Sinope, Battle of

In the Russo–Turkish war, Russian naval victory over the Turks 30 November 1853 off Sinope (now Sinop), a Turkish town on the southern shore of the Black Sea. The Russians wrecked a Turkish fleet and killed about 4,000 people. The British and French governments ordered their own fleets into the Black Sea to protect Turkish shipping, and so began the series of events which was to lead to the Crimean War (see also Silistria).

The Turks had declared war on the Russians 4 October after a Russian invasion of what is now Romania, but was then part of the Turkish Empire, and had won a minor battle there. The Tsar ordered the Black Sea Fleet to bombard Sinope in retaliation. Approaching Sinope, they found a Turkish squadron anchored in the harbour, and in the course of bombarding the town sank nine Turkish ships and wrecked most of the harbour installation.