The British Caspian Flotilla was a naval force of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

established in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

in 1918. It was part of the

allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War or Allied Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions which began in 1918. The Allies first had the goal of helping the Czechoslovak Leg ...

. The flotilla initially reported to the Rear-Admiral Commanding, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Sea of Marmora until 1919.

History

The decision to form the force was made on 11 July 1918 at the British military HQ in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. Its purpose was twofold: # To seize Krasnovodsk, the east coast terminal of the

Trans-Caspian railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, russian: Среднеазиатская железная дорога) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by ...

, and hence support the British

Malleson Mission The Malleson mission was a military action by a small autonomous force of British troops, led by General Wilfrid Malleson, operating against Bolshevik forces over large distances in Transcaspia (modern Turkmenistan) between 1918 and 1919. Backg ...

which was intervening in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

. # To prevent

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

and the oilfields around it from falling onto the hands of the Germans or the Ottoman Empire. The force was established under the command of Commodore David Norris in September 1918. Norris traveled by road from Baghdad to Enzeli with a convoy of lorries transporting naval guns. In January 1919 he was reinforced by 12 Coastal Motor Boats sent by train from

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's ...

the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

."The Royal Navy on the Caspian, 1918–1919". ''Naval Review'', 7/8 1919-20. pp87-99 and 218-240* These ships were then armed with the naval guns, officered by British officers with a crew guarded by

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

. The flotilla maintained bases at Enzeli and Krasnovodsk, and in addition facilitated

lines of communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...

between British land units in

, Petrovsk (

Chechen Island Chechen Island (russian: Остров Чечень; Ostrov Chechen') is a coastal island on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. It is located 20 km east of Krainovka right off the headland on the northern tip of the Agrakhan Peninsula. Thi ...

Fort Alexandrovsk Fort-Shevchenko ( kk, Форт-Шевченко) is a military-base town and administrative centre of Tupkaragan District in Mangystau Region of Kazakhstan on the eastern shore of Caspian Sea. Primary industries include fishing and the extracti ...

. The flotilla was successful in the Battle of Alexandrovsky Fort in May 1919 against a Bolshevik flotilla. The Flotilla included: * HMS ''Kruger'' (flagship) * HMS ''Venture'' * HMS ''Asia'' * HMS ''Windsor Castle'' * HMS ''Emile Nobel'' * HMS ''Orlionoch'' which for a period hosted

No. 266 Squadron RAF No. 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. History First World War The squadron was formed from Nos 437 and 438 Flights at Mudros, Greece on 27 September 1918 to carry out anti-submarine patrols in that area, flying Sh ...

References

Footnotes

Sources

* Clifford Kinvig (2007), Churchill's Crusade, Hambledon & London, . * Review. Naval (1919-20) The Royal Navy on the Caspian, 1918–1919". * Halpern, Paul (2013). The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929. Ashgate Publishing.

External links

{{Royal Navy fleets Royal Navy flotillas Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I Russian Civil War Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1920 Naval forces in the Caspian Sea