26.9.1569 (9.10). Victory of the Russian army over the Turkish-Tatar army during the siege of Astrakhan.
First Russian-Turkish War
First of all, it should be said that the Turks are not an indigenous people on the territory of their modern state. The Seljuk Turks emerged from Central Asia during the 11th century. conquered Persia, Armenia, Georgia, Palestine, Syria, Egypt. They consistently occupied the entire Asia Minor, which formed the territorial basis Byzantine Empire. After the capture (1453), Turkish aggression continued with the occupation of the Balkan Peninsula, further enslavement of many South Slavic peoples and subjugation, which was taken from Rus' by the Tatar horde in the 13th century. Subsequently, Turkish aggression reached Austria and Poland with the Little Russian lands it occupied. Only in 1683, the allied Polish-Austrian troops won a victory near Vienna, which put an end to Turkish aggression in Central and Eastern Europe. And the onslaught of the Turks on the Russian Plain was stopped and reversed by numerous Russian-Turkish wars.
Russian kingdom annexed in 1552, and in 1556, eliminating the threat of raids against Rus' emanating from there. Tsar John IV ordered the construction in Astrakhan new Kremlin on a hill above the Volga. Astrakhan occupied an important strategic position, being a defense hub of the Russian state in this region and a major center of transport and trade routes in Russia’s relations with Persia and Central Asia. From here, the Russian presence intensified in the Caucasus, where Russian detachments were already constantly stationed to protect the Kabardian princes, vassals of the Moscow state (the second wife of Ivan the Terrible was Kabardian Maria Temryukovna), and Cossack towns were founded on the Terek and Sundzha rivers. All this weakened the influence of the Ottoman Empire in this region, and the Turkish rulers feared losing further territories of their Caucasian and Black Sea possessions.
In 1563, the Turkish Sultan Suleiman I planned a campaign against Astrakhan to take it away from the Russians. But his vassal, the Crimean Khan, was not interested in such a remote region, nor in strengthening Turkish power over himself, and delayed the Turkish campaign. They prepared for war for several years and brought supplies to Azov in advance. After the death of Suleiman I in 1566, his successor Selim II entrusted the conduct of the campaign to Kafa Pasha Kasim. On May 31, 1569, Kasim set out with a 15,000-strong corps of Janissaries and on the way united with the 50,000-strong army of the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray; 220 ships with equipment and food were sent to Azov. Turkish Sultan, confident of victory over the smaller Russian troops, allowed his soldiers to borrow money from the future sale of prisoners they hoped to capture in Astrakhan.
The Turkish army, which included, in addition to the Janissaries and Tatars, also several thousand sipahis, azaps and akinci, besieged Astrakhan on September 16, 1569. At the same time, the Tatars began work on creating a canal connecting the Volga and Don, for the penetration of the Turkish fleet into the Volga and Caspian Sea. To dig the canal, 30 thousand workers from the cities of Kafa, Balaklava, Taman and Mangup were brought along with the army. Turkish ships from Azov went up the Don to Perevoloka on the Tsarina River, from where the Turks intended to dig a canal.
The balance of forces was in favor of the Turks. And yet they were defeated and fled, violating the Sultan’s order to winter near Astrakhan. The skillful actions of the governor Prince P.S. Serebryany-Obolensky, supported by another Russian army - the ataman of the Zaporozhye Cossacks M.A. Vishnevetsky, forced the enemy to lift the siege. According to the “History of Little Russia” by N.A. Markevich (vol. 1, chapter III), an unexpected sortie of the Astrakhan garrison and an attack by the Cossack cavalry allowed the Russians to capture and turn their own artillery against the fleeing Turks, inflicting huge losses on them. On September 26, the Turks and Tatars decided to leave.
The approaching Russian reinforcements of 15 thousand people dispersed the canal builders and defeated the demoralized 50 thousand-strong army of Crimean Tatars protecting the builders. At the same time, the Turkish fleet near Azov was destroyed by a strong storm, and on the Don by the actions of the Cossacks, who attacked the retreating Turks on their small plows that could accommodate ten people.
In the spring of 1570, the ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible concluded a non-aggression treaty in Istanbul. Despite this, the Crimean Tatars again attacked the Russian kingdom, and therefore, at the end of May 1570, upon news of the attack “on the Ryazan places and on the Kashira Crimean people,” the Tsar launched a campaign against Kolomna. In 1571, 40 thousand Crimean Tatars and Nogais bypassed the abatis lines and burned Moscow. The following year, 1572, the 100,000-strong Crimean army repeated the raid, but was almost completely destroyed by the governor M. Vorotynsky in a very important battle. However, as a result of these campaigns, the Russians were squeezed out of Kabarda.
Russian-Turkish wars of the 17th–18th centuries.
The Russian-Turkish wars of the 17th–18th centuries were at first a logical continuation of the defense of Russia from the Horde yoke and from the raids of the Crimean Tatars (a splinter of the Horde). Since it was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, clashes with Turkey were inevitable, which, in addition, itself constantly sought to conquer the southwestern Russian lands.
True, in the future the European “Christian” powers were already mainly allies of Muslim Turkey, and not of Orthodox Russia.
A striking example of this is 1853–1856. . Prohibition for Russia to have a navy in the Black Sea, renunciation of the protectorate over Moldova, Wallachia and Serbia, return of Kars to Turkey in exchange for Sevastopol, transfer of Southern Bessarabia to the Moldavian Principality.
Victory for Russia could even lead to the liberation of Armenian lands. Peace of San Stefano (02/19/1878). However, the Berlin Congress (June-July 1878) annulled the Russian acquisitions, as well as the independence of Bulgaria and Macedonia from Turkey. Austria received the right to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania annexed the Bulgarian province of Dobruja. True, Russia retained Bessarabia, and received compensation in the Caucasus: Kars, Batum and Ardahan, with all their provinces.
Turkey (in fact, already almost a republic under the dictatorship of the Freemasons under the formal Sultan) also fought against Russia and organized those who sympathized with Russia. The Russian Caucasian Army under the command of the general inflicted a number of major defeats on the Turks: at the beginning of 1915 in the Battle of Sarykamysh, then in the Euphrates Operation, in 1916 in the storming of Erzurum and. The Caucasian army under the command of Yudenich did not lose a single battle, occupied all of Armenia and was ready to continue the offensive. But all Russian victories were nullified, and the allies refused to fulfill their promise to transfer Constantinople and the straits to Russia.
Only with the anti-Russian government did the Turks have friendly relations. The Turkish Freemasons were spiritually closer to the anti-Christian Bolsheviks - as a result, the Soviet-Turkish treaties concluded in 1921 canceled for Turkey all the decisions of the Treaty of Sèvres following the World War. (The Treaty of Sevres was signed on August 10, 1920 in the French city of Sevres by the Entente countries and Turkey, which in particular recognized Armenia as a “free and independent state” with the transfer of Armenian lands to it and the establishment of new state borders.)
Turkey remained neutral, and only in February 1945 it joined the victors, declaring war on Germany and Japan. After the war, Türkiye accepted the patronage of the United States and joined NATO. Nowadays, the Turkish government supports all US and NATO aggressions (against Serbia, Iraq, Libya, Syria) and seeks membership in a united Europe.
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Ottoman Empire
Russo-Turkish War(1787-1791) - a war between the Russian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, on the one hand, and the Ottoman Empire, on the other. In this war, the Illustrious Porte planned to regain the lands that had gone to the Russian Empire during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, as well as Crimea, which was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1783. The war ended with the victory of the Russian Empire and the conclusion of the Peace of Jassy. In pre-revolutionary historiography, this war was called Potemkin: in honor of the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops.
