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Battle of Kinburn (1787)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Kinburn was fought on 1 October 1787 as part of the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792.
A weak fortress, Kinburn was located opposite Ochakov on a sand bank forming a part of the Dnieper river delta
. It covered approaches to the Kherson
fleet base. The reason for the Ottoman attack on Kinburn was to deprive the enemy of a base for the siege of Ochakov
and Kherson fleet base.
, commanding the Russian garrison
, had 19 bronze and 300 iron artillery
pieces in the fortress, weak in power and range, 1,500 infantry in Kinburne and 2,500 infantry, 28 regimental and 10 field guns, and Cossack cavalry within 30 verst
s (roughly 50 kilometers) from the fortress.
The Ottomans had three 60 gun ships of the line, four 34 gun frigates, four bomb
vessels (floating batteries), and 14 gunboats with 4 guns each. Altogether, about 400 guns. The Ottoman troops were carried by 23 transport vessels.
, a Russian galley "Desna" which was part of a force of two frigates and four galleys (themselves a part of Admiral Mordvinov's flotilla
), intervened on the initiative of its Maltese
captain, and drove off the Ottoman gunboats. On the 29 and 30 September bombardment of Kinburn was conducted from the Ottoman ships again. On 1 October 1787 at 9 in the morning an amphibious landing of 6,000 troops was conducted on two separate sites (5,300 on the bank's 'tongue' itself, and the rest 10-15 versts away at a village of Bienka), with the fleet
supporting the landing with fire. The pasha
of Ochakov ordered the ships to leave after the landing so that the amphibious landing force would not contemplate withdrawal
. The landing force begun to dig a total of 15 trenches, in the attempt to move closer to Kinburn.
Suvorov called for reinforcement
(2,500 infantry and Cossacks) and waited, while being occupied with public prayer in the church (Celebration of the Covering), receiving dispatches and messages in the church.
with 1,500 soldiers of the Orlov infantry
and Schlisselburg grenadier regiments. Those attacking troops took 10 of the 15 trenches, but under flank fire of the Ottoman fleet they were forced to retreat to the fortress. Suvorov himself was wounded in the side and left hand, and was saved only through the courage of Stepan Novikov, a grenadier of the Schlisselburg grenadier regiment
.
At 16.00 hours Russian reinforcements approached and Suvorov repeated his attack, after releasing Cossack
s to attack around the left flank
of the enemy over the shoals and into their rear. This attack was successful, and Turks were forced out from the trenches and forced against the coast, forcing the fleet to cease fire in order not to hit its own troops. Suvorov had two horses shot under him. The regimental guns were able to fire canister
at point blank range
causing fearful carnage among the Turks.
At night 600 Turk survivors of the landing returned on board the ships by rowed boats. Several hundred hid in the reeds, and were attacked by Cossacks on the following morning. Russian losses were 2 officers and 136 others killed and 17 officers and 300 others wounded, and those of the Turk - about 4000, including two French officers dressed as Turks which were sent to Siberia.
In Suvorov's report the Schlisselburg regiment is particularly noted for bravery.
For the Kinburn victory Catherine the Great awarded Suvorov with the Order of St.Andrew and the highest praise, where she wrote: “You deserved it by faith and by faithfulness".
A weak fortress, Kinburn was located opposite Ochakov on a sand bank forming a part of the Dnieper river delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
. It covered approaches to the Kherson
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
fleet base. The reason for the Ottoman attack on Kinburn was to deprive the enemy of a base for the siege of Ochakov
Siege of Ochakov
* Siege of Ochakov , first siege during Russo-Turkish War * Siege of Ochakov , second siege during Russo-Turkish War...
and Kherson fleet base.
The forces
Alexander SuvorovAlexander Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
, commanding the Russian garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
, had 19 bronze and 300 iron artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
pieces in the fortress, weak in power and range, 1,500 infantry in Kinburne and 2,500 infantry, 28 regimental and 10 field guns, and Cossack cavalry within 30 verst
Verst
A verst or werst is an obsolete Russian unit of length. It is defined as being 500 sazhen long, which makes a verst equal to 1.0668 kilometres ....
s (roughly 50 kilometers) from the fortress.
