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| Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) | |||||||||
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| Part of theRusso-Turkish wars andNapoleonic Wars | |||||||||
 Russian Fleet after the Battle of Athos byAlexey Bogolyubov | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Russian Empire Principality of Mingrelia Principality of Guria Principality of Abkhazia Moldavia Wallachia Revolutionary Serbia Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Alexander IAlexander ProzorovskyPyotr BagrationGiorgio Giovanni Zuccato †Nikolay KamenskyMikhail KutuzovDmitry SenyavinMikhail MiloradovichIvan Gudovich |  Selim IIIMustafa IVMahmud II (POW)Ali PashaYusuf PashaAhmed Pasha  Mehmet PashaAğa Hüseyin PaşaIbrahim Hilmi Pasha | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 70,000 killed[2] |  100,000 killed[3] | ||||||||
| 225,000 deaths[4] | |||||||||
TheRusso-Turkish War (1806–1812) was fought between theRussian Empire and theOttoman Empire as one of 12Russo-Turkish wars. In 1812, both sides favored peace just as Napoleon'sinvasion of Russia was about to commence.[5]
The war broke out against the background of theNapoleonic Wars. In 1806, SultanSelim III ofOttoman Empire, encouraged by theRussian defeat at Austerlitz and advised by theFrench Empire, deposed the pro-RussianConstantine Ypsilantis asHospodar of the Principality ofWallachia andAlexander Mourousis as Hospodar ofMoldavia, both Ottoman vassal states. Simultaneously, the French Empire occupiedDalmatia and threatened to penetrate theDanubian Principalities at any time. In order to safeguard the Russian border against a possible French attack, a 40,000-strong Russian contingent advanced into Moldavia and Wallachia. The Sultan reacted byblocking the Dardanelles to Russian ships and declared war on Russia.
Initially, EmperorAlexander I was reluctant to concentrate large forces against the Ottoman Empire while his relations with Napoleonic France were still uncertain and the main part of his army was occupied fighting againstNapoleon inPrussia.War began in 1806. The Russians defeated the Turks at Glodeni, but encountered resistance as they approached Izmail. They lost the battle near the city and soon fell into an ambush at the Khotyn Gate.[6][7] Soon, the ship's captain, Mehmet Reis, reported that Peglivan Ibrahim Pasha had defeated the Russians again, this time at the village of Chamasuy. According to Ottoman reports, 500 prisoners and 1,500 heads were brought to the Sultan as proof.[8] Turkish commander Pehlivan Ibrahim Pasha demonstrated exceptional heroism and courage. Ottoman court was overjoyed at Pehlivan's success against the Russians. Ibrahim's successes were especially noted by the people, so much so that he was nicknamed "Baba Pasha," meaning "Father of the Army." He personally participated on the front lines and received news of this throughout the empire.[9]
However, the Turks were not so successful on other fronts. Russian troops ofMikhail Miloradovich managed to defeat the Turks at the village ofObilesti, thwarting their plans to captureBucharest. Russians managed to capture Mustafa Bayraktar Castle, and the Turks fought to the last. However, the Russians prevailed, and the entire garrison was killed.[10] On March 6, the Battle of Giurzha took place, where the Russians initially repelled the Ottoman cavalry, and the Turks soon took up positions. The Russians, hesitant to attack them, fired at each other. Soon, General Mikhelson withdrew his troops to Turbat.[11][10]
Turks had no success at sea. The Russians managed to take the island ofTenedos, defeat the Turks at theBattle of the Dardanelles (1807) andBattle of Athos, and even blockade the Turkish capital,Constantinople.