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✪ Russian-Turkish war (1787-1791)
✪ Foreign policy under Catherine II.
✪ Russian-Turkish War 1787-1791.
✪ Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 (narrated by historian Oleg Alpeev)
Subtitles
Background
End of the Crimean Khanate
Protectorate of Eastern Georgia
1788 Campaign
Siege of Khotyn
Naval siege of Ochakov
Main article: Naval siege of Ochakov *
Assault on Ochakov
Meanwhile, Potemkin moved forward extremely slowly and only around August 20 approached Bendery, where he attracted a significant part of the Russian troops located in Moldova.
Then the vizier again went on the offensive, thinking to take advantage of the weakening of Russian forces in the principality. Having gathered up to 100 thousand troops, at the end of August he crossed the Danube and moved to the Rymnik River, but here on September 11 he suffered a complete defeat from the troops of Suvorov and the Prince of Coburg. Earlier, on September 7, another Turkish detachment was defeated on the Salcha River by Prince Repnin. The Rymnik victory was so decisive that the allies could cross the Danube without hindrance; but Potemkin, satisfied with it, continued to stand at Bendery and only ordered Gudovich to take possession of the fortifications of Khadzhibey and Akkerman. When this was accomplished, Bendery finally surrendered on November 3, ending the campaign.
On the part of the Austrians, the main army did nothing during the summer and only on September 1 crossed the Danube and besieged Belgrade, which
Russo-Turkish War 1787-1791 |
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Moldova, Bessarabia, Budjak, Serbia, Black Sea |
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Victory of Russia, conclusion of the Peace of Jassy |
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Territorial changes: |
Iasi world |
Experimental aircraft |
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Opponents |
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Units produced |
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Commanders |
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G. A. Potemkin |
Abdul Hamid I |
P. A. Rumyantsev |
Yusuf Pasha |
N. V. Repnin |
Eski-Hasan |
A. V. Suvorov |
Jezairli Gazi Hasan Pasha |
F. F. Ushakov |
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Andras Hadik |
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Ernst Gideon Loudon |
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Frederick of Coburg |
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Strengths of the parties |
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Military losses |
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55,000 killed and wounded |
Ottoman Empire 77,000 |
10,000 killed and wounded |
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Russian-Turkish War 1787—1791- a war between Russia and Austria, on the one hand, and the Ottoman Empire, on the other. The Ottoman Empire planned in this war to regain the lands that had gone to Russia during the Russian- Turkish war 1768-1774, including Crimea. The war ended with the victory of Russia and the conclusion of the Peace of Jassy.
Background
The last years of the Crimean Khanate (1774-1783)
After the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace, which granted independence to the Crimean Khanate, Russia began a gradual withdrawal of troops from the peninsula. Petersburg hoped to extend its influence over the Khanate through diplomatic means thanks to the loyalty of Khan Sahib II Giray to Russia and the pro-Russian sympathies of his brother kalgi (heir) Shahin Giray. The Turks, having violated the treaty of 1774, tried to intervene by force in the affairs of the Khanate.
The treaty itself was very unfavorable for Turkey and this alone did not ensure a more or less lasting peace for Russia. The Porte tried in every possible way to evade the exact execution of the agreement - either it did not pay indemnities, then it did not allow Russian ships to pass from the Archipelago to the Black Sea, or it campaigned in the Crimea, trying to increase the number of its adherents there. Russia agreed that the Crimean Tatars recognize the authority of the Sultan as the head of the Mohammedan clergy. This gave the Sultan the opportunity to exert political influence on the Tatars. At the end of July 1775, they landed their troops in Crimea.
Sahib II Giray, elevated to khan by Dolgoruky in 1771, did not enjoy the favor of the people, especially for his desire for European reforms. In March 1775, he was overthrown by the party that stood for Crimea’s dependence on Turkey, and Turkey’s protege, Devlet IV Giray, was installed in his place.
These events aroused the wrath of Catherine II and cost the commander of the Second Russian Army Dolgorukov his position, who was replaced by Lieutenant General Shcherbinin. In 1776, Catherine II ordered Rumyantsev to move part of his troops to the Crimea, remove Devlet Giray and proclaim Shahin Giray khan. In November 1776, Prince Prozorovsky entered Crimea. The Russians freely occupied the Crimean fortresses that were transferred to Russia under the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty. The Turks had to retreat, Devlet Giray fled to Turkey, and the Crimean throne in the spring of 1777 was taken by Sahib Giray’s brother, Shahin Giray, to whom Russia assigned a lump sum of 50 thousand rubles and an annual pension of 1000 rubles per month. The new khan could not enjoy the favor of his subjects. A despot by nature, the wasteful Shahin Giray robbed the people and from the very first days of his reign aroused their indignation. The new khan remained in power only thanks to Russian military support. Shahin Giray, among other things, planned to establish a regular army in the Crimea, but it was this that destroyed the khan. A mutiny broke out among the newly formed army.
Turkey took advantage of this, and Selim III Giray, expelled by Dolgorukov in 1771, came to Crimea and was proclaimed khan. Türkiye sent 8 ships to help him. Catherine then ordered Rumyantsev to restore the power of Shahin Giray and end the rebellion. The execution of this order was again entrusted to Prince Prozorovsky, who forced the Murzas to appear with obedience to Shahin Giray on February 6, 1778.
Soon there was a coup in Constantinople. A man of peace-loving character was appointed as the Grand Vizier, and on March 10, 1779, a convention was signed with Turkey, which confirmed the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty and recognized Shahin Giray as the khan. After this, Russian troops left Crimea and stopped awaiting further events on the borders.
The power of Shahin Giray, unloved by the people, was fragile. In July 1782, a rebellion broke out against him, and Shahin Giray was forced to flee to Kerch. The Turks occupied Taman and threatened to cross to the Crimea. Then Potemkin, who commanded the Russian troops in the south, instructed his cousin P. S. Potemkin to push the Turks beyond the Kuban, Suvorov to pacify the Nogai and Budzhak Tatars, and the Count de Balmain to enter the Crimea and establish peace there.
There was unrest in Crimea, rebellions constantly broke out, conspiracies were hatched, the clergy agitated for Turkey. Then, according to G. A. Potemkin’s idea, the empress decided to liquidate the Khanate. Potemkin convinced Shahin Giray to give up power, transferring it into the hands of the Russian Empress. Russian troops were immediately concentrated on the Turkish borders, a navy appeared on the Black Sea, and on April 8, 1783, a manifesto appeared on the annexation of Crimea, Taman and the Kuban Tatars to Russia. Turkey was forced to submit to this, and the Sultan in December 1783 recognized the annexation of Crimea, Taman and Kuban to Russia as a formal act.
Ottoman Empire and European countries formally recognized the entry of Crimea into Russia. The newly annexed possessions began to be called Taurida. The empress's favorite, G. A. Potemkin, His Serene Highness Prince Tauride, was supposed to take care of their settlement, economic development, construction of cities, ports, and fortresses. The main base of the newly created Black Sea Fleet was Sevastopol.
Treaty of Georgievsk
On July 24 (August 4), 1783, an agreement on the patronage and supreme power of Russia was concluded with the united Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (otherwise the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom, Eastern Georgia), according to which Eastern Georgia came under the protectorate of Russia. The treaty sharply weakened the positions of Iran and Turkey in Transcaucasia, formally destroying their claims to Eastern Georgia.
