The bridge across the Sevastopol bay. Heroic past and possible future
In December 2018, messages flashed in the information field that the construction of the Sevastopol bridge was not just another unrealizable idea, but that organizations involved in the construction of the Crimean bridge and cable-stayed bridge on Russky Island in Vladivostok had already joined the design. The very expediency of the construction is due to the geography of the city of Sevastopol, which is actually divided into two parts. In fact, the huge urban organism of our base of the Black Sea fleet actually lives in a state of transport disunity. In order to get through Inkerman from the northern part of the city to the southern (or vice versa) at rush hour or during bad weather, you will have to spend up to two hours. A similar state for the industrial sea city and the fleet base, apart from the needs of ordinary citizens, naturally negatively affects many areas of Sevastopol’s life.
Image of the Sevastopol bridge from the press service of the government of Sevastopol
Plans for the construction of the Sevastopol bridge periodically began to appear at the level of proposals and initiatives immediately after the Great Patriotic War. But each time the idea came across both technical difficulties and opposition from the fleet command. The military commanders quite reasonably believed that the outbreak of hostilities would destroy the erected bridge, and its wreckage, in turn, would block warships in the bay, like a cork in a bottle.
At the moment, the situation has changed, and the location of many objects, and the technology itself. The most economical option, taking into account the interests of all parties to the project, including the fleet, was ultimately considered the option of building a cable-stayed bridge. The proposed parameters of the future object were also announced: the length along with approaches of about 4 kilometers, 4 lanes, bicycle paths, and entry and exit points will be located in the areas of Brestskaya (southern part of the city) and Bogdanov (northern part).
On April 22 of the 2019 of the year, as the press center of the Federal State Institution “Main Directorate of State Expertise” stated, the experts of the Crimean branch of the Glavgosexpertiza of Russia issued a positive opinion on conducting a public technological and price audit of the investment project at the first stage of the construction of the transport passage through the Sevastopol Bay.
In general, it seems that the project to be. Of course, if the home-grown opposition, protesting about and without and encouraged by the rage in Moscow, the closure of the cathedral project in Yekaterinburg (under the irrational howl from different parts of the country) and the notably spoiled blood of the builders of the Tominsky GOK, does not plan to sabotage this project. Of course, do not forget about the pseudo-ecologists of home bottling. It’s not long to recall how many copies were broken about the Crimean bridge, which, according to “ecologists,” “killed” crabs and dolphins. True, it later turned out that the Ukrainian sailors freed from the Mordor were involved in the death of dolphins.
However, let us turn our eyes to the past: after all, the bridge over the Sevastopol Bay was once already thrown. And it was built under the most tragic circumstances.
It was the 1854 year, the Crimean War was blazing. The brave Sevastopol frantically fought off the superior troops of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Sardinian kingdom. The defense demanded mobility from the troops, but the Sevastopol Bay, which cuts deep into the land, cut by peculiar southern “fjords,” often deprived the defenders of the ability to quickly transfer troops from one side of the bay to the other, not to mention the timely evacuation of the wounded. Then the idea arose to tie the land indented with bays by temporary bridges.
The first bridge was built in September 1854 year in the southern bay of Sevastopol. This facility was actively exploited until the end of March 1855. On March 28, the second intensified bombardment of the heroic fortified city began, lasting ten days. During this time, in Sevastopol, the enemy fired 165 of thousands of artillery shots. An avalanche of metal unprecedented until then in stories siege wars, completely destroyed the South Bay Bridge.
Floating Bridges South Bay
The initiative to build the next bridge was made by Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov himself. He proposed the construction of a crossing in the depths of the same South Bay. The bridge was also floating and anchored. Much later than the events of the Crimean War in the 80 of the 20 century, one of the anchors of this bridge was discovered by workers during the repair of the railway. Later, this anchor was installed on Historical Boulevard near the building of the panorama "Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855 years."
The next construction began in February of the 1855 year. This time it was erected for quick and reliable communication with the line of defense of the Selenginsky and Volyn redoubts, located northeast of the Kilen bay. This bridge was used until May of the 1855 year.
But the most famous was the bridge across the Sevastopol Bay, stretching from south to north. 1855-th - the second year of the heroic defense of Sevastopol. Britain, France, the Ottoman Porta and Sardinia, for which the siege of one single city by superior forces had already turned into a real shame, continued with angry persistence to attack the Russian garrison. The last months of the epoch-making battle came. The clear advantage on the side of the Anglo-French forces was already undeniable.
