The celebrated General Suvorof was in command of the strong fortress
of Kinburn, which was supposed to command the entrance of the Liman,
but it was too far inland to menace Otchakoff, or, indeed, to command
anything effectively. It is an evidence of Jones' quick perception and
fine military instinct that as soon as he inspected the position he
discovered the advantage of placing a battery on Kinburn Point,
opposite the shoal to which I have referred: and his first act upon
assuming the command was to point out to Suvorof, who was perhaps the
greatest of all Russian soldiers, the absolute necessity for a battery
there. Realizing the fact, Suvorof immediately mounted a formidable
battery on the point, and he magnanimously credited Jones with the
idea, in spite of the fact that the previous neglect to fortify the
point was a reflection on his military skill. Before the guns were in
position the capitan pasha as the Turkish admiral was styled, with
twenty-one frigates and sloops of war, and several smaller vessels,
entered the Liman and anchored before Otchakoff. He was followed by a
flotilla of gunboats about equal in number and individual efficiency
to the Russian flotilla. The ships of the line and heavier frigates of
the Turks, unable to approach near the town, remained at anchor in the
open roads to the westward, and as they took no part in the subsequent
actions they may be dismissed from further notice. Even as it was,
however, the Turkish force greatly overmatched the Russian.
Jones had fifteen ships, the Turks twenty-one, and ship for ship the
advantage was entirely in favor of the Turks. In number the two
flotillas of gunboats were about the same, and there was not much
choice in their quality. The poor quality of Nassau's leadership could
hardly be surpassed by any Turk, however incompetent, but the capitan
pasha in critical moments led his own flotilla, and, as Jones
practically did the same for the Russian gunboats, Nassau's
incompetency did not matter so much as it might.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account