The Turkish government was looking for a reason to break with Russia. Akhaltsykh Pasha persuaded the Georgian king Irakli II to surrender under the protection of the Porte; when he refused, the pasha began to organize systematic raids on the lands of the Georgian king. Until the end of 1786, Russia limited itself to written statements on this matter, which the Porte mostly left unanswered.
Austro-Russian Alliance
In 1787, Empress Catherine II made a triumphal tour of the Crimea, accompanied by representatives of foreign courts and her ally, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who traveled incognito. This event greatly stirred up public opinion in Istanbul; revanchist sentiments arose, fueled by the British ambassador's statement that Britain would support the Ottoman Empire if it started a war against Russia.
At the end of 1786, Catherine II also decided to act more firmly. Potemkin was entrusted with the main command over the troops and given the right to act at his own discretion. The Russian envoy in Constantinople, Bulgakov, was instructed to demand from the Porte:
- so that the borders of the Georgian king, as a subject of Russia, will never be disturbed by the Turks;
- so that the fugitive Russians are not left in Ochakov, but are sent across the Danube;
- so that the Kuban people do not attack Russian borders.
Bulgakov’s ideas were not successful, and the Porte, for its part, demanded that the Russian government completely abandon Georgia, cede 39 salt lakes near Kinburn to Turkey and allow the Porte to have its own consuls in Russian cities, especially in the Crimea, so that Turkish merchants would pay duties were no more than 3%, and Russian merchants were prohibited from exporting Turkish works and from having Turkish sailors on their ships. Since the Porte demanded an urgent response before August 20, the hostile situation was obvious.
Without waiting for a response from Bulgakov, the Porte made a new demand - to renounce Crimea, return it to Turkey and destroy all agreements regarding it. When Bulgakov refused to accept such a demand, he was imprisoned in the Seven Tower Castle. This act was tantamount to a declaration of war. Both sides began to actively prepare for the second Turkish war.
Beginning of the war
In 1787, Turkey, with the support of Great Britain, France and Prussia, put forward an ultimatum to the Russian Empire demanding the restoration of the vassalage of the Crimean Khanate and Georgia, and also sought permission from Russia to inspect ships passing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. On August 13, 1787, the Ottoman Empire, having received a refusal, declared war on Russia, but Turkish preparations for it were unsatisfactory, and the timing was inappropriate, since Russia and Austria had recently concluded a military alliance, which the Turks learned about too late. The initial successes of the Turks against the Austrians in the Banat were soon replaced by failures in military operations against Russia.
Battle of Kinburn
A week after the declaration of war, which began on August 13 (24), 1787, the Turkish flotilla attacked two Russian ships stationed near Kinburn and forced them to retreat into the estuary. But the subsequent attempts to capture Kinburn in September and October were repulsed by a detachment of five thousand under the leadership of Suvorov. The victory at Kinburn (October 1 (12), 1787) became the first major victory of Russian troops in the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1792. It effectively ended the 1787 campaign, since the Turks took no further active action that year. At the end of the year, General Tekeli carried out a successful raid on Kuban. There were no other military operations, since the Russian troops in Ukraine, although there were enough to defend the country, were offensive operations they weren't ready yet. The Turkish army was also unprepared. Second try Turkish troops the capture of Kinburn, undertaken in the winter of 1787-1788, also turned out to be unsuccessful.
In the winter, Russia sealed its alliance with Austria by securing a commitment from Emperor Joseph II to support a declaration of war on Turkey. The Turks, having learned about the danger threatening them from both sides, decided to first strike at the Austrians, whom they hoped to cope with more easily, and against Russia to limit themselves, for the time being, to strengthening the Danube fortresses and sending a fleet to support Ochakov and attack Kherson.
Siege of Khotyn
In Moldova, Field Marshal Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky inflicted a number of heavy defeats on the Turkish army after his predecessor Alexander Golitsyn occupied Iasi and Khotyn.
By the spring of 1788, two armies were formed in the south: the main, or Ekaterinoslav (about 80 thousand people), under the command of Potemkin, was supposed to capture Ochakov, from where it was convenient for the Turks to stir up troubles in the Crimea; the second, the Ukrainian army of Rumyantsev (up to 37 thousand people), was supposed to stay between the Dniester and the Bug, threaten Bendery and maintain contact with the Austrians; finally, General Tekeli’s detachment (18 thousand) stood in the Kuban to protect the Russian borders on the eastern side of the Black Sea.
Austria, for its part, fielded a very strong army under the command of Lassi, who, however, carried away by the so-called cordon system, scattered his troops excessively, and this caused subsequent major failures.
On May 24, part of the Russian main army (40 thousand) moved from Olviopol to Ochakov, on the right bank of the Bug, in the estuary of which the newly built Russian flotilla was already stationed. On June 7, the Turkish fleet (60 ships) attacked it, but was repulsed, and the new attack it launched on June 17 ended in its complete defeat and flight to Varna; 30 damaged ships, sheltered under the walls of Ochakov, were attacked and destroyed here on July 1 by the squadron of Prince Nassau-Siegen.
Meanwhile, Potemkin besieged the fortress and began siege work. Rumyantsev, having concentrated his army in Podolia in mid-May, separated a detachment of General Saltykov to communicate with the Austrian troops of the Prince of Coburg and to assist them in capturing Khotin; the main forces of the Ukrainian army crossed the Dniester at Mogilev on June 20; however, it did not come to a serious clash with the Turks, who were concentrated at the Ryaba Mogila, and the whole summer was spent in maneuvers.
Assault on Ochakov
After a long siege by the detachments of Prince G. A. Potemkin and A. V. Suvorov, Ochakov fell, and his entire Turkish garrison was destroyed. The news of this shocked Sultan Abdul Hamid I so much that he died of a heart attack.
Turkish generals demonstrated their unprofessionalism, and unrest began in the army. The Turkish campaigns against Bendery and Akkerman failed. Belgrade was captured by the Austrians overnight.
Battle of Fidonisi
Despite the significant numerical superiority of the Turkish fleet, the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral M.I. Voinovich defeated it in the battles of Fidonisi (1788).
Then, after the surrender of Khotin (where the Austrian garrison was left), Saltykov’s detachment was assigned to cover the left wing of the Ukrainian army, located between the Prut and the Dniester, from Bendery. When the Turks left the Ryabaya Mogila, our troops occupied winter quarters, partly in Bessarabia, partly in Moldova. The Prince of Coburg moved west to approach Russian troops in Transylvania. On December 17, Ochakov fell, and the main army then settled down for the winter between the Bug and the Dniester. General Tekeli's actions were successful: he repeatedly dispersed crowds of Tatars and highlanders, threatening Anapa and Sudzhuk-Kala at the same time. and Mahal Karlovich!!!
Austria's entry into the war
As for Russia's allies, the campaign of 1788 was very unhappy for them: the Turks invaded the Austrian borders, and after their victories at Megadia and Slatina, Joseph II agreed to a three-month truce, which the vizier offered him, having learned about the fall of Khotin and fearing that Rumyantsev and the Prince of Coburg will move to the rear of the Turkish army.
