| Navies of Russia |
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The Imperial Russian Navy (Russian:Российский императорский флот) operated as thenavy of theRussian Tsardom and later theRussian Empire from 1696 to 1917.[c] Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of theFebruary Revolution and the declaration of theRussian Republic in 1917. It developed from a smaller force that had existed prior to TsarPeter the Great's founding of the modern Russian navy during theSecond Azov campaign in 1696, and expanded in the second half of the 18th century before reaching its peak strength by the early part of the 19th century, behind only the British and French fleets in terms of size.
The Imperial Navy drew its officers from the aristocracy of the Empire, who belonged to the stateRussian Orthodox Church. Young aristocrats began to be trained forleadership at a national naval boarding school, theNaval Cadet Corps. From 1818 on, only officers of the Imperial Russian Navy were appointed to the position of Chief Manager of theRussian-American Company, based inRussian America (present-dayAlaska) for colonization and fur-trade development. Although the early Imperial Navy initially employed paid foreign sailors, the government began to recruit native-born sailors as conscripts, drafted (as were men to serve in the army). Service in the navy was lifelong before the 1874 decree on conscription limited the service term to six years at most. Many naval commanders and recruits came from Imperial Russia's non-Russian lands with maritime traditions—Finland and (especially) theBaltic governorates.
The Russian Navy went into a period of decline due to the Empire's slow technical and economic development in the first half of the 19th century. It had a revival in the latter part of the century during the reign of EmperorNicholas II (r. 1894–1917), but most of itsPacific Fleet (along with theBaltic Fleet sent to the Far East) was destroyed in the disastrousRusso-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Nicholas II, who was a naval enthusiast, had a major role in both the build up of the navy before the war with Japan and the rebuilding of it in the decade after.
The navy had mixed experiences during theFirst World War, with theGermans generally gaining the upper hand in theBaltic Sea, while the Russians took control of theBlack Sea. The Russian Baltic Fleet mostly stayed on the defensive, but theBlack Sea Fleet's attacks on Ottoman merchant shipping nearly cut off the coal supply toConstantinople and threatened theOttoman Empire'sability to stay in the war. TheRussian Revolution marked the end of the Imperial Navy; theRussian Provisional Government carried out reforms to the navy and its command structure, including the removal of imperial references from its rank insignia. Its officers had mostly aligned with theemperor, and the sailors split to fight on either side during theRussian Civil War of 1917–1922. TheSoviet Navy, established as the Red Fleet in 1918 after the Revolution, took over the available surviving ships that did not evacuate from Crimea.
Strategically, the Imperial Russian Navy faced two overarching issues: the use of ice-free ports and open access to the high seas.Saint Petersburg and the other Baltic ports, as well asVladivostok, could not operate in winter, hence the push for Russia to establish naval facilities on the Black Sea coast and (eventually) atMurmansk. And even substantial naval forces in theBaltic Sea remained confined by the lack of free access to the Atlantic via theØresund, just as the Black Sea Fleet could not always rely on passage through theBosphorus and theDardanelles. As a result, separate naval groupings developed in relative isolation in the Baltic, the Black Sea, the Russian Far East and the Arctic.
Under TsarMikhail I (Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov), the first three-masted ships built within Russia were finished in 1636.Danish shipbuilders fromHolstein built it inBalakhna according to contemporary European design. The ship was christenedFrederick; during its maiden voyage on theCaspian Sea, the ship sailed into a heavy storm and was lost at sea.
During theRusso–Swedish War, 1656–1658, Russian forces seized theSwedish fortresses ofDünaburg andKokenhusen on theWestern Dvina. They renamed the former asBorisoglebsk and the latter asTsarevich-Dmitriyev. Aboyar namedAfanasy Ordin-Nashchokin founded a shipyard at Tsarevich-Dmitriev fortress and began constructing vessels to sail in the Baltic Sea. In 1661, however, Russia lost this and other captured territories by thePeace of Cardis. Russia agreed to surrender to Sweden all captured territories, and it ordered all vessels constructed at Tsarevich-Dmitriev to be destroyed.
Boyar Ordin-Nashchokin turned his attention to theVolga River and Caspian Sea. With the Tsar's approval, theboyar brought Dutch shipbuilding experts to the town of Dedinovo near the confluence of theOka and Volga rivers. Shipbuilding commenced in the winter of 1667. Within two years, four vessels had been completed: one 22-gun galley, christenedОрёл ("Oryol" = "Eagle"), and three smaller ships.Орёл was Russia's first own three-masted, European-designed sailing ship. It was captured inAstrakhan by rebelliousCossacks led byStepan Razin. The Cossacks ransackedОрёл and abandoned it, half-submerged, in an estuary of the Volga.
