 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2017) |
The Azov Flotilla or Azov Naval Flotilla was the name given to several Russian naval forces operated on the Sea of Azov as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, by both the Soviets and the White Russians during the Russian Civil War, and as part of the Soviet Navy during World War II.
The flotilla was first formed in 1768 for the Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) under the command of vice-admiral Alexei Senyavin. It was disbanded in 1783 and its ships handed over to the Black Sea Fleet.
During the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks formed the flotilla in April 1918 to fight the Germans and the White Guards. As early as the end of June, the flotilla was destroyed after the coastline of the Azov Sea was lost, and the crews were transferred to the Red Army. After Denikin's defeat in March 1920, the Red Army recaptured the coast of the Sea of Azov, and the flotilla was formed again under the command of S.E. Markelov and based at Mariupol. All ships that were in the ports of the Sea of Azov were included in the fleet. Barges and tugs were converted into warships. From September to November the base of theflotilla was relocated to Taganrog and after a short time back to Mariupol.
In July 1920 the flotilla included:
A division of 4,600 men was deployed for landing operations. The tasks of the flotilla were, for example, fire support for the troops or the creation of mine barriers in the Kerch Strait. She also played an important role in defeating General Wrangel's forces. In April 1921 the flotilla was disbanded and crews and ships were taken over by the Black Sea Fleet. [1]
In November 1920, Commander Mikhail Frunze took Crimea, pushing White general Pyotr Wrangel and his troops out of Russia. Frunze considered using the Azov flotilla to aid him, but the ships were stuck in Taganrog Bay by an early frost and took no part in the final campaign. [2]
During World War II, the Flotilla fought against German and Romanian forces as they advanced along the coast. After being chased away from its base at Yeysk by Romanian Cavalry on 8 August 1942, the Flotilla regrouped at Temryuk. In late August, as Romanian forces seized the ports of Anapa and Temryuk, most of the Flotilla was scuttled at Temryuk on 23 August, including its main warships: three gunboats (Bug, Don and Dniester), each displacing 840 tons and armed with two 130 mm guns. [3]
The Flotilla was re-established on 3 February 1943, and the headquarters of the flotilla became Yeisk.
At that time the flotilla consisted of : [1]
The Akhtarsk Combat Division was established as part of the flotilla, which included a battalion of marine infantry, an infantry battalion and four anti-aircraft batteries. The flotilla was also assigned 20 Neman R-10s, 12 Ilyushin Il-2s, a fighter squadron with seven Il-2s and a flight reconnaissance squadron with five Beriev MBR-2s.
The flotilla supported various landing operations and participated in the liberation of Mariupol and the Taman Peninsula. During the Kerch–Eltigen Operation, ships of the flotilla landed troops of the 56th Army northeast of Kerch. In January 1944, three more tactical landings were made on the Crimean coast. From November 1943 to April 1944, the flotilla performed supply tasks for the Separate Coastal Army in the Kerch area. In the Battle of the Crimea, they transported troops to the Crimea and dropped landing forces on the flanks of the German enemy. [4]
In April 1944, the Danube Flotilla was formed from the Azov flotilla, which was disbanded. [1]
The Sea of Azov is an inland shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch, and is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Russia on the east, and by Ukraine on the northwest and southwest, currently under Russian occupation. It is an important access route for Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea via the Volga-Don Canal.
The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide and up to 18 metres (59 ft) deep. The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus. It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.
The Russian Naval Infantry, often referred to as Russian Marines in the West, operate as the naval infantry of the Russian Navy. Established in 1705, they are capable of conducting amphibious operations as well as operating as more traditional light infantry.
The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with the opposing superpower, the United States, during the Cold War (1945–1991). The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War, either confronting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in western Europe or power projection to maintain its sphere of influence in eastern Europe.
Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov was an admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union. Twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, he oversaw the expansion of the Soviet Navy into a global force during the Cold War.
The Black Sea Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.
Azov Cossack Host was a Cossack host that existed on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, between 1832 and 1862.