The communication between the North and South sides of Sevastopol every day more and more complicated, and the prospect of evacuating troops from the southern part of the city became an urgent need. In July, Lieutenant General Buchmeyer came up with the initiative to extend the floating bridge from the Nikolaev to the Mikhailovsky battery. The command in the person of Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov decided to approve this initiative, despite the critical views of many engineers who believed that the bridge would either be blown apart by a wave, or it would not be built in principle.
The construction leadership of such a complex facility in those conditions was entrusted directly to the initiator - Lieutenant General Alexander Efimovich Bukhmeyer, who in the future will join the galaxy of heroes of Sevastopol. The senior officers, Captain-Lieutenant Pavel Ivanovich Kupriyanov (will later become Rear Admiral), captain of the 2 rank Ivan Fedorovich Likhachev (will resign with the rank of Vice Admiral, will be a member of Russian and French geographical societies), and a hundred sailors of the Navy crews, sappers of the 4th battalion, soldiers of the 45th squad of the Kursk militia and about a hundred carpenters.
From left to right: Bukhmeyer, Kupriyanov and Likhachev
The bridge was built quickly enough, given the circumstances. Timber, for example, had to be delivered from Kherson in carts. They started work on the 14 of July, and the first fighters were able to cross the bridge on the 15 of the 1855 of August. As a result, the total length of the bridge was 450 fathoms (960 meters). The bridge itself consisted of 86 rafts, each 5 meters wide and 13 meters long. The bridge was kept afloat by anchors. The location of the bridge itself, i.e. on a fairly wide section of the bay, it was by no means accidental. The floating passage for the Russian troops began right at the rounding of the massif of the Nikolaev battery, i.e. the battery itself became a cover from artillery fire to begin the crossing.
On the 24 of August (the 4 of September), the sixth bombardment of Sevastopol began, effectively wiping the artillery of the Malakhov Kurgan from the face of the earth, and turning the positions themselves into piles of ruins. But only on 27 of August after a heavy battle did the enemy manage to capture the mound and break through the defenses. Prince Gorchakov gave the order to leave positions on the southern side of Sevastopol.
View of the retreat over the floating bridge and the burning South side of Sevastopol
In the evening twilight of 27 on August, a rocket soared into the sky - a signal for a retreat, which was met with hostility by many soldiers and officers. Senior officers had to almost force some of the defenders of Sevastopol to begin crossing the bridge. A strong northeast wind rose in the bay, catching a wave. The bridge shook violently under the weight of people and wagons. In some areas, the crossing swept over the wave. Therefore, teams of sailors and sappers quickly increased the buoyancy of such areas with pre-prepared tarred barrels.
Together with the defenders of Sevastopol, civilians walked along the bridge, who were allowed to take only the luggage that fit in their hands. All this sad and solemn march went to the accompaniment of the cannonade and the illumination of the burning South side of the city.
Troops consisting of infantry, artillerymen, sappers and sailors remained on the south side to cover the retreat. The cover group was commanded by General Alexander Petrovich Khrushchev (held the City side of the South Bay) and General Alexander Ivanovich Shepelev (defended the Ship side of the South Bay). They were instructed to destroy everything possible, so that the enemy did not get trophies. To do this, special teams of “hunters” were allocated, who burned powder cellars, destroyed artillery pieces that were impossible to transport, and undermined whole batteries.
Already late at night, a second signal was given by a rocket, which meant an order to retreat to the cover forces. All this time, Lieutenant General Alexander Buchmeyer was directly on the bridge, leading the crossing, created in the end only for this fiery night. By eight o’clock in the morning, the last defenders of Sevastopol finally appeared, who managed to retreat along the Buchmeyer floating bridge. It was a detachment of fighters of the Tobolsk regiment, Colonel Alexander Alexandrovich Zelena, followed by General Khrushchev, commander of the City Side forces group.
Memorial sign at the beginning of the floating bridge on the south side of Sevastopol
Bukhmeyer gave the order to build the bridge as soon as Khrushchev approached him, saying that the South side was left. The bridge ceased to exist. But still, the last who left South Sevastopol were the aforementioned "hunters" who remained to eliminate infrastructure, ammunition, and weapons. Only closer to noon, when the blown up powder cellars and burning batteries intertwined in one raging fire, the teams of hunters crossed to the North side on rowing ships.
