Under the banner of Ushak-Pasha
The whole XVIII century was marked by military-political confrontation between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. However, at the very end of the century, unexpectedly for many, two empires concluded a military defensive alliance.
Attempts to interrupt the confrontation between the major Eurasian powers were made earlier. At the height of the diplomatic struggle over the annexation of the Crimea to Russia in June 1783, a trade treatise was signed between St. Petersburg and Istanbul. The actual head of Russia's foreign policy in the Black Sea sector, Grigory Potemkin, also sought the conclusion of a Russian-Ottoman defense agreement. “By promising them our union, we will distract them from all others and, perhaps, forever, infringement will stop other courtyards. It seems that these Turks will be happy, "- said the great prince to Catherine II. At the negotiations on the elaboration of the terms of the peace treaty that ended the second Russian-Turkish war, Potemkin openly warned Vizier Gassan Pasha about the danger of hostility with Russia in the interests of other European powers. The commander-in-chief of the Russian armies stated bluntly that those who incite Porto to continue the war would be the first to rush to divide its lands. Among the main objects of such a division was prophetically named Suez - the most important point of trade in Europe with the East.
The plans of political rapprochement between Russia and Turkey during the life of Catherine II and her brilliant favorite failed. On the contrary, after reaching the Yassky peace, all the Ottoman military preparations were viewed by the Russian government as a potential threat. However, the possibility of the unification of the forces of Turkey and Republican France was considered a much greater danger.
In 1792, a Russian attorney in Genoa, state adviser Vasily Lizakevich, informed St. Petersburg about the preparation of a strong French fleet for attacks on ships flying the Russian flag and the desire of the French to arm Turkey against Russia. The Russian ambassador in Istanbul even reported on the preparation by the French together with the Turks of sabotage in the port of Sevastopol.
To the middle. 1798, the French specialists were actively engaged in increasing the fighting capacity of the Ottoman army, helped build ships in Turkish shipyards, and develop the military industry in Istanbul.
It cannot be said that the landing of Napoleon's expeditionary corps in Ottoman Egypt 1 on July 1798 was not expected at all, but Turkey was clearly not ready for such treachery of its “European partner”.
Back in April of the same year, in response to the proposal of the Russian government for assistance from the squadron of Fyodor Ushakov, cruising in the Black Sea, Port, expressing gratitude, refused to help. After 3 of the month, Turkey itself turned to Russia for help, soon deciding to declare war on France.
August 24 squadron Ushakov approached Istanbul. She was met by the dragoman of the Supreme Vizier, who, according to Eastern custom, presented the Russian Vice Admiral fruits and flowers. At the reception in the house of the Russian embassy, on behalf of Sultan Fyodor Ushakov, they were presented with a golden snuffbox decorated with diamonds and two thousand Turkish gold coins (6 thousand rubles) for distribution to the lower ranks. The sultan himself, according to rumors, dressed in a Bosnian dress and incognito on a caique (a small sailing vessel) watched Russian ships. In his report to St. Petersburg, Fedor Ushakov noted “courtesy, tenderness and goodwill in all cases” by the Ottoman authorities.
Upon arrival in Istanbul, the command of the Russian squadron was acquainted with the Russian-Ottoman declaration, which later formed the basis of the allied treaty of the two powers. Russia pledged to assist Turkey in the fight against France by the navy, and if necessary, the 80-thousandth land army. The content of these forces (the supply of food, materials for the repair of ships) fell on the Ottoman Empire. Russian warships, ships and transports were allowed to sail freely through the Black Sea straits for the entire duration of military operations against the French. In addition, the Black Sea was declared closed to military fleets of third countries. The heads of the Turkish ports, arsenals and other military and civilian agencies were ordered to render the Ushakov squadron the necessary assistance and respect. At the same time, the emperor Paul I ordered the Russian military in every way to give full respect to the Turks, "not to demand too much from Porta and not to lose sight of that, helping her, we should not become extremely burdensome."
In Istanbul, Russian sailors remember the very unusual behavior of those times. At one of the representative meetings at the supreme vizier, it was noted that all twelve Russian ships had less noise than one Turkish caique. Local officials did not get tired of being surprised at the discipline, order and silence on the Russian courts. The Russian envoy in the Turkish capital reported to St. Petersburg about the special order of Ushakov to sailors not to sing songs on ships standing near houses and in the roadstead, which was positively perceived by the townsfolk.
