Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812
1806–1812
Encouraged by Napoleon, the Ottoman Empire closed the Bosporus and the Dardanelles to Russian ships and deposed the pro-Russian rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia, and Russia went to war at the end of 1806. Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin, with a Baltic Fleet squadron based at Corfu, sailed into the Aegean, seized the island of Tenedos at the mouth of the Dardanelles and blockaded the strait, cutting Constantinople off from its grain supplies. Twice in 1807 the Kapudan Pasha, Seyid Ali, came out to break the blockade, and twice Senyavin beat him, at the Dardanelles in May and off Mount Athos in July. Days after Athos, Russia made peace with France at Tilsit and Senyavin was ordered home. The war went on, mostly on the Danube, until the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812 gave Russia Bessarabia.
How the fleets moved
Click a route to see which ships made it, or a battle for its summary. Routes are approximate.
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Russian movement
Battle (size: ships engaged)
Routes are approximate.
Battles
In date order.
22 May 1807
Battle of the DardanellesMouth of the Dardanelles
Russian victory; the Ottoman fleet driven back into the strait
11
vs
8 (3 lost)
1–2 July 1807
Battle of AthosBetween Mount Athos and Lemnos
Russian victory; the Ottoman fleet lost a third of its ships
10
vs
20 (7 lost)
Fleets
Each navy's ships in the war, from its biggest down.