Battle of Athos. Athos naval battle Battle of Athos June 19, 1807

BATTLE OF ATHOS 1807, during the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-12. Took place during the 2nd Archipelago Expedition (see Archipelago Expeditions) in the Aegean Sea in the area of the Athos Peninsula (now Aion Oros) and the northwestern tip of the island of Lemnos between the Russian squadron of Vice Admiral D. N. Senyavin (10 battleships, 754 guns) and the Turkish fleet of Kapudan Pasha Seyit Ali (9, then 10 battleships, 5 frigates and 3 corvettes, 1196 guns). The Russian squadron blocked the Dardanelles, the Turkish fleet tried to force it to lift the blockade. Senyavin, trying to defeat the Turkish fleet in a naval battle, gave it the opportunity to leave the strait, and then cut off the path to retreat to the east. On the morning of June 19 (July 1), the Turkish fleet was discovered off the island of Lemnos. Senyavin decided to take a windward position and strike three enemy flagships with six specially designated ships. Each Turkish flagship was supposed to attack two Russian ships from a grapeshot range (about a cable length - 185 m). The remaining forces of the Russian fleet under the command of Senyavin and junior flagship A.S. Gresh were supposed to prevent the Turkish vanguard from coming to the aid of their flagships. At about 8 hours 30 minutes, 3 tactical groups of 2 ships approached the Turkish flagships at a distance of half a cable (90-100 m) and opened fire. The remaining ships of the Russian fleet surrounded the Turkish vanguard and attacked it from both sides. By 11 o'clock the first phase of the battle was over; Turkish ships, taking advantage of the leeward position, began to leave for the Athos Peninsula. By 13:30, the Russian ships ceased fire due to the ensuing calm. Soon the wind changed direction, and the Turkish ships began to retreat north in disarray, towards the island of Thassos. The damaged Turkish admiral's ship Sedd-ul-Bahr was captured by the Russians on the night of June 20 (July 2). The battleship, frigate and corvette accompanying him were cut off by Russian ships and destroyed by their crews. On the way to the Dardanelles, 2 Turkish frigates sank; a battleship and a frigate are blown up off the island of Thassos. Losses of the Turkish fleet - over 1000 people killed and wounded, 774 prisoners; Russian squadron - 250 people killed and wounded.

In the Battle of Athos, D. N. Senyavin developed the tactics of attacking a wake column by several tactical groups, developed by F. F. Ushakov, directing the main blow against the enemy’s flagships. The persistent pursuit of the retreating Turkish fleet allowed it to inflict significant losses. The Battle of Athos, together with the victories of the Russian army on the Danube and the Caucasus, forced the Ottoman Empire to sign a truce on August 12 (24).

Lit.; Shcherbachev O. A. Battle of Athos. M.; L., 1945; Russian naval art. M., 1951. S. 147-152.

On June 19, at five o'clock in the morning, enemy ships were discovered off the southwestern tip of the island of Lemnos. The Turkish squadron consisted of 10 ships, 5 frigates, 3 sloops and 2 brigs - a total of 1196 guns, one and a half times more than D.N. Senyavin. Having lined up in battle formation: the battleships made up the first line, in the center of which were the flagships, the frigates were located in the second line.

At 5.15, at a signal from the flagship, the Russian squadron headed towards the enemy. Preparing for a meeting with the Turkish fleet, D.N. Senyavin outlined his battle plan in orders to ship commanders dated May 23 and June 12. To give the battle a decisive character, Senyavin intended to take a windward position and strike at the enemy’s flagship ships. He decided to use a new tactical technique - each of the three Turkish flagships was to be attacked by two Russian ships from one side at a range of grape shot. The following were assigned to attack the Turkish flagships: “Raphael” with “Strong”, “Selafail” with “Uriel” and “Powerful” with “Yaroslav”. Thus, three pairs of ships were created, which provided the attackers with superiority in artillery fire.