During much of the 17th century, independent Russian merchants and Cossacks, usingkoch boats, sailed across theWhite Sea, exploring the riversLena,Kolyma andIndigirka, and founding settlements in the region of the upperAmur. The most celebrated Russian explorer wasSemyon Dezhnev who, in 1648, sailed along the entire northern expanse of present-day Russia by way of theArctic Ocean. Rounding theChukotsk Peninsula, Dezhnev passed through theBering Sea and sailed into the Pacific Ocean.
Peter the Great established the modern Russian Navy. During theSecond Azov campaign of 1696 against Turkey, the Russians for the first time used 2 warships, 4fireships, 23galleys and 1300strugs, built on theVoronezh River. After the occupation of theAzov fortress, theBoyar Duma looked into Peter's report of this military campaign. It passed a decree on October 20, 1696, to commence construction of a navy. This date is considered the official founding of the Imperial Russian Navy.
During theGreat Northern War of 1700–1721, the Russians built theBaltic Fleet. The construction of the oared fleet (galley fleet) took place in 1702–1704 at severalshipyards (estuaries of the riversSyas,Luga andOlonka). In order to defend the conquered coastline and attack enemy's maritime communications in theBaltic Sea, the Russians created a sailing fleet from ships built in Russia and others imported from abroad.
From 1703 to 1723, the main navalbase of the Baltic Fleet was located inSaint Petersburg and then inKronstadt. Bases were also created in Reval (Tallinn) and inVyborg after it was ceded by Sweden afterRusso-Swedish War (1741-1743).Vladimirsky Prikaz was the first organization in charge of shipbuilding. Later on, these functions were transferred to theAdmiralteyskiy Prikaz (admiralty in St. Petersburg).
In 1745 the Russian Navy had 130 sailing vessels, including 36 ships of the line, 9frigates, 3shnyavas (шнява — a light two-mast ship used forreconnaissance and messenger services), 5 bombardier ships, and 77 auxiliary vessels. The oared fleet consisted of 396 vessels, including 253 galleys and semi-galleys (calledскампавеи, orscampavei; a light high-speed galley) and 143brigantines. The ships were being constructed at 24 shipyards, including the ones inVoronezh,Kazan,Pereyaslavl,Arkhangelsk,Olonets, Petersburg andAstrakhan.
The naval officers came fromdvoryane (noblemen, aristocrats who belonged to the state Russian Orthodox Church). The regular sailors wereconscripts, drafted into military service. The service in the navy was lifelong. Children of noblemen were educated for naval service at the School for Mathematical and Navigational Sciences, which had been founded in 1701 in Moscow's Sukharev Tower. Students were often sent abroad for training in foreign fleets. The Navy also hired foreign nationals, with significant naval experience, to serve in the Russian Navy, such as the Norwegian-DutchCornelius Cruys, the GreekIvan Botsis, or the ScotsmanThomas Gordon. In 1718, the Admiralty Board (Адмиралтейств-коллегия) was established as the highest naval authority in Russia.
The organizational principles of the Russian Navy, educational and training methods for preparing future staff, and methods for conducting military action were all summarized in the Naval Charter (1720), written by Peter I himself.[1]Peter the Great,Feodor Apraksin,Alexey Senyavin,Naum Senyavin, AdmiralMikhail Golitsyn and others are generally credited for the development of the Russian art ofnaval warfare. The main principles of naval warfare were further developed byGrigory Spiridov,Feodor Ushakov, andDmitry Senyavin.
Between 1688 and 1725, a period spanning most of Peter's reign, some 1,260 seagoingvessels were built in Russian shipyards for the Imperial Russian Navy. Fleets were launched successively on theWhite Sea, theSea of Azov (with access to theBlack Sea), theBaltic Sea, and theCaspian Sea (Russo-Persian War of 1722-1723).[2] In 1700, the majority of sailors in the Imperial Russian Navy were foreigners at the start of theGreat Northern War. But by 1721, at the end of the same war, the navy had 7,215 native-born sailors.[2]
In the second half of the 18th century, the Russian Navy was built up to support the government's foreign policy. The nation conducted theRusso-Turkish wars for supremacy in theBlack Sea. For the first time, Russia sent itssquadrons from the Baltic Sea to distanttheaters of operations (seeArchipelago expeditions of the Russian Navy).Admiral Spiridov's squadron gained supremacy in theAegean Sea by destroying theTurkish fleet in theBattle of Chesma in 1770. In 1771, theRussian army conquered the coasts of theKerch Strait andfortresses ofKerch andYenikale.