For direct action against the French in the Eastern Mediterranean, a combined Russian-Turkish squadron was established under the command of Vice Admiral Ushakov. The main zone of the Allied fleet was defined by the Ionian Islands, which, along with the other possessions of the Republic of Venice in 1797, occupied the French troops.
Such interest in the Ionian archipelago was determined by the fact that France could use it not only as a means of control over the Eastern Mediterranean, but also as a springboard for expansion in the Balkan Peninsula. The latter threatened the interests of both Eurasian empires.
In the process of preparing a joint naval expedition with the Ottomans, Fedor Ushakov had a good opportunity to get acquainted in detail with the state of the military fleet of the new ally. After inspecting the Turkish ships, the Russian naval commander came to the conclusion that from the technical side they are very perfect: "All ships are sheathed with copper, and their finishing is hardly inferior to ours in ease ... Artillery is all copper and in good repair". As drawbacks, Ushakov called disproportion in the armament and equipment of the ships, the poor quality of the sails and, most importantly, the poor quality of the crews. Teams on Turkish ships were often recruited from slaves and simply from people "from the street" by force. As a consequence, the level of desertion was high. The training of officers, equipment with maps, instruments and even compasses, left much to be desired.
The Russian squadron, which came from Sevastopol, was also not in perfect condition. The quality of the ship crews was significantly better than that of the Turks, but there were many problems in the technical condition of the fleet. Basically, the ships of the Russian squadron were built in a great hurry of the 1787 – 1791 war, were poorly suited for winter swimming, were not sufficiently maneuverable, were not sheathed with copper, and therefore required frequent meleors.
In the course of the Russian-Ottoman negotiations, which were held with the participation of the representative of the British government 28 and 30 in August 1798, the composition of the combined squadron, the plan of hostilities and the future status of the Ionian Islands were determined.
The allied Russian-Turkish fleet included 10 battleships (6 Russians and 4 Turkish), 13 frigates and corvettes (5 Russians and 8 Turkish), 7 small ships and 14 gunboats. In addition, after the repair, the arrival of two new 74-gun Russian ships was expected from Sevastopol. The English squadron of Horatio Nelson, which was located in Naples, was to interact with this connection. The Russian troops from the 1700 grenadier of the naval battalions and the 35 midshipman of the Nikolaev naval school were intended for operations on the Ionian Islands. Sultan ordered for the formation of the Turkish troops to dial on the Albanian coast, Yanina and Moree 17 thousand people.
Formally, each of the units of the combined squadron had its own commander: the Russian — Ushakov, and the Turkish — Kadyr Bey. However, urging "to honor the Russian Vice Admiral Yako teacher", the Sultan determined the dominant position of Ushakov.
After the liberation of the Ionian Islands from the French, the archipelago was to be temporarily under the joint protectorate of the two allied empires. At the same time, for the period until the determination of the final status of the archipelago by the all-emperors, the population of the islands was asked to independently choose an acceptable form of government. This proposal, by mutual consent of the parties, was officially announced in the address of the Patriarch of Constantinople to the Greek population of the islands. However, other members of the anti-French coalition (Austria and England) had their own views on this most important region. As soon as the Russian-Turkish squadron began active operations, the Viennese court tore up the conditions of the Campo-Formiysky world with France and began to stimulate the pro-Austrian moods on the islands. Russian diplomacy even arranged a demarche for Vienna on this issue.
Nelson worked on a proclamation to the inhabitants of the Ionian Islands, in which he offered protection to the English flag and the assistance of the royal fleet. This document was supposed to be made public if the British quickly solved the tasks of fighting the French in Malta and southern Italy, and the Ushakov expedition in the Ionian Sea, on the contrary, would drag out.
Thus, the alliance of Russia and Turkey was directed not only against the French expansion, but also objectively prevented the strengthening of influence in the Western Balkans of other European powers.
The Allied squadron began the liberation of the Ionian 25 archipelago on September 1798, and within a month and a half four of the seven islands (Cerigo, Zante, Kefalonia and Saint Moor) were cleared from the French. 1300 of enemy soldiers and officers were taken prisoner, Frenchman 44 killed, 100 injured. On the islands, 202 copper and cast-iron tools of various sizes were captured. In this case, the loss of the Russians amounted to only two killed and six wounded lower ranks; the loss of the Turks - four killed.
