Chesma punishes an Ottoman fleet that confines itself

Nine Russian ships of the line helped destroy a much larger Ottoman force for the loss of only one Russian ship of the line and the fireships expended in the attack. The Ottoman fleet repeatedly withdrew into more confined water and arranged a second line to fire through gaps in the first. That compression restricted maneuver and made the packed formation exceptionally vulnerable to fireships. Warships are mobile artillery platforms and cannot safely be crowded into a fixed position like forts. Accounts disagree over who deserves credit, and one participant's harsh assessment of Russian performance may have magnified his own role.