Last time, the Russian Navy lost its commander during the Russo-Japanese War.
The death of the commander of the Russian Federation’s Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, during an attack on the fleet’s headquarters was the first casualty of this magnitude during a war since 1904.
He writes about it Security Express.
The publication notes that after the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1904), the Russian Navy never lost its commanders.
“This (removal of the commander of the Russian Navy. – Ed.) is the first case after the Russo-Japanese War and the second case in general in the history of the Russian Navy, when the commander of the fleet was killed. Hostilities,” the article says.
Thus, in April 1904, Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov, commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, died. The battleship “Petropavlovsk” aboard Makarov was blown up by a mine.
On July 28, 1904, Wilhelm Widgeft, commander of the 1st Pacific Fleet, died in battle after the ships left the blockaded Port Arthur.
In both world wars, not a single commander of the Russian Navy was killed. As an exception, Valentyn Drozd, squadron commander of the Baltic Fleet, whose car fell under the snow on the ice road to Kronstadt in 1943 during a shelling attack.
Another historical parallel
There is another analogy. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), on October 5, 1854, Allied forces conducted the first bombardment of Sevastopol, which resulted in the death of one of the city’s defense chiefs, Admiral Volodymyr Kornilov.
In 1855, Admiral Pavlo Nakhimov died. At that time, he was appointed commander of the port of Sevastopol and temporary military governor of the city.
Let us recall that on September 22 the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol was attacked.
In Ukraine, during the attack on the headquarters in Sevastopol, it was officially confirmed that the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation Viktor Sokolov and more than 30 officers were killed.
The spokesperson of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine explained that the removal of the commander will have a significant negative impact on the management of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.
