The naval Battle of Cheshme took place on 5–7 July 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) near and in Çeşme Bay, in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios, which was the site of a number of past naval battles between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice. It was a part of the Orlov Revolt of 1770, a precursor to the later Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), and the first of a number of disastrous fleet battles for the Ottomans against Russia. Today it is commemorated as a Day of Military Honour in Russia.
The destruction of the Ottoman fleet on 7 July Jacob Philipp Hackert
Vladimir Kosov. Chesma battle of 1770
Chesma Column
Combat in the Chios Strait by Ivan Aivazovsky
Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was a major armed conflict that saw Russian arms largely victorious against the Ottoman Empire. Russia's victory brought the Yedisan between the rivers Bug and Dnieper, and Crimea into the Russian sphere of influence. Through a series of victories accrued by the Russian Empire led to substantial territorial conquests, including direct conquest over much of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, less Ottoman territory was directly annexed than might otherwise be expected due to a complex struggle within the European diplomatic system to maintain a balance of power that was acceptable to other European states and avoided direct Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe.
Allegory of Catherine's Victory over the Turks (1772), by Stefano Torelli.
Mustafa III in his royal robes
Equestrian portrait of Catherine in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Regiment (by Vigilius Eriksen)
Battle of Kagul, Southern Bessarabia, 1770