After having advanced to theDanube, the Russians formed theDanube Military Flotilla for the purpose of guarding the Danube estuary. In 1771 they were guests to theRepublic of Ragusa.[3] TheBeluga caviar from the Danube was famous, and merchants from the Republic of Ragusa dominated the import-export business inSerbia with theHabsburg monarchy.[4]
In 1773 the vessels of theAzov Flotilla (created anew in 1771) sailed into the Black Sea. Russia defeated Turkey in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, gaining control of theSea of Azov and a part of the Black Sea coastline between the riversBug andDniester. TheCrimea was pronounced independent under Russia'sprotectorate and wasannexed by Russia in 1783. In 1778, the Russians founded the port ofKherson. The first battleship of theBlack Sea Fleet was commissioned here in 1783. A year later, a squadron had been developed.
By the second half of the 18th century, the Russian Navy had the fourth-largest fleet in the world after Great Britain, France and Spain. The Black Sea Fleet possessed 35 line-of-battle ships and 19 frigates (1787), and the Baltic Fleet had 23 ships of the line and 130 frigates (1788). In the early 19th century, the Russian Navy consisted of the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets,Caspian Flotilla,White Sea Flotilla andOkhotsk Flotilla.
During theNapoleonic Wars, the Russian Navy had limited sea-going capability, with the 1802 Committee to Improve the Condition of the Navy concluding that the dire state of the ships of the Baltic Fleet, suffering as they did from extensive rot and a lack of copper plating, was incapable of defendingKronstadt andSt Petersburg. The Committee's chairman, Vorontsov, concluded that "It is impossible for Russia to be considered a major naval power, but there is no predictable need or advantage in this status."[5] Consequently, the Committee recommended nothing more than limited measures to rectify the state of the fleets, and the Russians retained limited capability at sea thereafter, relying on their land power to defeatNapoleon. In 1802, the Ministry of Naval Military Forces was established (renamed to Naval Ministry in 1815).[6]
This attitude changed with the accession ofNicholas I in 1825, who less than a month into his reign declared that "Russia must become the third naval power after England and France and must be more powerful than any coalition of secondary naval powers."[7] As a consequence, the 1825 Committee to Organise the Fleet was formed, which outlined an ambitious shipbuilding project which aimed to create the third largest navy in Europe.
The growth of the Russian navy in the years after this greatly bolstered Russian naval capability, expanding both the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets. A Russian squadron under the command of Dutch AdmiralLodewijk van Heiden fought at theBattle of Navarino in 1827. The Navy was used to great effect during the subsequentRusso-Turkish War (1828-29), utilising the Mediterranean squadron and the Black Sea Fleet to gain command of the Sea from the Ottomans, which contributed to Russian victory and the signing of theTreaty of Adrianople in 1829.[citation needed]
In 1826, the Russians built their first armedsteamboatIzhora (73.6 kW (98.7 hp)), equipped with eightcannons. In 1836, they constructed the firstpaddle steam frigate of the Russian Navy calledBogatyr (displacement – 1,340 t (1,320long tons), power – 177 kW (237 hp), armament – 28 cannons). The Imperial Russian Navy also sent out exploratory expeditions. Between 1803 and 1855, their ships undertook more than 40circumnavigations and long-distant voyages, most of which were in support of their North Americans colonies in Russian America (Alaska) and Fort Ross in northern California, and their Pacific ports on the eastern seaboard ofSiberia. These voyages produced important scientific research materials and discoveries in Pacific, Antarctic and Arctic theatres of operations.[citation needed]
During the American Civil War, Anglo-Russian relations were worsened by Russian perceptions that the British were covertly supporting theJanuary Uprising against Russian rule in Poland. The Russian admiralty feared that its navy could be blockaded by the British and French navies in the case of an outbreak of war, and thus dispatched the Atlantic and Pacific fleets to North America, includingSan Francisco and from 1863New York—with sealed orders to attack British naval targets in case war broke out between Russia and Britain.[8][9]
The Imperial Russian Navy continued to expand in the later part of the century becoming the third largest fleet in the world after the UK and France. The expansion accelerated under EmperorNicholas II who had been influenced by the American naval theoreticianAlfred Thayer Mahan. Russian industry, although growing in capacity, was not able to meet the demands and some ships were ordered from the UK, France, Germany, US, and Denmark. French naval architects in particular had a considerable influence on Russian designs.
Russia's slow technical and economic development in the first half of the 19th century caused her to fall behind other European countries in the field ofsteamboat construction. By the outbreak of theCrimean War in 1853, Russia had the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, Arkhangelsk Flotilla, Caspian Flotilla andOkhotsk Flotilla (altogether, 40 battleships, 15 frigates, 24corvettes andbrigs, 16 steam frigates etc.).
The combined number of staff of all the fleets equaled 91,000 people. Despite all this, the reactionaryserfdom system had an adverse effect on the development of the Russian Navy. It was especially typical of the Baltic Fleet, which was known for its harsh military drill.
