During the Russo-Turkish War of 1735 he commanded. New page (1)

In the south of Russia, meanwhile, a most complicated and dangerous situation had long been developing. Here it is necessary to go back to the first years after the death of Peter I, to his legacy in the form of the results of the Persian Campaign. The economic development of a huge state required access to the Black Sea in order to establish regular trade relations with Europe and the countries of the Middle East. The southeastern outskirts of Russia developed mainly along the lines of traditional trade relations with the East. Sultan Turkey, exposing the southern outskirts of European Russia to a constant threat and waging a successful struggle against Persia, threatened to cut off all trade routes to the East. Therefore, the question of the Caspian provinces arose. The campaign of Peter I gave Russia vast territories on the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea. However, the expansion of Turkey in the Transcaucasus and Persia threatened the loss for Russia not only of them, but also of all its southeastern possessions up to Astrakhan. This was fraught with enormous political and economic damage. The expansion of Turkey was actively encouraged, on the one hand, by England, and on the other, by France. Not averse to aggravate relations between Russia and Turkey and Sweden. In the Persian-Turkish conflict of 1724-1727. Russia took the side of Persia.

During this period, the Persian state experienced a severe internal strife between the Afghan Ashraf, who seized the capital Isfahan and the throne, and the legitimate Shah Tahmasp. Meanwhile, Turkey occupied one Persian province after another. In response to Russia's warning that the seizures of Turkey were approaching Russian possessions, and Russia would not tolerate this, the Grand Vizier cynically replied: "You yourself are not doing anything and you are advising Porte to sit idly by." Nevertheless, Russia waited, although the Armenians repeatedly asked for Russian help in the fight against the Turks.

In 1725, a turning point occurred in the Turkish-Persian war. The Sultan's troops were expelled from Armenia, suffered a series of defeats in Persia and were pushed back to the banks of the Tigris. As a result, a peace was concluded, which was facilitated by France, England and even Sweden, seeking to switch Turkish forces to Russia. However, Turkey, fearing for the Georgia it captured, has so far refrained from conflict with Russia. Meanwhile, the new Persian Shah Ashraf came to terms with the withdrawal to Russia of all the territories captured by Peter I. True, Russia voluntarily returned the provinces of Mazandaran and Astrabad to Persia. This rare act in history was prompted by the following: 1) the expediency of returning them to Persia, and not capturing them by Turkey, 2) Russia needed large funds to strengthen these territories, but they were not available. In return for these losses, under the treaty of 1729, Russia received free trade through Persia with India and Bukhara. However, having barely agreed with Ashraf, Russia had to conduct anew secondary negotiations with Tahmasp, who had returned to the Shah's throne. As a result of these negotiations on the Resht Treaty of 1732, Russia transferred to Persia not only Mazandaran and Astrabad, but also Gilan. Moreover, the text of the agreement promised to return both Baku and Derbent in the future.

Finally, after another overthrow of Tahmasp and the defeat of the Turks in the Iranian-Turkish war of 1730-1736. the new Shah Nadir Russia had to negotiate for the third time on the same issues. Now it was necessary not to promise, but to give back to the strengthened Persia, under the terms of the new Ganja Treaty of 1735, both Baku and Derbent, and the fortress of the Holy Cross with the territory to the north of it up to the river. Terek. Trade privileges for Russia were preserved, and yet, on the whole, this was a retreat of Russian diplomacy, too deeply mired in the struggle for the “Polish inheritance”. True, in the Russian-Persian treaties of 1732 and 1735, in the event of a war between Russia and Turkey, Persia pledged to act against the Turks.

Turkey and its strongest outpost, the Crimean Khanate, have long pursued a constant aggressive policy towards Russia. The Tatar yoke has long since fallen. The Russian state became powerful and independent. But its southern borders in the wide expanses of the steppes, completely devoid of any natural barriers, were the weakest and easily vulnerable place. The paradox of development was that with the development of deserted steppe expanses by peaceful peasant colonization, with the development of agriculture in these parts, with an increase in population density, the damage caused by the predatory raids of the Tatar cavalry did not decrease. Each such raid took thousands of Russian prisoners into slavery. In 1725-1735. the territories around Poltava, Mirgorod, Bakhmut and other areas were repeatedly raided. The Don, Right-bank Ukraine, the steppe Ciscaucasia and others suffered from raids. The fight against the strongest cavalry of the Crimean Khan, with the huge army of the Sultan's Turkey was long, hard and exhausting, which claimed hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers. However, this struggle was a vital problem.

After the death of Peter I, on the southern borders of Russia, the army was stretched into a giant thread. This thin cordon was easily penetrated, and outposts were urgently needed to prevent sudden raids by the Tatar cavalry. One of these most important outposts - Azov - was lost under the Prut Treaty of 1711. Of course, the liquidation of the Crimean aggression would be a cardinal solution to the issue. But at that time it was almost an impossible task. Crimea was a natural impregnable fortress. Firstly, it was separated from the agricultural outskirts of Russia by a wide border of waterless hot steppes, which in itself was extremely difficult to pass. Secondly, from the north, the territory of Crimea, as you know, is impregnable for hostile troops - the narrow isthmus was turned into a solid fortress with a rampart 7 miles long and a deep moat. Thirdly, the waterless steppe part of the Crimea again followed the Perekop shaft, ending in a mountainous area. Even if you get inside the peninsula, the Tatar horsemen slipped away into the mountains. But in that era, the question of final victory is the question of a general battle.

