The Azov-Black Sea FlotillaЦДАВОВУ. — Ф. 2. — Оп. 1. — Спр. 136. — Арк. 6 was a formation of the Makhnovist fleet, the main area of which was the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

History

In the spring of 1919, the Makhnovists occupied

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of ...

, where they began to form a navy from adapted civilian ships, on which weapons were installed. In late April - early May 1919, several sailors received a three-inch (76-mm) cannon and appeared in front of the Berdyansk Revolutionary Committee with the initiative to install it on a boat that could be used to patrol the waters of the Azov Sea. But the boat was in very poor condition. Engineers called for its examination and confirmed their suspicions that the cannon should not be put on the boat. After the second or third shot, the boat was guaranteed to leak and sink. The sailors stubbornly argued the opposite - that the boat would withstand the load. In the end, ignoring the opinion of the engineers, they independently mounted a cannon on the boat and began to go out to sea. Almost immediately, the Berdyansk boat was assigned to the

Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...

. On 21 May 1919, in connection with the appearance of the enemy fleet near Berdyansk, a telegram was sent to the headquarters of the

2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army The 2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which was formed on April 15, 1919, from the units of the ''Group of Forces of the Kharkov Direction''. It was first part of the Ukrainian Front and from ...

from the headquarters of the 1st Insurgent Division with the signatures of the chief of division

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...

and senior assistant chief of staff B. Veretelnik. It contained an request of small caliber guns for ships and large caliber guns for the Coast Guard to be sent to Berdyansk to protect the port and city navy. "Delay can be the cause of great complications," noted Makhno. At the same time, in May 1919, three ships were stationed at the Aleksandrovsk pier on the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

under the control of the Makhnovists. The group of these ships was called the Azov-Black Sea Flotilla. The flotilla commander was Kamchatny, who was only waiting for

Pavel Dybenko Pavel Efimovich Dybenko (russian: Павел Ефимович Дыбенко), (February 16, 1889 – July 29, 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a leading Soviet officer and military commander. Prior to military service Pavel Dybenko was b ...

with his

Crimean Red Army The Crimean Soviet Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which existed between May 5, 1919 and July 21, 1919. It was first part of the Ukrainian Front and from June 4 of the 14th Army. On July 21, 1919 the Army was d ...

to knock out the White Guards from the

Kerch Peninsula The Kerch Peninsula is a major and prominent geographic peninsula located at the eastern end of the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine. This peninsula stretches eastward toward the Taman peninsula between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Most of the ...

in order to withdraw the ships at the mouth of the Dnieper and try to deliver them to Berdyansk. However, this plan was never implemented.

References

{{reflist 1919 establishments in Ukraine 1919 disestablishments in Ukraine Disbanded navies Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine

History

See also

References