Thanks to admiralsMikhail Lazarev,Pavel Nakhimov,Vladimir Kornilov, andVladimir Istomin, the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet were taught the art of warfare and upholding of military traditions of the Russian Navy, formed in the times of Admiral Ushakov.
TheBattle of Sinop in 1853 the Black Sea Fleet under Nakhimov made a number of tactical innovations. During theSiege of Sevastopol in 1854–1855, the Russian sailors used all means possible to defend their base from land and sea. In accordance with theTreaty of Paris, Russia lost the right to have a military fleet in the Black Sea. In the 1860s, the Russian fleet which had relied upon sails lost its significance and was gradually replaced by steam.
After the Crimean War, Russia commenced construction of steam-poweredironclads,monitors, and floating batteries. These vessels had strongartillery and thickarmor, but lacked seaworthiness, speed and long-distance abilities. In 1861, they built the first steel-armoredgunboatOpyt (Опыт). In 1869, the Russians began the construction of one of the first seafaring ironclads,Petr Veliky (Пётр Великий).
On the night of 8 February 1904, theJapanese naval fleet under AdmiralHeihachiro Togo opened the war with a surprise attack bytorpedo boat destroyers[10] on the Russian ships at Port Arthur, badly damaging two Russian battleships. The attacks developed into theBattle of Port Arthur the next morning. A series of indecisive naval engagements followed, in which the Japanese were unable to attack the Russian fleet successfully undershore batteries (coastal guns)[11] of the harbor and the Russians declined to leave the harbor for the open seas, especially after the death of AdmiralStepan Osipovich Makarov on 13 April 1904.
After the attack on Port Arthur, the Japanese attempted to deny the Russians use of the port. On the night of 13/14 February, the Japanese attempted to block the entrance to Port Arthur by sinking several cement-filled steamers in the deep water channel to the port.[12] But the steamers, driven off course by Russian gunfire were unable to be sunk in the designated places, rendering them ineffective. Another attempt to block the harbor entrance on the night of 3/4 May with blockships also failed.
In March, the energetic[13] Vice AdmiralStepan Makarov (1849–1904) took command of the First Russian Pacific Squadron with the intention of making plans to break out of the Port Arthur blockade. By then, both sides began a policy of tactical offensive mine-laying by laying mines in each other's ports. This was the first time in warfare that mines were used for offensive purposes. In the past, mines were used as purely defensive purposes by keeping harbors safe from invading warships.
The Japanese mine-laying policy was effective at restricting the Russian movement of its ships outside Port Arthur when on 12 April 1904, two Russian battleships; theflagship,Petropavlovsk, andPobeda ran into a Japanese minefield off Port Arthur with both striking mines.[14]Petropavlovsk sank within an hour, whilePobeda had to be towed back to Port Arthur for extensive repairs. Makarov died onPetropavlovsk.
However, the Russians soon learned the Japanese tactic of offensive minelaying and decided to play the strategy too. On 15 May, two Japanese battleships –Yashima andHatsuse, were both lured into a recently laid Russian minefield off Port Arthur, both striking at least two mines.Hatsuse sank within minutes taking 450 sailors with her, whileYashima sank under tow a few hours later.[15]
The Russian fleet attempted to break out from Port Arthur and proceed toVladivostok, but they were intercepted and dispersed at theBattle of the Yellow Sea.[16] The remnant of the Russian fleet remained in Port Arthur, where the ships were slowly sunk by the artillery of the besieging army. Attempts to relieve the city by land also failed, and after theBattle of Liaoyang in late August, the Russians retreated to Mukden (Shenyang). Port Arthur finally fell on 2 January 1905, after a series of brutal, high-casualty assaults.
By 25 June, the Imperial Russian Navy had secretly purchased its first naval submarine, known as Madam, fromIsaac Rice'sElectric Boat Company. This submarine was originally built under the direction ofArthur Leopold Busch as the American torpedo boatFulton. It was a prototype of the Holland Type 7 Design known as theAdder-class/Plunger-class submarines. By 10 October, this first Russian submarine was officially commissioned into service and shipped to the eastern coast nearVladivostok Russia and was renamedSom ("Catfish"). This first Russian submarine was not ready in time for the Russo-Japanese War. The reason behind this delay was partly due to a late shipment of torpedoes that was originally ordered from Germany in early 1905. Russia soon ordered more submarines of the same basic design, and they were built under contract with the Holland Company by theNeva Shipbuilding Company located inSt. Petersburg, Russia.
