Battle of Sinop

{{Campaignbox Crimean War}} [[Image:Russia stamp Battle of Sinop 2003 12r.jpg|thumb|300px|Russian stamp, Battle of Sinop, 2003 (Michel № 1128, Scott № 6800)]] The '''Battle of Sinop''', or the '''Battle of Sinope''', took place on 30 November 1853 at [[Sinop, Turkey|Sinop]], a [[sea port]] in northern [[Anatolia]], when [[Imperial Russia]]n warships struck and annihilated a patrol force of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] ships anchored in the harbor. The battle was part of the [[Crimean War]], and a contributory factor in bringing [[France]] and [[United Kingdom|Britain]] into the conflict. ==Background== Fighting at sea between Imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire had been going on for weeks, and the Ottomans had sent several squadrons into the [[Black Sea]] for patrol. One of these, under [[Osman Pasha]], ended up at Sinope, joining the [[frigate]] ''Kaid Zafer'' which had been part of an earlier patrol, and being joined by the steam frigate ''Taif'' from a smaller squadron. The Ottomans had wanted to send [[ships of the line]] to Sinope, but the [[Great Britain|British]] [[ambassador]] in [[Constantinople]], [[Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe]], had objected to this plan, and only frigates were sent. ==Battle== [[File:Admiral Pereleshin.jpg|thumb|left|Russian Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, hero of Battle of Sinop and Siege of Sevastopol]] The Russians were led by [[Admiral]] [[Pavel Nakhimov]], who decided with his officers that they would attack the Ottoman fleet which took shelter from a storm at Sinop. Strengthened by the squadron of [[Rear-Admiral]] [[Fyodor Novosilsky]], Nakhimov consolidated over 700 cannons in six ships of the line, two frigates and three armed steamers. The Ottoman forces included seven frigates, three [[corvette]]s and two armed [[Steamboat|steamers]]. The Russians planned to deploy their ships in two columns where they would advance to within close range of the enemy vessels before dropping anchor and opening fire. Under Admiral Nakhimov's command, the eighty-four gun ship ''Imperatritsa Maria'' was the first to engage when she fired on 44-gun [[flagship]] ''Auni Allah''. After about thirty minutes of deadly combat the Ottoman frigate was full of shot-holes and ran aground when her cable was cut. ''Imperatritsa Maria'' then attacked the forty-four gun frigate ''Fazli Allah'' which caught fire and grounded. While the other Russian ships engaged the ''Nizamie'' and ''Damiad'' which were grounded. The Ottoman frigate ''Navek Bakhri'' exploded and sank along with the [[corvette]] ''Guli Sephid''. Only one Ottoman vessel, the twelve gun [[Steamboat|steamer]] ''Taif'', managed to escape the battle while all the others were sunk or put on shore to prevent sinking. She fled to [[Constantinople]] and arrived on 2 December where she informed the Ottoman government of the defeat at Sinop. Once the enemy fleet was destroyed the Russians engaged Ottoman [[shore battery|shore batteries]] and destroyed them. During the fighting thirty-seven Russians were killed and 233 were wounded, at least three of the line ships were damaged. Ottoman forces lost over 3,000 men killed or wounded and their leader [[Osman Pasha]] was captured.[[File:Sinope aivaz.jpg|thumb|left|Aivasovsky Ivan Constantinovich sinop 1853]] This attack provided [[France]] and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] with the justification for declaring [[Crimean War|war]] on Russia in early 1854 in support of the Ottoman Empire. ===Russian Empire=== *''[[Veliky Knyaz Konstantin]]'', ship of the line, 120 guns *''Tri Sviatitelia'', ship of the line, 120 guns *''Parizh'', 120 guns, ship of the line, transferred flagship *''Imperatriitsa Maria'', ship of the line, 84 guns, flagship *''Chesma'', ship of the line, 84 guns *''Rostislav'', ship of the line, 84 guns *''Kulevtcha'', frigate, 54 guns *''Kagul'', frigate, 44 guns *''Odessa'', steamer, 4 guns *''Krym'', steamer, 4 guns *''Khersones'', steamer, 4 guns ===Ottoman Empire=== [[File:Battle of Sinope Tryon.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Drawing of Sinope by [[George Tryon]] onboard [[HMS Vengeance (1824)|HMS ''Vengeance'']] which visited the scene of the battle in January 1854.]] *''Avni Illah'', frigate, 44 guns *''Fazl Illah'', frigate, 44 guns (originally the ''Rafail'', captured during the war of 1828-29) *''Nizamieh'', frigate, 62 guns *''Nessin Zafer'', frigate, 60 guns *''Navek Bahri'', frigate, 58 guns *''Damiat'', frigate, 56 guns (Egyptian) *''Kaid Zafer'', frigate, 54 guns *''Nejm Fishan'', corvette, 24 guns *''Feyz Mabud'', corvette, 24 guns *''Kel Safid'', corvette, 22 guns *''Taif'', steamer, 12 guns *''Erkelye'', steamer, 10 guns ==External links== {{Commons category|Battle of Sinop}} * [http://www.sinop.gov.tr/index_1.asp ''Sinop, Turkey Governorship Website''] * [http://www.sinop.com.tr/ Official Web Site of Sinop] {{coord missing|Turkey}} {{Ottoman battles}}