The remaining ships under the command of D.N. Senyavin and junior flagship Rear Admiral A.S. Greig were, if necessary, to strengthen the attackers and prevent the ships of the Turkish vanguard from coming to the aid of their flagships.

Choosing the flagship ships of the Turks as the target of the main attack, D.N. Senyavin took into account the characteristics of the enemy: the personnel of the Turkish fleet fought well only as long as the flagship held out. At the same time, the admiral relied on the good combat and naval training of the Russian sailors and their significant superiority in this regard over the Turkish sailors.

At 7.45, the flagship signal was raised on the Tverdy: “Assigned ships to attack enemy flagships closely.” Six ships in three tactical groups on parallel courses began to descend on the enemy almost perpendicular to his battle line in order to simultaneously attack all the flagship ships. If they were moving in a wake column, the tactical deployment would take considerable time.

The remaining ships were approaching the Turkish vanguard. D.N. Senyavin sought to carry out a maneuver to cover the head of the Turkish fleet and exclude the possibility of assistance to the attacked flagships from the vanguard ships. As the Russian squadron approached, the Turks opened fire, trying to damage the sails and spars of the Russian ships in order to deprive them of maneuverability.

Our ships, without responding to it, approached the Turks in silence and, only when approaching a grape shot, opened brutal fire. Raphael was the first to approach the enemy line. He fired a salvo from all the guns on the left side (loaded with twin cannonballs) at Sayd-Ali's ship "Messudiye". However, having lost control due to damaged sails, the Rafail itself fell into the wind and cut through the enemy line between the Messoudieh and the Sed el-Bahri. He was attacked by two battleships, two frigates and a brig. “Messudiye” was already preparing to board, but the well-aimed fire of “Raphael” forced the Kapudan Pasha to retreat.

Following the Raphael, the remaining ships of the attacking group entered the battle, acting against the enemy ships assigned to them. "Uriel" was forced to transfer fire from "Sed-el-Bahri" to "Messudieh" to replace "Raphael". By 9 o'clock "Selafail", "Strong", "Powerful" and "Yaroslav" took their places against the three Turkish flagships. From a range of grapeshot and even a rifle shot, with well-aimed fire they inflicted serious damage on their sails and hit the personal remains of the Turkish ships. At the same time, “Selafail” fought one-on-one with “Sed-el-Bahri” for almost an hour.

Around 9 o'clock D.N. Senyavin on the Tverdy, and after him the other three ships of his group - Skory, Retvizan and St. Elena" - went to the head of the Turkish fleet. The “Solid”, having shot down a Turkish frigate that had moved forward, blocked the path of the lead ship and fired a longitudinal salvo at it almost point-blank. Having received damage, the Turkish ship began to drift and thereby stopped the movement of all other ships. Thus, the maneuver of enveloping the head of the enemy fleet was completely carried out.

Having rounded the lead Turkish ship, D.N. Senyavin went to the aid of the Rafail, which by this time had repaired its damage and, having caught up with the Turkish vanguard, fired from both sides. The actions of Tverdoy and the rest of the ships of Senyavin’s group led to the fact that the tour vanguard was put on two fires. The heavily damaged vanguard ships descended into the wind, breaking formation. Having brought to the wind, the "Solid" blocked the path of the Turkish flagships and fired a longitudinal salvo under the bow of the "Sed-el-Bahri", which had previously suffered from the fire of the "Selafail" and "Uriel".

Encouraged by the example of the flagship, the subordinates tried to outdo each other: the battle spread along the entire line, some ships fought at pistol range and repaired their damage without stopping the battle. So, for example, on the ship “Selafail” (commander P.M. Rozhnov), in the very heat of battle, under strong grapeshot fire, the tops-yard was changed.

Unable to withstand the fire of Russian ships, the Turkish flagship Messudiye veered towards the west at about 10 o'clock. At a signal from D.N. Senyavin's "Strong" rushed after him, entering the thick of the enemy fleet and fighting back on both sides.