In 1903, the German ship building firmGermaniawerft atKiel completed Germany's first fully functioning engine powered submarine;Forelle. The submarine was toured inspected byKaiser Wilhelm II, andPrince Heinrich of Prussia was given a brief cruise in the vessel.[17] In April 1904, the Imperial Russian Navy purchasedForelle, and ordered two more submarines of theKarp class.[18] These vessels, as well asForelle were transported along theTrans-Siberian Railway[19] en route to the war zone.
Germaniawerft, under the supervision of Spanish naval architect Raymondo Lorenzo d'Euevilley-Montjustin, continued his work on theKarp-class submarines, improving and modifying one into Germany's firstU-boat,U-1, which was commissioned into theImperial German Navy on 14 December 1906.[20]U-1 was retired in 1919, and is currently on display at theDeutsches Museum in Munich.[21]
Due to the ongoing blockade ofPort Arthur in 1904, the Imperial Russian Navy dispatched their remaining submarines toVladivostok, and by the end of 1904 the last of seven subs had reached their new base there. Using the seven boats as a foundation, the Imperial Russian Navy created the world's first operational submarine fleet at Vladivostok on 1 January 1905. On 14 February 1905 the newsubmarine fleet sent out its first combat patrol consisting of the vesselsSom andDelfin. With patrols varying from 24 hours to a few days, the sub fleets first enemy contact occurred on 29 April 1905 when Imperial Japanese Navytorpedo boats fired uponSom, withdrawing after failing to score a hit. On 1 July the Russian submarineKeta made contact with two Japanese torpedo boats in theTartar Strait.Keta could not submerge quick enough to obtain a firing position and both adversaries broke contact.[22]
The Russians had already been preparing to reinforce their fleet the previous year by sending elements of theBaltic Sea fleet (The Second Pacific Squadron) under AdmiralZinovy Rozhestvensky around theCape of Good Hope to Asia, a voyage of over 18,000 mi (16,000 nmi; 29,000 km). On 21 October 1904, while passing by the United Kingdom (an ally of Japan but neutral in this war), they nearly provoked a war in theDogger Bank incident by firing on British fishing boats that they mistook for Japanesetorpedo boats.
The duration of the Baltic Fleet's journey meant thatAdmiral Togo was well aware of theBaltic Fleet's progress, and he made plans to meet it before it could reach port atVladivostok. He intercepted them in theTsushima Strait between Korea and Japan, in the early morning of 27 May 1905. Although both battleship fleets were on nearly equal footing in regards to the latest in battleship technology, with the British warship designs representing theImperial Japanese Navy, and predominately the French designs being favored by the Russian fleets;[23] it was the combat experience that Togo had accrued in the 1904 naval battles ofPort Arthur and theYellow Sea, that gave him the edge over the un-tested Admiral Rozhestvensky during theBattle of Tsushima on 27 May.[24] By the end of the day on 27 May, nearly all of Rozhestvensky's battleships were sunk, including his flagship,Knyaz Suvorov; and on the following day, Admiral Nebogatov, who had relieved Rozhestvensky due to his wounds, surrendered the remainder of the fleet to Admiral Togo.
At the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Russia fell from being the third greatest naval power to sixth place. The focus of Russian naval activities shifted back from the Far East to the Baltic. The task of theBaltic Fleet was to defend the Baltic Sea and Saint Petersburg from the German Empire.
TsarNicholas II created a Naval General Staff in 1906. At first, attention was directed to creation of mine-laying and a submarine fleet. An ambitious expansion program was put before theDuma in 1907–1908 but was voted down. TheBosnian Crisis of 1909 forced a strategic reconsideration, and newGangut-class battleships, cruisers, and destroyers were ordered for the Baltic Fleet. A worsening of relations withTurkey meant that new ships including theImperatritsa Mariya-class battleships were also ordered for the Black Sea Fleet. The total Russian naval expenditure from 1906 to 1913 was $519 million, in fifth place behind Britain, Germany, the United States and France.
The re-armament program included a significant element of foreign participation with several ships (including the cruiserRurik) and machinery ordered from foreign firms. After the outbreak of World War I, ships and equipment being built in Germany were confiscated. Equipment from Britain was slow in reaching Russia or was diverted to the Western Allies' own war effort.
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By the time that the war broke out the Russian Baltic Fleet and the Siberian Flotilla were not a match for the GermanHigh Seas Fleet or theImperial Japanese Navy, but the Black Sea Fleet had enough capability to threaten the Ottomans.[25]
At the outbreak of World War I, the Russian Navy consisted of the following:[26]
| Ship type | Baltic Fleet | Black Sea Fleet | Siberian Flotilla |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-dreadnought battleships | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Coastal defense ships | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Armored cruisers | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Protected cruisers | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Destroyers | 21 | 4 | 17 |
| Torpedo boats | 48 | 24 | 3 |
| Gunboats | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| Submarines | 15 | 7 | 4 |
By 1917 the Imperial Navy had amassed a fleet of 55 submarines, used to varying degrees of success.[27]
In theBaltic Sea, Germany and Russia were the main combatants, with a number of British submarines sailing through theKattegat to assist the Russians, includingE9 commanded byMax Horton. With the German fleet larger and more modern (manyHigh Seas Fleet ships could easily be deployed to the Baltic via theKiel Canal when the North Sea was quiet), the Russians played a mainly defensive role, at most attacking convoys between Germany and Sweden and laying offensive minefields. Russian and British submarines attacked German shipping sailing between Sweden and Germany.