The relative ease in the implementation of the first stage of the expedition (all the fortresses occupied by the French capitulated) is explained by the fragmentation of the French garrisons and the mass support of the Russian soldiers by the local Greeks. The latter circumstance Ushakov considered the decisive factor and believed that the Turks themselves could not have liberated the islands, because then the residents would prefer to take the side of the French. Thus, the occupation by the expeditionary forces of Zante Island (the second most important in the archipelago after Corfu) was facilitated by the actions of more than eight thousand armed peasants who had fled at night from all parts of the island, raised the Russian flag and decided to prevent the garrison from reflecting the landing of the landing force.
The sympathies of the majority of the Greeks were due to religious communion with the Russians, as well as the insufficiently consistent policy of the French administration on the islands, allowing cases of extortion, lawlessness and robbery against the local population, abolishing all self-government here. The degree of popularity of the French administration is indicated by the fact that shortly before the start of the Russian-Turkish expedition, the French had to suppress a major insurgency in Corfu using artillery and even burn one of the outskirts of the fortress.
Fyodor Ushakov openly demonstrated the closeness of the Russian army with the Orthodox population of the Ionian Islands and welcomed the welcome of the Greeks. So, the next day after the occupation of Zante Island, the Russian Vice Admiral, together with the captains and officers, participated in a thanksgiving prayer service in a local Orthodox church. At the pier he was greeted by all the clergy and elders of the island, the common people warmly and joyfully welcomed him on the streets of the city.
The benevolent attitude to the expeditionary forces from the city leaders and the aristocracy of the nobility was determined by the promise to restore self-government of the islands and decide on the future status of the region only with the consent of representatives of the local population. Such an obligation was contained in the appeal of the Allied admirals to the inhabitants of the archipelago.
Fyodor Ushakov paid great attention to the preservation of public order and the prevention of pogroms of the estates of noble citizens under the pretext of reprisals against the Jacobins. On all the islands after the end of hostilities, guardianship was carried out by detachments of twelve Russian soldiers attached to the officer and twelve Turks, who, if necessary, acted with the support of the local police.
The honors rendered on the islands by the Russians with the wary attitude of the Greeks towards the Ottoman part of the allied squadron irritated the Turks. Ushakov had to show wonders of diplomacy to prevent disagreements with Kadyr Bey. All the important actions of the Allied squadron were undertaken only after the meetings of the two commanders, the Russian naval commander urged the inhabitants to give equal honors to his Turkish counterpart. Despite the fact that the Russian part of the squadron made a much larger contribution to the success of the first part of the expedition, the fortress keys, flags and flags (in cases where more than one flag or banner was taken) were transmitted not only to the emperor, but also to the sultan. All the fortresses invariably hoisted the flags of both Allied powers.
Nevertheless, Ushakov quite aggressively defended the interests of the Russian squadron in relations with the Ottoman authorities. This was particularly evident with the growing contradictions between the allies during the four-month blockade of Corfu.
The fortress, or rather, the fortress complex of Corfu Island made a very strong impression on the members of the expedition. She was on a steep bank, surrounded by thick granite walls, could hold up to 15 thousand garrisons. Barriers awaited storming almost at every step: deep ditches and ramparts, an effective artillery battery system, and others. Among the military of the time, the prevailing view was that Corfu can only be lost.
By the time the blockade of Corfu began, the fortress was equipped with 650 guns, and its garrison numbered about three thousand soldiers (including 120 cavalrymen). The food supply of the defenders was calculated for 6 months. The commander of the fortress, General Louis Chabot, did not sit out in a dull defense, but constantly disturbed the besiegers with forays and shelling.
It was impossible to capture such a fortress with the forces that the Russian-Turkish squadron had in the autumn of 1798. Meanwhile, the Albanian pasha were in no hurry to follow the instructions of their Sultan about sending ground troops to help the squadron. This was determined by the rather conditional dependence of a number of local rulers on the authorities in Istanbul. Ali Pasha, who reigned in Tepelen (Southern Albania) and Yanina (north-west of Greece), was distinguished by his special self-will. Prior to the expedition, he actively intrigued with the French, considering the possibility of moving to their side. After the beginning of the blockade, Corfu, the Albanian governor, not only did not allocate the relying three thousand of his subjects to help the squadron, but also forbade other pashas, his neighbors. Even the requests of Ushakov to Ali Pasha to stop the trade of the inhabitants of the Albanian coast with the French garrison in Corfu were vain.