On the ship "Yaroslav" all the running rigging was broken and control of the sails was lost. The ship turned to port tack, and it began to diverge from the Turkish squadron on counter courses, but did not stop the battle. Passing three Turkish ships of the enemy rearguard and two frigates, he energetically fired at them. At the same time, the crew repaired the damage. The Turks tried to destroy a Russian ship that had separated from the squadron. A battleship and a frigate tried to attack him, but Yaroslav forced them to retreat with grapeshot fire. After which he turned to port tack and went to join his squadron.

By 11 o'clock, three and a half hours from the start of the battle, thanks to the successful action of artillery and the skillful maneuvering of our ships, the enemy's battle formation was completely disrupted. Turkish ships, taking advantage of the leeward position, began to leave for the Athos Peninsula. At about 12 o'clock the ships of the Turkish rearguard tried to assist their flagships, but the Tverdy stopped them with longitudinal fire from the starboard side. By 13:00 the wind died down and at 13:30 the Russian ships ceased fire; both squadrons, having stopped the battle, were in disarray near the Athos Peninsula.

A.P. Bogolyubov. Battle of Athos

The Russian ships received serious damage in a stubborn battle, and D.N. Senyavin ordered them to be urgently corrected, hoping to resume the battle.

After 14 o'clock the west wind began to blow. Taking advantage of this, the Turks set into a steep bydewind and began to move away to the north.

The heavily damaged Sed el-Bahri and the battleship and two frigates escorting it headed for the Gulf of Aion Oros. D.N. Senyavin sent “Selafail” and “Uriel” in pursuit. On the night of June 20, Sed el-Bahri was captured off the Athos peninsula by Selafail. When the Russian ship appeared, the ships accompanying the Turkish flagship abandoned the damaged ship and went deep into the bay to the island of Nikolinda. "Selafail" took "Sed-el-Bahri" in tow and led it towards the squadron.

To pursue and destroy the ship and frigates that had taken refuge in the Gulf of Aion Oros, Senyavin sent the ships “Retvizan”, “Strong”, “Uriil” and “St. Elena" under the command of A.S. Greig. On the morning of June 21, seeing the hopelessness of their situation, not daring to engage in battle, the ship and both frigates ran aground and, after bringing the teams ashore, were burned by the Turks themselves.

The enemy's losses in the Battle of Athos were not limited to this. Heavily damaged by our artillery fire, the ship and frigate could not stay at sea and were burned by the Turks themselves off the island of Tino, and two frigates sank off the island of Samothraki. In total, the Turks lost 3 battleships, 4 frigates and a corvette. The remaining surviving ships were heavily damaged. The extent of the Turks' loss in people can be judged by the fact that on the captured ship, out of 800 crew members, 230 were killed and 160 were wounded. Our ships also suffered significantly, receiving extensive damage to the hull and mast, but the total number of killed and wounded on all ships of the squadron did not exceed 200 people. Among those killed in the Battle of Athos was the commander of the ship "Raphael", captain 1st rank D.A. Lukin, famous for his extraordinary strength.

The 74-gun battleship Selafail is towed by the Turkish admiral's 80-gun battleship Sed-el-Bahri, which he took.

If the Russian squadron had continued to pursue the Turks, their defeat would have been complete. The news of the dangerous situation of the garrison of the fortress on the island of Tenedos, attacked by a strong Turkish landing force, forced D.N. Senyavin, instead of pursuing the defeated enemy fleet, rush to Tenedos, where he headed after the return of the A.C. detachment. Greig. But due to contrary winds, he arrived at the island only on June 25. If the squadron had not arrived in time, the garrison would not have been able to hold the island longer. Russian ships surrounded Tenedos. Avoiding bloodshed, the admiral, having entered into negotiations with the chief of the Turkish troops, invited the Turks to surrender on the condition that the disarmed Turkish troops would be transported to the Anatolian coast. The Turkish commander accepted the conditions, and on June 28, about 5,000 Turks were transported ashore, all siege guns and weapons were surrendered to the Russians, and the fortress was blown up.