With heavy defensive and offensive mining on both sides, fleets played a limited role on the Eastern Front. The Germans mounted major naval attacks on theGulf of Riga,unsuccessfully in August 1915 and successfully in October 1917, when they occupied the islands in the Gulf (Operation Albion) and damaged Russian ships departing fromRiga (Battle of Moon Sound), which had recently been captured by Germany.
By March 1918, theRussian Revolution and theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk made the Germans masters of the Baltic sea and German fleets transferred troops to support newly independent Finland and to occupy much of Russia, halting only when defeated in the West. The Russians evacuated the Baltic fleet fromHelsinki andReval to Kronstadt during theIce Cruise of the Baltic Fleet in March 1918.
TheBlack Sea was the domain of both the Russian and Ottoman Empires but the Russian fleet dominated the sea. It possessed a large fleet based inSevastopol and it was led by two skilled commanders:Admiral Eberhart andAdmiral Kolchak (who took over in 1916).
The war in the Black Sea started when the Ottoman fleet bombarded several Russian cities in October 1914. The most advanced ships in the Ottoman fleet consisted of just two German ships: the battlecruiserSMS Goeben and light cruiserSMS Breslau, both under the command of AdmiralWilhelm Souchon.Goeben was damaged on at least four occasions and was usually chased back to port by the superior Russian Navy. By the end of 1915, the Russian fleet had nearly complete control of the sea.
The Black Sea fleet was used mainly to supportGeneral Yudenich in hisCaucasus Campaign. For example, in August 1915, a Russian submarine and two Russian destroyers attacked a Turkish convoy of four transports escorted by a cruiser and two destroyers. The Russian ships sank all four transports without losing a ship. Later, during the summer of 1916, the Ottoman army, under,Vehip Pasha, was ordered to re-takeTrebizond. The Ottoman forces tried to march along the coast in June but the Russian fleet was able to reduce the speed of their advance to a crawl using naval bombardment to harass marching troops and destroy their supply columns. Eventually the Ottoman army gave up and withdrew.
After Admiral Kolchak took command (August 1916), the Russian fleet mined the exit from theBosporus, preventing nearly all Ottoman ships from entering the Black Sea. Later that year, the naval approaches toVarna were also mined. The greatest loss suffered by the Russian Black Sea fleet was the destruction of the moderndreadnoughtImperatritsa Mariya, which blew up in port on 7 October 1916, just one year after it was commissioned. The sinking ofImperatritsa Mariya was never fully explained; it could have beensabotage or an accident.[28]
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The Imperial Russian Navy was severely disrupted by the twin shocks of the 1917 Revolution and the ensuing civil war. TheBolshevik overthrow of the Provisional Government in October 1917 led to rapid disintegration of naval command and cohesion. Ships and crews became divided among Bolshevik, White Russian, and foreign interventionist forces.[29] Of the major fleets, only the Baltic Fleet based atPetrograd (formerly Saint Petersburg) remained relatively intact, though it suffered from mutinies and direct intervention by the British during their campaign in the Baltic.[citation needed]
Foreign interventionists occupied and influenced the Pacific, Black Sea and Arctic coasts, undermining the cohesion of Russia’s naval forces. Many of the surviving warships from the Black Sea Fleet, whose crews remained loyal to the White Russian movement, were consolidated under the command ofPyotr Wrangel and evacuated from Crimea. Eventually these ships were interned inBizerte, Tunisia rather than reintegrated into Soviet service.[30]
Sailors from the Baltic Fleet rebelled against the Soviet authorities in theKronstadt rebellion of 1921, protesting harsh treatment, lack of political representation and deteriorating conditions.[citation needed] Following the civil war, the surviving ships formed the core of the Soviet Navy on its official establishment in 1918.[29] However, the remnants ofWrangel's fleet never returned to Soviet Russia and remained interned abroad.
