Dnieper Flotilla Informations

The Dnieper Flotilla (Днепровская военная флотилия) 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 (called, in Russia, the Great Patriotic War).

Small naval vessels were built in Bryansk on the Desna River (a tributary of the Dnieper) from 1724.

At the start of the Russo-Turkish war in 1735, the Dnieper Army of Field Marshal B. K. Minich requested naval assistance in capturing the Turkish fortress of Ochakiv on the Black Sea. At the instigation of Vice-Chancellor Count Osterman, the Governing Senate issued a decree on January 4, 1737 for the building at Bryansk of a flotilla for operations on the Dnieper River. At least ten British officers served with the flotilla

For the construction and manning of the flotilla, 4650 sailors, soldiers, and craftsmen were sent to Bryansk. The boats constructed were mainly dubel boats, a type of shallow draft Russian 18th century rowing/sailing galley, of which 400 were ordered. According to some sources, though, most of the boats in the flotilla were Cossack boats which – according to a report made in 1738 by Rear Admiral Yakov Barch – were narrow, unstable, hard to row, suitable perhaps for Cossack journeys but very unfit for naval operations.

On February 3, 1737, by order of Empress Anna, Rear Admiral Vasily Afanasievich-Mamónov took command of the flotilla.

In the spring of 1737 a flotilla consisting 355 vessels with troops, supplies, siege artillery, and ammunition on board was sent down from Bryansk on the Desna to the Dnieper. Due to shallow water on the Dnieper that summer, most of the ships could not pass to the target destination (Ochakiv), and the first boats past the rapids arrived there only on July 17, when the fortress had already been taken by Russian troops.

On September 3, 1737, at the insistence of Field Marshall Minich, command of the flotilla was given over to Vice-Admiral Naum Senyavin. Under Senyavins leadership, construction work in Bryansk intensified.

By October 1, 1737, there were only 18 boats remaining in the flotilla. On October 30, 40,000 Turkish troops supported by 12 galleys attacked Ochakiv; the Dneiper Flotilla played an active role in repelling the attack. Ochakiv remained besieged for two weeks, and naval combat continued in the area through October, during which time the flotilla was reinforced by another 30 small vessels. Although the Turks abandoned their attempt to retake Ochakiv, Russian access to the Black Sea remained blocked by the strong Turkish squadron.

In the spring of 1738 plague broke out among the troops, claiming Vice Admiral Senyavin, who was replaced as flotilla leader by recalling Rear Admiral Afanasievich-Mamónov. Under threat of the plague, the Russian – both land troops and Dnieper Flotilla – abandoned Ochakiv (as well as Kinburn Fortress on the tip of the Kinburn Peninsula at the extreme end of the Dnieper estuary). Afanasievich-Mamónov in turn succumbed to the plague and was replaced by Rear Admiral Yakov Barch. The war ended with the Treaty of Niš on October 3, 1739, and the Dnieper Flotilla – by then numbering 647 boats – was disbanded by 1741; most of the vessels were burned.

The Dnieper Flotilla in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–92 was commanded by Karl Heinrich von Nassau-Siegen. With 51 boats of various types – dubel boats, cossack boats, and others – the flotilla combined with a squadron of 13 ships of the Black Sea Fleet commanded by John Paul Jones for operations in the Liman (the Dnieper-Bug Estuary), part of the Siege of Ochakiv of 1788. The Turkish fleet was roughly equal in large ships, but somewhat inferior in smaller craft to the Dnieper Flotilla.

The command structure in the Liman was difficult, as neither Jones nor Nassau-Siegen had operational control, each reporting to Potemkin, who, being in charge of all armed forces of the empire, was not in a position to exercise tactical command. In addition, Jones thought poorly of Nassau-Siegens abilities – an opinion shared by Joness biographer, Samuel Eliot Morison – and Nassau-Siegen was jealous of Joness more luxurious flagship.

At the First Battle of the Liman on the morning of June 7, 1788, the Turkish Fleet attacked the combined Russian fleet; Joness big guns destroyed two Turkish vessels and the Turks retreated, but Nassau-Siegen did not pursue. He wrote to Potemkin "...unhappily, the wind was contrary, so our ships could not attack and had to retreat under the guns of the sailing squadron". Potemkin found this disingenuous, wondering why Nassau-Siegens rowing boats could not go against the wind, especially considering that he had the current at his back. (Nevertheless, Nassau-Siegen – better at politics than fighting – was able to outmaneuver Jones politically, and eventually Jones was dismissed while Nassau-Siegen stayed.)

The next major battle, on June 16 and 17, saw Nassau-Siegen distracted with claiming prizes while Jones entreated him to help repel a Turkish attack; unsuccessful with Nassau-Siegen, Jones nevertheless persuaded some of the flotillas individual captains to rally to him. This battle ended with a grisly episode which saw the Dnieper Flotilla attack several grounded Turkish vessels with flaming missiles, immolating alive the Turkish rowers – slaves and prisoners who were chained to their stations.

Ultimately, the Siege of Ochakiv was successful and the Russians gained a permanent powerful presence on the Black Sea.

In a legendary incident, a dubel boat of the Dnieper Flotilla commanded by Captain Second Class Christian Ivanovich Osten-Sacken, scouting for the Black Sea Fleet, was surrounded and outnumbered by Turkish vessels. As the Turks attempted to board, Osten-Sacken blew up his boat, destroying it and four Turkish vessels. The explosion warned the Russians at Ochakiv that the Turkish fleet was approaching.

A main component of the Dnieper Flotilla in both the 1735–1739 and 1787–92 Turkish wars was the dubel boat (Дубель-шлюпка, with variant names also used). The dubel boat is a type of boat, unique to Russia, and extant from the 1730s to the 1790s, when they were replaced by gunboats. Their name may come from the English "double" in the sense of "duplicate", on the grounds that the boats appeared to be smaller versions of larger ships.

Chief Quartermaster R. Broun designed the boats and made the first model (still existing, at the Central Naval Museum). The dubel boat was a shallow draft rowing and sailing galley with 18 pairs of oars and two masts rigged with lateen sails. They were designed to be able to pass the Dnieper rapids and also serve as bridge pontoons to move armies across the Dnieper or other rivers. The boats were armed with six two-pounder falcon guns mounted on swivels. They were capable of transporting 50 soldiers and two small battalion guns.

Three dubel boats also accompanied Vitus Bering on the Great Northern Expedition (1733–1743).

The Dnieper Flotilla of the Ukrainian Front was formed in Kiev in March 12, 1919 by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Ukrainian Front (a Soviet Army Group formed during the Russian Civil War for offensive operations into The Ukraine) and its commander Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko.

In May 1919, the flotilla was subordinated to the Office of Military Communications of the Ukrainian Front. On June 1, 1919, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to disband the Ukrainian Front, which occurred on June 15, after which the Dnieper Flotilla was attached to the Soviet 12th Army. On August 27, 1919, control of the flotilla was transferred to the Commander of Naval Forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

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