Red Mutiny by Neal Bascomb

Author:Neal Bascomb [Bascomb, Neal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2015-05-21T16:00:00+00:00

" Three Saints, what is keeping you?" Admiral Krieger telegraphed to Vishnevetsky at 10:10 A.M., spotting his second in command's squadron heading toward Tendra Harbor without the Potemkin at its side. "Why are you not on your way to Odessa?"

The Rostislav, Krieger's flagship, had dropped anchor off the sliver of an island an hour before, accompanied by the battleship Sinop and four torpedo boats. When he discovered his senior officer absent from the rendezvous point, he suspected that Vishnevetsky had already departed to win the Potemkin\ capitulation and that he would soon return with the Potemkin, now once again flying the St. Andrew's flag. An inevitable result, Krieger believed. The mutinous crew would never dare resist the gathered strength of the Black Sea Fleet. But now Vishnevetsky was returning, and the Potemkin was nowhere in sight.

Steaming at fall speed toward the island, Vishnevetsky made no reply to Krieger, sure that an abbreviated telegraph message was an ill-advised way to explain the past couple of hours. He had never expected the Potemkin to race out of Odessa, guns trained on the Three Saints. His ships were unprepared for battle, and he was definitely against engaging the Potemkin, of all battleships. He had come only to negotiate the mutiny's surrender.

When Vishnevetsky neared Tendra, Krieger signaled by semaphore that every commander was to report to his flagship at once. As a launch from the St. George carried Captain Guzevich to the meeting, sailor Koshuba met with the other revolutionaries on his battleship, certain they had to act if the squadron was sent after the Potemkin again. Krieger, now in command, would undoubtedly order the sailors to fire on their brothers. As usual, Koshuba—whose gaunt, uncomely face and sallow skin belied his tremendous passion—was adamant they follow through on Tsentralka's plan to launch a fleetwide mutiny, even if the Potemkin's actions had changed the timetable. They had witnessed the cowardice of their officers when the Potemkin approached the squadron: they dashed about the ship like frightened children, and some begged the engine room to increase speed as they fled toward Tendra Island. Koshuba was sure these same officers lacked the courage to resist an uprising among their men. His task was to persuade and lead the crew to mutiny, and this was exactly what he meant to do.

Meanwhile, on the Rostislav, Krieger berated his senior officer for his retreat that morning. He told his commanders he would never allow the same, regardless of their concerns about the loyalty of their crew if given the order to fire. Yes, Krieger hoped to avoid a sea battle, but every preparation, including armed boarding parties, was to be made in the event that such a fight transpired.

Then he laid out his strategy against the Potemkin. The squadron would travel toward Odessa in two columns, his flagship directing the first, the Three Saints the second. The light cruiser Kazarsky would run ahead of the squadron to reconnoiter, while the torpedo boats trailed behind the two columns in line-abreast formation.

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