Vasily Alexandrovich Kanin (Russian: Васи́лий Алекса́ндрович Ка́нин; 23 December 1862 – 17 June 1927) was a Russian admiral and member of the State Council of the Russian Empire. He commanded the Baltic Fleet during World War I (1915–16), served on the Admiralty Board (1917), and commanded the Black Sea Fleet of the Armed Forces of South Russia during the Russian Civil War (1918–19).
Vasily Kanin | |
|---|---|
| Васи́лий Ка́нин | |
 | |
| Commander of the Imperial Baltic Fleet | |
| In office 20 May 1915 – 6 September 1916 | |
| Monarch | Nicholas II |
| Preceded by | Nikolai Ottovich von Essen |
| Succeeded by | Adrian Nepenin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 23, 1862 Baku, Russian Empire |
| Died | June 17, 1927 (aged 64) Marseilles, France |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service |  Imperial Russian Navy |
| Years of service | 1882–1917 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Battles/wars | |
Early life and career
editVasily Kanin was born on 23 December 1862. He graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1882 as a midshipman and completed the Naval Mine Officers' Course in 1891.[1]
After initially serving in the Baltic Fleet, Kanin was transferred to the Pacific and took part in the expedition to China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. He later served in the Black Sea Fleet before returning to the Baltic in 1911 to command a destroyer flotilla. In December 1913 he became a rear admiral and led the minelayer detachment. This made him responsible for both setting up minefields and also defending them using a force of light warships.[1]
World War I
editWhen World War I broke out, Kanin oversaw the creation of a minefield at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland on 31 July 1914, and from 12 to 14 January 1915 he led an operation to lay mines in German waters. His detachment continued its mission even when they learned that a force of German ships was close to them. He was given credit for the operation, but reportedly he wanted to withdraw but was persuaded not to by one of his subordinates, Captain 1st rank Alexander Kolchak.[1]
Kanin was promoted to vice admiral on 22 February 1915, and on 20 May he became the commander of the Baltic Fleet after the death of Admiral Nikolai Ottovich von Essen.[1] He was chosen partly because Essen's preferred successor had a German surname.[2] Compared to Essen, Kanin had a more lax command style.[1][3] During his tenure, there was some disagreement between Kanin and Captain Francis Cromie, the commander of the British Royal Navy's Baltic submarine flotilla, regarding the usage of British submarines.[4] On 23 April 1916 Kanin was promoted to full admiral.[1] He oversaw some successful operations as the fleet commander (including the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915), but Emperor Nicholas II was persuaded by other naval leaders to replace Kanin in September 1916 because they believed his leadership was too passive. He was succeeded by Vice Admiral Adrian Nepenin.[1][3]
Revolution and civil war
editIn January 1917 he became a member of the Admiralty Board and the State Council, before retiring in December of that year, after the October Revolution.[1]
Kanin joined the Armed Forces of South Russia during the Russian Civil War and served as the commander of their nearly defunct Black Sea Fleet from November 1918 until early 1919. In 1920 he emigrated to France, where he died in Marseilles on 17 June 1927.[1]
Citations
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i McLaughlin 2017, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Halpern 1994, p. 193.
- ^ a b McLaughlin 2015, p. 581.
- ^ Halpern 1994, p. 208.
Sources
edit- Halpern, Paul G. (1994). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-172-6.
- McLaughlin, Stephen (2017). Kalic, Sean N.; Brown, Gates M. (eds.). Russian Revolution of 1917: The Essential Reference Guide. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-5093-6.
- McLaughlin, Stephen (2015). Dowling, Timothy C. (ed.). Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond. Vol. 2: N–Z. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.