The Battle of Kinburn was fought on 12 October ( N.S.)/1 October ( O.S.) 1787 as part of the

Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 involved an unsuccessful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to regain lands lost to the Russian Empire in the course of the previous Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). It took place concomitantly with the Austro ...

. A weak

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Kinburn was located opposite

Ochakov Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the adminis ...

on a

sand bank In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It o ...

forming a part of 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 ...

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition (geology), deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, res ...

. It covered approaches to the fleet base at

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

. The reason for the Ottoman attack on Kinburn was to deprive the enemy of a base for the siege of Ochakov and Kherson fleet base.

The forces

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

, commanding the Russian

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

, had 19 bronze and 300 iron

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

pieces in the fortress, weak in power and range, 1,500 infantry in Kinburne and 2,500 infantry, 28 regimental and 10 field guns, and Cossack cavalry within 30

verst A verst (russian: верста, ) is an obsolete Russian unit of length defined as 500 sazhen. This makes a verst equal to . Plurals and variants In the English language, ''verst'' is singular with the normal plural ''versts''. In Russian, the no ...

s (roughly 50 kilometers) from the fortress. The Ottomans had three 60 gun

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...

, four 34 gun

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, four

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

vessels (

floating batteries A floating battery is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship. History Use of timber rafts loaded with cannon by Danish defenders of Copenhagen a ...

), and 14

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...

with 4 guns each. Altogether, about 400 guns. The Ottoman troops were carried by 23 transport vessels.

First attack

During September, the Ottoman fleet twice carried out ranging fire of the fleet against the coast, trying to locate position of the Russian gun emplacements. During one

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...

, a Russian

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

"Desna" which was part of a force of two frigates and four galleys (themselves a part of Admiral Mordvinov's

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...

), intervened on the initiative of its Maltese captain, and drove off the Ottoman gunboats. On the 10 and 11 October bombardment of Kinburn was conducted from the Ottoman ships again. On 12 October 1787 at 9 in the morning an

amphibious landing Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...

of 6,000 troops was conducted on two separate sites (5,300 on the bank's 'tongue' itself, and the rest 10–15 versts away at a village of Bienka), with the

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada *Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach, ...

supporting the landing with fire. The

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

of Ochakov ordered the ships to leave after the landing so that the amphibious landing force would not contemplate

withdrawal Withdrawal means "an act of taking out" and may refer to: * Anchoresis (withdrawal from the world for religious or ethical reasons) * ''Coitus interruptus'' (the withdrawal method) * Drug withdrawal * Social withdrawal * Taking of money from a ban ...

. The landing force begun to dig a total of 15

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

, in the attempt to move closer to Kinburn. Suvorov called for reinforcement (2,500 infantry and Cossacks) and waited, while being occupied with public prayer in the church (Celebration of the Covering), receiving dispatches and messages in the church.

Counterattack

At midday the Turks approached to within 200 paces of the fortress. Suvorov began the first

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

with 1,500 soldiers of the Orlov

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

and Schlisselburg

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...

regiments. Those attacking troops took 10 of the 15 trenches, but under flank fire of the Ottoman fleet they were forced to retreat to the fortress. Suvorov himself was wounded in the side and left hand, and was saved only through the courage of Stepan Novikov, a grenadier of the Schlisselburg grenadier regiment. At 16.00 hours Russian reinforcements approached and Suvorov repeated his attack, after releasing

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

to attack around the left

flank Flank may refer to: * Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen ** Flank steak, a cut of beef ** Part of the external anatomy of a horse * Flank speed, a nautical term * Flank opening, a chess opening * A term in Australian rules football * The si ...

of the enemy over the

shoals In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It o ...

and into their rear. This attack was successful, and Turks were forced out from the trenches and forced against the coast, forcing the fleet to

cease fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

in order not to hit its own troops. Suvorov had two horses shot under him. The regimental guns were able to fire canister at

point-blank range Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...

, causing fearful carnage among the Turks. At night 600 Turk survivors of the landing returned on board the ships by

rowboats Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reaction (physics), reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to ...

. Several hundred hid in the reeds, and were attacked by Cossacks on the following morning. Russian losses were 2 officers and 136 others killed and 17 officers and 300 others wounded, and those of the Turk – about 4000, including two French officers dressed as Turks which were sent to Siberia. In Suvorov's report the Schlisselburg regiment is particularly noted for

bravery Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

. For the Kinburn victory

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

awarded Suvorov with the

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

and the highest praise, where she wrote: “You deserved it by faith and by faithfulness".

References

Bibliography

* Широкорад А.Б. Русско-Турецкие войны (под общ. ред Тараса А.Е.) Minsk: Harvest, 2000. * {{coord, 46, 34, 19, N, 31, 33, 35, E, region:UA_type:event_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Kinburn Kinburn Kinburn 1787 1787 in Europe 1787 in the Ottoman Empire 1780s in Ukraine Kinburn 1787 Alexander Suvorov Kinburn 1787

The forces

First attack

Counterattack

See also

References

Bibliography