After the conclusion of the Ganja Treaty of 1735, Turkey immediately tried to penetrate the Caspian lands of Persia through the North Caucasus. But here the position of Russian diplomacy became irreconcilable. Russian envoy in Constantinople I.I. Neplyuev told the vizier: “I can’t vouch for the consequences if the Tatars don’t change this road and touch Her Majesty’s lands.” The Tatars nevertheless made their transition, passing through Russian possessions and having battles with the border troops. Soon it became known about the upcoming new, second, transition of the 70,000th army of the Crimean Tatars. Thus, the conflict was evident, and from St. Petersburg an order was given to the troops to march on the Crimea.

In the autumn of 1735, the corps of General M.I. Leontiev was hastily rushing to the Crimea at the moment when the hordes of Kaplan Giray were moving towards Derbent. However, the poorly trained army barely moved, and, having lost thousands of people and horses from disease and hunger, the general returned before reaching the Perekop fortifications.

The following year, military operations were led by Field Marshal B.Kh. Minich. The campaign was more prepared - strongholds were equipped on the way to Perekop. Having left the reserve in Kazykermen, Minikh, having built over 50 thousand troops in the most clumsy giant quadrangle with a convoy in the middle, barely moved towards Perekop, repulsing the constant small raids of the Tatars. In the end, an avalanche of Russian soldiers crushed the Perekop fortifications. In May 1736, Minich, leaving a small garrison at Perekop, went inside the peninsula. Soon the capital of the Tatars, Bakhchisaray, and the city of Sultan-Saray were taken. But Minich did not win a single serious victory, since the main forces of the Tatars slipped away. Exhausted by the heat and lack of food, the Russian troops, not risking being locked up from the north by the Crimean Khan returning from the Caucasus, left the Crimea, having lost almost half of their composition only from diseases, i.e. about 25 thousand people.

In 1736, in addition to the Crimean campaign, the siege of Azov unfolded. In March, two observation towers were taken on the banks of the Don upstream from the fortress of Azov and Fort Buttercup. Then, for two months, more than 20 thousand Russian troops erected siege fortifications. By mid-June, part of the fortress buildings were already in the hands of the Russians, and the commandant Mustafa-aga surrendered the fortress to the mercy of the winner.

In 1737, Russia made two main blows: P.P. Lassie and the actions of B.H. Minich for the liberation of Bessarabia. In July, the 90,000-strong army of Minikh, greatly weakened by a poorly prepared campaign through the steppe, immediately began to storm the fortress of Ochakov. Only the courage of the soldiers eventually took the fortress, the losses were huge and again not so much fighting, but because of disease and hunger. The advance has stalled.

At the same time, P.P. Lassi with a 40,000-strong army again penetrated into the Crimea, crossing the Rotten Sea (Sivash) on rafts. After a series of major battles with the Tatar Khan, the Russian army took Karasu-Bazar. But the heat and waterless steppe forced Lassi to leave the Crimea again.

In order to capture Wallachia and Moldavia, Austria began hostilities only in the summer of 1737. Another blow against Turkey was to be delivered in Bosnia, which Austria intended to annex. In Bosnia, the successes of the Austrians were insignificant. In Wallachia, they took a number of cities. From Belgrade, the third part of the army moved along the Danube and besieged the city of Vidin.

Serious losses of both the Crimean Tatars and the Turks forced the latter to come up with a peace initiative. In the town of Nemirov in August 1737, a congress of the belligerents - Turkey, Russia and Austria, gathered, which ended in vain. The war continued. In 1738, Russian troops entered the Crimea for the third time and again, due to starvation and lack of water, they were forced to leave it. In the summer of 1738, the 100,000-strong army of Minich tried to penetrate the Dniester, but the campaign was unsuccessful and Minich went to Kyiv. In September, due to a severe plague epidemic, Russian troops left Ochakov and Kinburn, which had been held until then.

Negotiations began again, but now a new danger was approaching from the north. France and Türkiye were diplomatically preparing an attack on Russia by Sweden. Under these conditions, A.I. Osterman was ready to return Ochakov and Kinburn to Turkey, leaving only Azov for Russia. And Austria itself needed Russian help.

In the spring of 1739, Russia and Austria made their last attempt to wrest a "decent peace" by force of arms. The army of Minikh moved to Khotyn through Chernivtsi and on August 17, 1739, met the troops of Veli Pasha near Stavuchany. The battle was won thanks to the courage of the soldiers and the skillful action of a number of generals (for example, A.I. Rumyantsev and others). Soon Khotin also surrendered, the Russians entered Moldavia. This led to the voluntary transfer of Moldova to Russian citizenship while maintaining internal independence. On September 5, 1739, an agreement was concluded with the Moldavian deputation.