Meanwhile, in the Caucasus, Russians routed Ottoman forces in Armenia at theBattle of Arpachai. However, it prevented them from taking the besieged cities ofPoti andAkhalkalaki.[12]
Turks had won Russians at battles ofTrabzon andSinop (1807).[13]
Kabakçı Mustafa rebellion broke out at the Turkish court, and Sultan Selim III was overthrown. Russians and Turks signed a truce, which was beneficial to both sides, because Russians were defeated by Napoleon and signed the Treaty of Tilsit.[14]
At this point the war might have ended, if it were not for thePeace of Tilsit. The Russian Emperor, constrained by Napoleon to sign an armistice with the Turks, used the time of peace to transfer more Russian soldiers fromPrussia toBessarabia. After the southern army was augmented to 80,000 and the hostilities were resumed, the 76-year-old commander-in-chiefAlexander Prozorovsky made little progress in more than a year. They defeated the Turkish forces of the notorious Bosniak-Aga at Frasin, repelling all attacks and putting the Ottomans to flight.[15]
Peglivan Ibrahim Pasha successfully defeated Russian troops on the island of Olmar near Tulcea.[16] According to Peglivan's own source, the Russians left several thousand dead, and he also captured 200 men & 24 Russian guns.[17] Soon the Russians completely defeated the Ottoman forces atRassevat, Russians continued their advance and took Izmail under siege. But they lostat Braila because of Turkish Pehlivan Ibrahim Pasha, who is called as "Sworn enemy of the Russians",[18] the fact that even Russians spoke like that about him really shows that he was a talented commander.Russians soon besieged the city of Silistria, constantly repelling its forays. Soon after, the Turkish commander Peglivan Ibrahim Pasha arrived. Initially, the Turks were losing, but Peglivan counterattacked and drove back the Russians, routing the cavalry, and also dislodging the Cossacks. Despite Peglivan's efforts, the Russians pushed back his troops and drove them into trenches, but Ibrahim was able to recapture Paskevich from there. Soon after, due to this failure, the Russians were forced to lift the siege of Silistra, thus ending their campaign in Bulgaria in failure.
In 1810, the hostilities were renewed by the brothersNikolay andSergei Kamensky Ottoman reinforcement heading for Silistra and ousted the Turks fromHacıoğlu Pazarcık (May 22). Pehlivan Ibrahim Pasha, however, remained with a small army in Pazardzhik, a situation the Russians took advantage of, taking advantage of their vast numerical superiority. They besieged the city and stormed it. Pehlivan fought to the last, but was unable to prevent the army's defeat. He was captured wounded.[19] For the Turks, this blow was perhaps even more painful than the defeat at Batina, since they lost the only strong commander who resisted the Russians.
The position of Silistra now appeared hopeless, and the garrison surrendered on May 30. Ten days later, Kamensky laid siege to another strong fortress,Shumla (or Schumen). His storm of the citadel was repelled at great loss of life, and more bloodshed ensued during the storming of the Danubian port ofRousse (or Rustchuk) on July 22. During the assault on Ruschuk, the Russians were routed, losing more than 8,500 men, three generals, such as Count Sievers, killed, Bekhmetev and Prince Shcherbatov seriously wounded, Sanders lightly wounded.[16] The latter fortress did not fall to the Russians until 9 September, after Kamensky's army had surprised and routed a huge Turkish detachment atBatin on August 26. On October 26, Kamensky again defeated a 40,000 army of Osman Pasha at Vidin. Russians lost only 1,500 men, compared with 10,000 for their opponents.
However, the young Nikolay Kamensky caught a serious illness on February 4, 1811 and died soon thereafter, left the army under the command ofLouis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron. To this point, although the Russians had won many battles, they had failed to achieve any important victories that would force the Ottomans to end the war. Furthermore, the relationship between France and Russia quickly became strained, pointing to the inevitable renewal of hostilities between the countries. The Russian Empire found that she needed to end the southern war quickly in order to concentrate on dealing with Napoleon. In such a situation, Tsar Alexander appointed his disfavoured generalMikhail Kutuzov to be the new commander of the Russian force.
Alexander might not like Kutuzov, but he needed Kutuzov's intelligence, his talent and his prestige in the Army, where he was thought to be the direct successor ofSuvorov.
— E. Tarle
Kutuzov's first action upon taking command was to reduce the size of the garrisons in the fortresses along the Danube and retreat back into Wallachia. The Russian withdrawal induced the Turks to launch a counter-offensive to recapture lost territory. In the spring of 1811, 60,000 Turkish troops led by Grand VizierAhmed Pasha gathered atŠumnu, the strongest fortress inOttoman Bulgaria and set out on a campaign to confront Kutuzov's army. Kutuzov's army was also large with 46,000 soldiers, however, he was responsible for protecting the full 600 mile Danube River border between Wallachia and Ottoman Bulgaria.[20]
On 22 June 1811, the two forces met inbattle of Rusçuk on the Danube. After a long struggle, the Russians successfully repelled Ahmed Pasha's larger army. A few days later as the Turks were preparing to attack the Russians in the Rusçuk fortress, Kutuzov ordered his forces to cross the Danube and retreat back into Wallachia.[20][21]