1789 Campaign
According to the plan outlined for the 1789 campaign, Rumyantsev was instructed to advance to the Lower Danube, behind which the main forces of the Turks were concentrated; Lassi was supposed to invade Serbia, Potemkin was to take possession of Bendery and Ackerman. But by spring, the Ukrainian army had been brought to only 35 thousand, which Rumyantsev recognized as insufficient for decisive action; The Yekaterinoslav army still remained in winter quarters, and Potemkin himself lived in St. Petersburg; Austrian Lassi troops were still scattered along the border; the corps of the Prince of Coburg was in northwestern Moldavia.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of March, the vizier sent two detachments to the left bank of the Lower Danube, with a force of 30 thousand, hoping to separate the Prince of Coburg and the advanced Russian troops and capture Iasi; to support the mentioned detachments, a 10 thousand-strong reserve was advanced to Galati. The vizier’s calculations did not come true: the Prince of Coburg managed to retreat to Transylvania, and the division of General Derfelden, sent by Rumyantsev to meet the Turks, inflicted a triple defeat on the Turks: on April 7 - at Birlad, on the 10th at Maximeni and on the 20th - at Galati. Soon Rumyantsev was replaced by Prince Repnin, and both Russian armies were united into one, the Southern, under the command of Potemkin. Upon arrival there, in early May, he divided his troops into 5 divisions; of these, the 1st and 2nd only gathered at Olviopol at the end of June; The 3rd, Suvorova, stood at Falchi; 4th, Prince Repnin - at Kazneshti; 5th, Gudovich - from Ochakov and Kinburn.
On July 11, Potemkin with two divisions launched an offensive towards Bendery. The vizier moved Osman Pasha's 30,000-strong corps to Moldavia, hoping to defeat the Russian and Austrian troops stationed there before Potemkin approached; but Suvorov, uniting with the Prince of Coburg, attacked and defeated the Turks near Focsani on July 21.
Meanwhile, Potemkin moved forward extremely slowly and only around August 20 approached Bendery, where he attracted a significant part of the Russian troops located in Moldova.
Then the vizier again went on the offensive, thinking to take advantage of the weakening of Russian forces in the principality. Having gathered up to 100 thousand troops, at the end of August he crossed the Danube and moved to the Rymnik River, but here on September 11 he suffered a complete defeat from the troops of Suvorov and the Prince of Coburg. A few days before, another Turkish detachment was defeated on the Salcha River by Prince Repnin. The Rymnik victory was so decisive that the allies could cross the Danube without hindrance; but Potemkin, satisfied with it, continued to stand at Bendery and only ordered Gudovich to take possession of the fortifications of Haji Bey and Akkerman. When this was accomplished, Bendery finally surrendered on November 3, ending the campaign.
On the Austrian side, the main army did nothing during the summer and only on September 1 crossed the Danube and besieged Belgrade, which surrendered on September 24; in October, some more fortified points in Serbia were taken, and in early November the Prince of Coburg occupied Bucharest. Despite, however, a number of heavy blows, the Sultan decided to continue the war, since Prussia and England encouraged him with support. The Prussian king, alarmed by the successes of Russia and Austria, concluded an agreement with the Porte in January 1797, which guaranteed the inviolability of its possessions; in addition, he deployed a large army on the Russian and Austrian borders and at the same time incited the Swedes, Poles and Hungarians to hostile actions.
1790 Campaign
The campaign of 1790 began with a major setback for the Austrians: the Prince of Coburg was defeated by the Turks at Zhurzha. In February of the same year, Emperor Joseph II died, and his successor, Leopold II, was inclined to open peace negotiations through England and Prussia. A congress was convened in Reichenbach; but Empress Catherine refused to participate in it.
Then the Turkish government, encouraged by the favorable turn of affairs for it, decided to try to recapture the Crimea and the Kuban lands, and limit itself to defense on the Lower Danube. But actions in the Black Sea were again unsuccessful for the Turks: their fleet suffered a double defeat (in June and August) from Rear Admiral Ushakov. Then Potemkin finally decided to go on the offensive. One after another, Kilia, Tulcha, Isakcha fell; but Izmail, defended by a large garrison, continued to hold out and only on December 11 was taken by Suvorov after a bloody assault.
In the Caucasus, the Turkish corps of Batal Pasha, which landed at Anapa, moved to Kabarda, but was defeated by General Herman on September 30; and the Russian detachment of General Rosen suppressed the uprising of the highlanders.
Campaign of 1791
At the end of February 1791, Potemkin left for St. Petersburg, and Repnin took command of the army, and conducted the matter more energetically. He crossed the Danube at Galati and on June 28 won a decisive victory over the vizier at Machin. Almost simultaneously in the Caucasus, Gudovich captured Anapa by storm.
Then the vizier entered into peace negotiations with Repnin, but the Ottoman commissioners delayed them in every possible way, and only a new defeat of the Ottoman fleet at Kaliakria accelerated the course of affairs, and on December 29, 1791, peace was concluded in Iasi.
War at sea
Despite the numerical superiority of the Turkish fleet, the Black Sea Fleet under the command of rear admirals N.S. Mordvinov, M.I. Voinovich, F.F. Ushakov inflicted major defeats on it in the battles in Liman (1788), at Fidonisi (1788), in Kerch Strait(1790), at Tendra (1790) and at Kaliakria (1791).
Results of the war
The new Sultan Selim III wanted to restore the prestige of his state with at least one victory before concluding a peace treaty with Russia, but the condition of the Turkish army did not allow him to hope for this. As a result, the Ottoman Empire in 1791 was forced to sign the Treaty of Yassy, which assigned Crimea and Ochakov to Russia, and also pushed the border between the two empires to the Dniester. Türkiye confirmed the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty and forever ceded Crimea, Taman and the Kuban Tatars. Türkiye pledged to pay an indemnity of 12 million piastres. (7 million rubles), but Count Bezborodko, after this amount was included in the agreement, on behalf of the Empress refused to receive it. Turkey's financial affairs were already in terrible disarray after the second war with Russia.
Great Catherine. Born to rule Sorotokina Nina Matveevna
Second Turkish War (1787–1791)
Back in 1780, Elizabeth changed the course of foreign policy. Previously, Prussia was Russia's ally, but now it began to focus on Austria. Each of these states laid claim to new lands and did not want the strengthening of allies, as well as opponents. These are the laws of diplomacy.
In 1779, Catherine's second grandson, Konstantin, was born. I repeat, he had a Greek nurse, even for children’s games they selected Greek boys for him - play, and at the same time learn the language. According to Catherine’s plan, Constantine was supposed to finish the work of Peter the Great - to establish dominance in the Black Sea, and also to implement the plans of the Great Grandmother - to free Christians suffering from the oppression of the Turks. True, the grandmother will also liberate, and she will create a new state of Dacia on the liberated lands, which will include Moldova, Volachia and Bessarabia. And then, you see, Constantinople will be taken, and a new sovereign will be placed on the throne - Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. The Turks have owned Constantinople for almost 350 years, they own it illegally, and it’s time to stop this outrage. These plans were quite serious. It was not for nothing that during a trip with Catherine in 1787, the Austrian Emperor Joseph II opened his mouth in amazement when he saw the inscription above an arch somewhere in the Crimea: “Forward to Byzantium.”
The intrigue for the implementation of this plan began to emerge back in 1781, when Catherine entered into a secret agreement with Joseph II. Bezborodko, it was at this time that his brilliant career began, wrote memos, Potemkin threw up new ideas. And now two emperors, Catherine and Joseph, are sharing the skin of an unkilled bear. The Austrian emperor demanded a lot of lands, he wanted to “round off his empire,” and for this Belgrade, Khotin, solid lands belonging to Venice, etc. were not enough for him, he also wanted to pinch off a mighty piece from Dacia, which existed only on paper. Against this background, Catherine looked almost disinterested; she only laid claim to Ochakov and one or two islands in the Greek archipelago for the security of our trade, but she considered the whole and indivisible Dacia to be her main task.
