The first combat was on May 31 (
O.S. 20 May), with the arrival of the Turkish navy off Ochakov coast. The Russian flotilla lost a , a reconnaissance vessel sent from Glubokaya to Kinburn, which was surrounded and attacked while attempting to retreat. The sloop's commander, Captain Lieutenant , ordered the crew to save themselves by swimming and blew it up along with himself. There is informationhistorian
Alexander Petrushevsky considered it unreliablethat the Turkish ship grappled with the sloop was also blown up and that this heroic act brought panic to the Turks. Be that as it may, the Turkish fleet remained inactive until 18 June (O.S. 7 June). Upon arrival at Ochakov, Suvorov immediately made reconnaissance and ordered the destruction of the remnants of the Turkish flotilla stationed near the fortress, which was carried out on 12 July (O.S. 1 July) with complete success. Potemkin's inactivity produced results directly opposite to those he had hoped for. The Turks were emboldened, spreading out over the vineyards and gardens bordering Ochakov. They made several attempts to break the
siege and made it difficult to open siege works by making small but frequent
sorties. On 7 August (O.S. 27 July), about 5,000
Janissaries attacked positions held by
Cossacks and forced them to retreat. Suvorov personally led reinforcement of 2
grenadier battalions, and the Turks also received reinforcements. Colonel Zolotukhin brought another grenadier battalion, charging with bayonets. They drove the Janissaries to the gates of Ochakov without Potemkin's permission. Several more Russian battalions arrived, and the Turks also arrived; the battle flared up fiercely under one of the Ottoman
retrenchments. The day before, a young baptized Turk who knew Suvorov by sight had escaped from the Russian camp. This fugitive had noticed Suvorov in battle and pointed him out to a Turkish marksman; he took aim, the bullet pierced Suvorov's neck and stopped at the back of his head. Suvorov felt the wound, declared it dangerous, and handed over command to Lieutenant General Bibikov. The Russian troops were broken and driven back in disarray. According to Russian data, the Russians lost 365 killed and wounded here. Suvorov's guilt on 7 August is justified, but it was Potemkin either, who did not support the attack. The
Prince of Ligne at the main Russian headquarters, noticing how, in the heat of battle, the Turkish flags had stretched to their right flank, leaving the left-flank fortifications virtually undefended, proposed an immediate assault. Potemkin refused. He sent Suvorov orders to cease the battle and retreat four times, and the last time, he sent the duty general with a stern question: "how could he, Suvorov, dare to initiate such an important undertaking without orders?" At that moment, a bullet had been removed from Suvorov's neck and the wound was being bandaged. After listening to the messenger, he replied with poetry: Sitting on a stone so cold,Watching Ochakov as of old. It was deep autumn. Previously, life had been in full swing in the camp and headquarters; the company was numerous, there were many visiting ladies; feasts and balls were given, music thundered, various rare provisions were brought from everywhere by specially sent messengers to Potemkin's table. Things were not moving forward, but they were living happily. Now this too had passed; the inclement weather had driven away some, the long wait for the outcome others. Potemkin became more gloomy with each passing day. Then the wet cold autumn gave way to a fierce winter, which for a long time remained in the people's memory under the name of "Ochakov winter." Mortality became extreme, with 3040 people dying per day from the cold alone. The conditions of both armies continued to decline, with the looming threat of disease and increasingly cold weather. Potemkin ultimately gave in to Suvorov's arguments for an assault on Ochakov. On the night of December 6 (December 17 in the
Gregorian calendar), the Russians attacked. Ivan Möller was responsible for the troop disposition; acting in accordance with it, Potemkin's troops took Ochakov. Major General
Peter Pahlen's column broke through the Turkish fortifications between the city and Hasan Pasha's palace, then the palace itself and the retrenchments. Major General
Volkonsky's column captured the central fortifications. Lieutenant General Prince
Dolgorukov's column broke through to the fortress gates. The fifth and sixth columns also broke through the fortifications and reached the fortress bastions. The sixth column's
reserves approached the fortress's southern wall across the ice of the liman, then the grenadiers, under cover of cannon fire, scaled the wall and captured it. Over 9,500 Turks were killed during the assault, and more than 4,000 were taken prisoner, including Hüseyin Pasha himself. Most of the city
garrison was killed in the street fight. It lost about 20,000 men in all siege, or more simply, was destroyed. The Russians lost 956 soldiers and had 1,829 wounded by the end of the storming operation, which they spent within hours (as per another assessment, 1,000 lost and 5,000 injured). In total, the Russians paid a high price: 15,000 men out of 40,000 during the siege. ==Aftermath==