The British, who have not yet provided any assistance to D.N. Senyavin, they now agreed with joint forces to launch an attack on the Turkish fleet stationed in the Dardanelles. On June 29, an English squadron under the command of Lord Collingwood arrived at Tenedos. For a whole month, the squadrons stood nearby while negotiations took place in Tilsit between Alexander I and Napoleon. On August 1, both squadrons moved to the island of Imbros with the goal of attacking the Turks in the Dardanelles. But on August 12, the corvette “Kherson” delivered D.N. Senyavin's rescript from Alexander I on the cessation of hostilities against Turkey, sent from Tilsit on June 16. And on June 25, the Peace of Tilsit was concluded between Russia and France. The inevitable consequence of the alliance with France was Russia's joining the continental blockade, which made us expect an early break with England, in which the position of our squadron in the Archipelago would become extremely dangerous. On August 28, squadron D.N. Senyavina left the Archipelago for Corfu. The Treaty of Tilsit did not allow the Russian government to take advantage of the victories of D.N.’s squadron. Senyavin over the Turkish fleet.

The defeat of the Turkish fleet and the successes of the Russian army on land forced the Turkish government to begin peace negotiations, which ended with the signing of a truce on August 12, 1807.

Plan
Introduction
1 Battle
2 Strengths of the parties
2.1 Russian Empire
2.2 Ottoman Empire

Bibliography

Introduction

The Battle of Athos, also known as the Battle of Mount Athos and the Battle of Lemnos, took place on June 19, 1807, off the Athos peninsula in the Aegean Sea as part of the Second Archipelago Expedition campaign of the Russian fleet during the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812. During the battle, the Russian squadron of Vice Admiral D.N. Senyavin (10 battleships, 754 guns) attacked and defeated the Turkish squadron of Kapudan Pasha Seyit-Ali (10 battleships, 5 frigates, 3 sloops and 2 brigs, 1196 guns). Turkish losses: 3 battleships, 4 frigates and 1 sloop.

1. Battle

For a month after the defeat of the Turkish fleet at the Battle of the Dardanelles, the Russian fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Senyavin maneuvered, trying to lure the enemy out of the straits. Finally, on June 15, taking advantage of the fact that the Russian squadron was delayed near the island of Imbros by weak winds, the Ottoman fleet moved out of the straits to the island of Tenedos, a temporary Russian base in the Aegean Sea, and landed troops there. For two days, ships and troops stormed the coastal fortifications of the island, but on June 17, the sails of the Russian squadron appeared on the horizon.

Trying to avoid battle and distracting the fleet from Tenedos, the Turkish squadron circled it from the south and rushed to the west. Senyavin, leaving small ships to help the fortress, set out to search for the enemy and discovered him on June 19 in an unsettled position at anchor between the island of Lemnos and Mount Athos.

From past experience, Senyavin knew that the Turks fight bravely unless their flagship is sunk or captured, since in the Ottoman Empire the death penalty was imposed for leaving the battle before the flagship. Therefore, he concentrated all the fire on the Turkish flagships. By evening the enemy began to retreat, avoiding battle. In distress was the 2nd flagship of the Turkish squadron, the ship of Captain Bey Bekir Bey, on which all the yards and all the sails were shot down, and which was in tow behind a battleship and two frigates. However, upon seeing the Russian squadron, these ships abandoned the tow and fled, abandoning the admiral's ship, which was boarded.

On the morning of June 20, it was discovered that the entire Turkish squadron, having caught a fair wind, was moving north to the island of Thassos, and the battleship and two frigates (previously helping the captain-bey’s ship) were cut off from it by the Russian squadron. On June 21, Senyavin sent Rear Admiral Greig with three battleships in pursuit of the latter, but the Turkish sailors threw their ships ashore and set them on fire. At dawn on June 22, another battleship and a frigate exploded in the retreating Turkish squadron, and two damaged frigates sank off the island of Samothraki. Of the 20 Turkish ships, only 12 returned to the Dardanelles.