In general, until an agreement was reached, the offended Joseph wrote to Catherine that, perhaps, it was too early to fight with Turkey, while everything was needed controversial issues remove peacefully. Catherine has not yet found an ally in this huge enterprise and decided to complete the work she had already begun - to resolve the issue with Crimea. As already mentioned, Crimea became a province of Russia. Because of this, the 2nd war with the Turks began.
The Ottoman Empire did not like Russia’s demonstration of its strength - we are talking about the empress’s trip to the Novorossiysk region. All of Europe was talking about this. In Istanbul, everything started according to a pre-established pattern. The Russian envoy Bulgakov was invited to the Divan for a meeting. The first time we just talked, and the second time we put forward demands: return Crimea to Turkey and abandon the terms of the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace.
The Turks did not wait for a response from Russia to their request, and on August 13, 1787, the Porte declared war on Russia. Bulgakov was sent as a prisoner to the Seven Tower Castle and immediately the Turkish fleet stationed at Ochakov attacked our fortress of Kinburg. A.V. arrived at the fortress. Suvorov. The next day, the Turks resumed their artillery bombardment, after which they landed 5,000 selected Janissaries ashore. Suvorov led his squad into battle. He managed to defeat the Janissaries; few of the attackers reached the ships. Suvorov was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield.
The Empress was very nervous, Potemkin remained in Novorossiya, she believed that she had no one to consult with. On September 12, 1787, she signed the War Manifesto. Khrapovitsky in his diary outlined the empress’s mood on this day in a short word: “They cried.”
Joseph II, after some hesitation, joined Russia. The Greek project had not yet disappeared from the mind of the Austrian emperor, and he, together with Catherine, hoped for the division of Turkey. Neither Russia nor Turkey were ready for war, so they fought little for the first year and prepared more for future battles. Potemkin was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army; military general Rumyantsev was already playing a supporting role in the war.
D.F. Maslovsky, a recognized authority in matters of military strategy, wrote about Potemkin: “Commanding the troops of the entire southern border area, the military settlements he created, commanding the revived region by him, managing the irregular troops and, finally, managing the affairs of the Military Collegium for almost 14 years, Potemkin is the commander-in-chief by right, certainly irreplaceable under the circumstances of that time and fully responsible before history for the consequences of his special military and administrative activities in the period from the end of the 1st to the beginning of the 2nd Turkish War.” That’s how it is, but in the initial period of hostilities our affairs went from bad to worse. N.I. Pavlovsky is not a military strategist, he is a brilliant historian, but he is very accurate in his assessment: “It seems that Potemkin Tauride was least famous as a commander... If he had not been surrounded by brilliant commanders, among whom A.S. Suvorov and P.A. Rumyantsev, if the Prince of Tauride had not been supported and inspired by the Empress when he was at a loss, then the course of military operations could have taken a completely different turn.”
After Suvorov's victory, Kinburn had setbacks. Potemkin had great hopes for the Russian fleet. He sent him to reconnaissance and search for Turkish ships, but there was a storm that greatly damaged our ships. One frigate went missing, another with its masts torn off was carried to the Turkish borders and captured by the enemy. The remaining ships with torn sails barely returned to Sevastopol Bay.
Whether the failure of the first expedition or chronic illnesses was to blame, Potemkin fell into a terrible depression. In his letters, he complained to Catherine that “the spasms were tormenting,” that he was “greatly weak,” immediately reported that there was practically no fleet, and added philosophically: “God beats, not the Turks.” The empress’s answer: “I pray to God that he gives you strength and health and calms down hypochondria. Damn defensive state. I do not like him. Try to quickly turn it into an offensive one: then it will be easier for you and all of us.” Potemkin did not heed the advice, he saw everything in a black light and even proposed leaving the Crimean peninsula, that is, withdrawing our troops from there “to concentrate forces.”
This is something Catherine could no longer accept; in her letters she is firm and self-confident: “... you are impatient, like a five-year-old child, while the affairs entrusted to you at this time require unshakable patience.” And what should we do with the Sevastopol fleet? – the empress is surprised. “I ask you to take heart and think that a cheerful spirit can overcome failure.” But the “cheerful spirit” had clearly left Potemkin; sometimes there was no news from him for weeks. Then he gathered his courage for the next message: “I want to end my life in solitude and obscurity, which, I think, will not last.” The prince asked for resignation and transfer of powers to Rumyantsev. But Rumyantsev’s army in Bessarabia was also in a deplorable state. What could Catherine do? She did not give Potemkin’s resignation and continued her cheerful exhortations: “...You can’t do anything worse than deprive me and the empire by deposing your merits as a self-reliant, capable, loyal, and, at the same time, best friend.”
I finally persuaded Potemkin, and then the illness subsided somewhat. The prince decided to take possession of Ochakov, and a long, grueling siege began. Potemkin was cautious, delayed the matter, and kept waiting for especially favorable conditions. He himself climbed into the thick of it and more than once put his life in danger. But for the commander-in-chief, personal courage is not at all the main thing. Potemkin appeared near Ochakov in September 1788. Catherine expected that the fortress would be taken by November, but the end of the siege was not in sight.
Echoes of the Greek project prevented the empress from sleeping. What did you think? Now is the time to raise Orthodox world Mediterranean against Turkey, it didn’t work out before, but it will work out now. We just need to help them repeat the victory of the Russian fleet in the Battle of Chesme. For this, the smallest thing was needed - to send the Baltic fleet to the Mediterranean Sea, but this fantastic idea was not allowed to come true. The Baltic Fleet was needed directly on the spot; Sweden declared war on Russia.
Now Russia was fighting a war on two fronts. In December 1788, Ochakov was taken with very heavy losses. Victory, by all accounts, was secured by Suvorov, but he was wounded in the battle and did not participate in the final assault. All the glory went to Potemkin. Catherine was delighted. In honor of the victory at Ochakov, a medal was knocked out, she presented Potemkin with a field marshal's baton studded with diamonds, and awarded him the Order of St. George, 1st degree, there were also monetary gifts - you can’t count them all. Catherine expected that her “heart friend” would immediately rush to St. Petersburg, but Potemkin did not go to the capital, but headed to Iasi, then to Bendery. There the prince arranged a luxurious life for himself. “Winter quarters” were also prepared for the army.
To the surprise of the Empress, Potemkin again asked for his resignation, citing the fact that “it was time to calm the spirit.” He was not afraid of work - “vigilance on several thousand miles of borders”, he was not afraid of the enemy, but was wary of his internal enemies. “Villains whom I despise, but I fear their intentions; This gang of ungrateful people, not thinking about anything other than their own benefits and peace, armed with deceit, are doing dirty tricks on me with images. There is no slander that they would level against me.” Potemkin is clearly not self-critical. Describe the “villain” one day of Prince Tauride in Iasi or Bendery, that’s slander for you. The Empress did not allow Potemkin to resign this time either.
