The Don Military Flotilla (russian: Донская военная флотилия) was established in 1723 in Tavrov for countering Turkish vessels in 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, ...

. By 1735, the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

ns had built 15 ''prams'' (flat-bottom artillery sailing ships), some 60

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 ...

s and other ships. Under the command of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Pyotr Bredal, the Don Military Flotilla participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739, capturing of

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mo ...

, supporting the Russian

ground forces An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in the

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 ...

etc. In 1739, the Don Military Flotilla was disbanded. At the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the Don Military Flotilla was re-established and, under the command of

Alexei Senyavin Alexei Naumovich Senyavin (also spelled Sinyavin) (russian: Алексей Наумович Сенявин) (5 October 1716 – 10 August 1797) was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy, son of Naum Senyavin. Early career Senyavin began his ca ...

, successfully interoperated with the ground forces in the Crimea, participated in the capturing of

Kerch Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of t ...

and

Yenikale Yeni-Kale ( uk, Єні-Кале; russian: Еникале; tr, Yenikale; crh, Yeñi Qale, also spelled as ''Yenikale'' and ''Eni-Kale'' and ''Yeni-Kaleh'' or ''Yéni-Kaleb'') is a fortress on the shore of Kerch Strait in the city of Kerch. Histor ...

(1771), and rebuffed the attacks of the Turkish landing forces in the Crimea. In 1783, the Don Military Flotilla was disbanded due to the establishment of the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

. The Soviet Don Military Flotilla existed in March–August 1919, assisting the troops of the Southern Front in their struggle with the White Guards along the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

. Pyotr Dello and then B.F.Korsak commanded the Soviet Don Military Flotilla. In 1941, a Separate Don Squadron was detailed from the Don Military Flotilla, which would take part in the defense of the Don

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

from the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

together with the

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and 56th Armies.

References

{{GSEncyclopedia Russian Navy Riverine warfare Naval units and formations of the Soviet Union