TheEmperor of Russia was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and administered the fleet through theMinistry of the Navy.[31] After the creation of theState Duma the Navy also had to negotiate with the defense committee in the parliament for approval to finance its armament plans.[32] The rank and post ofGeneral Admiral was the ceremonial head of the navy and was held by a member of the Romanov dynasty. The Director of the Navy Ministry assisted the General Admiral.[33] The position of General Admiral was abolished in 1905 after the defeat to Japan and the Navy Minister became the head of the Navy.[34] Within the Ministry, the Main Staff was responsible for the overall administration of the navy as well as the preparations for war. There was also the Main Administration for Shipbuilding and Supplying and the Naval Technological Committee. The roles of all three organizations were broad and they had disputes over their jurisdictions. There was no separate naval general staff for setting strategic doctrine and operational planning, and the role of deciding on strategy was given to special commissions of admirals that were led by the General Admiral or the Director of the Navy Ministry. In 1902, there was a proposal to form an operations section in the Main Staff and other naval staffs in each fleet of the navy,[35] but it was not until 1906 that Emperor Nicholas II created aNaval General Staff.[34] From that point the Main Staff was only responsible for administrative tasks, leaving strategic and operational planning to the new organization.[36]
The Chief of the Naval General Staff became the closest adviser to the Navy Minister. The staff was organized into six sections, including operational sections for theBaltic Sea, theBlack Sea, and theRussian Far East (which also coordinated with the fleet staffs on construction programs), the organization and mobilization section (later the organization and tactical section), the statistical and intelligence section, and the historical section.[37] Unlike in theImperial Army, where the Army General Staff officers had their own insignia and titles, becoming a separate branch within the officer corps,[38] the first chief of the Naval General Staff had his officers use the same uniforms as the rest of the fleet and tried to keep close relations between staff officers and those that went to sea. Graduating from theNikolaev Naval Academy was not necessary to be on the Naval General Staff,[36] another difference from the Army, where all General Staff officers had to be graduates of theNikolaev General Staff Academy.[38] After World War I broke out, joint army-navy staffs were formed in different theaters and at theStavka, though the structure of the naval command remained the same until 1917, when theRussian Provisional Government made significant changes, though the Naval General Staff continued to exist.[39]
Given the geographic situation and Russian tradition, the Imperial Navy had a secondary role to the Army, which was maintained in large numbers during peacetime to defend the Russian frontiers. Russia's access to ports that did not freeze over in the winter were limited to the most southern ports on the Baltic Sea, far fromSaint Petersburg, and those on the Black Sea, which were closed in by the Turkish-controlled straits ofBosphorus. In the Russian Far East, most of the coast was too remote and undeveloped, while the port ofVladivostok was very close to Japan and also froze in the winter. The distance between these three theaters required passing long distances through waters controlled by other countries and that could be closed off. Passing through theArctic Ocean was not possible without using icebreakers. Therefore, the Russian Navy was organized into separate fleets.[40]
The Imperial Navy was organized into two main fleets: theBaltic Fleet, tasked with defending theGulf of Finland and Russian interests abroad, and theBlack Sea Fleet, to defend Russian interests in the south and counter theOttoman Navy.[41] There were also theSiberian Flotilla and theCaspian squadron, though the former was devastated during the Russo-Japanese War.[42][26] In addition to these, the Society of the Volunteer Fleet provided a fleet of fast steamers crewed by retired officers and sailors, or reservists.[43] Operational planning for the fleets was done by the fleet staffs, which took on a greater role during World War I and sometimes had disputes with the Naval General Staff.[37]
The conscription law of 14 January 1874 provided the basis for mandatory military service for men of the Russian Empire between the ages of 21 and 43[44] for a term of up to six years.[45] The navy received much fewer conscripts than the army. For instance, in 1911 a total of 455,000 men were called up for the annual draft, out which 10,000 went to the navy, 14,500 to the border guard, and 430,500 to the army.[46]
Naval conscripts traditionally came from the peasantry, though by the end of the 19th century the navy preferred those from the urban working class because they had more mechanical skills. There was a shortage of experiencedpetty officers because conscripts tended to leave the service after their term was complete, which meant that the navy was left without enough enlisted leaders between the sailors and the officers. Training for the crews was carried out in the Baltic Sea by tradition, though by the 1890s the training squadron consisted of obsolete ships suffering from mechanical problems, and the training was minimal.[47] Officers had difficulty training illiterate conscripts from the interior of the empire to turn them into sailors, and the long winters in the Baltic also limited training opportunities.[25] Most naval officers were from the nobility, and many of them were descended from Baltic German or Swedish families with a tradition of naval service. In Russia a career as a naval officer was considered to have less prestige than an army officer, and the navy had less opportunities for advancement.[48]
TheNaval Cadet Corps was the officer initial training and commissioning establishment.[49][50] The Russian Empire had severalcadet corps for the army and one for the navy.[49][51] They were military boarding schools that accepted the sons of the wealthy landed nobility when they were teenagers and provided an education in academics and military subjects.[51] The Naval Cadet Corps was a three-year program that taught mathematics, foreign languages, navigation and other naval sciences, and practical training.[49] Graduates of the Corps were commissioned with the rank ofmichman in the Imperial Navy.[50]
Astaff college existed in the form of theNikolayev Naval Academy, which provided further scientific and technical training as well as a course on theoretical subjects such as naval history, strategy, tactics, and maritime law.[52] Specifically, there were three departments and one course: a hydrographic department for fleet officers, a ship building department for ship engineers, and a mechanical department for mechanical engineers, and a naval science course for staff officers.[53] Officers had the option of attending the academy as senior lieutenants or captains, though it did not receive a large number of applicants because it was perceived by many officers as not being beneficial.[52]
A submarine training unit was created in 1905 to prepare officers and sailors for the submarine service. From 1909 its officer graduates received a submarine officer badge. The school was initially located inLibau before being transferred toPetrograd in 1915, during World War I. It continued to train crews for the expanding submarine fleet during the war. The training unit stopped functioning for several years after the Revolution in 1917, but was restarted in 1925 for the Soviet Navy and continued functioning through World War II.[54]
Beginning in the second half of the 19th century, ranks of the Russian Navy were divided according to specialty and branch.