The Sevastopol fire of the 1855 year burned for two whole days, not allowing the enemy all the while to fully occupy the southern side of the hero city. Thus ended the history of Sevastopol bridges, and their new peaceful history, perhaps, is only just beginning ...
Image of the Sevastopol bridge from the press service of the government of Sevastopol
Plans for the construction of the Sevastopol bridge periodically began to appear at the level of proposals and initiatives immediately after the Great Patriotic War. But each time the idea came across both technical difficulties and opposition from the fleet command. The military commanders quite reasonably believed that the outbreak of hostilities would destroy the erected bridge, and its wreckage, in turn, would block warships in the bay, like a cork in a bottle.
At the moment, the situation has changed, and the location of many objects, and the technology itself. The most economical option, taking into account the interests of all parties to the project, including the fleet, was ultimately considered the option of building a cable-stayed bridge. The proposed parameters of the future object were also announced: the length along with approaches of about 4 kilometers, 4 lanes, bicycle paths, and entry and exit points will be located in the areas of Brestskaya (southern part of the city) and Bogdanov (northern part).
On April 22 of the 2019 of the year, as the press center of the Federal State Institution “Main Directorate of State Expertise” stated, the experts of the Crimean branch of the Glavgosexpertiza of Russia issued a positive opinion on conducting a public technological and price audit of the investment project at the first stage of the construction of the transport passage through the Sevastopol Bay.
In general, it seems that the project to be. Of course, if the home-grown opposition, protesting about and without and encouraged by the rage in Moscow, the closure of the cathedral project in Yekaterinburg (under the irrational howl from different parts of the country) and the notably spoiled blood of the builders of the Tominsky GOK, does not plan to sabotage this project. Of course, do not forget about the pseudo-ecologists of home bottling. It’s not long to recall how many copies were broken about the Crimean bridge, which, according to “ecologists,” “killed” crabs and dolphins. True, it later turned out that the Ukrainian sailors freed from the Mordor were involved in the death of dolphins.
However, let us turn our eyes to the past: after all, the bridge over the Sevastopol Bay was once already thrown. And it was built under the most tragic circumstances.
Bridges of a warring city
It was the 1854 year, the Crimean War was blazing. The brave Sevastopol frantically fought off the superior troops of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Sardinian kingdom. The defense demanded mobility from the troops, but the Sevastopol Bay, which cuts deep into the land, cut by peculiar southern “fjords,” often deprived the defenders of the ability to quickly transfer troops from one side of the bay to the other, not to mention the timely evacuation of the wounded. Then the idea arose to tie the land indented with bays by temporary bridges.
The first bridge was built in September 1854 year in the southern bay of Sevastopol. This facility was actively exploited until the end of March 1855. On March 28, the second intensified bombardment of the heroic fortified city began, lasting ten days. During this time, in Sevastopol, the enemy fired 165 of thousands of artillery shots. An avalanche of metal unprecedented until then in stories siege wars, completely destroyed the South Bay Bridge.
Floating Bridges South Bay
The initiative to build the next bridge was made by Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov himself. He proposed the construction of a crossing in the depths of the same South Bay. The bridge was also floating and anchored. Much later than the events of the Crimean War in the 80 of the 20 century, one of the anchors of this bridge was discovered by workers during the repair of the railway. Later, this anchor was installed on Historical Boulevard near the building of the panorama "Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855 years."
The next construction began in February of the 1855 year. This time it was erected for quick and reliable communication with the line of defense of the Selenginsky and Volyn redoubts, located northeast of the Kilen bay. This bridge was used until May of the 1855 year.
But the most famous was the bridge across the Sevastopol Bay, stretching from south to north. 1855-th - the second year of the heroic defense of Sevastopol. Britain, France, the Ottoman Porta and Sardinia, for which the siege of one single city by superior forces had already turned into a real shame, continued with angry persistence to attack the Russian garrison. The last months of the epoch-making battle came. The clear advantage on the side of the Anglo-French forces was already undeniable.
The communication between the North and South sides of Sevastopol every day more and more complicated, and the prospect of evacuating troops from the southern part of the city became an urgent need. In July, Lieutenant General Buchmeyer came up with the initiative to extend the floating bridge from the Nikolaev to the Mikhailovsky battery. The command in the person of Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov decided to approve this initiative, despite the critical views of many engineers who believed that the bridge would either be blown apart by a wave, or it would not be built in principle.