In correspondence, the Albanian ruler assured the Russian vice-admiral in his personal disposition, promised to send his son with several thousand troops to the rescue. However, at the same time, he sabotaged the blockade, convincing Porto that he alone could take Corfu, for which he proposed to deploy the 25-thousandth army.
Under these conditions, Fyodor Ushakov wrote to Petersburg in despair: “If I had only one regiment of the Russian land forces with me, I certainly would have hoped to take Corfu, coping together with the inhabitants, who are only asking for mercy from anyone , do not allow this. But the lack of manpower for the assault on Corfu was only one of the acute problems that the squadron command faced. There was no siege artillery, there were not enough shells, small ships for the landing of troops, problems with lack of provisions, uniforms were increasing.
In December 1798, Ushakov reported to the Russian emperor: “Soon we will be in an extremely precarious state from the lack of things already accomplished on the squadron, and I don’t find ways to saturate the ministers.” He also reported great difficulty in providing the squadron with clothes and shoes due to poor supply and non-payment of salary for almost a year. These problems were caused by the difficulties of delivering cargo for the squadron due to storms and the unprecedented cold of winter from 1798 to 1799. The abuses of Turkish officials responsible for the supply of the allied fleet, the sluggishness of the Russian military command, had their effect. “From the thin provisions,” Ushakov wrote to the High Vizier in January 1799, “the servants, entrusted to me, began to fall ill in many respects and die. A doctor with medical ranks testified to our provisions and found that people are sick only from her, and they imagine that people do not produce such thin provisions for food. ”
By 25 in January 1799, relying on Turkish admiral Kadir-bey and the adviser from Ports Mahmud-efendi, who was on the squadron, Ushakov managed to get from Pasha to 4250 Albanians (2500 from them were sent by Ali Yaninsky). It was an irregular and poorly disciplined army, not provided with provisions and ammunition; the fleet had to share its scarce resources with it. The appearance of Albanians on the islands caused discontent of the local Greeks. The squadron command had to make considerable efforts to prevent clashes due to looting by Albanians of the local population, attacks on Christian churches.
Despite the fact that the ground forces turned out to be significantly less than planned, the commander-in-chief could not pull on with the conquest of Corfu. February 14 began the final preparations for the assault, soldiers and sailors honed their skills in overcoming the fortress barricades, assault ladders were made in large numbers.
On the morning of February 18, 1799 began the assault on the French fortifications on Vido Island, the key to the harbor of Corfu. After a strong shelling, troops from 2100, thousands of people, landed on the island (1400 of them are Russians). At this crucial moment, the Albanians refused to participate in the battle. Only 200 people of them followed the allies. Only the taking of Vido's batteries encouraged the Albanian army and allowed him to participate in the further assault.
By 14 h. All the French fortifications on Vido were occupied. At the same time, the famous episode with the protection of defeated enemies by Russian sailors took place. Turks and Albanians, fiercely stubborn resistance of the French, began to lynch prisoners. Seeing this, Major Alexei Gamen made a square of the people of his squad and hid the defeated in the middle. In total, about 200 Republicans were killed on the island, 422 people were captured. The Russians lost 131 people (31 killed), while the Ottomans made 180 people.
The Russian batteries, mounted on Vido, joined the shelling of Corfu, which the Allied ships had been carrying since the morning. Before the attack of the fortress fortifications, a murmur engulfed detachments of local residents who doubted their success due to the small number of assailants. The French managed to repel the first attack on Fort Salvador, but under the pressure of the planted reinforcements, they were forced to retreat. The garrison fiercely defended, although by the end of the day it had lost control over all the advanced forts of the fortress. During the storming of Corfu, the Russians lost 22 people killed and 72 wounded; Sultan's subjects are 61 and 92 people, respectively.
Behind the external ease of taking fortifications on Vido and Corfu was the high coherence of actions and heroism of the predominantly Russian part of the allied squadron. Not without curiosities. “The Turkish ships and frigates were all behind us and not close to the island; if they fired at it, then through us, and two cores of my ship’s side were planted on the opposite side of the island, ”the Russian ambassador in Istanbul, Vasily Tomar, described the assault on the Ushakov fortress.
