There are enough outstanding personalities in the history of our army and navy. These are people who have had a strong influence on the development of not only the military industry, but also the entire statehood of the country. One of these was Admiral Ushakov. The biography of this wonderful person is given in this article.
At least the fact that in the fleet of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union there were several ships named after him speaks of his fame. In particular, even one cruiser of the Soviet Navy. Since 1944, there has been an order and a medal of Ushakov. A number of objects in the Arctic are named after him.
The initial period of life
Fyodor Ushakov, the future admiral, was born in the tiny village of Burnakovo, lost in the open spaces of the Moscow province, in February 1745. He came from a family of a landowner, but not too rich. It is not surprising that he had to go to school early in order not to force his parents to spend money on his maintenance. In 1766 he studied in the cadet corps, receiving the rank of midshipman. His naval career began in the B altic Sea. Ushakov immediatelyproved to be a capable commander and a brave man.
Beginning of service, first successes
Already in 1768-1774, during the first war with the Turks, Ushakov commanded several battleships at once. He also participated in the heroic defense of the Crimean coast.
In the B altic, Fyodor Ushakov commanded the frigate "St. Paul", and later on it made the transition to the Mediterranean Sea. He carried out important assignments for the transportation of timber to the shipyards of St. Petersburg. In 1780, he was even appointed commander of the imperial yacht, but the future admiral refuses this boring post and applies for a transfer back to the battleship of the line. Then Ushakov received the rank of captain of the second rank.
From 1780 to 1782 he commanded the battleship Victor. During this period, Ushakov was constantly on raids: he and his crew guarded trade routes from English privateers, who at that time were completely unrestrained.
Role in the creation of the Black Sea Fleet
Admiral Ushakov is especially famous for one deed. His biography includes the fact that this particular person was one of the founders of the entire Black Sea Fleet. Since 1783, he was busy building the Sevastopol base for the fleet, personally supervising the training of new crews on ships. By 1784, Ushakov became a captain of the first rank. Then he receives the Order of St. Vladimir 4th degree for his fight against the plague epidemic in Kherson. After that, he was entrusted with the command of the ship "St. Paul" and was given the rank of brigadiercaptain.
War with the Turks
During the next war with the Turks, from 1787 to 1791, the loudest victories of the Russian fleet are associated with the name of Ushakov. So, in a naval battle near the island of Fidonisi (now called Serpentine), which took place on July 3, 1788, Admiral Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov personally led the vanguard of four frigates. The Turkish fleet at that time consisted of 49 ships at once, and Eski-Gassan commanded them.
We had only 36 ships, and there were five times fewer ships of the line. It was Ushakov, skillfully maneuvering and preventing the Turks from approaching, who managed to drive away their two advanced battleships, turning the fire of their guns to flight. This battle lasted three hours, as a result of which the entire Turkish fleet preferred to retreat. For this battle, the future Admiral Ushakov (his biography is described in the article) was granted the Knights of St. George.
New exploits
The next two years didn't work out for naval battles. Nevertheless, in 1790, the entire Black Sea Fleet was transferred under the control of Ushakov. The active officer immediately began training the crews of the main line ships. Soon the opportunity arose to check the work: at Sinop, the squadron of Rear Admiral Ushakov bombed almost thirty enemy ships. In response, the entire Turkish squadron went on a raid. Anticipating this, the talented commander withdrew his fleet in advance and anchored it near the Kerch Strait in order to block the breakthrough of Turkish ships to the Crimea and prevent the landing of enemy troops. SoThe Battle of Kerch began. Subsequently, it was included in almost all textbooks on naval combat, since the techniques used by the admiral at that time were really advanced for their time.
New battle
However, soon Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov (whose biography contains many such episodes) decided to go towards the Turkish squadron. This temptation turned out to be irresistible for the Turks: relying on a fair wind, they decided to swoop down on the Russian fleet and destroy it.
However, their plan was obvious to Ushakov, and therefore he promptly gave the command to reorganize and allocate several battleships to reliably cover the avant-garde. When the latter tied the Turks in battle, the rest of the Russian ships arrived in time. By three o'clock in the afternoon the wind began to favor our fleet. The ships of the two squadrons quickly began to approach, and soon their gunners entered into a tense duel.
Russian gunners showed themselves in this battle just great. Soon, most of the Turkish ships, due to the severe destruction of the equipment, could no longer participate in the battle. A little more, and the Russians began to celebrate a complete and unconditional victory. The Turks managed to escape only thanks to the best characteristics of their compact and nimble ships. So the history of the Black Sea Fleet was replenished with another glorious victory.
Many historians note that in that battle the enemy did not lose a single ship sunk, but the state of the Turkish squadron was such that it could not go into battle in the coming months. In addition, their crews suffered huge losses in livestrength, and the landing units were seriously battered. The Russians killed only 29 people. It was in honor of this victory that in 1915 one of the battleships of the fleet was named Kerch.
Battle near Tendra
At the end of the summer of 1790, a rather significant battle took place near Cape Tendra, where Ushakov's squadron suddenly stumbled upon the Turks, who were freely anchored. The admiral disregarded all the traditions of the fleet, ordering to attack on the move, without long rebuilds. Confidence in success was fueled by the now traditional reserve of four frigates.
He commanded the Turkish squadron Kapudan Pasha Hussein. He was an experienced naval commander, but even he had to retreat after several hours of intense fighting. The flagship of the Russian fleet "Christmas" under the command of Ushakov himself fought a simultaneous battle with three enemy ships at once. When the Turks fled, Russian ships pursued them until dark, after which they had to anchor.
The next day, the battle resumed with renewed vigor. Several hours of battle ended in the complete victory of our fleet. For this, the admiral was awarded the Order of St. George of the 2nd degree, as well as five thousand serfs assigned to the Mogilev province. After that, Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov, in short, became a "purebred" landowner. However, he almost never visited his estates, being constantly busy with the fleet.