On June 23, Senyavin decided to no longer pursue the enemy and return to the aid of besieged Tenedos. However, due to headwinds and calm conditions, I arrived there only on the 25th. The Turkish landing surrendered and, leaving all their cannons and weapons, was transported to the Anatolian coast.

As a result of the battle, the Ottoman Empire lost its combat-ready fleet for more than a decade and agreed to sign a truce on August 12.

2. Strengths of the parties

2.1. Russian empire

Battleships:

First line:

· Rafail 84

· Selafail 74

· Powerful 74

· Solid 74 (flagship)

· Fast 74

Second line:

· Strong 74

· Uriel 84

· Yaroslav 74

· Retvizan 64 (2nd flagship)

· St. Helena 74

Total 754 guns

2.2. Ottoman Empire

Name in Turkish	Name in Russian	Number of guns	Comments
Battleships
Messudiye	Majesty Sultan		Flagship
Sedd Al-Bahr	Marine stronghold		2nd flagship. Captured
Ankay-Y Bahri	Majesty of the sea
Taus and Bahri	Sea bird
Tenfik-Nyuma	Good way sign
Besharesh	Happy news		Washed ashore
Kilid-I Bahri	Sea Key
Sayad-I Bahri	Sea fisherman
Galbank-i-Nusret	Happy
Hibet-Andaz	Intrepid
Frigates
Meskenzi-Gazi	Champ de Mars
Bedr-i-Zafar	Winner
Fakh-e-Zafar	Sailor
Nessim	Light wind		Washed ashore
Iskenderiye	Alexandria
Sloops
Metelin			Washed ashore
Rekhber-i-Alim
Brigs
Alamit-i-Nusret
Melankay
Total		1196

In addition to these losses, 1 battleship and 3 frigates sunk off the islands of Thassos and Samothraki are also mentioned.

Bibliography:

1. M. Sat., 1855, No. 10, pp. 397-399; Bronevsky Notes, part III, pp. 104-110; O. Shcherbachev. Battle of Athos, pp. 40-52.

2. Notes of a naval officer in the continuation of the campaign in the Mediterranean under the command of Vice Admiral Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin. Volume 3. St. Petersburg. 1836

3. Naval wars in the Levant 1559-1853 (1952) - R. C. Anderson. ISBN 1-57898-538-2

Prehistory To the beginning of hostilities of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea in 1805-1807
years, the situation in Europe was extremely tense. Aggressive policy
Napoleon I, which threatened the independence of many European states, and
also Russia's interests in the Balkans and the Mediterranean, led to
the formation in 1805 of a new anti-French coalition, which included
Russia also entered. To prevent further expansion of the French
aggression in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as within the framework of the Russian-Turkish war
1806-1812, the government of Alexander I sent from St. Petersburg to the island. Corfu squadron under the command of Admiral D.N. Senyavina,
one of the most outstanding students and associates of F.F. Ushakova.

O. Corfu

Leaving on about. Corfu is part of the fleet for the defense of the Ionian Islands and
actions on enemy sea lanes in the Adriatic Sea,
Admiral Senyavin with a squadron consisting of 10 battleships and one
frigate, on February 10, 1807, headed for the Dardanelles. Considering
changed situation and insufficient forces to break through
Dardanelles, Senyavin abandoned the previously planned plan of action and
assigned the fleet the task of establishing a blockade of the Dardanelles in order to deprive
Constantinople supply of food from the Mediterranean Sea,
force the Turkish fleet into a decisive battle and defeat it. For this
a temporary base of the Russian fleet was created on the island. Tenedos.

O. Tenedos

The Turkish government demanded more decisive action from its fleet
actions, since the Turkish capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul), was strongly
depended on sea supplies. So on May 10, 1807 (2 months after
beginning of the blockade) the Dardanelles naval battle took place, in which
Turkish squadron (8 battleships, 6 frigates and 55 auxiliaries
ships) under the command of Seita Ali left the strait with the intention
to land troops on the island of Tenedos. Senyavin advanced towards
Turkish fleet, and after several hours of battle, victory went to
Russian, the Turkish fleet was forced to take refuge in the Dartanelles. 3rd strong
damaged Turkish battleships were pursued by Sinyavin,
however, the fire of coastal batteries and darkness forced him to stop
the pursuit. The next event was the Battle of Athos, which happened
a month after the events described above.

