Action of 9 January 1921
{{short description|Short naval battle of the Russian Civil War}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Action of 9 January 1921
| partof = the Southern Front of the Russian Civil War
| image = French destroyer Sakalave near Le Havre on 25 July 1921.jpg
| caption = Sakalave near Le Havre in 1921
| date = 9 January 1921
| place = off Anapa, Black Sea
| result = French victory
| combatant1 = {{flag country|French Third Republic}}
| combatant2 = {{flag|Russian SFSR|1918}}
| commander1 =
| commander2 =
| strength1 = {{unbulleted indent list|indent=0.4em
|2 destroyers
|1 aviso
}}
| strength2 = 1 gunboat
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = {{unbulleted indent list|indent=0.4em
|1 gunboat and its cargo (2 motor torpedo boats) lost
|12 killed
|Unknown number of wounded
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox_Southern_Front_of_the_Russian_Civil_War}}
The action of 9 January 1921 was a short naval battle fought during the Russian Civil War by the French Navy and the Soviet Russia.
Background
During the Russian Civil War, the French Navy was engaged as part of the Allied intervention provided assistance to the White movement engaged into the Southern Front. The French Navy suffered a mutiny in 1919 but operations were carried until the end of the conflict.
Action
The action involved the French {{sclass|Arabe|destroyer|2}}s {{ship|French destroyer|Sakalave||2}} and {{ship|French destroyer|Sénégalais||2}}, and also the {{sclass|Arras|aviso|2}} Toul, intercepting on sea the Soviet {{sclass2|Elpidifor|steamship|0}} gunboat KL No. 7 (ex-Elpidifor No. 415), which had completed mine-laying operation at Ak-Mechet and was carrying two motor torpedo boats built by Thornycroft. After a short gunfire battle, the Soviet ship was hit, grounded and lost with twelve killed and many wounded close Anapa.{{cite journal|last1=Lacroix|first1=Christophe|date=January 2004|title=L’amiral Émile Lacroix ({{nowrap|1883-1949}})|trans-title=Admiral Emile Lacroix ({{nowrap|1883–1949}})|url=https://shs.cairn.info/revue-guerres-mondiales-et-conflits-contemporains-2004-1-page-25|journal=Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporains|language=fr|number=213|location=Paris, FR|publisher=Presses universitaires de France|pages={{nowrap|25–38}}|issn=0984-2292|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114194557/https://shs.cairn.info/revue-guerres-mondiales-et-conflits-contemporains-2004-1-page-25|archive-date=January 14, 2025|access-date=January 18, 2025}}{{cite magazine|last1=Alekseev|first1=Igor V.|last2=Zablotsky|first2=Vladimir P.|last3=Levitsky|first3=Vladimir A.|date=February 2012|script-title=ru:Десантные пароходы типа «Эльпидифор»|trans-title=Elpidifor-class Landing Steamships|url=https://magzdb.elibrary.keenetic.pro/ul/891/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F%202012%2001.pdf|magazine=Morskaya Kampaniya|script-magazine=ru:Морская кампания|language=ru|location=Moscow, RU|publisher=Isdatelstvo VERO Press|number=1 #46|pages=45|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123234323/https://magzdb.elibrary.keenetic.pro/ul/891/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F%202012%2001.pdf|archive-date=November 23, 2023|access-date=March 1, 2025}}
Aftermath
Wreck of KL No. 7 (Elpidifor No. 415) was scrapped in situ in 1922, but some wreckages can still be found.{{cite web|url=https://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?167171 |title=Elpidifor No. 415 (+1921) |accessdate=2 May 2018 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.soviet-empire.com/ussr/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=53513] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502211938/http://www.soviet-empire.com/ussr/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=53513 |date=2018-05-02 }}
Category:Battles of the Russian Civil War involving France
Category:Naval battles involving France
Category:Naval battles of the Russian Civil War
Category:Battles involving Soviet Russia (1917–1922)
Category:Battles of the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
Category:Battles of the Russian Civil War in 1921
Category:January 1921 in Europe