Believing that the Russians were trying to escape, Ahmed Pasha decided to launch an attack. On 28 August, 36,000 Turkish troops began to cross the Danube River to assault the Russians. The Turkish force established a fortified bridgehead on the left bank of the river near the small village of Slobozia where they werequickly surrounded by two divisions of Kutuzov's army. The remaining 20,000 men of Ahmed Pasha's army remained at the Turkish field camp on the right bank near Rusçuk where they guarded the munitions and supplies. On the night of 1 October 1811, however, a Russian detachment of 7,500 men secretly crossed the Danube. In the morning the Russians overwhelmed the Turkish troops in a surprise attack. The Turks panicked and scattered, suffering 2,000 casualties. Thereafter, the Russian forces completely enveloped the Turkish bridgehead on the left bank of the Danube and initiated an all-out artillery attack.[20][22][23]
For approximately six weeks, the Russians besieged and bombarded the Turkish bridgehead. Surrounded with their supply lines cut, the Turks suffered not only from a persistent Russian bombardment but also from malnutrition and disease. A ceasefire was agreed upon on 25 October and approximately three weeks later on 14 November 1811, Ahmed Pasha agreed to a truce and formally surrendered to Kutuzov. The magnitude of the Turkish defeat with 36,000 casualties, ended the war along the Danube and led to peace negotiations ultimately resulting in the signing of theTreaty of Bucharest on 28 May 1812.[20][22][24]
Six years of war on the eastern front left the border unchanged. Fighting here was more serious than during theRusso-Turkish War of 1787–1792, but it was still a sideshow to the main action. Russia crossed the Caucasus and annexed Georgia, the western half of which had been nominally Turkish. It also had taken thePersian vassalkhanates along the Caspian coast and east of Georgia. The area around modern Armenia (Erivan Khanate andNakhichevan Khanate) was still under Persian control.Russia was alsoat war with Persia but theTurks and Persians did not help each other. A large part of the Russian army was also tied up in Europe because of Napoleon's threat in the west. TheRussian Viceroys were 1806:Ivan Gudovich, 1809:Alexander Tormasov, 1811:Filippo Paulucci, 1812:Nikolay Rtishchev.[25]
Fighting with Turkey began in 1807 with the swift seizure ofAnapa by Admiral Pustoshkin. Gudovich led his main force towardAkhaltsikhe but lost 900 men while trying to stormAkhalkalaki and withdrew to Georgia. Secondary campaigns againstKars andPoti also failed. The Turks took the offensive, failed three times to takeGyumri and then were completely defeated by Gudovich (Battle of Arpachai). He was congratulated by the Shah, an interesting comment on the relations between the two Muslim empires. Gudovich was replaced by Count Tormasov who arrived about April 1809. In 1810 Poti on the coast was captured.[26] A Turkish invasion was blocked by General Paulucci under the walls of Akhalkalaki. In November 1810 a Russian attack on Akhaltsikhe failed due to an outbreak of plague. In 1811 Tormasov was recalled at his own request and replaced by Paulucci in Transcaucasia, Rtishchev taking over the Northern Line. In 1811 more troops were withdrawn to deal with the expected threat of Napoleon. Turks and Persians agreed on a joint attack toward Gyumri. They met at ’Magasberd’ {location?} on 30Aug11. There a Kurd assassinated theSerasker ofErzurum and this caused the forces to break up.
Paulucci sentPyotr Kotlyarevsky against Akhalkalaki. He made a forced march over the snow-covered mountains, avoiding the main roads, attacked at night, and had storming parties on the walls before the Turks knew the Russians were there. By the morning of 10 December he held the fort with a loss of only 30 killed and wounded. For this he was promoted to major-general at the age of 29. On 21 February 1812 5000 Turks failed to re-take Akhalkalaki. Three days later they were defeated at Parghita {location?}. Paulucci was sent west to command troops against Napoleon, and Rtishchev became commander of forces on both sides of the Caucasus mountains.
Russia decided to make peace, which was signed by theTreaty of Bucharest (1812).
Although there are sources that describe the war as a Russian victory.[27][28][29] there are some that call it indecisive,[30] because thetreaty, favourable to the Ottomans, stipulated that Russia returned all occupied lands other than Bessarabia.[31]
According to the Treaty, the Ottoman Empire ceded the eastern half ofMoldavia to Russia (which renamed the territory toBessarabia), specifically, the territories east ofDanube andPrut rivers, even though the Ottoman Empire had committed to protecting that region. Russia became a new power in the lower Danube area, and had an economically, diplomatically, and militarily profitable frontier.
InTranscaucasia, Turkey regained nearly all it had lost in the east: Poti, Anapa and Akhalkalali. Russia retainedSukhum-Kale on the Abkhazian coast. In return, the Sultan accepted the Russian annexation of theKingdom of Imereti, in 1810.[32][33]
The treaty was approved byAlexander I of Russia on June 11, some 13 days beforeNapoleon's invasion of Russia began. The commanders were able to get many of the Russian soldiers in the Balkans back to the western areas before the expected attack of Napoleon.