Plan
Introduction
1 Background
2 Main events
3 1735
4 1736
5 1737
6 1738
7 1739
8 Belgrade Peace Treaty
Bibliography
Russian-Turkish war (1735-1739)

Introduction

The Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739 is a war between the Russian and Ottoman empires, caused by increased contradictions in connection with the outcome of the War of the Polish Succession, as well as the incessant raids of the Crimean Tatars on the southern Russian lands. In addition, the war was in line with Russia's long-term strategy to gain access to the Black Sea.

1. Background

During the reign of Catherine I and Peter II, relations with Turkey were peaceful. The clash occurred under Anna Ioannovna. The occasion was given by Polish affairs. The question of dissidents in Poland led to Russian interference in its affairs. The port, incited by the French envoy Villeneuve, demanded, on the basis of an agreement concluded under Peter I, Russia's non-intervention in Polish affairs. The Russian resident Neplyuev cleared up the misunderstandings, and the Porte found Russian interference in Polish affairs natural, as long as the Russian government was at peace with Turkey. Another reason for misunderstanding was Kabarda, which Russia wanted to appropriate for itself, and Turkey considered the property of the Crimean Khan; the third reason was the willful passage of the troops of the Crimean Khan on the road to Persia through the Russian possessions, which led to a bloody clash between the Russians and the Tatars in the Caucasus. Neplyuev succeeded in eliminating all these misunderstandings, despite Villeneuve's best efforts to blow them up. Eliminating them was all the easier because Turkey at that time was waging an unsuccessful war with Persia. When, after the death of August II, in 1733, with the help of Russia, August III was elected the Polish king, and not Stanislav Leshchinsky, for whom France was soliciting, Villeneuve began to use every effort to quarrel Russia with Turkey. In order to do this more successfully, with the help of intrigues, he overthrew the Grand Vizier Ali Pasha, who was disposed towards peace with Russia. He was replaced by Ishmael Pasha, a reckless and inexperienced man. Around that time, Ahmed was deposed and his cousin Megmet was elevated to the throne. Troubles took place in Constantinople. Neplyuev and his assistant Veshnyakov, seeing all this, advised their government to immediately start a war with the Turks, which, in their opinion, was inevitable sooner or later. Neplyuev was soon recalled to Petersburg, and Veshnyakov remained the resident. In St. Petersburg, the majority of government officials were in favor of an urgent war, and in 1735 Count Osterman, pointing out in a letter to the Grand Vizier a number of violations of the peace conditions by the Porte, asked for the expulsion of commissioners to the border to eliminate misunderstandings. The plenipotentiaries were not expelled, and Russia considered the terms of the peace violated. Then the war began.

2. Main events

In 1736, the Russian command set the capture of Azov and the Crimea as a military goal. On May 20, 1736, the Russian Dnieper army, numbering 62 thousand people and under the command of Christopher Munnich, stormed the Turkish fortifications near Perekop, and on June 17 occupied Bakhchisarai. However, the lack of food, as well as outbreaks of epidemics in the ranks of the Russian army, forced Minich to retreat to Ukraine. On June 19, the Don army of 28 thousand people, led by Peter Lassi, with the help of the Don flotilla, laid siege to Azov. In July 1737, Minich's army took the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. The army of Lassi, by that time increased to 40 thousand people, simultaneously invaded the Crimea, inflicting a number of defeats on the army of the Crimean Khan and capturing Karasubazar. But she was soon forced to leave the Crimea due to lack of supplies.

Emboldened against the backdrop of Russian victories, Austria declared war on Turkey in July 1737, but rather soon suffered a series of defeats. Thus, its entry into the war only aggravated the situation for the allies and strengthened Turkey's position. In August, Russia, Austria and Turkey began peace negotiations in Nemirov, which, however, turned out to be fruitless. During 1738, there were no significant military operations, but the Russian army had to leave Ochakov and Kinburn because of the outbreak of the plague.

In June 1735, for the war with Turkey, Minich was called from Poland, who decided to attack the Crimea. Due to illness, he could not do it himself, and the matter was entrusted to Lieutenant General Leontiev (see). Having under his command up to 20 thousand troops, Leontiev entered the Black Sea lands at the end of summer, severely punished the Nogai, but due to lack of water and food, he had to return to Ukraine before reaching the Crimea. Following that, Leontiev was replaced by a field march. Minich (see), who energetically set about preparing for a new campaign, which began in the early spring of 1736.