The war with Sweden ended in Russian victory. On the southern front they fought as usual. The Second Turkish War is strongly associated with the name of the great commander A.V. Suvorov (1729–1800). He began serving as a corporal in the Seven Years' War and rose to the rank of generalissimo. Suvorov is a brilliant strategist and author of works on military theory: “Regimental Institutions” and “The Science of Victory.” Suvorov had his own tactics of warfare - offensive, and his own view on the education of soldiers. Suvorov was not only ahead of his time, many of his military commandments have survived to this day. In his entire life, Suvorov did not lose a single battle. At court he was a harmful, caustic person, but Catherine II forgave him for any eccentricities.
Even before the conclusion of peace with the Swedes in September 1789, Suvorov won a victory at Rymnik. Austrian troops also took part in the battle, but the entire battle plan was developed by Suvorov. Relations between Potemkin and Suvorov can generally be called good. Anything can happen at the front, especially given the eccentricity of the characters of these two heroes, but Potemkin greatly appreciated the military and human qualities of our great commander. It was he who ensured that the Empress added Rymninsky to Suvorov’s surname and granted him the title of count. Catherine wrote to Potemkin: “Although a whole cartload of diamonds has already been laid on Count Suvorov, I am sending the cavalry of Yegor the Grand Cross at your request: he is worthy of it.”
In the same 1789, Potemkin took Ankerman and Bendery without a fight. “There is no kindness, my friend, that I would not like to say to you,” writes Ekaterina. “You are charming for taking Bendery without losing one person.” During the war, the tone of the empress's letters to Potemkin was very warm, and an echo of previous love relationship. In all matters relating to military operations, Catherine always took Potemkin's side. She believed him boundlessly, fulfilling not only his wishes, but also his whims. She did not give him his resignation because the prince was really ill, and besides, the empress knew better than Potemkin himself what he needed. Obeying his demand, she finally agreed to unite the Ukrainian army, commanded by Rumyantsev, with Potemkin’s Yekaterinoslav army, placing the latter at the head of the combined forces. Rumyantsev found himself out of work. One can imagine the resentment and indignation of the honored commander, who could give a competent assessment of our failures in the Turkish war. Of course, he blamed Potemkin for everything, often unfairly, but the prince did not want to hear any criticism. He openly called it slander and sincerely believed in it himself. How often people do not see themselves from the outside and cannot evaluate themselves fairly and impartially. What could Rumyantsev-Zadunaiskogm do? He wrote letters of complaint to the Empress, asking for his resignation, and Catherine brushed him off like a bothersome fly.
And Potemkin led a carefree and cheerful life in Bendery. Who stuck this concept on him - a harem? Apparently, life itself. Here is the story of the young Richelieu, later named Emmanuel Osipovich. It's about about Duke Richelieu, the founder of Odessa, who left France even before the Great Revolution, wanting to serve in the Russian troops. To take part in the assault on Izmail in 1790, Richelieu had to obtain Potemkin's permission. The headquarters was then in Bendery. Potemkin received Richelieu in a huge room, flooded with candlelight. It was full of officers, and on the sofa under a huge canopy sat six beautiful ladies. Nearby, of course, is Potemkin in a dressing gown.
And here is a description of the same hall in Bendery by Prince Langeron: “During my absence, the prince ordered to destroy one of the halls of the house where he lived, and built a kiosk in that place where the wealth of two parts of the world was squandered in order to seduce the beauty whom he wanted to conquer . Gold and silver sparkled everywhere you looked. On a sofa upholstered in pink fabric with silver, framed with silver fringe and decorated with ribbons and flowers, the prince sat in an elegant home toilet next to the object of his worship, among several women who seemed even more beautiful from their attire. And in front of him perfume was smoking in golden incense burners. The middle of the room was occupied by dinner, served on golden dishes.” But let’s leave this topic; we can talk endlessly about Potemkin’s insane luxury and his irrepressible love for the fairer sex.
After the capture of Bendery, the path to Constantinople was open, but Catherine decided it was time to make peace. Prussia threatened Russia with war; loyal ally Joseph II was ill (he died on February 9, 1790). "Try, my friend, to do useful world with the Turks,” the Empress writes to Potemkin, “then many troubles will disappear, and we will be respectful: after your current company we can expect.”
In February 1791, Potemkin went to St. Petersburg. This was his last visit to the capital. He no longer had the strength to fight, prove, or intrigue. He was ill and spoke seriously about the monastery. The last broad gesture, a generous gift to Catherine, was the April ball he organized in the newly built Tauride Palace. Everything that his exotic fantasy, love of luxury and ostentation could inspire in the prince, was put into action to organize this holiday. The residents of St. Petersburg could not forget about him for many years and told each other the details of this ball. During the feast, Potemkin himself stood behind the empress’s chair and served her, emphasizing that he was the empress’s servant forever, but this was more like a wake for the past.
On July 24, 1791, Potemkin went to the active army. On the way he felt very bad and had difficulty getting to Iasi. Doctors called his illness intermittent fever. Was heat, complete loss of strength, sometimes the patient lost consciousness and became delirious. He ordered to be taken to the city of Nikolaev, he considered it a “healthy place.” Potemkin was transferred to a “bed” stroller. They drove slowly, but the very next day the prince suddenly ordered him to be taken out into the air, “so that they wouldn’t let him end his life in the carriage.” They carried him out and laid him on the ground. It was here in the steppe that Potemkin died. This happened on October 5, 1791. The courier brought the sad news to the palace only on October 12. The Empress became so ill that doctors were forced to perform bloodletting.
The year 1790 was marked by the victory of Admiral Ushakov at sea and the capture of the Izmail fortress. The siege of Ishmael began in September. The fortress was superbly protected by artillery, and the garrison was huge - about 35 thousand people. On December 10, the Izmail fortress was taken by Russian troops.
On December 29, 1791, peace was concluded with the Turks in Iasi (two and a half months after the death of Potemkin). The Russian side was represented by Bezborodko. The Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi peace was confirmed, the annexation of Crimea was recognized, Russia acquired the territory between the Bug and the Dnieper, where the wonderful city of Odessa was eventually built.
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29.11.2015 20:05
Against the backdrop of worsening Russian-Turkish relations in our society, discussions about, to put it mildly, difficult relations between Russia and Turkey throughout our history are increasingly appearing. Many remember both glorious battles and bitter defeats. Indeed, our history is literally filled with Russian-Turkish conflicts of varying degrees of tension. Just think about it, Russians and Turks met on the battlefield 12 times! However, few of the respected audience are fully aware of the glorious victories of Russian weapons. It's a shame not to know your history! Well, apparently the time has come for me to tell you about a dozen Russian-Turkish wars...
1. The war that never happened (1568-1570)
The first conflict of interests with Turkey occurred in the 16th century at the dawn of the formation of the Russian State. As we all know, Ivan the Terrible was the first to begin to destroy the fragments of the Golden Horde, which enslaved Rus' for three hundred years. After the capture of Astrakhan by the Russians and the fall of the Astrakhan Khanate, the Turkish Sultan Suleiman I, dissatisfied with the successes of the young Moscow Kingdom, launched a campaign against Ivan the Terrible. However, the war, in fact, did not take place. The Turks did not take into account the peculiarities of the theater of military operations: the army marched through waterless places, suffered from a lack of food, and eventually, after a short siege, turned back, suffering heavy losses without major clashes with the Russians.
