Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812)
The Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812 was one of the many wars between the Russian and Ottoman empires . The war ended with a victory for Russia and the Ottoman surrender of Bessarabia .
background
The war broke out against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars . The Ottoman Empire, which had previously suffered several humiliating defeats against Russia, felt encouraged by the Russo-Austrian defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz to depose the pro-Russia Gospodars in its vassal territories of Moldavia and Wallachia . At the same time, his French allies occupied Dalmatia and threatened to use the two Danube principalities as a transit area to Russia. In order to prevent a possible advance, a 40,000-strong Russian army occupied Moldova and Wallachia. The Sultan responded by blocking the straits for Russian ships and declaring war on Russia.
Course of war
The early stage
Initially, Tsar Alexander I was unwilling to concentrate too large a number of troops against the Ottomans in the south, as relations with France were unclear and the main part of the army had to secure the Prussian direction. However, a massive Ottoman offensive on Bucharest could be repulsed at Obileşti with only 4,500 men under the command of Mikhail Miloradowitsch on June 2, 1807. In Armenia on June 18, a 17,000-strong contingent of Count Ivan Gudowitsch broke up a Turkish force of 20,000 men near Arpachai. Meanwhile, blocked the Russian Baltic fleet under Dmitri Senjawin the Dardanelles and destroyed the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of the Dardanelles and in the Battle of Athos . This ensured Russian superiority on the water.
Fighting
At this point the war could have ended, as Russia had little interest in a further confrontation with the Ottomans, given the French threat and the outbreak of war with Sweden . However, the peace between Tilsit and the French came about , so that Alexander I could increase the southern army in Bessarabia to up to 80,000 men. The 76-year-old commander, Alexander Prosorowski , made hardly any progress in over a year and was replaced by Prince Bagration in 1809 , who promptly crossed the Danube with the army and overran the Dobruja . Then he went over to the siege of Silistra . On September 4, 1809, the Turks suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Rassevat (9 km from Cernavodă ). Ismail was captured on September 13 (25), 1809, and Brăila on November 21 (December 3, 1809) . The siege of Silistra began in mid-September . Bagration had 20,000 men, the besieged over 12,000 soldiers. When the vizier went from Russe to Silistra with an army of 30,000 men, he was ambushed near the village of Tatariza , where the Turks were defeated in the following battle (on October 10th). An Albanian corps also participated in this battle on the Turkish side. The vizier's vanguard managed to get away, but the noise of the battle reached as far as Silistra. The siege was lifted as winter approached.
The fighting south of the Danube forced the vizier to march the Turkish army out of Serbia, which was of great help to the Serbs in the fight against Turkish rule. Bagration was also concerned about the welfare of the Bulgarian people - he recommended to General MI Platov that "the people of Christian law, especially the Bulgarians, should be protected and in the integrity of their land." From Issaev, who was sent to Serbia, he demanded that his units treat the Bulgarians in a brotherly and friendly manner. Bagration negotiated with the Bulgarian spiritual leader Sofronij Wratschanski about a Bulgarian rebellion, which the latter supported, provided it was declared after the invasion of the Bulgarian land.
According to the historian Ivan Rostunov , Bagration was a friend of the Bulgarian , Serbian and Moldovan people, who groaned under the yoke of the Turkish conquerors. Worried about their needs, he actively supported their national struggle for freedom.
1810
In 1810 hostilities continued. The Turks were also defeated on May 10th (22nd) 1810 near Dobrich , then called H. Basardzhik, and driven out of the city. The two Kamenski brothers defeated an Ottoman reinforcement regiment that was moving to Silistra. The Ottoman garrison of Silistra found himself in a hopeless situation and surrendered on (30) in May 1810, on May 20 (June 1) in 1810 also followed Razgrad .
On June 3, the Kamenskis besieged another strong fortress called Shumen , but in late July the Russian troops there were called to Russe, which was also besieged. The city held out for a long time, however, and only surrendered on September 15, after the Russians defeated a large Turkish force near Batin on August 26 (September 7, 1810) . Swishtov , Veliko Tarnovo , Sevlievo , Lovech and Nikopol were then liberated (on October 15). The army was supposed to withdraw with the approaching winter, so that Lovech had to be taken for the second time on January 31, 1811.
Count Nikolai Kamenski passed away shortly afterwards at the age of only 34 and was replaced by Mikhail Kutuzov . In keeping with his cautious nature, the latter decided to withdraw slowly.
Final phase and results
Kutuzov's retreat caused the Turkish commander Ahmet Pasha to lead an army of 60,000 men against the Russians. The battle took place on June 22, 1811 near Ruse. Although the Turkish offensive was repulsed, Kutuzov continued his retreat and crossed the Danube back to Bessarabia. A few months later a Russian regiment returned and took Ahmet Pasha's army by surprise on the night of October 2. Over 9,000 Ottomans were killed in the bloody battle; Ahmet Pasha surrendered to Kutuzov's troops on November 23.
In the Treaty of Bucharest , which Kutuzov signed on May 28, the Ottomans ceded Bessarabia to Russia. The peace treaty was accepted by Tsar Alexander I on June 11, just a day before Napoleon's Russian campaign began .
literature
- Андрей Николаевич Петров: Война России с Турцией 1806-1812 гг. , 3 vol., St. Peterburg 1885-87 ( German: Andrej Nikolaevic Petrov: The War of Russia with Turkey 1806-1812 ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Будет помнить вся Россия , Михаил Астапенко; Владимир Левченко
- ↑ a b c d e П. И. Багратион , Иван Иванович Ростунов
- ↑ a b c d e Сборник История русской армии
- ↑ a b Турция в XIX веке