Don Military Flotilla

a fleet formed in 1723 in Tavrov to act against Turkish ships in the Sea of Azov. By 1735, 15 prams (flat-bottomed sailing vessels carrying artillery) had been built and about 60 galleys. In the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-39 the flotilla, under the command of Rear Admiral P. P. Bredal’, took part in the capture of Azov and the landing and support of troops in the Crimea. In 1739 it was disbanded.

The flotilla was formed again at the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-74, and under the command of Vice Admiral A. N. Seniavin it cooperated successfully with the army in the Crimea. The flotilla participated in the capture of Kerch’ and Enikale (1771); after the capture of the Crimea it repulsed the efforts of the Turks to land troops there. It was abolished in 1783, when the Black Sea Fleet began to be built.

A Soviet Don Military Flotilla existed from March through August 1919, assisting the troops of the Southern Front in their struggle against the White Guards on the Don. It was commanded by P. P. Dello (after May by B. F. Korsak), and its commissar was A. V. Babkin. In 1941 a separate Don naval detachment was set apart from the Azov Military Flotilla and with the Ninth and Fifty-sixth armies took part in defending the mouth of the Don River.