposed to use 68-pound bombing guns.
The course of the battle
The battle of Sinop began on November 18, 1853 at 12:30 and lasted until 17:00. First, the Turkish naval artillery and coastal batteries subjected the attacking Russian squadron, which was entering the Sinop raid, to fierce fire. The enemy fired from a fairly close range, but Nakhimov's ships responded to the heavy enemy fire only after taking advantageous positions. It was then that the absolute superiority of the Russian artillery was revealed.
The Turks fired mainly at the spars and sails, which sought to hinder the advance of Russian ships into the roadstead and force Nakhimov to abandon the attack.
The battleship "Empress Maria" was bombarded with shells, most of its spars and standing rigging were destroyed, only one cable remained intact at the mainmast. But the Russian flagship moved forward and, acting with battle fire on Turkish ships, anchored against the enemy flagship 44-gun frigate Auni-Allah. After a half-hour battle "Auni-Allah", unable to withstand the crushing fire of Russian cannons, threw itself ashore. Then the Russian battleship turned its fire on the 44-gun frigate Fazli-Allah, which soon caught fire and also washed ashore. After that, the actions of the flagship "Empress Maria" were concentrated on the enemy coastal battery number 5.
The battleship "Grand Duke Constantine", anchored, opened heavy fire on battery No. 4 and the 60-gun frigates "Navek-Bahri" and "Nesimi-Zefer". The first was blown up 20 minutes later, showered with debris and bodies of the killed Turks on battery No. 4, which then almost ceased to function; the second was thrown ashore by the wind when its anchor chain was broken by a cannonball.
The battleship Chesma, with the fire of its guns, demolished batteries No. 3 and No. 4. The battleship Paris, anchored, opened battle fire on battery No. 5, the corvette Gyuli-Sefid with twenty-two cannons and a 56-gun frigate " Damiad ". Then, blowing up the corvette and throwing the frigate ashore, it began to hit the 64-gun frigate "Nizamie", the fore- and mizzen-masts of which were shot down by bombardment, and the ship itself drifted to the shore, where it soon caught fire. Then "Paris" again began to fire at battery No. 5.
The battleship "Three Saints" entered the battle with the frigates "Kaidi-Zefer" and "Nizamie". The first enemy shots broke the spring, and the ship, turning in the wind, was subjected to accurate longitudinal fire from battery No. 6, while its spar was badly damaged. But, again turning the stern, he very successfully began to operate on the "Kaidi-Zefer" and other Turkish ships forcing them to withdraw to the shore. The battleship "Rostislav", covering the "Three Saints", concentrated fire on battery No. 6 and on the 24-gun corvette "Feyze-Meabud" and was able to throw the corvette ashore.
At 13.30, the Russian steamship-frigate "Odessa" appeared from behind the cape under the flag of Adjutant General Vice-Admiral V. A. Kornilov, accompanied by the steam-frigates "Khersones" and "Crimea". These ships immediately entered the battle, which, however, was already approaching the end, because the forces of the Turks were very weak. Batteries No. 5 and No. 6 were still firing at the Russian ships until 16:00, but the Paris and Rostislav were able to destroy them. Meanwhile, the rest of the Turkish ships, lit, apparently, by their crews, took off one by one. From which a fire spread in the city, which there was no one to extinguish.
At about 14 o'clock the Turkish 22-gun steamer "Taif", on which was Mushaver Pasha, was able to break out of the line of Turkish ships, suffering a severe defeat, and took flight. Moreover, of the entire Turkish squadron, only this ship had two ten-inch bombing guns. Taking advantage of the speed advantage, "Taif" was able to get away from the Russian ships and report to Istanbul about the complete destruction of the Turkish squadron.
Losses of the parties
In the Battle of Sinop, the Turks lost 15 of the 16 ships and more than 3000 people killed and wounded out of 4500 who took part in the battle. About 200 people were taken prisoner, including the commander of the Turkish fleet Osman Pasha, who was wounded in the leg, and the commanders of two ships. The losses of the Russians amounted to 37 people killed and 233 wounded, 13 guns were knocked out and disabled on the ships, there was serious damage to the hull, rigging and sails.
Sinop. Night after the battle November 18, 1853 (I. Aivazovsky).
Outcome
The defeat of the Turkish squadron in the Battle of Sinop significantly weakened the Turkish naval forces in the Black Sea, the dominance of which passed completely to the Russians. Plans for a Turkish landing on the coast of the Caucasus were also thwarted. This battle, moreover, was the last major battle in history of the era of the sailing fleet. The time for steam ships was coming. However, this same outstanding victory caused extreme discontent in England, frightened by such significant successes of the Russian fleet. The result of this was the union of two great European powers, England and France, against Russia. The war, which began as a Russian-Turkish war, in early 1854 turned into a fierce Crimean War.
After this battle, the head of the 5th Fleet Division, P. S. Nakhimov, was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, but this time Menshikov refused to submit him to the admiral's rank, because the direct consequence of the Sinop victory should have been the intervention of allied forces in the war. … And Nakhimov himself said: "The British will see that we are really dangerous to them at sea, and believe me, they will use every effort to destroy the Black Sea Fleet." Later, Nakhimov was awarded the title of admiral. The captain of the battleship "Paris" V. I. Istomin was promoted to rear admiral.
The fears of the leadership of the Black Sea Fleet came true: the destruction of a part of the city of Sinop actually served as a pretext for war. In September 1854, a huge allied Anglo-French army will land in the Crimea to destroy the fleet and its base - the city of Sevastopol.