Battle of Athos

Carrying out a close blockade of the Dardanelles, Senyavin knew that sooner or
late the Turkish fleet will enter the Aegean Sea and try to remove the Russian
blockade Therefore, he developed a plan for the upcoming battle in advance
with the Turkish fleet and in accordance with it prepared his squadron for
battle. Fearing that the Turks, avoiding a decisive battle, would again go into
Strait, Senyavin, leaving on the island. Tenedos to assist the garrison several
ships and went west on June 14. That is, he demonstratively weakened his
strength from o. Tenedos.

The Turks decided to take advantage of this and capture the base with the help of landing forces.
Russian fleet. On June 10, the Turkish squadron left the Dardanelles and landed
landing on the island Tenedos. However, Sinyavin took a position with Fr. Imroz, blocking
the Turks had an escape route to the Dardanelles. Over the course of two days, ships and troops
stormed the coastal fortifications of the island, but on June 17 on the horizon
the sails of the Russian squadron appeared. Trying to avoid battle and distracting
fleet from Tenedos, the Turkish squadron rounded it from the south and
rushed west. Senyavin, leaving small ships to help the fortress,
set out in search of the enemy and discovered him on the morning of June 19 at
unsettled position at anchor between o. Lemnos and Mount Athos.

Exit June 17, 1807 Sinyavina from the island. Imroz
to help the defenders on the island. Tenedos
Exit 10 June 1807
Turkish squadron from the Dardanelles with
subsequent attempt to land troops
Search
enemy Sinyavin's demonstrative departure to
Sinyaev West June 14, 1807
Athos
Location
Turkish squadron
on the morning of June 19
(place of Athos
battles)
O. Tenedos
O. Lemnos
An attempt by the Turks to avoid battle

Interesting fact: Senyavin knew from past experience that the Turks
fight bravely unless their flagship is sunk or captured, so
how in the Ottoman Empire there was a death penalty for leaving the battle before the flagship
execution.
Therefore, he concentrated all the fire on the Turkish flagships. TO
In the evening the enemy began to retreat, avoiding battle. In distress
there was the 2nd flagship of the Turkish squadron, the ship of Captain Bey Bekir Bey, on
which had all the yards and all the sails knocked down, and which was being towed behind
a battleship and two frigates. However, seeing the Russian squadron, these
the ships abandoned the tow, and they themselves took flight, abandoning the admiral's
a ship that was boarded. In general, the Turks suffered
heavy defeat.

From the morning of June 20 to June 23, Sinyavin pursued the remnants of the Turkish fleet, and
He stopped it in order to return to the besieged island on June 25. Tenedos and
force the Turkish landing force to capitulate.

In the Battle of Athos, old opponents met. As part of the Russian
the squadron had 10 battleships armed with 754
guns. The Turkish squadron, commanded by Seyit Ali, numbered 10
battleships, 5 frigates, 3 corvettes and 2 auxiliary vessels and had
1196 guns. Thus, the Turkish fleet in terms of the number of ships and
the number of artillery significantly exceeded the Russian squadron. But
Russian sailors were superior to the Turks in the art of maneuvering,
the use of artillery and had higher morale and combat
qualities.

As a result of the battle, the Ottoman Empire lost more than a decade
combat-ready fleet. The Athos victory strengthened the position of the Russian fleet on
Mediterranean Sea and made it possible to strengthen the blockade of the Dardanelles. Destruction
Turkish fleet and the successes of the Russian army on land forced Turkey on August 12
1807 sign the terms of the truce.