Anna Ioannovna

The army was divided into two parts: the main one was assigned to go down the Dnieper and occupy the Crimea; the other part - to go from Izyum to Azov. With the latter, Munnich himself was at first present. Unexpectedly appearing in front of Azov, he captured two T. towers almost without a shot and, with an insignificant loss, captured the fortress of Lyutik, and upon arrival, the gene. Levashova with reinforcements surrendered to him the authorities and himself went to the main army. Although on the arrival of Minikh in Tsaritsynka (April 18) it turned out that the army was still incomplete, this did not prevent him from immediately setting out on a campaign with what was at hand. Overturning the crowd of Tatars on the road, the Russians reached Perekop on May 28 and stormed it on June 1. Then putting forward a special detachment under the command of Gen. Leontiev to Kinburn, Minich entered the Crimea and reached Bakhchisarai, betraying everything to fire and sword. However, the complete exhaustion of the troops from the unusual climate and all kinds of hardships forced him to return to Perekop on July 17, where he received news of the occupation of Kinburn without a fight. On August 28, our troops, having destroyed the Perekop fortifications, set out on a return campaign and on September 27 arrived in Samara. Following this, the detachment of Gen. Spiegel went to Bakhmut. Meanwhile, Field Marshal Lassi (see), who arrived at the theater of war in early May and was appointed head of the siege corps near Azov, managed to seize this fortress. Leaving the garrison in it, he moved with the rest of the troops to Perekop, but, having met a detachment of the gene on the way. Spiegel, learned about the cleansing of the Crimea by our troops. In the winter that followed, the Tatars retaliated against us with a devastating raid on the Ukraine. The prisoners captured by them were, however, repulsed by the Don ataman Krasnoshchekov. Our actions against the Tatars, of course, aroused the strongest indignation in Istanbul, but the T. government, preoccupied with the news of the alliance between Russia and Austria, did not take anything decisive during 1736. The negotiations started in Nemirov did not lead to any results, and in the spring of 1737 hostilities resumed. To entertain the attention of the Turks, the Kalmyk Khan Dokduk-Ombo (see), with the assistance of the Don Cossacks, was ordered to raid the Kuban, into the lands of the Nogais; meanwhile, Minich, having strengthened his army to 70 thousand, at the end of April crossed the Dnieper and moved to Ochakov.

On July 2, this fortress was taken, and the Russian garrison under the command of Shtofeln was left in it. Another Russian army (about 40 thousand), led by Field Marshal Lassi, moved from the Don to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov; then, advancing along the Arabat Spit, she crossed the Sivash against the mouth of the river. Salgir and invaded the Crimea. At the same time, the head of the Azov Flotilla, Vice Admiral, provided her with very important assistance. Bredal (see), who delivered various supplies and food to the Arabat Spit. At the end of July, Lassi reached Karasubazar and took possession of it; but due to increased sickness in the troops and the depletion of provisions, he had to leave the peninsula. Having ruined Perekop on the way back, in early October he was already back in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Minich, who was preparing to take possession of Bendery, was stopped in this enterprise by an attack by the Turks on Ochakov. The fortress, however, survived thanks to the heroic defense of the garrison; but Minich, having calmed down about her fate, did nothing against Bender, but spoke back to Russia. Like the previous ones, the campaign of 1737, due to climatic conditions and the accumulation of all sorts of disorders in the administration of the troops, cost us huge losses in people; and due to the death of horses, on the way back, part of the artillery had to be left in Ochakovo and in the one arranged on the river. Bug fortification of Andreevsky. Our allies, the Austrians, were also not happy, so they started peace negotiations with the Turks, which our government also began. The emboldened enemy presented, however, such demands, to which it was recognized that it was impossible to agree. The war has resumed; but the 1738 campaign was unsuccessful for the Allies. Minich, with his weakened army, which he was denied replenishment, reached the Dniester with great difficulty in early August; but having learned that a strong T. army was standing on the other side of the river and that a plague had appeared in Bessarabia, Minich decided to retreat.

The return movement to Ukraine through waterless and desert terrain, with the incessantly threatening danger from the Tatars pursuing the army, again entailed very significant losses. Lassi's campaign in the Crimea, in places devastated in the past year, was also disastrous, since this time T.'s fleet prevented Vice Adm. Bradal to deliver the necessary supplies to the ground army. Our troops had to leave the Crimea and at the end of August returned to Ukraine. For the Austrians, this year was especially unfortunate: one defeat followed another. A series of all these failures did not lead, however, to the conclusion of peace. Only the action plan for the future campaign was changed, Lassi was to be limited to the defense of Ukraine.

It was supposed to withdraw the Russian troops from Ochakov and Kinburn, where they quickly melted away from various diseases and labors. Minich is allowed to act at his own discretion, and his army has been reinforced. At the beginning of June 1739 he crossed the Dnieper; On August 15, he was already beyond the Dniester, and on August 27 he won a brilliant victory at Stavuchany (see), the consequence of which was the surrender of the Khotyn fortress to the Russians. Political circumstances prevented Munnich's further successes, and peace was concluded between the warring parties.

The covetousness of the favorite of Empress Anna Ioannovna Biron cost Russia dearly; his willfulness in managing the foreign affairs of the state was not cheaper either. He was the true culprit for the unsuccessful end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39, undertaken with the most useful goal, under the most favorable circumstances, marked by brilliant successes, but at the whim of Biron ended in one ruin of the state.