The Ottomans had three 60 gun ships of the line, four 34 gun frigates, four bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
vessels (floating batteries), and 14 gunboats with 4 guns each. Altogether, about 400 guns. The Ottoman troops were carried by 23 transport vessels.
First attack
During September, the Ottoman fleet twice carried out ranging fire of the fleet against the coast, trying to locate position of the Russian gun emplacements. During one bombardmentBombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire directed against fortifications, troops or towns and buildings.Prior to World War I the term term was only applied to the bombardment of defenceless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, it was only loosely employed to describe artillery...
, a Russian galley "Desna" which was part of a force of two frigates and four galleys (themselves a part of Admiral Mordvinov's flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
), intervened on the initiative of its Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
captain, and drove off the Ottoman gunboats. On the 29 and 30 September bombardment of Kinburn was conducted from the Ottoman ships again. On 1 October 1787 at 9 in the morning an amphibious landing of 6,000 troops was conducted on two separate sites (5,300 on the bank's 'tongue' itself, and the rest 10-15 versts away at a village of Bienka), with the fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
supporting the landing with fire. The pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
of Ochakov ordered the ships to leave after the landing so that the amphibious landing force would not contemplate withdrawal
Withdrawal
Withdrawal can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications, recreational drugs, and alcohol...
. The landing force begun to dig a total of 15 trenches, in the attempt to move closer to Kinburn.
Suvorov called for reinforcement
Reinforcement
Reinforcement is a term in operant conditioning and behavior analysis for the process of increasing the rate or probability of a behavior in the form of a "response" by the delivery or emergence of a stimulus Reinforcement is a term in operant conditioning and behavior analysis for the process of...
(2,500 infantry and Cossacks) and waited, while being occupied with public prayer in the church (Celebration of the Covering), receiving dispatches and messages in the church.
Counterattack
At midday the Turks approached to within 200 paces of the fortress. Suvorov began the first counterattackCounterattack
A counterattack is a tactic used in response against an attack. The term originates in military strategy. The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy in attack and the specific objectives are usually to regain lost ground or to destroy attacking enemy units.It is...
with 1,500 soldiers of the Orlov infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and Schlisselburg grenadier regiments. Those attacking troops took 10 of the 15 trenches, but under flank fire of the Ottoman fleet they were forced to retreat to the fortress. Suvorov himself was wounded in the side and left hand, and was saved only through the courage of Stepan Novikov, a grenadier of the Schlisselburg grenadier regiment
Shlisselburg
Shlisselburg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated at the head of the Neva River on Lake Ladoga, east of St. Petersburg. From 1944 to 1992, it was known as Petrokrepost...
.
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s to attack around the left flank
Flanking maneuver
In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, also called a flank attack, is an attack on the sides of an opposing force. If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions, which significantly reduces the maneuverability of the outflanked force and its...
of the enemy over the shoals and into their rear. This attack was successful, and Turks were forced out from the trenches and forced against the coast, forcing the fleet to cease fire in order not to hit its own troops. Suvorov had two horses shot under him. The regimental guns were able to fire canister
Canister
The term canister comes from Latin or Greek . It means:* Originally, from Greek καννα , a basket of woven reeds...
at point blank range
Range of a projectile
right|thumb|250 px|The path of this projectile launched from a height y0 has a range d.In physics, assuming a flat Earth with a uniform gravity field, a projectile launched with specific initial conditions will have a predictable range. As in Trajectory of a projectile, we will use:The following...
causing fearful carnage among the Turks.
At night 600 Turk survivors of the landing returned on board the ships by rowed boats. Several hundred hid in the reeds, and were attacked by Cossacks on the following morning. Russian losses were 2 officers and 136 others killed and 17 officers and 300 others wounded, and those of the Turk - about 4000, including two French officers dressed as Turks which were sent to Siberia.
In Suvorov's report the Schlisselburg regiment is particularly noted for bravery.
For the Kinburn victory Catherine the Great awarded Suvorov with the Order of St.Andrew and the highest praise, where she wrote: “You deserved it by faith and by faithfulness".