2. Defense of one's own (1672-1681)
As we all know, in 1654, Left Bank Ukraine, by the will of the population, voluntarily (!) became part of the Muscovite Kingdom. It is clear that such a radical change in the geopolitical map of that time could not pass unhindered. The Russian reconquista scared not only the Poles, but also the Turks, who themselves were not averse to taking control of these territories. However, if we dealt with the Poles by 1667, barely reaching Warsaw, then we had to tinker with the Turks much longer. Turkey tried to penetrate as deeply as possible into Ukrainian territory, and during this period the Ottomans advanced the furthest. Even Kamenets-Podolsky came under the control of the Turks; their army ravaged the depths of Little Russia. The Russians, for their part, provided protection to the population. The most fierce battles took place near the city of Chingirin, in which the Turkish vassal, the forefather of all Mazeppians in Little Russia, Hetman Doroshenko, settled, who was ready to serve the Islamic Sultan rather than go to the “damned Muscovites.” In September 1676, the Russian Prince Romodanovsky, together with the Left Bank Hetman Ivan Samoilovich, loyal to Moscow, achieved the surrender of Chingirin and the capitulation of Doroshenko. However, the Turks managed to recapture the city in 1678. Russian army after a series of desperate battles, Chigirin was burned and retreated in an orderly manner. Despite the loss of the outpost, the Russians demonstrated to the Turks the futility of continuing the conflict. Already at the end of 1678, the thought of peace took possession of everyone. Russia and Türkiye reached a compromise by drawing borders along the Dnieper.
(Chingirin on the map of those times.)
3. Battle of Azov (1686–1700)
Four years later, the temporarily frozen Russian-Turkish conflict flared up with renewed vigor. This time the stumbling block was Azov, which the Russian Tsars had turned their attention to more than once before, due to the fact that this fortress was the base for constant raids of the Crimean Tatars on Russian lands. Prince Golitsyn's first attempt was unsuccessful. Along the scorched steppe, which was poor in communications, the Russian troops did not advance far, and due to supply problems they were forced to return without glory and success. A new expedition led by Peter I was prepared more thoroughly, however, this time too the Russian troops failed, despite good supplies and taking into account past mistakes, the assault failed due to the lack of a fleet. The third time, everything was taken into account down to the smallest detail. The tireless Peter prepared a river flotilla near Voronezh, and in 1696 the Russians achieved major success. Azov found itself under a tight siege, and the Turkish flotilla did not dare to engage the Russians in battle. Azov, blocked from land and water, was doomed. The Russians built a rampart outside above the fortress walls and began bombarding, and in mid-July a general assault forced the Turks to capitulate. This war fully showed the whole world the character of the Russian people, his perseverance and will to win. Everything that we so desperately lack today.
(The Russian fleet storms Azov.)
4. Prut campaigns – a step to the apocalypse. (1710-1713)
After the loss of Azov, the Turks yearned for revenge with all their hearts. After the escape of the Swedish king Charles XII from Poltava, Peter tried to recapture it from the “Turkish partners” who sheltered the fugitive king. The Russians marched to the Dnieper, counting on the help of Moldova, which promised supplies of provisions and auxiliary troops, need I say that we received neither of these? We did not receive help from the Poles, with whom Russia was in an alliance. Thus, in July, Peter encountered many times superior forces of the Turks and found himself surrounded. The situation was critical, Peter expected captivity or death every day, taking this option into account, he sent instructions to the Senate, where he demanded that in the event of captivity, he should not be considered king and not carry out his instructions. It’s scary to imagine what would have happened to Russia if Peter had been killed or captured, but fate was favorable to Russia. The Janissaries raised unrest in the Turkish camp, and the Turkish vizier, Baltaci Mehmed Pasha, heeding the admonitions of the talented diplomat Peter Shafirov, according to the old Eastern tradition, decided to make concessions for material reward (bribery was always extremely developed in the Ottoman Empire at all levels). Russia had to surrender Azov and raze the Taganrog fortress, but the Russians went home unhindered, and Azov became a burning, but only loss.
5. Invisible war. (1735-1739)
During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the Russians again decided to eliminate the Tatar threat from Crimea and put an end to this threat once and for all. As before, the course of action was seriously influenced by the desert, unhealthy terrain. Our troops fought in bare and empty lands, where even searching for clean water. However, there were also reasons for optimism. Petrine reforms moved the army forward an era, while the Turkish armed forces were in decline. In the spring of 1736, Field Marshal Lassi quickly took Azov, suffering relatively light casualties, and Minich destroyed the fortifications of Perekop and broke into Crimea. Oh, on that glorious day, the Russians retaliated brutally Crimean Tatars for centuries of raids on Russian lands, for burned Moscow, for thousands of Russian people driven into slavery! Bakhchisarai, the capital of the Khanate and many other cities turned into piles of ash! In 1737, Minich's army took Ochakov, a key fortress in this war. In September 1739, the Belgrade Peace Treaty was concluded. According to the agreement, Russia retained Azov, but undertook to demolish all the fortifications located in it.
6. Nyash-myash, Crimea is ours! (1768–1774)
In 1768, the interweaving of European intrigues led Turkey to war with Russia - formally over the issue of Poland, in reality over the issue of Turkish revenge. However, everything went wrong for the Turks from the very beginning. The troops of General Golitsin drove back the advancing Turks, and by the winter of 1770 the Russian army reached the Danube. Our troops quickly took possession of all of Moldavia and almost all of Wallachia, battering the Turkish field army in a series of battles. During the general battle near the Cahul River, Vizier Moldavanchi, having 75-100 thousand people, stood up against the 7 thousandth army of Rumyantsev. It seemed that the war was over, the vizier was already celebrating the victory, but the Turks were cruelly mistaken, underestimating our people! On July 21, 1770, at dawn, the Russians attacked the Turks. After a long and intense battle, the enemy was completely defeated and fled, leaving all the artillery, camp, convoys and banners to the winners! While Rumyantsev was destroying the Turkish field army, the Russian fleet, bypassing the European continent, entered Turkish waters and burned the Ottoman Empire fleet there at Chesma. Bendery fell, Brailov fell, Izmail surrendered, Crimea surrendered. It was a glorious war, a triumph of Russian weapons; throughout all the hostilities the Turks failed to win even the slightest significant victory! In this war, Suvorov's star rose. While still commanding small contingents, he had already won several serious victories. Soon the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was signed, as a result of which Russia got part of the Crimea, the Khanate itself left the Turkish protectorate, the Empire acquired vast lands south of Azov, and Kabarda.
(Allegory of the victory of Catherine II over the Turks and Tatars.)
7. Second act (1787-1791)
The Turks, having learned nothing during the years of the previous war, again tried to take revenge and in 1787 the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia, demanding the return of Crimea and the removal of Russia from Transcaucasia. In this war, the brilliant Suvorov truly showed himself, with 25 thousand soldiers, with minimal losses, completely defeating the army of the hundred thousandth Vizier Yusuf! Further, Suvorov took Izmail, which was considered “impregnable,” in an unprecedented assault in 1790. At this time, Admiral Ushakov completely defeated the Turkish fleet, already threatening Istanbul, where the “brilliant” Sultan sat. It was a disaster, for the first time in the history of the Ottoman Empire the capital was under threat of attack, the Turks immediately asked for peace, which was not the greatest humiliation! The Treaty of Yassy secured all previous acquisitions for Russia, and in addition gave vast lands between the Bug and the Dniester, including Ochakov and present-day Odessa, into the hands of our state.