Battle of Kaliakria, new victories
On land, Turkey suffered constantdefeat. Sultan Pasha decided to win back by taking revenge on the sea. Warships were assembled throughout the empire, and soon an incredibly powerful fleet was stationed near Istanbul. He, in the amount of 78 ships, soon anchored near Cape Kaliakria. Since the Muslim holiday of Kurban Bayram began at that time, some of the crews were released ashore.
However, the Russian government at that time began negotiations with a weakened enemy, which the Turks were only happy about. But Admiral Ushakov (his biography was thus replenished with another battle) did not know about this when he stumbled upon the Turkish fleet. According to his old habit, he immediately gave the order to rebuild in the marching position, simultaneously firing at the enemy squadron from all guns.
The Turks tried to repeat the maneuver, withdrawing from the raid under fire. Thus began the battle at Cape Kaliakria. The already mentioned flagship of the Russian fleet "Christmas" attacked the enemy on the move. Shortly thereafter, the enemy squadron was dispersed, and in 1791 a peace treaty was finally signed.
Post-war work
After the war, the admiral devotes all his strength and time to the preparation and development of the Black Sea Fleet. In 1793 he received the rank of vice admiral. During this period, Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov, whose biography is full of significant events, already has great authority in the fleet, he is respected even by enemies.
And then a curious turn of history happens: Russia, as part of a coalition against the French, becomes an ally of Turkey, with which Ushakov fought a couple of years ago. ATDuring the Mediterranean expedition of 1798-1800, the admiral visited Istanbul, where the fleet of Kadyr Bey joined his squadron. The task was difficult: to liberate many islands (including the Greek Corfu), as well as to connect with the British under the command of Nelson.
Capture of Corfu
Almost all the targets were captured on the move, but Corfu was a powerful fortress, and therefore at first Ushakov ordered to take it into the ring of a naval blockade. The united squadron did not have enough infantry, so it was premature to think about an assault. After long and stubborn negotiations, the Turkish side finally sent 4,500 troops, and another 2,000 were the local militia. It was possible to draw up a plan for taking the object.
Russian paratroopers, under fire from the fort, landed on the shore, began to quickly build two artillery batteries. The rest of the infantry was ordered to attack the forward fortifications of the French. At the same time, the assault on the island of Vido began, the garrison of which quickly capitulated.
Naval artillery successfully suppressed the French batteries, after which the assault began. Part of the wall was quickly captured, after which the garrison realized that further resistance would lead to nothing good. Surrender talks began on the Admiral's ship St. Paul.
Diplomatic career
For this operation, Ushakov was promoted to full admiral. Even the Turks presented their former enemy with many valuable gifts, recognizing his military talent. After these events, the Russian squadronactively helped Suvorov's ground forces, which at that time were involved in Northern Italy. Actively operating in the Mediterranean Sea, the Russian admiral completely fettered the enemy's trade routes, simultaneously blocking the ports in Genoa and Ancona. The landing of his ships proved to be excellent during the assault and liberation of Naples and Rome from the French troops.
At this time, the old sailor amazed everyone with his talent as a subtle and skillful diplomat who knew how to put out problems and negotiate with opponents. It was he who contributed to the formation of the Republic of the Seven Islands in Greece, together with other diplomats created the Greek Senate. The introduction of new orders was enthusiastically accepted by almost all the islanders. These innovations glorified Ushakov in those parts, but caused extreme dissatisfaction with Alexander I.
Retirement
All those six months that the admiral spent in the Ionian Islands were an ongoing triumph. The locals treated the naval commander as their liberator from the French occupation. The squadron returned to its homeland on September 26, 1800, having moored in Sevastopol. The emperor was extremely dissatisfied with Ushakov's republican views, but could not do anything with him, fearing the reaction of the army and navy. In 1802, he was removed from really important areas, appointing him head of the rowing fleet in the B altic and preparatory camps for sailors.
However, Ushakov himself was glad of this: many years of swimming did not contribute to improving his he alth, and therefore already in 1807 he retired. During the French attack in 1812, he headed the Tambovmilitia, but due to poor physical he alth, he personally did not participate in the battles. The famous naval commander died in 1817 and was solemnly buried in the Sanaskar Monastery.
Interesting facts about life
Ushakov went down in the history of seafaring all over the world not only as an admiral unsurpassed by anyone in performance, but also as the author of a completely new battle tactics for the sailing fleet. He paid great attention to the training of the crews of each ship of his squadron, which was very different from the commanders of those years. The admiral was loved by his subordinates: he was tough and demanding, but not cruel.
What else is Ushakov famous for? Interesting facts about him are amazing: when an order and a medal named after him were established in the USSR, it turned out … that no one knows what the great naval commander looked like in reality. His only portrait was dated 1912, when the admiral had been dead for a hundred years. The famous anthropologist Gerasimov proposed a solution to the problem: the admiral's crypt was opened (and it turned out that some vandals had already managed to steal all personal belongings and a golden sword), the scientist took measurements from the skull, on the basis of which a reconstruction of the appearance was created. It happened in 1944.
But that's not all. In our time, this outstanding person was canonized by the Orthodox Church. Now the holy Admiral Ushakov patronizes all travelers and those people who are just about to embark on a long journey.
And one more fact. In the Sanaksar Monastery there are graves … of two Fedor Ushakovs. One of them is the admiral himself. The other belongs to his uncle, who during his lifetime was the abbot of this monastery. Studying the archives, scientists found out that the famous sailor liked to visit these walls, resting from the bustle of the world. That is why he wrote a will, according to which he was to be buried next to his uncle.