| Deck ranks | Coastal troops ranks | Mechanical engineer ranks | Ship engineer ranks | Shoulder strap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nizhniye chiny(Enlisted ranks) | ||||
| Matros vtoroi stat'i (Matrose) Sailor of the 2nd article | Morskoi soldat (Soldat) Naval soldier | No equivalent |  | |
| Matros pervoi stat'i Sailor of the 1st article | Morskoi yefreitor (Gefreiter) Naval corporal | |||
| Unter-ofitsery(Non-commissioned officers) | ||||
| Kvartirmeister (Quartiermeister) Quartermaster | Morskoi mladshii unter-ofitzer (Unteroffizier) Naval junior sergeant | No equivalent |  | |
| Botzmanmat (Bootsmannsmaat) Boatswain's mate | Morskoi starshii unter-ofitser Naval senior sergeant |  | ||
| Botzman (Bootsmann) Boatswain | Morskoi feldfebel (Feldwebel) Naval sergeant major |  | ||
| Konduktor Conductor | Morskoipodpraporshchik Naval junior ensign |  | ||
| MorskoiZauryad-praporshchik Naval deputy ensign | ||||
| Ober-ofitsery(Company officers) | ||||
| No equivalent | Praporschik po admiralteistvu Ensign of the admiralty | No equivalent |  | |
| Michman Midshipman | Podporuchik po admiralteistvu Junior lieutenant of the admiralty | Inzhener-mekhanik-michman Engineer mechanic midshipman | Podporuchik Junior lieutenant |  |
| Leitenant Lieutenant | Poruchik po admiralteistvu Lieutenant of the admiralty | Inzhener-mekhanik-leitenant Engineer mechanic lieutenant | Poruchik Lieutenant |  |
| Starshii leitenant Senior lieutenant | Shtabs-kapitan po admiralteistvu (Stabskapitän) Staff captain of the admiralty | Inzhener-mekhanik-starshii leitenant Engineer mechanic senior lieutenant | Shtabs-kapitan Staff captain |  |
| Kapitan po admiraltei'stvu Captain of the admiralty | Kapitan Captain | |||
| Shtab-Ofitsery(Field officers) | ||||
| Kapitan vtorogo ranga Captain 2nd rank | Podpolkovnik po admiralteistvu Lieutenant colonel of the admiralty | Inzhener-mekhanik-kapitan vtorogo ranga Engineer mechanic captain 2nd rank | Podpolkovnik Lieutenant colonel |  |
| Kapitan pervogo ranga Captain 1st rank | Polkovnik po admiralteistvu Colonel of the admiralty | Inzhener-mekhanik-kapitan pervogo ranga Engineer mechanic captain 1st rank | Polkovnik Colonel |  |
| Flag-ofitzery(Flag officers) | ||||
| Kontr-admiral (Konteradmiral) Rear admiral | General-maior po admiralteistvu (Generalmajor) Major general of the admiralty | Inzhener-mekhanik-kontr-admiral Engineer mechanic rear admiral | General-maior Major general |  |
| Vitze-admiral (Vizeadmiral) Vice admiral | General-leitenant po admiralteistvu (Generalleutnant) Lieutenant general of the admiralty | Inzhener-mekhanik-vitze-admiral Engineer mechanic vice admiral | General-leitenant Lieutenant general |  |
| Admiral Admiral | General po admiralteistvu General of the admiralty | No equivalent |  | |
| General-admiral General admiral |  | |||
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