The construction leadership of such a complex facility in those conditions was entrusted directly to the initiator - Lieutenant General Alexander Efimovich Bukhmeyer, who in the future will join the galaxy of heroes of Sevastopol. The senior officers, Captain-Lieutenant Pavel Ivanovich Kupriyanov (will later become Rear Admiral), captain of the 2 rank Ivan Fedorovich Likhachev (will resign with the rank of Vice Admiral, will be a member of Russian and French geographical societies), and a hundred sailors of the Navy crews, sappers of the 4th battalion, soldiers of the 45th squad of the Kursk militia and about a hundred carpenters.
From left to right: Bukhmeyer, Kupriyanov and Likhachev
The bridge was built quickly enough, given the circumstances. Timber, for example, had to be delivered from Kherson in carts. They started work on the 14 of July, and the first fighters were able to cross the bridge on the 15 of the 1855 of August. As a result, the total length of the bridge was 450 fathoms (960 meters). The bridge itself consisted of 86 rafts, each 5 meters wide and 13 meters long. The bridge was kept afloat by anchors. The location of the bridge itself, i.e. on a fairly wide section of the bay, it was by no means accidental. The floating passage for the Russian troops began right at the rounding of the massif of the Nikolaev battery, i.e. the battery itself became a cover from artillery fire to begin the crossing.
Tragic retreat
On the 24 of August (the 4 of September), the sixth bombardment of Sevastopol began, effectively wiping the artillery of the Malakhov Kurgan from the face of the earth, and turning the positions themselves into piles of ruins. But only on 27 of August after a heavy battle did the enemy manage to capture the mound and break through the defenses. Prince Gorchakov gave the order to leave positions on the southern side of Sevastopol.
View of the retreat over the floating bridge and the burning South side of Sevastopol
In the evening twilight of 27 on August, a rocket soared into the sky - a signal for a retreat, which was met with hostility by many soldiers and officers. Senior officers had to almost force some of the defenders of Sevastopol to begin crossing the bridge. A strong northeast wind rose in the bay, catching a wave. The bridge shook violently under the weight of people and wagons. In some areas, the crossing swept over the wave. Therefore, teams of sailors and sappers quickly increased the buoyancy of such areas with pre-prepared tarred barrels.
Together with the defenders of Sevastopol, civilians walked along the bridge, who were allowed to take only the luggage that fit in their hands. All this sad and solemn march went to the accompaniment of the cannonade and the illumination of the burning South side of the city.
Troops consisting of infantry, artillerymen, sappers and sailors remained on the south side to cover the retreat. The cover group was commanded by General Alexander Petrovich Khrushchev (held the City side of the South Bay) and General Alexander Ivanovich Shepelev (defended the Ship side of the South Bay). They were instructed to destroy everything possible, so that the enemy did not get trophies. To do this, special teams of “hunters” were allocated, who burned powder cellars, destroyed artillery pieces that were impossible to transport, and undermined whole batteries.
Already late at night, a second signal was given by a rocket, which meant an order to retreat to the cover forces. All this time, Lieutenant General Alexander Buchmeyer was directly on the bridge, leading the crossing, created in the end only for this fiery night. By eight o’clock in the morning, the last defenders of Sevastopol finally appeared, who managed to retreat along the Buchmeyer floating bridge. It was a detachment of fighters of the Tobolsk regiment, Colonel Alexander Alexandrovich Zelena, followed by General Khrushchev, commander of the City Side forces group.
Memorial sign at the beginning of the floating bridge on the south side of Sevastopol
Bukhmeyer gave the order to build the bridge as soon as Khrushchev approached him, saying that the South side was left. The bridge ceased to exist. But still, the last who left South Sevastopol were the aforementioned "hunters" who remained to eliminate infrastructure, ammunition, and weapons. Only closer to noon, when the blown up powder cellars and burning batteries intertwined in one raging fire, the teams of hunters crossed to the North side on rowing ships.
The Sevastopol fire of the 1855 year burned for two whole days, not allowing the enemy all the while to fully occupy the southern side of the hero city. Thus ended the history of Sevastopol bridges, and their new peaceful history, perhaps, is only just beginning ...
Information