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The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War (1807-1809). In 1806, the French envoy Sebastiani had been dispatched to Constantinople with orders to bring about Turkey's re-entry into the war. Sultan Selim III set about preparations for war with Russia after positively receiving Sebastiani. The Russian emperor, Alexander I, was alarmed by these developments as he had already deployed a significant force to Poland and East Prussia to fight the advancing French forces under Emperor Napoleon I. Alexander requested British assistance in keeping Turkey out of the war. The British army was far too small and inadequate to impose the will of the Coalition on the Ottomans, so it naturally fell to the powerful Royal Navy to meet Russia's requests. The ships immediately available for the task were HMS ''Canopus'', HMS ''Standard'', HMS ''Thunderer'', HMS ''Glatton'', and the two bomb ships HMS ''Lucifer'' and HMS ''Meteor'',〔p.187, Brenton〕 under the command of Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, commander-in-chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet, sailed for the Dardanelles and made preparations for the upcoming assault. In the meantime, the British ambassador to Constantinople, Arbuthnot, demanded that the Ottoman government evict Sebastiani, and added that should the Ottomans resist the ultimatum, the Mediterranean fleet would attack. The actual force that had been chosen by Collingwood to carry out the operation was small—only eight ships-of-the-line and four frigates. In addition, four Russian ships-of-the-line under Admiral Dmitry Senyavin were sent to support the British, but did not join Duckworth until after the exit from Dardanelles was made. Admiral Duckworth, who commanded the British, was under orders to bombard Constantinople and seize the Turkish battle fleet. == Background == In anticipation of a war between Russia and Turkey, Britain had sent Sir Thomas Louis from Cadiz on 2 November 1806 into the Mediterranean Sea. He reached Tenedos, near the Dardanelles Strait, on 21 November, made a brief trip to Constantinople and returned to the Straits. Turkey had declared war on Russia on 30 December 1806, and Britain sent Admiral Sir John Duckworth in ''Royal George'' 100 from Cadiz on 15 January 1807 into the Mediterranean Sea. Picking up ''Windsor Castle'' 98 guns and ''Repulse'' 74 guns from Gibraltar and ''Pompée'' 74 and ''Ajax'' 74 from Malta as replacements for the Russian fleet under Seniavin, which was still in the Adriatic, Duckworth proceeded to Tenedos. Despite the British ultimatum, on December 27 Selim declared war on Russia. On 29 January 1807, the frigate ''Endymion'' of 40 guns left Constantinople, evacuating the British ambassador and all British residents. A formal declaration of war had not yet been sent by London and the two powers were still technically allied. On February 10, Duckworth's fleet concentrated at the mouth of the Dardanelles. It met Louis's ships and returned to Tenedos on 1 February, where Duckworth's ships met up. Still not technically at war, the Turkish delayed Duckworth with token negotiations. The presence of British and Russian vessels at the mouth of the Dardanelles caused Sebastiani and his French engineering officers to begin the improvement of the Turkish shore batteries. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dardanelles Operation (1807)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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