Battle of Tataritsa
| Battle of Tataritsa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812) | |||||||||
 Russian siege camp near Silistra, painting by Ermolay Esakov | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Ottoman Empire |
 Russia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Ibrahim Pasha Yusuf Pasha[a] |
Pyotr Bagration Ivan Paskevich Pavel Palen Vasily Trubetskoy | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| c. 60,000[b] | 25,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
2,000 dead and wounded 200 captured | 500 dead and wounded | ||||||||
The battle of Tataritsa[c] was a battle fought at the Ottoman city of Tataritsa (Aydemir) on 10 October 1810 between Ottoman and Russian forces. As a result of the battle, the Ottoman army was able to force Pyotr Bagration to lift the siege of Silistra.
The main task of the Russians in 1809 was to besiege the fortress of Silistra, against which the main forces of Pyotr Bagration moved with the task of taking the city and gaining a foothold in the region. Grand Vizier Kör Yusuf Ziyaüddin Pasha acted against Bagration with the main task of unblocking the city in case of its siege.
Background
[edit]Before the start of campaign
[edit]
The Russo-Turkish war, which began in 1806, went slowly and was interrupted by peace negotiations. After their failure, Emperor Alexander ordered an offensive in such a way as to force the Turks to conclude peace near Constantinople. To do this, it was necessary to take a strong line of fortresses along the Danube.[1] In the spring of 1810, most of the Ottoman forces were sent to Serbia to suppress the national uprising. The Russians had to wait until the summer so that the water in the Danube subsided.[2] There were about 50,000 regular troops on the Danubian Front of the war, which should have been enough for a defensive victory.[3]
Campaign
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On 26 August, Bagration's army, consisting of 25,000 soldiers, of whom 20,000 were infantry, launched an offensive, the ultimate goal of which was the city of Silistra. Russian troops successfully advanced in front, occupying important positions such as at Izmail in September.[4] The Ottoman troops tried to stop the advance at Ressevat, but were defeated, resulting in 5,000 Turkish servicemen dead or captured.[5] On 11 September, the siege of Silistra began.[6] The garrison had 11,000,[7] or 12,000[4] men at its disposal and was very active, making sorties that usually ended in failure.[8]
Forces of the parties
[edit]As before, Bagration had about 25,000 under his command, and with these forces he had to stubbornly hold the siege and repel attempts that were aimed at diminishing his goal.[9] The ground forces of the Turks initially amounted to 20,000,[10] but 8,000 Albanians arrived during the battle.[11] The garrison also actively assisted in the battle,[4] and in total there were 39,000 Ottoman soldiers fighting against the Russians.[citation needed]
Battle
[edit]Beginning
[edit]
The entirety of 9 October was spent in preparation for the battle. Bagration planned to attack first, despite the numerical superiority of his enemies.[12] Ottoman general Pehlivan Ibrahim Pasha knew about this, and strengthened the trenches in the village.[13]
At 4 a.m., Cossacks attacked and knocked down the Turkish cavalry, which retreated back to their trenches. At 7 a.m., the bulk of the Russian infantry moved to the front with orders to occupy the Turkish trenches. At this time, Albanian infantry came to the aid of the Ottomans. With this, they launched a counteroffensive against the Russians.[14]
Square
[edit]
Meeting the unexpected onslaught of the Ottomans, the Russian cavalry turned back in a disorderly withdrawal.[15] At this time, the infantry began to form an infantry square, of which the first attack of the Turks on it failed.[14] There were three large squares in total: Under the commands of Ivan Paskevich, Pavel Palen, and Vasily Trubetskoy.
