IMPLEMENTATION OF COMBAT TASKS AND MORBIDITY OF THE PERSONAL COMPOSITION OF RUSSIAN FLEET SHIPS IN THE WAR WITH PRUSSIA
The article is dedicated to the Russian participation in the Seven-Year War (1756-1763) and particularly the events that happened during the first military campaign of the Russian fleet in the Baltic Sea in 1757. The entire Russian fleet, including the Kronshtadt and Revel squadrons, put out to the sea to carry out combat missions. The ships were not equipped for long-term storage of fresh products and regular cooking of hot food. Living conditions for personnel also were far from perfect: rooms were not heated, drying clothes was a problem, etc. Almost immediately, the situation on the ships deteriorated due to the spread of diseases, primarily scurvy, among personnel. High disease incidence adversely affected the combat employment of the fleet forces. Reduction in the number of healthy military men impaired ship combat readiness. In such a situation, two challenges were to be met: first, to work out a more rational approach to accomplishment of the fleet missions and second, to administer the effective treatment of disabled military personnel. The author pays detailed attention to the measures the commanders took in order to reduce the spread of diseases and not to disrupt the fleet missions.