Chapter 435： 1 battle that changed history

In the days after the Ottoman Navy fled to the port of Sinop in a panic, the Russian Imperial Navy headed by Nakhimov, under the order of Governor Menshkov, galloped more recklessly in the Black Sea, hunting and killing the Ottoman Empire. Supply fleets, thus affecting the war between the Ottoman and Russian imperial armies in the Caucasus.

Many regular Ottoman troops deep in the Caucasus were forced to retreat back into their own territory due to the unsafe arrival of logistical supplies.

The regular army of the Ottoman Empire fought and retreated, and Shamiler, who had gone deep into the enemy’s rear, was also in a difficult situation. The Caucasian Russian army who repulsed the Ottoman Empire did not choose to pursue the victory, but consolidated under the order of the commander-in-chief of the Caucasus Menshkov. At the same time, a group of elite soldiers were dispatched from the existing Caucasus Russian Imperial Army to carry out a "stone overkill, grass overkill, and people to change species" style of encirclement and suppression against the rebels in the Caucasus region.

In just one week, nearly 100 peace religious villages were slaughtered by the Russian army. The rich smell of blood and the raging fire became the cruel music of the Caucasus.

Shamiler, who was lurking in the Caucasus jungle, knew that the Russian Imperial Army was using its cruel and stern means to warn the peaceful people in the Caucasus that the price of assisting the guerrillas was death, and the only option was death.

Faced with the tyrannical means of the Russian Empire, some of Shamil's guerrillas began to waver. They were afraid that their village would be levelled by the Russian Empire because of their own reasons.

Under the double pressure of the lack of supplies and the iron fist of the Russian Empire, many of the partisans who followed Shamil chose to leave the ranks and surrender to the Russian Empire.

The troops that originally expanded to more than 3,000 people, after many times of anti-encirclement and attack and heart-to-heart battles, only less than 1,000 people remained.

Shamil had to choose to temporarily withdraw to the territory of the Ottoman Empire to wait for the right moment.

Of course, with the failure of the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus, the commander of the Caucasus and the Ottoman Pasha, who was squatting at Sinop port, were reprimanded to varying degrees.

In a letter to the Commander of the Combined Fleet at Sinop Port, Abdul Mejid I harshly reprimanded Ottoman Pasha for his cowardly behavior in the face of the Russian Imperial fleet, and ordered Ottoman Pasha to act like a coward. Pasha broke through the blockade of the Russian Empire as soon as possible and delivered the supplies to the Caucasus smoothly.

"Breaking through the blockade? How can it be really easy!" Osman Pasha, who received the letter from Abdul Mejid I, slapped the letter of rebuke on the table and said to himself.

Then, Osman Pasha got up again and came to the window, standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the falling sun in the distance.

Since the last naval engagement, Osman Pasha has figured out the naval level of the Russian Empire, and the current Russian Empire fleet is far from the navy navy who followed Britain and France in 1828. (In 1828, the Russian fleet, along with the British and French fleets, destroyed the Ottoman navy, a war that devastated the Ottoman navy.)

In terms of warships, the Ottoman Empire is slightly inferior to the Russian Empire.

The Ottoman Empire also fell short of the Russian Empire in training naval personnel.

At least in their combined fleet, there is no "madman" who dares to fight and rush like the Russian Imperial Fleet. In the last war, if it wasn't for the steam clipper from the Russian Empire, the double-deck warships of our fleet could have successfully left the battlefield.

Thinking of this, Osman Pasha sighed again, he had to find his subordinates and ordered him to lead the fleet to **** the supply fleet to the Caucasus region by night.

Since he couldn't sail during the day, he chose to sail at night.

However, in the middle of the night, the captain who was dispatched by Ottoman Pasha to the Caucasus led the remaining fleet to return to the port of Sinop again.

Not only that, the captain also reported a desperate news to Osman Pasha.

Surrounding the current Sinop port is the rapid response fleet of the Russian Empire.

"It seems that the Russian Empire is going to trap us in this port!" Osman Pasha said to the captain beside him, gritted his teeth.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?" The captain turned his attention to Osman Pasha, the backbone of the entire fleet.

"Wait!" Osman Pasha responded, and then added an explanation: "I don't believe that the ships of the Russian Empire can stay outside the port 24 hours a day!"

"But..." The captain hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Your Majesty the Sultan, will you be unhappy over there!"