As soon as the Russian troops helped King August II to establish himself on the Polish throne, Empress Anna Ioannovna, on the advice of , moved her victorious troops from the banks of the Vistula to the shores of the Black Sea in order to fulfill one of the main thoughts of Peter the Great - to secure the southern borders of the Russian state from tireless predators that did not give peace to us, from the Crimean Tatars. From the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, their raids were not as devastating as before: in the warlike sons of Little Russia, the fatherland found valiant defenders, always ready to fight with the infidels. All the more rarely did the Tatars dare to disturb our borders when we had Azov in our hands. No wonder Peter parted with him so reluctantly: as soon as the Russians, as a result of the Prut Treaty, left Azov, the Tatars appeared in the Voronezh province; many villages were burned and up to 15,000 people were taken into captivity; after that they devastated the environs of Izyum and Kharkov, almost captured Astrakhan; their audacity increased every year. Peter repeatedly appealed to the Ottoman Porte with an urgent demand to humble the Crimeans, who recognized the supreme authority of the Sultan over them: the Turkish government, due to weakness or hostility towards Russia, did not fulfill the just demands of our court, and the sovereign saw the need to seek protection in his own weapons. At the end of the life of Peter I, everything was ready for a new Russian-Turkish war: an army had been assembled in Ukraine; in Bryansk and Voronezh, several thousand flat-bottomed ships were built, on which Peter planned to go down the Dnieper and Don at the same time to the shores of the Black Sea in order to defeat the robber's nest. The death of the emperor saved the Crimea. His thought about the beginning of a new Russian-Turkish war did not find executors either under Catherine I or under Peter II; Tatars took advantage of our inaction and plundered Ukraine as before.

At the beginning of Anna's reign, the St. Petersburg cabinet resolutely demanded satisfaction from Turkey for the robberies of the Crimean khans. The Sultan replied that the Tatars were free people and that there were no means to humble them; but after that he himself revealed a clear contempt for the rights of the people: having become entangled in a difficult struggle with the courageous Persian Shah Nadir, he decided to direct all the forces of the Porte to Persia and ordered the Crimean Khan to invade Dagestan. In vain our resident in Istanbul suggested to the Turkish divan that the Tatars could not make their way through the Caucasus otherwise than by entering Russian possessions in the Kuban and the Terek, and that in order to cross them, one must first seek the consent of the Russian court. The Turkish Sultan did not want to know anything. The Tatars moved with the whole horde, met the Russian troops between the Terek and Sunja, took advantage of the oversight of the commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, Prince of Hesse-Homburg, made their way through our scattered detachments and carried out the will of the Sultan. Such an obvious violation of the right of the people produced the liveliest displeasure in our cabinet and revived Peter's plans to start a new Russo-Turkish war.

The Empress was only waiting for the end Polish War 1733-1734 in order to immediately turn all their forces on the Tatars, and as soon as Poland calmed down, Field Marshal Munnich was ordered to devastate the Crimea, General Lassi - to seize Azov. Meanwhile, Osterman informed the vizier about the break and the beginning of a new Russian-Turkish war (1735), counting all the displeasures of the Russian court. The most favorable time was chosen for the campaign: Turkey was waging a tedious struggle with Persia and was unable to give help to the Tatars; Russia, on the other hand, could rely on the assistance of Austria under the treaty of 1726, even more on its own troops, brought by Minich to such an arrangement that they, on the march to the Rhine, amazed the Germans with strict discipline, vigor, and knowledge of military affairs.

Russian-Turkish war 1735-1739. Map

The campaign of 1735 was successful. Lassi took possession of Azov. Minich, sparing neither himself nor his troops, quickly crossed the steppes separating Ukraine from Crimea, met the entire horde on the Perekop line, which was considered impassable, scattered the Tatars, took Perekop by storm and devastated the western part of the peninsula to the very capital of the Khan's Bakhchisaray, betraying him to fire and sword everything you meet along the way. However, during this first Russian invasion of the Crimea, he could not establish himself in Taurida, due to a lack of food; blew up Perekop and returned to Ukraine. Khan recovered from the defeat and all winter disturbed our army in its apartments, not losing hope of saving himself with the help of Turkey.

In fact, the sultan managed to make peace with Persia and, not fearing the more formidable Nadir, who turned his victorious troops to eastern India, he hoped to defend the Crimea during the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war. True, it was not easy: he had to fight not only Russia. The German emperor Charles VI agreed to take up arms against the Turks: obligated by the agreement of 1726 to assist us with an auxiliary corps of up to 30,000 people, he did more: he decided to direct all his forces against Turkey in the undoubted hope of rewarding the loss of the Italian regions at the expense of the Sultan. The Russian-Turkish war turned into a Russian-Austrian-Turkish one. Russia and Austria agreed to attack at the same time all the regions of Porta from the Sea of Azov to the Adriatic. Lassi was to invade the Crimea, Minich was to take possession of Ochakov and Bender, the Austrian generals were to oust the Turks from their cities in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Wallachia in order to transfer weapons across the Danube and solve the case in Bulgaria with joint forces.

Russian generals acted during the Russo-Turkish war of 1735-39 with brilliant success. Lassi completed the ruin of the Crimea, marking his campaign with rare courage. Khan was waiting for him on the Perekop line with the entire horde and several thousand Janissaries, determined not to let the Russians into the peninsula. Lassi chose a different path: beyond all expectations, he crossed the Sivash, or the Rotten Sea, wade, broke into the Crimea and appeared in the rear of the khan. The enemies became timid and took refuge in the mountains. The Russians reminded the inhabitants of Crimea of the campaign of Minich. The devastation was terrible: the entire eastern part of Taurida was covered with ashes and corpses.

