André Marty et Badina mutins de la Mer Noire 1919

The Black Sea mutiny was a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

that took place aboard various ships of the French Navy — among others the battleships , , and — which had been dispatched to the Black Sea as part of the French-led Southern Russia intervention on the White Russian side. On April 19, 1919, the ships' crews mutinied in opposition to that French policy of intervention. Among the leaders of the mutiny was

André Marty André Marty (6 November 1886 – 23 November 1956) was a leading figure in the French Communist Party (PCF) for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern ...

. After the armistice of November 11, 1918, the

dreadnought The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...

battleship was part of a squadron sent across the Black Sea toward

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

to combat the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. The mutiny began on April 16, 1919, on board the destroyer , as it lay anchored in the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

port of Galatz. One of the mutiny's supposed leaders,

, was arrested the same day. Disobedience movements had emerged in February 1919. They were provoked by some combination of poor living conditions, the absence of demobilization following the armistice, and sympathy with the Russian revolutionaries. Marty had fomented a plot to take control of the protest movement and to enter the port of Odessa by waving a red flag, the symbol of the Bolshevik revolutionaries. A few hours after the first mutiny, the mutiny extended to the French naval vessels stationed in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. On the morning of April 20, the red flag was raised on the two battleships (without lowering the French tricolor). The mutiny spread on April 23 to the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

. A

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

held in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in July 1919 sentenced Marty to 20 years forced labor. In total, about 100 sailors were sentenced by French military tribunals although most were rapidly reprieved.

References

{{cite book , author=Yves Charpy , title=Paul-Meunier: un député aubois victime de la dictature de Georges Clemenceau , language=French , publisher=L'Harmattan , year=2011 , page=277 , isbn=978-2-296-13704-2 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVZoppyBpLgC&pg=PA277 Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War April 1919 events Naval mutinies History of the French Navy