Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns ( Russian Азовские походы Asowskije pochody ) were two campaigns by the Russian army against the Ottoman Empire in 1695/96. They were part of the Russo-Turkish War 1686-1700 .
prehistory
At the end of the 17th century, the Russian Empire was fighting for strategically important accesses to the Baltic and Black Seas. By solving these tasks, favorable conditions for the development of economic ties between Russia and other countries via shipping routes and the security of the state should be ensured. These interests were threatened by the Crimean Tatars and the Ottoman Empire in the south and the Swedes in the north of the country. Tsar Peter the Great directed his efforts in this period to the solution of the problems on the southern imperial borders, since Russia in 1686 with Poland-Lithuania , through the conclusion of the treaty of the " Eternal Peace ", as well as with Austria and the Republic of Venice in the Holy League against the Turks was connected. After the Crimean campaigns of 1687/89 were unsuccessful, the Ottoman city of Azov with its fortress was chosen as a new destination .
First campaign in 1695
After preparations began in January, the Azov fortress was besieged on July 8, 1695. Led by François Le Fort , Patrick Gordon and Avtonom Mikhailovich Golovin , three corps attacked, including miners and Don Cossacks. Under Boris Petrovich Sheremetev , another army with cavalry, riflemen and Cossacks turned against the Crimean Khanate on the Dnieper . At the beginning of July Azov was trapped on the land side by the Russians. After two unsuccessful attacks in August and September, however, the siege had to be called off. One reason for the failure was the lack of naval forces.
Second campaign in 1696
The construction of a fleet began in 1695. In April 1696, the army under the leadership of Alexej Schein advanced along the Voronezh and Don rivers towards Azov, while the newly built Azov fleet under the leadership of Lefort with two battleships ("Apostle Paulus" and "Apostel Peter"), 4 lightships, 23 galleys and other Azov units blocked by the sea. On June 14th, a battle with a Turkish fleet consisting of 23 ships and 4,000 men took place at the mouth of the Don. After the loss of two ships, the Turkish fleet withdrew. On July 18, the Azov fortress was captured by the Cossacks after intensive fire on land and sea and the successful assault on external fortifications.
consequences
The warships built for the Second Azov Campaign formed the base of a Russian fleet in the south of the empire , alongside the Baltic fleet in the north. As a base for the new fleet, Taganrog was expanded as a port as early as 1696.
After a two-year armistice was agreed in the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, the Treaty of Constantinople (1700) ended the war and confirmed the Russian possession of Azov and Taganrog.
In 1710 the Ottoman Empire again attacked Russia and was able to defeat the Russian troops under Boris Sheremetev's leadership on the Prut River . Azov fell back to the Turks in 1712 and Taganrog was largely destroyed. It was not until 1769 that Azov was finally rebuilt by Russia and Taganrog.
Web links
- Heinz Setzer: Taganrog, the "Pearl of the Russian South" at a glance. German Chekhov Society, accessed on May 5, 2014 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Collective of authors under the direction of KzS NW Novikow: Боевая летопись русского флота: Хроника важнейших событий военной IX огории русск ог . по 1917 г. Воениздат, Moscow 1948 (Russian, militera.lib.ru [accessed May 5, 2014]).