Minich, who had already earned the nickname Sokol from the Russians, appeared under the walls of Ochakov, guarded by the fortress of strongholds, the courage of the numerous garrison, and immediately led the army to storm; the fight was fierce. The Turks defended themselves desperately; the Russians attacked with their usual courage. But their position became dangerous: a two-day continuous battle proved the impossibility of taking Ochakov by storm; a long siege was to be taken up; the army, on the other hand, suffered a shortage of food supplies and saw around them a boundless, scorched steppe, where there was neither bread nor grass. Minich knew the Russian soldier well: having given the order to take the fortress at all costs, he himself led the Izmailovsky regiment to storm and, under the glow of a fire that engulfed the whole of Ochakov, hoisted the imperial banner on its walls with his own hands. The capture of Ochakov became one of the most important events of the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39.

But the Austrian generals acted differently. One entered Serbia, and was driven out by the Turks; another showed up in Bosnia and was smashed; the third appeared in Wallachia, and suffered a severe defeat. The emperor, dissatisfied with the actions of his commanders, replaced them with others; things got even worse. Caesar spoke about the world. But the Turks could easily notice that Eugene of Savoy was no longer in the Caesar's army, they themselves wanted to prescribe the terms of peace and laid siege to Belgrade, which served as the key to the Austrian possessions. The lack of money, the disorder of the army, the obvious decline in military spirit, the obvious disagreement and ignorance of the generals, all this made the emperor tremble: he decided to leave the Russians alone in their war with the Turks and turned to Louis XV with a request for intercession. The Versailles cabinet willingly undertook to reconcile Austria with Turkey and, having ordered its envoy to the Ottoman Porte, the Marquis Villeneuve, to take part in the negotiations, at the same time offered its mediation to end the Russian-Turkish war to the Petersburg court. Osterman, knowing full well that the purpose of this mediation was to remove the Russians from dominance in the Black Sea, rejected the French proposal. But Biron, contrary to Osterman, persuaded the empress to send to Villeneuve the authority to conclude peace. Negotiations opened under the walls of Belgrade in the vizier's camp. The Caesar's envoy, Count Neiperg, conceded everything that the Turks demanded; Villeneuve was just as generous about Russia.

Shortly before the signing of the peace that ended the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39, Anna Ioannovna's army marked itself with a new feat, proving how great benefits Russia could have received if Biron had not interfered in diplomatic affairs. While the vizier was besieging Belgrade, the seraskir Veli Pasha entered Bessarabia with a large army in order to invade Russia. Minich was only waiting for an opportunity to fight the main forces of the Turks and led the courageous Russian army towards them, which, however, was far inferior in number to the enemy. Near Khotyn, at the town of Stavuchany, the rivals met. Veli Pasha fortified his camp and, surrounding Minich on all sides, hoped to exhaust his army with hunger and force them to lay down their arms without a fight. Minich, as usual, stood in front of his columns, rushed to the fortified camp of the Seraskir, laid down up to 15,000 people on the spot, took possession of the artillery, the convoy and brought such terror to the Turks that they ran headlong to the Danube.

The consequence of this most glorious victory in the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39 was the fall of Khotin, who surrendered without a shot, and the citizenship of Moldavia. Her lord Gika fled after the Turkish army; the noblest ranks met Minich upon entering Iasi with bread and salt and agreed to recognize the ruler of the Russian general Prince Kantemir, depending on Russia. The field marshal was in a hurry to take advantage of the fruits of his successes and was already thinking of going with the Russian army to the banks of the Danube in order to deliver a decisive blow to the Turks there, he even dreamed of restoring the Greek Empire: the unexpected news of the Belgrade Peace of 1739 stopped him on the path of victories and glory.

The treaty was signed three days after the Battle of Stavucani. Austria returned to Turkey everything that she had acquired over 20 years before the exploits of Eugene of Savoy, renounced all rights to the part of Serbia, Wallachia that belonged to her, ceded Belgrade and Orsova, pledging to demolish the Belgrade fortifications with her own troops. Russia, following the results of the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39, did not lose anything, but did not receive anything, despite all its victories and donations. Each campaign cost her countless sums and many thousands of people; each time the army was reduced by almost half; Russian soldiers died by the thousands not from the sword of the enemy, but from diseases caused by the most lack of food and the difficulty of crossing the Ukrainian and Bessarabian steppes. As a reward for all our losses during the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39, the sultan agreed to raze Azov to the ground so that neither Russia nor Turkey would own it, to cede to us the steppe between the Bug and the Donets, to abandon Zaporozhye, with which the Port could not to cope, and allow Russian merchants to send goods to the Black Sea, but not otherwise than on Turkish ships. Russia returned Porte Ochakov, Khotyn and pledged not to disturb the Crimean Khan.

Based on the book by N. G. Ustryalov "Russian History before 1855"

V. O. Klyuchevsky about the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39

In connection with the Polish war and about the Crimean raids in 1735, they started the Russian-Turkish war. They hoped, in alliance with Persia and the same Austria, to intimidate the Turks with an easy and quick campaign in order to smooth out the unpleasant impression of Peter the Great’s renunciation of the Caspian conquests, to keep Turkey from interfering in Polish affairs and to get rid of the painful terms of the Treaty on the Prut of 1711.

