After Senyavin returns to Tenedos, Seydi Ali anchors and retreats toward the Dardanelles rather than forcing a decision. The Ottomans possess a six-to-one frigate advantage and around fifty smaller craft. Those vessels could have occupied several Russian battleships while the heavier Ottoman line concentrated elsewhere. The balance is not simply ten Russian battleships against eight Ottoman ones, because many Russian ships are third rates while the Ottoman force includes more second rates. Fighting even reaches the range of Dardanelles forts and shore batteries, which occasionally hit Russian ships. The missed opportunity lies in failing to combine all those advantages into a coordinated local superiority.
Notable Point · 46:36-49:09
The unused Ottoman force multipliers at Tenedos
Ottoman frigates, small craft, heavier battleships, and Dardanelles shore batteries never combine into the local superiority that could have isolated Russian ships.