The wars of Catherine's era turned out to be the most brilliant page in the history of Russia's struggle on its southern borders. There is clear progress not only in comparison with the times of the Muscovite Empire, but even with the early Empire. Problems that would have plunged the military leaders of the Moscow state into a stupor and created enormous difficulties for the army of the early 18th century were solved quickly and gracefully in the era of Suvorov and Rumyantsev. However, the Russians during these years also became famous for their accelerated colonization of occupied lands. In the wild steppes, Odessa, Simferopol, Nikolaev, Sevastopol, Kherson were rebuilt by the hands of Russian settlers (!) - evidence embodied in stone of the successful development of Crimea and Novorossia by Russian people. The question is, why did these lands suddenly, for no apparent reason, become part of some kind of “Ukraine”, the hetmans of which, with some exceptions, sought service either from the Turks or from the Poles and hated the Russian people?!
8. Quick triumph (1806-1812)
Officially, the war began at the turn of 1805 and 1806, when the Ottoman Empire forced the rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia, who were its vassals, who were friendly to Russia, to resign. At this time, the Turks, in addition to the Russians, fought against the rebel Serbs. Russia could not help but listen to the Balkan Slavs, and Bagration, who led the contingent on the Danube, began to energetically correct the situation. By the end of 1810, the Russians had every reason to be optimistic: Serbia had been saved, the Turks had suffered a series of heavy defeats. Over time, the Turks lost the will to win, and the Russians made a very timely peace, winning Bessarabia for themselves and autonomy for Serbia. The results of Alexander's war do not produce such vivid impression, like the successes of the times of his great grandmother. However, it should be remembered that Russia’s main efforts lay in a completely different direction, and the state with amazing skill managed to maneuver between different conflicts, resolving all the contradictions in the north and south before the main battle with Napoleon began.
9. How to let down Ottoman Empire on the brink of collapse for a year. (1828-1829)
War was declared by Emperor Nicholas I in April 1828 due to the Porte's refusal to comply with previous bilateral agreements (the Ackerman Convention of 1826). Russian troops carried out a series of successful operations in the Balkans and Transcaucasia; in September 1829, the Peace of Adrianople was signed between the two parties, as a result of which Russia acquired the eastern coast of the Black Sea, Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki, Turkey recognized Russian rule in Transcaucasia, and the Danube principalities were granted autonomy. In 1830, the independence of the Kingdom of Greece was finally formalized. The war turned out to be short, energetic, and in general the Russians had every reason to consider themselves winners!
10. Fly in the ointment. Crimean War (1853-1856)
One of the most tragic wars in Russian history, the Crimean War started out quite acceptable. Our troops occupied Moldavia and Wallachia. Nakhimov completely destroyed the Turkish squadron in Sinop. However, it was precisely these events that became the formal reason for the British and French to enter the war. Turkey itself at that time was a pitiful sight, but behind it stood the influential powers England and France, who, by entering the war, radically changed the course of events. In Crimea, Turkish forces performed generally auxiliary functions, being completely subordinate to the British and French, whose troops were mainly led fighting. Turks in Crimea are not remembered glorious victories, but the cruelest violence against the civilian population! Here. what historians of that time wrote about this
Crowds of Turks and Tatars rushed through the streets screaming. Not content with simple theft, they broke into houses, breaking windows and furniture, raping women and beheading children.
The Europeans did not lag behind the Turks. Even the British military, including Lord Raglan, wrote about the days of the occupation of Kerch with shame and disgust. Ultimately, the Crimean epic ended, as is known, with the retreat of the Russians from Sevastopol, after its heroic defense, but the merits of the Turkish contingent here are doubtful. England and France won the war for them, using their steamships against Russian sailing ships. This war showed many miscalculations in domestic policy, it was this defeat that spurred Alexander II to prepare a Manifesto on the abolition of Serfdom in 1861.
11. Revenge and pan-Slavism (1877-1878)
The war for the liberation of the Balkan Orthodox peoples, which broke out during the reign of Alexander II, became the most selfless campaign Russian Empire. In the mid-1870s, a massive uprising of Balkan Slavs broke out in Bosnia and Bulgaria, joined by Serbia and Montenegro. The Turks suppressed these protests with insane cruelty. Russian society responded to these events with a massive collection of funds to help the rebels and a massive sending of volunteers. Seven thousand Russian volunteers went to Serbia with the full support of the state (a kind of “vacationers” of the 19th century). Realizing that diplomatic methods did not work on the Turks, the Russian government decided to take extreme measures. On April 12, under pressure from public opinion, Alexander II declared war on Turkey. This step was taken not without a touch of adventurism; the campaign had to be completed in exactly a year (that’s how long it took to transfer the fleet of England and France), so that again, as in Crimean War not to be hit by English and French steamers. This very difficult task was completed brilliantly! This time the Russian troops had significant forces, quite sufficient for the most decisive actions. The vanguards moved so quickly that General base sometimes I couldn’t even keep up with them! As a result of bloody assaults, Shipka and Plevna were taken. For the first time since the time of Prince Svyatoslav, our troops came close to Constantinople/Constantinople/Istanbul, which Russia had been striving for for a thousand years, throughout its history!
However, the brilliant victories of Russian weapons were somewhat overshadowed by the diplomatic intrigues of the European powers (more on that another time), but the results were still impressive! Bulgaria appeared on the map, Turkey recognized the independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania, Bosnia went to Austria, Russia acquired Ardahan, Kars and Batum. It can be stated without any stretch that the Russians literally laid down their bones for the independence of the Balkan peoples. It is to the Russian soldier that the Balkan countries today owe their existence. In many Orthodox churches in the Balkans they still pray every day for the repose of the soul of Alexander II!
12. The last war (Caucasian front of the First World War).
The Caucasian theater of the First World War remained in the shadow of the titanic battle that took place in the vastness of Europe, and meanwhile a fierce struggle was going on here, where the Russians not only fought for themselves, but also accomplished the noble feat of saving many defenseless people from death. In the summer of 1915, our units, led by General Yudenich, carried out several successful operations, defeating the Turks in the Euphrates Valley. At this time, in their own rear, the Turks began the genocide of the Armenian population, blaming Christians for their failures at the front. The Armenians rebelled. Throws of the Russian army to Van and Erzurum on the verge human capabilities led not only to the defeat of the opposing Turkish forces, but also to the deliverance from imminent death of many Anatolian Christians who were moving to the east.
However, the Russian soldiers were not destined to taste the fruits of victory. Famous events took place in Russia in 1917, and the troops already stationed deep in enemy territory had to retreat. In December 1917, the Russians concluded a truce with the Turks, soldiers left the front en masse and went to Russia. It’s hard to blame them for this: in a situation where something unprecedented was happening in the homeland, it is natural to want to return to their families, and not continue to freeze in the trenches in the depths of the Asian mountains. By the beginning of 1918, the front completely collapsed.
What can I say? As we see, Turkey is our main geopolitical adversary in the 300 years of the existence of the Russian Empire. However, this enemy, despite the numerical advantage, in rare cases could achieve victory. Only with the help of Europe could Türkiye resist the Russian army. Based on historical experience, we can draw some conclusions. Turkey itself is not a strong player capable of defeating Russia in open battle, but we should not forget about the strength of those who stand behind the Turks. Do not forget that Turkey has been a member of NATO for 63 years. I’m afraid that if we get involved in a confrontation, we might repeat the Crimean War of 1853-56. Although there is reason for optimism, from the time of Ivan the Terrible to Nicholas II we fought with the Turks, in most cases these conflicts ended successfully for the Russians. In Russia, there is a tradition of not only frequently fighting the Turks, but also defeating them!