Burdened with all the highest military posts, swayed by ambitious desires and inspired by dreams, Minich also desired this war in order to refresh his military glory, which had somewhat faded near Danzig. Indeed, the Russian troops during the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39 achieved resounding successes: three devastating invasions were made into the main Tatar nest, hitherto impenetrable Crimea, Azov, Ochakov were taken, after the Stavuchany victory in 1739 Khotyn, Yassy and the conquest of the Moldavian principality was celebrated here.

War hero Minich spread his wings wide. In view of the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39, a shipyard was opened in Bryansk on the Desna River, and ships were rapidly built on it, which, having descended the Dnieper into the Black Sea, were supposed to act against Turkey. The ships were built according to the tyap-blunder system and at the end of the war they were recognized as worthless. However, after the capture of Ochakov in 1737, Minikh boastfully wrote that on this flotilla, having blown up the Dnieper rapids, next year he would enter the Black Sea and go straight to the mouths of the Dniester, the Danube and further to Constantinople. It was hoped that all Turkish Christians would rise as one man, and it was only necessary to land twenty thousand from non-existent Russian ships in the Bosporus in order to force the Sultan to flee Istanbul.

Field Marshal Munnich

At the Austro-Russian-Turkish congress in Nemirov in 1737, Russia demanded from the Turks all the Tatar lands from the Kuban to the mouths of the Danube with the Crimea, inclusive, and the independence of Moldavia and Wallachia.

The Russo-Turkish war of 1735–39 was terribly expensive: up to 100,000 soldiers were laid down in the steppe, in the Crimea, and under Turkish fortresses, and many millions of rubles were spent; showed the world the wonders of the courage of their troops, but ended up by handing over the matter to the hostile hands of the French ambassador in Constantinople, Villeneuve, who was not of the first class mind, according to the recall of the Russian resident. But he excellently managed the interests of Russia, made peace in Belgrade (September 1739) and calculated the following main results of all the efforts, victims and victories in the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39: Azov cedes to Russia, but without fortifications that should be torn down; Russia cannot have military or even merchant ships on the Black Sea; the sultan refused to recognize the imperial title of the Russian empress. This is what the Bryansk flotilla, and the Crimean expeditions, and the assault on Ochakov, and Stavuchany, and the air flight of Minikh to Constantinople came down to. Villeneuve for such services to Russia was offered a bill of 15 thousand thalers, which, however, he generously refused - until the end of the whole case, and the Order of St. Andrew, and his cohabitant received a diamond ring.

Russia has repeatedly concluded difficult peace treaties; but such a shamefully ridiculous treaty as the Belgrade one, which ended the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-39, she had never concluded and perhaps never will. All this expensive fanfare was the work of the first-class talents of the then St. Petersburg government, the diplomatic affairs of master Osterman and the same military affairs of master Munnich with their fellow tribesmen and Russian associates. However, their services to Russia were generously rewarded: Osterman, for example, received at least 100 thousand rubles for our [pre-revolutionary] money in his various positions up to Admiral General.

Russian-Turkish wars, Russian-Crimean wars

1568-1570 1676-1681 1686-1700 1710-1713 1735-1739 1768-1774 1787-1792 1806-1812 1828-1829 1853-1856 1877-1878 1914-1917

Location - Crimea, Bosnia, Serbia
The result - the victory of Russia, the Belgrade peace treaty
Territorial changes - the territories of Azov and Zaporozhye returned to Russia
Opponents - Russian Empire, Austria against the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Khanate
Commanders - Christopher Munnich, P.P. Lassi vs. Kaplan Giray,
Mengli II Girey, Ali Pasha
The forces of the parties Russia - 80 000

Russian-Turkish war 1735-1739- the war between the Russian and Ottoman empires, caused by increased contradictions in connection with the outcome of the War of the Polish Succession, as well as with the incessant raids of the Crimean Tatars on the southern Russian lands. In addition, the war was in line with Russia's long-term strategy to gain access to the Black Sea.

