Overnight, the old Crocodile withdrew the battleships that had lost him the battle, but as they passed the Kinburn spit Suvorov opened up with a battery, positioned for just such an opportunity. The two battleships and five frigates tried to avoid the bombardment but instead ran aground. They were clearly visible in the moonlight. During this lull, Jones made a secret reconnaissance and wrote in chalk on one warship's stern: 'To be Burned. Paul Jones 17/28 June'. Jones, Bentham and Damas rowed over to Nassau's flagship. There was another row between the admirals. 'I know how to capture ships as well as you!', shouted Nassau. 'I have proved my ability to capture ships that are not Turkish,' replied Jones pointedly. It was comments like this that made him enemies who would stop at nothing to destroy him.80
Nassau and the young bloods decided to attack. Off they went helter- skelter in their boats to bombard these beached whales. 'We had about as much discipline', wrote Bentham, 'as the London mob.' Samuel fired so many shells that he could not even see his targets for the smoke. He captured one ship-of-the-line, but the 'London mob' was so keen for blood that they blew up the other Turkish ships with 3,000 of their rowing slaves still chained on board. Their screams must have been appalling. 'Dead bodies were floating around for a fortnight afterwards,' Samuel told his father.81 The rest of the fleet took refuge beneath the walls of Ochakov. The Capitan-Pasha executed a selection of his officers.82
'Our victory is complete - my flotilla did it!', declared Nassau, soi-disant 'Master of the Liman'. In two days of the Second Battle of the Liman, the Turks had lost ten warships and five galleys with 1,673 prisoners and over 3,000 dead, while the Russians had lost just one frigate, eighteen dead and sixty-seven wounded. Damas was given the honour of taking the news to the Prince, waiting at Novy Grigory to cross the Bug.83 This time Potemkin was beside himself. He kissed Ligne all over again: 'What did I tell you of Novy Grigory? Here again! Isn't it amazing? I'm the spoilt child of God.' Ligne coolly commented that this was 'the most extraordinary man there ever was'.84 The Prince of Taurida exulted, 'The boats beat the ships. I've gone mad with joy!'85
That night, the jubilant Potemkin arrived from the shore to dine with Nassau and Lewis Littlepage on Jones's flagship, the Vladimir. Potemkin's flag as grand admiral of the Black Sea and Caspian Fleets was piped up. Nassau and Jones were still at daggers drawn. 'So brilliant in the second rank,' Nassau commented of Jones, 'eclipsed in the first.'86 The Prince- Marshal persuaded Nassau to apologize to the touchy American, but he was sure that the victories belonged to Nassau. 'It was all his work,' he reported to Catherine. As for the 'pirate' Jones, he was not 'a comrade-in-arms'.87 The victory truly owed more to Bentham's artillery than to Nassau's 'mob'. Naturally Samuel thought so, and he was promoted to colonel,[89] and awarded the St George with a gold-hilted sword.88 Catherine sent Potemkin a golden sword 'garnished with three big diamonds, the most beautiful thing possible', and a golden plate engraved 'To Field-Marshal Prince Potemkin of Taurida, commander of the land army and sea army victorious on the Liman and creator of the fleet'.89 The prickly Jones got less than the brazen Nassau: the snub was clear. The chastened Crocodile of Sea Battles put to sea with the remains of his fleet.
Just when things were going so well, dangerous news arrived from Catherine: Gustavus III of Sweden had attacked Russia on 21 June, providing his own pretext by staging an attack against his own frontier, using Swedish troops in Russian uniforms.90 Before leaving Stockholm to lead his troops in Finland, Gustavus boasted he would soon be taking 'luncheon in St Petersburg'. The capital was exposed, for the crack Russian forces were in the south, though Potemkin had left an observation corps guarding the border, and sent Kalmyks and Bashkirs, with their spears and bows and arrows, to scare the Swedes. (They scared the Russians just as much.) Fortunately, the Baltic Fleet, under Greig, had not left to fight the Turks in the Mediterranean. Potemkin appointed Count Musin-Pushkin to command the Finnish front against Gustavus. Soon afterwards, Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky arrived in Petersburg to exploit the Prince's supposed negligence - an experience Catherine compared to having a 'load of snow'91 landing on her head. Petersburg soon felt as if it was a fortified town, she reported. The first sea battle on 6 July at Gothland was a victory for Russia, 'so my friend', she told her consort, 'I've also smelt powder'.92 But Gustavus was still advancing on land. In one of those moments when Potemkin envisaged ruthless evacuations of people, he half jokingly suggested depopulating Finland, dispersing its people and making it into a wasteland.93
Unfortunately, Sweden was just the tip of the iceberg. England, Holland and Prussia were about to sign a Triple Alliance that would turn out to be strongly anti-Russian. France was paralysed by imminent revolution. But Catherine found herself astride the two faultlines of Europe - Russia versus Turkey and Austria versus Prussia. The jealous Prussia, under its new king Frederick William, was determined to squeeze advantage out of Russo-Aus- trian prizes against the Turks and keen to feast again on the juicy cake of Poland - a menu of desires that the Prussian Chancellor Count von Hertzberg would bring together in his eponymous Plan. Austria felt exposed to Prussian attack in its rear, but Russia assured Joseph this would not be allowed to happen. The pressure increased on Potemkin again; Russia was back in crisis.94
On 1 July, Potemkin led his army across The Bug to invest Ochakov, while Nassau launched a raid on the ships left under its walls: after another battle, the Turks abandoned the ships and scampered back into the fortress. Two hours later, Fanshawe heard Potemkin attack the town.95 Serenissimus mounted his horse and advanced on Ochakov at the head of 13,000 Cossacks and 4,000 Hussars. The garrison welcomed them with a barrage followed by the sortie of 600 Spahis and 300 infantry. The Prince immediately placed twenty cannon on the plain beneath the fortress and stood personally directing the fire, 'where all the immense diamonds of the beautiful portrait of the Empress that is always in his buttonhole, attracted fire'. Two horses and a cart driver were killed beside him.
Ligne acclaimed Potemkin's 'beautiful valour', but Catherine was unimpressed. 'If you kill yourself,' she wrote, 'you kill me too. Show me the mercy of forbearing from such fun in the future.'96 So began the siege of Ochakov.
CRY HAVOC: THE STORMING OF OCHAKOV
It began in the morning At the rise of a red sun When Potemkin speaks... Our bravest leader
Only wave your hand and Ochakov is taken
Say the word and Istanbul will fall
We'll march with you through fire and rain...
Soldiers' marching song, The Fall of Ochakov'