In Memory of Azov

Pamiat Azova or, 'In Memory of Azov,' commemorating a famous battle against the Turks. Here she is seen at Kronstadt sometime late 19th century. The design represents contemporary ideas of the 1880s.

By 1919 she'd changed her name to 'Dvina' and was the Torpedo School Ship of the Russian Baltic Fleet.

In that year, the 'foreign intervention' period of the Russian Civil War was winding up to full swing. Finland had declared her independence from Russia and the former Tsarist Commander of the Finnish Military District, Marshal Mannerheim , had taken control.

Mannerheim had asked German troops to expel the Red Guards from his country in 1918 and, following the Armistice in November, British Naval and Air Units had established themselves along the coast of the Gulf of Finland. From there seaplanes and Coastal Motor Boats began to harry the Red Fleet.

First to go was the Oleg, then guardship of the Reds. CMB-9 of the Royal Navy hit her with a single torpedo causing her to roll onto her side in shallow water.

The next night a more concerted effort was made by the Royal Navy's light forces. A number of CMBs managed to break through into the main anchorage. Dvina was lit up like Christmas tree - basically, now serving as an accomodation ship. A torpedo struck her below the torpedo room and she blew up with heavy loss of life.

Battleship Andrez Pervozanni got hit with another torpedo, and the Dreadnought Petropavlovsk, which settled upright on the bottom of the shallow anchorage.

By then the Red Destroyers had woken up and there was a confused fight between Gavriil, Azard and Valentin versus the British torpedo boats. One of the British CMBs blew up spectacularly, hit by Gavriil, and the other Red Destroyers got two more.

That was the last raid by the British against Kotlin Island. Shortly, Finland was to reach a treaty with the Bolsheviks and, in return for independence, expelled all foreign forces. The RN retreated to the Gulf of Riga - too far for operations by light forces.

In Estonia, White General Yudenich's British supported anti-Bolshevik army was crushed by the Reds in early 1920. At the vanguard of Trotsky's Red Army were the Cadets of Kronstadt carrying Dvina's battered ensign.

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