background

During the reign of Catherine I and Peter II, relations with Turkey were peaceful. The clash occurred under Anna Ioannovna. The occasion was given by Polish affairs. The question of dissidents in Poland led to Russian interference in its affairs. The port, incited by the French envoy Villeneuve, demanded, on the basis of an agreement concluded under Peter I, Russia's non-intervention in Polish affairs. The Russian resident Neplyuev cleared up the misunderstandings, and the Porte found Russian interference in Polish affairs natural, as long as the Russian government was at peace with Turkey. Another reason for misunderstanding was Kabarda, which Russia wanted to appropriate for itself, and Turkey considered the property of the Crimean Khan; the third reason was the willful passage of the troops of the Crimean Khan on the road to Persia through the Russian possessions, which led to a bloody clash between the Russians and the Tatars in the Caucasus. Neplyuev succeeded in eliminating all these misunderstandings, despite Villeneuve's best efforts to blow them up. Eliminating them was all the easier because Turkey at that time was waging an unsuccessful war with Persia. When, after the death of August II (see), in 1733, with the help of Russia, August III (see), and not Stanislav Leshchinsky (see), for whom France was fussing, was elected the Polish king, Villeneuve began to use every effort to quarrel Russia with Turkey. In order to do this more successfully, with the help of intrigues, he overthrew the Grand Vizier Ali Pasha, who was disposed towards peace with Russia. He was replaced by Ishmael Pasha, a reckless and inexperienced man. Around that time, Ahmet was deposed and his cousin Megmet was elevated to the throne. Troubles took place in Constantinople. Neplyuev and his assistant Veshnyakov, seeing all this, advised their government to immediately start a war with the Turks, which, in their opinion, was inevitable sooner or later. Neplyuev was soon recalled to Petersburg, and Veshnyakov remained the resident. In St. Petersburg, the majority of government officials were in favor of an immediate war, and in 1735 Count Osterman, pointing out in a letter to the Grand Vizier a number of violations of the peace conditions by the Porte, asked for the expulsion of commissioners to the border to eliminate misunderstandings. The plenipotentiaries were not expelled, and Russia considered the terms of the peace violated. Then the war began.

Main events

1735

1736

Anna Ioannovna

1737

On July 2, this fortress was taken, and the Russian garrison under the command of Shtofeln was left in it. Another Russian army (about 40 thousand), led by Field Marshal Lassi, moved from the Don to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov; then, advancing along the Arabat Spit, she crossed the Sivash against the mouth of the river. Salgir and invaded the Crimea. At the same time, the head of the Azov Flotilla, Vice Admiral, provided her with very important assistance. Bredal (see), who delivered various supplies and food to the Arabat Spit. At the end of July, Lassi reached Karasubazar and took possession of it; but due to increased sickness in the troops and the depletion of provisions, he had to leave the peninsula. Having ruined Perekop on the way back, in early October he was already back in the Ukraine. Meanwhile, Minich, who was preparing to take possession of Bendery, was stopped in this enterprise by an attack by the Turks on Ochakov. The fortress, however, survived thanks to the heroic defense of the garrison; but Minich, having calmed down about her fate, did nothing against Bender, but spoke back to Russia. Like the previous ones, the campaign of 1737, due to climatic conditions and the accumulation of all sorts of disorders in the administration of the troops, cost us huge losses in people; and due to the death of horses, on the way back, part of the artillery had to be left in Ochakovo and in the one arranged on the river. Bug fortification of Andreevsky. Our allies, the Austrians, were also not happy, so they started peace negotiations with the Turks, which our government also began. The emboldened enemy presented, however, such demands, to which it was recognized that it was impossible to agree. The war has resumed; but the 1738 campaign was unsuccessful for the Allies. Minich, with his weakened army, which he was denied replenishment, reached the Dniester with great difficulty in early August; but having learned that a strong T. army was standing on the other side of the river and that a plague had appeared in Bessarabia, Minich decided to retreat.

1738

The return movement to Ukraine through the waterless and desert terrain, with the incessantly threatening danger from the Tatars pursuing the army, again entailed very sensitive losses. Lassi's campaign in the Crimea, in places devastated in the past year, was also disastrous, since this time T.'s fleet prevented Vice Adm. Bradal to deliver the necessary supplies to the ground army. Our troops had to leave the Crimea and at the end of August returned to Ukraine. For the Austrians, this year was especially unfortunate: one defeat followed another. A series of all these failures did not lead, however, to the conclusion of peace. Only the action plan for the future campaign was changed, Lassi was to be limited to the defense of Ukraine.

1739

A new draft of the war was drawn up in 1739. Two armies were formed - one, the main one, was supposed to move through Poland to Khotyn, the other, auxiliary, to the Crimea and the Kuban. The first, under the command of Munnich, crossed the Polish border at the end of May and approached the Prut at the end of July. Here at Mst. Stavuchan, near Khotyn, on August 17, the Russian army met T. with a 90,000-strong detachment under the command of Seraskir Veli Pasha. Minich defeated the Turks. Following the Stavuchan battle, Khotyn also fell, and on September 1, Russian troops entered Iasi, whose inhabitants pledged to support 20 thousand Russian troops for the first year and presented Minikh with 12,000 red coins. Soon, Austria, without the knowledge of Russia, concluded a separate peace with Turkey, according to which the latter ceded Belgrade, Orsova and the entire Serbian kingdom.

Belgrade Peace Treaty

Main article: Treaty of Belgrade (1739)

It was dangerous for Russia alone to continue the war, and negotiations with Turkey for peace began through the French ambassador Villeneuve. Negotiations went on for a long time, finally in September 1739 a peace treaty was concluded in Belgrade. According to the agreement, Russia left Azov behind, but undertook to tear down all the fortifications located in it. In addition, she was forbidden to have a fleet on the Black Sea, and Turkish ships were to be used for trade on it. Thus, the problem of access to the Black Sea was practically not solved.

The Belgrade peace treaty actually nullified the results of the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739. It actually operated until the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kaynarji peace treaty of 1774.

Notes
History of the Russian army. M.: "Eksmo", 2007. S. 88