Turning over the pages of the past, it can be noted that the history of the Russian fleet began back in the days of the first princes of Russia. But the first use of ships in military confrontations with Byzantium, and later with Sweden, were unsuccessful for the Russian state.
Only with Russia's access to the Baltic and Black Seas was it possible to create a powerful fleet capable of winning victories over strong sea powers. Undoubtedly, the great victories of the Russian fleet entered world history and became the pride of many generations of Russians.
Battle of Kotlin Island
This naval battle, which became one of the episodes of the Swedish-Russian war of 1656-1658, can rightfully be considered the first victory of the Russian naval forces. The battle began on the morning of July 22, 1656 near the island of Kotlin, which lies on the expanses of the Gulf of Finland.
Pyotr Potemkin commanded the Russian forces, Irek Dalsfire commanded the Swedish galleys. During the battle, the Russians captured the Swedish galley, Dalsfire himself, 8 Swedes and banners were captured.
But the general war was lost, and under the treaty, Russia was losing part of the territory, and the ships were burned.
Gangut battle
The young fleet, created by the efforts of the people and Peter I, underwent a real test during the naval confrontations of the Northern War, where Russia fought for the right to go to the Baltic with Sweden.
For the first time, the naval forces of the two states clashed at Cape Gangut on July 27, 1714. Commander Fedor Apraksin skillfully positioned the ships, which made it possible to capture a strategic advantage from the very first hours of the battle.
Many historians agree that it was the victory at Gangut that became the first big victory of the Russian fleet.
The battle of Grengam
The last naval battle of the Northern War, which occurred on July 27, 1720 off the coast of the island of Grengam, also remained with the Russian fleet.
The Swedish fleet, supported by England, unexpectedly approached the Russian ships at dawn, and began a massive shelling of 156 guns. Commander Mikhail Golitsin took his galleys into shallow water, where more maneuverable Russian ships managed to burn 4 Swedish frigates.
After the defeat at Grengam, Sweden finally lost its superiority in the Baltic, and the Russian victory itself brought closer the signing of a peace favorable to it.
Chesme battle
The battle in Chesme Bay became a key naval battle in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. Near the bay, both Turkey and Russia concentrated their main naval forces.
The battle began in the early morning of July 24, 1770, when, after the rapprochement of the fleets, the Turks began to actively shell Russian ships. The first day of the battle remained with the Turks, but on July 25 and 26, Russian ships managed to burn the main forces of the Turkish flotilla.
The total losses of Turkey amounted to 6 frigates and 15 battleships, and Russia did not count 1 battleship and four firewalls.
Rochensalm battles
In total, two battles took place between the Swedish and Russian flotillas at the Rochensalm fortress city.
In the first, which took place on August 13, 1789, 49 Swedish ships entered into a raid in order not to miss Russian ships. The Russian commander, Vice Admiral Karl Heinrich Nassau-Siegen, made the decision to attack the Swedes on the move, which brought success. The Swedish fleet lost 39 ships, with two sunk at Russia.
But in the second battle at the same place the Swedes won, which forced the Russian state to sign the unfavorable terms of the peace agreement.
Battle at the Kerch Strait
The Turkish squadron left Turkey to land a large landing force in the Crimea. Towards the Turks, a squadron advanced under the command of the great Russian naval commander Fedor Ushakov, and on July 8, 1790, the forces of the parties converged at Kerch.
During the battle, the Turks, having lost one warship, managed to save the landing craft. Skillful actions of Russian sailors forced Turkish ships to retreat to the western coast of Crimea.
The victory thwarted Turkish plans to capture the Crimean coast and develop a further offensive inland.
The Battle of Cape Tendra
The Russian Black Sea flotilla in the Russo-Turkish war was commanded by Fedor Ushakov, and at Cape Tendra two squadrons on August 28 and 29, 1790 took part in the largest battle.
Turkey flatly refused to recognize the annexation of Crimea to the territory of Russia. The appearance of the Russian fleet caused confusion among the Turks, and their ships in a hurry began to retreat to the mouth of the Danube.
Russian ships immediately attacked the Turks, and forced most of the ships to leave the battle. By the evening of August 29, the outcome of the battle was decided in favor of the Russian flotilla. Without losses in the composition of the ships, Russian sailors destroyed 2 ships, and one battleship was captured.
The Battle of Kaliakri
In the last naval battle of the Russo-Turkish war, which ended with the signing of the Iasi Peace, Russian and Turkish warships converged at Cape Kaliakra. The battle off the coast of Northern Bulgaria took place on July 31, 1791
The Turks, who had superiority in manpower and numerical superiority in ships, failed to take revenge for the defeat of Tendra, and were completely defeated. Fedor Ushakov, using the wind, undertook a maneuver, which later went into all textbooks on tactics and strategy of naval battles.
The scattered Turkish squadrons could not concentrate aimed fire, and the flagship Said Ali was flooded.
The feat of the brig "Mercury"
One of the significant events of Russian military history, when in a naval battle one ship was able to prevail over two linear Turkish ships.
The captain of the Mercury brig Alexander Kazarsky, on May 26, 1829, having seen two Turkish ships, decided to join the battle. With a successful maneuver, the Mercury avoided severe damage from an enemy salvo, and the return volley in the first minutes of the battle disabled the Turkish Selimiye.
The second ship, Real Bay, was forced to drift due to the resulting holes. On the brig during the battle, 4 sailors were killed and 6 wounded, and the ship itself received 22 hull holes.
Sinop battle
The victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish in the Battle of Sinop on November 18, 1853 went down in the history of naval confrontations as the last big battle of sailing ships.
The Russian squadron was commanded by the glorious Russian naval commander Pavel Nakhimov, who decided to attack the Turks with two columns, which predetermined success. Having lost 7 frigates and 2 corvettes, Turkish ships raised flags about surrender.
It was after this battle that Pavel Nakhimov was awarded the rank of admiral, and was also awarded the Order of St. George of the 2nd degree, and the victory entered the textbooks with a glorious page.
For a better understanding of history, we note that the dates of the battles are given according to the old Julian calendar, so we add 13 days to the indicated dates. So we get that the victory at Gangut was on August 9, which is the Day of Military Glory of the Russian Navy.
From the time of Peter to the present day, the Russian naval forces are considered the strongest in the world, confirming their superiority in modern local military conflicts, and carrying combat duty on the sea borders of the Russian Federation.
Article author: Valery Skiba