The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of the southern Soviet Union, and the oil fields beyond at Maikop, Grozny, and ultimately Baku, to the Germans. Two days prior, Adolf Hitler issued a directive to launch such an operation into the Caucasus region, to be named Operation Edelweiß. German forces were compelled to withdraw from the area that winter as Operation Little Saturn threatened to cut them off.
The southern Russian city of Taganrog began as one of Russia's first planned cities under Peter the Great. To protect the newly conquered Sea of Azov region, the Russians opened a naval base there in 1698 and a city and seaport were built. However, after the Turkish victory in the war of 1710–1711, Taganrog city and port were demolished prior to handover to the Turks.
The siege of Taganrog is a name given in some Russian histories to Anglo-French naval operations in the Sea of Azov between June and November 1855 during the Crimean War. British and French forces were implementing a strategy of destroying the supply lines for the main Russian army which ran through the Sea of Azov. Taganrog was one of the major logistical hubs of the Russian army and was attacked and its military depot destroyed on 3 June 1855 as part of a series of attacks on all major Russian supply bases in the area, except Rostov-on-Don, which could not be reached due to the large shoals not admitting any available warship.
The Governor of Taganrog was the head of the Taganrog borough or governorate, between October 8, 1802 and May 19, 1887.
The Battle of the Sea of Azov, also known as the Chernigovka pocket was an Axis military campaign fought between 26 September 1941 and 11 October 1941 on the northern shores of the Sea of Azov on the Eastern Front of World War II during Operation Barbarossa. It resulted in a complete Axis victory over the Red Army.
The Kerch–Eltigen operation was a World War II amphibious offensive made in November 1943 by the Red Army as a precursor to the Crimean offensive, with the object of defeating and forcing the withdrawal of the German forces from the Crimea. Landing at two locations on the Crimea's eastern coast, the Red Army successfully reinforced the northern beachhead of Yenikale but was unable to prevent an Axis counterattack that collapsed the southern beachhead at Eltigen. Subsequently, the Red Army used the beachhead at Yenikale to launch further offensive operations into the Crimea in May 1944.
The Don Military Flotilla was established in 1723 in Tavrov for countering Turkish vessels in the Sea of Azov. By 1735, the Russians had built 15 prams, some 60 galleys and other ships. Under the command of Rear Admiral Pyotr Bredal, the Don Military Flotilla participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739, capturing of Azov, supporting the Russian ground forces in the Crimea etc. In 1739, the Don Military Flotilla was disbanded.
Alexei Naumovich Senyavin was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy, son of Naum Senyavin.
Taganrog Fortress was a star fort-style fortress built during the reign of Peter the Great and re-constructed by the order of Catherine the Great.
The Danube Flotilla was a naval force of the Soviet Navy's Black Sea Fleet during World War II and afterwards, existing 1940–1941 and 1944–1960. The Flotilla operated on the Danube River and also, at times, on other rivers connected to the Black Sea.
The Dnieper Flotilla is the name given to the various naval flotillas on the Dnieper River. These were particularly active in four conflicts: the Russo-Turkish wars of 1735–39 and 1787–92, the Russian Civil War, and World War II.
The siege of Perekop, also known as the Perekop-Chongar Operation, was the final battle of the Southern Front in the Russian Civil War from 7 to 17 November 1920. The White movement's stronghold on the Crimean Peninsula was protected by the Chongar fortification system along the strategic Isthmus of Perekop and the Syvash, from which the Crimean Corps under General Yakov Slashchov repelled several Red Army invasion attempts in early 1920. The Southern Front of the Red Army and the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, under the command of Mikhail Frunze, launched an offensive on Crimea with an invasion force four-times larger than the defenders, the Russian Army under the command of General Pyotr Wrangel. Despite suffering heavy losses, the Reds broke through the fortifications, and the Whites were forced into retreat southwards. Following their defeat at the siege of Perekop, the Whites evacuated from the Crimea, dissolving the Army of Wrangel and ending the Southern Front in Bolshevik victory.