The loss of key defense positions has greatly demoralized the defenders of the fortress, February 20 garrison capitulated. On Corfu, the allies surrendered to almost 3000 people led by the General Commissar of the French Republic on the islands and three generals. In addition, 54-gun ship, frigate and several small ships were captured.
On February 22, the squadron commander visited the church of St. Spyridon on the island, where a prayer of thanksgiving took place, and according to tradition, received a warm welcome from the local population. Russian flags were developing everywhere, the bell was ringing, gunfire was heard.
In March, Albanians were dismissed from their homes, work began on the repair of fortifications. The commandant of the fortress was appointed Major General Mikhail Borozdin, at whose disposal the 2 Grenadier Battalion should have been. Corfu Island became the base of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean. Hence the expedition was carried out against the French in southern and central Italy. Ushakov persistently justified Paul I to the need for Russia to consolidate on Corfu, leaving the garrison here in the 1 – 2 regiment.
The final stage of the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreements on the Ionian archipelago was the determination of the political structure of the islands. In the beginning. 1799, influenced by the Greco-Fanariot grouping of the Port, attempted to reconsider the future fate of the islands, wanting to give them a status similar to the principalities of Wallachia or Moldavia.
Under these conditions, Fedor Ushakov, with the support of Vasiliy Tomara, on a voluntary basis, forms the republican system of island management based on the 1798 agreement of the year: an elected Senate (Grand Council) headed by the chairman (prince) and sitting in Corfu, the main councils, the magistrates on each of the islands, 40 elected judges. In May 1799, these controls began work. The Senate drafted the Constitution of the Republic, elected 12 ambassadors for negotiations in St. Petersburg and Istanbul (in each delegation, 6 people). “Armed” with the special mandates of the Senate, in June the ambassadors went to negotiate in the imperial capitals.
During the negotiations, Pavel I lost interest in the allies in the anti-French coalition, decided to cease hostilities and withdraw the squadron from the Ionian Islands. It seemed that the barely born republic was doomed to instant death. However, the negotiation process was completed and concluded with the conclusion of the Russian-Ottoman Convention on the Republic of the Seven United Islands in March 1800. Formally dependent on Ports, but an independent republic existed until 1807.
Taking away the Russian squadron from the islands in July 1800, Ushakov, in fact, disobeyed the emperor and did not remove the grenadier battalions from the island. Before his departure, he drafted instructions to the head of the Russian garrison in Corfu, Colonel Gastfer. The garrison (150 man) was promptly subordinated to the Russian ambassador in Istanbul.
October 26 The Black Sea squadron returned to Sevastopol (Akhtiar), completing the campaign, which lasted 2 of the year and 2 of the month. According to the results of the expedition of Fyodor Ushakov, the Russian emperor awarded diamond marks to the order of Alexander Nevsky he had and made him admirals. Sultan Selim III granted the Russian naval commander a diamond tail (a sultan or a feather), a sable fur coat and 1000 gold coins. 3500 chervonets were allocated to encourage officers and lower ranks of the Russian squadron. Residents of the Republic of the Seven Islands presented a gold sword decorated with diamonds and medals of honor.
The question of the Ionian Islands was again raised in European diplomacy in September 1801, when Russia and France in a peace treaty pledged to guarantee the independence of the Republic of the Seven Islands. Russian warships and transport ships regularly came to the archipelago. With the formation of the Third Anti-French Coalition on Corfu, a significant part of the sea and land forces of Russia on the Mediterranean Sea (Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin) was concentrated. The Russian-Turkish defensive alliance was extended by the new 1804 agreement of the year. According to it, Turkey pledged to provide free passage through the straits for Russian ships supplying the garrison on the Ionian Islands. The situation has changed dramatically after the Austerlitz disaster. During the peace negotiations in Tilsit, Alexander I agreed to withdraw Russian troops from Corfu. Under the influence of the intensified France in 1806, a sharp Russian-Turkish diplomatic conflict broke out, which developed into a war of 1806 – 1812.
Under the Paris Peace Treaty (1815 year), an English protectorate was established over the Ionian Republic, and in 1864, the islands were transferred to Greece.
- Igor IVANENKO
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