"Northern Tars in Southern Waters" Topic

"Translated for the first time into English in their entirety, the memoirs of Vladimir Bronevskiy describe the actions and movements of Russian Admiral Dmitriy Senyavin's squadron and the infantry at his disposal in the Adriatic and Aegean Seas between the years of 1805 and 1810. The story moves from Kronstadt to Corfu, to the siege of Ragusa and battle at Mount Athos, to the chaotic reshuffling of alliances with the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit and the ill-fated dispersion of the fleet among the British, French, and Austrians. Straddling the Wars of the Third and Fourth Coalitions and the Russo-Turkish War, Senyavin carefully manoeuvred around multiple threats from all sides with limited resources and came through with minimal losses, though political circumstances ultimately robbed him of the laurels. Told from the perspective of a midshipman aboard the frigate Venus, but augmented and expanded with archival data and interviews with his comrades and acquaintances, Bronevskiy illuminated an often-overlooked theatre of war and sought to teach his readership about the myriad cultures and rich history of the region, transforming his personal journals into a comprehensive history of the campaign. His scope varies from personal interactions with civilians and tours of local landmarks to the diplomatic correspondence of general and admirals and the combat actions of whole squadrons and corps. Unabridged, illustrated with all the original engravings, featuring newly translated maps and annotated throughout with notes and corrections, Boland's translation brings Bronevskiy to a new, wider audience in a faithful but approachable presentation."

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Amicalement
Armand

I've been a fan of the Imperial Russian Navy for many years, and always buy anything I can get my hands on connected with it. That said, I was hugely disappointed in this book. I had hoped it would give some detail about shipboard life, but it was practically nothing but a travelogue, based on the various countries visited by the author.

One of the only things I learned from it was that the Russians used white, red, and blue flags for their squadrons, depending on the rank of the admiral. Thus, an admiral of the white would command ships flying the normal white ensign, with the blue cross of St. Andrew. Whereas, an admiral of the red would command ships with red flags, with the normal (white ensign) up in the canton. This would look very much like a British ship, of the red squadron, from a distance. The same would apply for an admiral of the blue squadron. It should be noted that ships separated from their squadron would continue to fly the appropriate color. This lead to them being fired upon by the Spanish Navy, who took them for British ships from a distance.

The only other thing I learned from it is that lower ranks had to address midshipmen and lieutenants as "Your nobleness." They didn't include the correct titles for other ranks.

So, the conclusion is, I wish I didn't spend the $45.00 USD!

Glup!!!!!!!…..

Amicalement
Armand

I bought it, and am reading through it right now. At this point, I have to say that I agree with Bombay Marine. Even the flag thing wasn't a revelation, as I found that in a book I ordered on Russian flags a few months ago.

There is some useful data about ports, but as the annotations point out, Bronevskiy's data is not always correct. The book is also written in that florid 19th Century prose that so many authors adopted for their works. I'm still working through it, but after reading Bombay Marine's comments I am not hopeful that it gets better.

BWW