And finally, a couple of facts that will lengthen my already long
presentation:
-Senyavin ordered the ship commanders to fight at grapeshot range
shot to make the most efficient use of artillery, and for
of the first salvo, which was especially important in battle, load the guns with two
cores. The order drew attention to the fact that ships fired at
spars and sails, if the enemy is on the move, and when he is anchored
- on the body.
- The Battle of Athos is characterized by bold and skillful actions
the entire personnel of the Russian squadron. For the heroism shown in him it was
Over 3 thousand sailors were awarded. Especially among ship commanders
Captains 1st rank Lukin ("Rafail"), Mitkov ("Yaroslav"), Rozhkov distinguished themselves
("Selafail").

Sources: Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
http://sailhistory.ru/

The Battle of Athos is a naval battle that took place on June 18, 1807 off the Athos peninsula. It was part of the Russian naval campaign during the Russian-Turkish War of 1806-1812. Thanks to skillful and courageous actions, the Russian squadron under the command of Admiral D.N. Senyavin completely defeated the Turkish fleet, lifted the siege from the island of Tenedos and strengthened its positions in the Mediterranean Sea.

Preconditions for the conflict and the strengths of the parties

The Russian-Turkish War of 1806-1812 was a confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, the cause of which was Turkey’s non-compliance with the diplomatic treaties signed with Russia. According to them, the Turks were forbidden to interfere in the internal affairs of Moldavia and Wallachia. Russia's victory in this war was predetermined by successful land and sea battles.

The decisive episode of the struggle at sea was the Battle of Athos. The Russian squadron, led by Admiral Senyavin, blocked the Dardanelles Strait in order to isolate the enemy's capital, Constantinople, and force the Turks to engage in a naval battle. A base was created in the Aegean Sea - the island of Denedos, located just ten miles from the Dardanelles Strait. The Turks' attempts to lift the blockade turned into a major battle with the Russian fleet: Senyavin's calculation to lure the enemy out completely worked.

Admiral Senyavin had ten battleships armed with 754 guns. The Turkish fleet outnumbered the Russian in the number of ships and artillery - under the command of Seyit-Ali there were ten battleships, five frigates, three corvettes and two brigs, all with about 1,196 guns. The Russian fleet, in turn, could counter the better training and moral qualities of its sailors.

Battle

Senyavin understood that by blockading the Dardanelles, sooner or later he would lure the Turkish fleet into the sea and it would try to lift the blockade. Based on this, a plan for the future battle was developed in advance. According to it, it was planned to concentrate the main blow on the enemy’s flagship ships, forcing them to withdraw from the battle. According to the laws of the Ottoman Empire, retreat before the loss of the flagship was punishable by death. This had a positive effect on the courage and bravery of the Turks at the beginning of the battle, but after the loss of the flagship their morale sharply evaporated. Senyavin divided the Russian fleet into two main groups, one of which, consisting of six ships, was supposed to attack three enemy flagships, and the second, which included the remaining four ships, was to ensure the attack of the main group, limiting the rest of the enemy fleet as much as possible. Such tactics required, first of all, impeccable training of the crews, since it was necessary to competently maneuver in a very narrow space.

When preparations for the battle were completed, Senyavin at the beginning of June 1807 deliberately withdrew most of the Russian fleet from the island of Tenedos. The trick worked and already on the 15th the Turkish squadron landed its troops at the island, intending to capture it. The Russian admiral, in turn, cut off the retreat routes for the Turks and on June 19 entered into battle with them near the island of Lemnos and Mount Athos.

As planned, the main attack of Russian ships was aimed at the enemy’s flagships. By evening, having received significant damage, the Turkish fleet began to retreat. As a result of the pursuit, the Russian ships managed to disable some of the Turkish ships; the Turks destroyed some of them on their own due to too much damage.

Results of the battle

The enemy's losses amounted to six ships and about a thousand personnel, another 774 Turks were captured. Not a single ship was lost on the Russian side, the number of killed and wounded was about 250 people.
The victory in the Battle of Athos allowed Russia to strengthen the blockade of the Dardanelles and significantly influenced the overall outcome of the war. The Ottoman Empire lost its combat-ready fleet for a whole decade and was forced to sign the truce proposed to it.