Retreating cavalry and Cossacks were completely eliminated from the battle, and the brunt of the attacks shifted to the infantry.[16] Having received reinforcements, the Turks repeated their attacks, this time forcing part of the forces to enter. This resulted in the connection between the three Russian squares to br lost. By the middle of the day, Palen made his way to join Paskevich and asked him to start a retreat, to which he received a playful answer: "True, we can die, but we can fight back!".[17] Part of the Russian dragoons that contacted the infantry decided to dismount, thereby increasing their effectiveness in battle.[17] At the same time, Trubetskoy was able to recover two lost guns. His success was complemented by the fact that reinforcements arrived, and the Russian right flank was finally able to repel the Turkish onslaught. Attempts by the garrison to help the attackers were also unsuccessful.[18]
The participation of the Albanian corps put the Russians in a dangerous position. Paskevich understood that the artillery of the Turks was causing him great damage, and that they would not be able to hold their positions with continuous rifle exchanges. Thus, he decided to go on the offensive. In a mixed order, Paskevich captured the positions of the Albanians and Turks, returning the previously lost cannons.[11] However, he could not consolidate success as the Turkish trenches were too well fortified. Thus, Paskevich decided to return to the redoubts captured earlier.[19]
The Russians repulsed all attacks and prevented the direct lifting of the siege from Silistra, which led to some Russian sources to state that this specific event ended in a Russian victory.[6] Despite this, Bagration was unhappy with the consequences of the battle. The Turkish positions were not eliminated, and another 20,000-strong army came to the Ottomans for help. This forced Bagration on 14 October to lift the siege of Silistra[6] and begin a retreat to Bucharest.[19] 500 soldiers of the Russian Imperial army, and 2,000 Turkish soldiers were killed or wounded in this battle. A further 200 Ottoman servicemen were captured.[20]
Results
[edit]The Russians were unable to achieve long-term success, so they were forced to lift the siege of Silistra, which dragged out the war for another two years.[21] The highest society of Russia was also indignant at the results of the battle,[6] sending letters to Bagration asking him not to go back across the Danube.[22] However, this was not possible, because after the battle, a plague broke out in the ranks of the troops. The Moldovan army was dissolved into winter quarters after this long campaign.[23] Bagration was at that moment developing a new plan against the Turks, but was replaced by Nikolay Kamensky.[24]
Aftermath
[edit]The successes of the Ottomans during the Bagration campaign restored hope of victory in the war, and in 1811 the Turks launched a full-scale offensive against Russia. However, this culminated in the Battle of Slobozia, where Michail Kutuzov, nicknamed the "Fox of the north", surrounded and forced the capitulation of the army of the Grand Vizier Laz Aziz Ahmed Pasha.[25]
Reference
[edit]- ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 199.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 337.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 339.
- ^ a b c Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 201.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 358.
- ^ a b c d Velichko et al. 1911.
- ^ Scherbatov 1888, p. 80.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 371.
- ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, pp. 200–201.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 378.
- ^ a b Scherbatov 1888, p. 88.
- ^ Vengrova, Voikova & Kareva 1901.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 379.
- ^ a b Petrov 1887, p. 381.
- ^ Scherbatov 1888, p. 85.
- ^ Scherbatov 1888, p. 86.
- ^ a b Scherbatov 1888, p. 87.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 382.
- ^ a b Scherbatov 1888, p. 89.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 383.
- ^ Petrov 1887, p. 384.
- ^ Scherbatov 1888, p. 90.
- ^ Scherbatov 1888, p. 91.
- ^ Tikhonov 2005.
- ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 207.
Notes
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Egorshina, O.; Petrova, A. (2023). "На страже принципов священного союза" [On guard of the principles of the holy league]. История русской армии [The history of the Russian Army] (in Russian). Moscow: Edition of the Russian Imperial Library. ISBN 978-5-699-42397-2.
- Petrov, Andrei (1887). "Действия князя Багратиона" [Actions of Prince Bagration]. Описание войны России с Турцией 1806-1812 [Description of the war between Russia and Turkey 1806-1812] (in Russian). Vol. 2. St. Petersburg: Типография Балашева.
- Scherbatov, Alexander (1888). Генерал-фельдмаршал Паскевич. Его жизнь и деятельность [Field Marshal Paskevich. His life and work] (in Russian). Vol. 1. St. Petersburg: Типография Голике.
- Tikhonov, Igor Sergeevich (2005). Багратион Петр Иванович [Bagration Pyotr Ivanovich]. Great Russian Encyclopedia (in Russian).
- Velichko, Konstantin; Novitsky, Vasily; Schwartz, Alexey von; Apushkin, Vladimir; Schoultz, Gustav von (1911). "Багратион, Петр Иванович, князь" [Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, prince]. Sytin Military Encyclopedia (in Russian). Vol. 4: Порох – Бомба. St. Petersburg: Типография Т-ва И. Д. Сытина.
- Vengrova, S.; Voikova, A.; Kareva, N. (1901). "Татарица" [Tataritsa]. Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). Vol. 32: Тай – Термиты. St. Petersburg: Типография акц. общ. «Издательское дело, Брокгауз-Ефрон. p. 669.