"Now is not the time to care whether His Majesty is happy or not!" Osman Pasha said decisively: "I don't want my soldiers to fight a war that I know will fail!"

Immediately, Osman Pasha looked at the captain next to him and said with relief: "Don't worry! If His Majesty the Sultan knew the situation we are facing now, he would definitely agree with us!"

After hearing Osman Pasha's explanation, the captain finally relaxed a little.

Anyway, the sky fell and there was a tall man on it.

"I see!" The captain nodded in response.

For the next few days, the combined fleet was in a state of "presence fleet", with only a small number of ships under the orders of Osman Pasha attacking the Russian Empire steamships wandering in the port of Sinop. You and I will hurt each other when you come and go.

However, so far no steamboat has sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Every time the Russian Empire steamship was about to win, the Ottoman Empire ships immediately returned to the port of Sinop.

Seeing this, the Russian Empire no longer pursued it. This situation continued for another week. The small-scale naval battle between the two sides has formed a tacit understanding.

As long as the navy of the Ottoman Empire entered the port of Sinop, the navy of the Russian Empire did not choose to attack.

In his letter to Abdul Majid I of Constantinople, Osman Pasha also boasted that his fleet had fought bravely under the Sultan's inspiration, and damaged several ships of the Russian Empire. fleet.

In this atmosphere of you coming and going, people have more confidence in Sinop port, and the soldiers of Sinop port fort are slack because of this.

In the early morning of October 20, the fog shrouded in the sea of ​​Sinop port had not completely dissipated.

A huge naval formation with five sail battleships, eight double-deck battleships, two fast three-sailed battleships, and all steam clippers was quietly approaching the port of Sinop.

And this is the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the entire Russian Empire. It is none other than Prince Menshkov. He wants to take advantage of this opportunity when the fog has not yet dissipated to lead his fleet into Sinop port. Destroyed the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in one fell swoop, thus winning the peace of the Ottoman Empire in the Black Sea.

As for why Menshkov chose to conduct a raid at this time, firstly because the fleet march was more concealed in foggy weather, and secondly, according to the news from Sinop port spies, Menshkov made Knowing that the Sinop port was in a state of relaxation, he made up his mind to complete the raid on them before the Ottoman Empire did not fully react.

In order to make this raid more successful, Menshkov deliberately brought a secret weapon that he had hidden a lot. He believed that with his secret weapon, the Ottoman Empire would be able to be buried.

The main fleet of five sails rushed into the port of Sinop in one formation, and then quickly changed into a side-by-side line.

By the time the soldiers in charge of guarding the fort found Menshkov's main fleet, the main fleet of five sails had been perfectly inserted between the Ottoman Empire's main fleet and the fort.

At the same time, the eight double-deck fast piercing ships that arrived with the sailing battleship quickly aimed their side gun muzzles near the fort.

When everything was ready, Menshkov, who was inserted between the two Ottoman sail battleships, quickly gave the order: "Let's start!"

After hearing Menshkov's order, the flag-speaking soldiers on the observation deck also waved their flags and started issuing orders to the surrounding Russian imperial warships.

The five main fleet of sails opened fire at about the same time, and the 24-pound naval breech artillery fired bursts at the Ottoman fleet.

The blooming bomb quickly came out of the chamber and smashed into the Ottoman ship, and the blooming bomb that entered the warship quickly exploded after releasing all the kinetic energy.

The explosion caused the wooden sailboat to burn, and the fire quickly engulfed the entire ship.

Just as the main sail battleships attacked the Ottoman Empire, the double-deck fleet also fired bursts of bullets at the fort.

The explosive airflow generated by the blooming shells falling around the fort directly overturned the sailors who controlled the fort to counterattack. Under the saturated attack of eight double-deck battleships, the soldiers of the Sinop port fort had no ability to sail the battleship of the Russian Empire. Impressed, you can only fall into the situation of passive dialing.

In this way, only half an hour has passed since the start of the war, and the entire main fleet of the Ottoman Empire was buried in the port of Sinop by the Russian Empire.

After the five sailing battleships had wiped out all the fleets anchored in Sinop port, they began to move towards the Sinop port settlement and garrison command.

For a time, the entire Sinop port was in a sea of ​​fire. The major general and Osman Pasha at the Sinop port garrison command were paralyzed on the ground at the same time after seeing this area-like scene in front of them.