The history of Russia is predominantly military history. The confrontation between Russia and Turkey took place in more than ten wars. In most of them, the then still existing Russian Empire came out victorious. A truly heroic page in the military past of our Fatherland was the battle for the fortress of Ochakov. The war between Russia and Turkey in 1787-1791 strengthened the positions of the Russians on the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula. The fall of the fortress was of great importance for the victory in the entire war.
Causes of the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1791
Turkey sought to take revenge on Russia for the First Turkish War and return the territories lost by the Ottoman Empire. The beginning of the war was associated with her desire to prevent the strengthening of the influence of the Russian Empire in the territory of Transcaucasia and to return the lands of Crimea. Based on diplomatic relations with Austria, Russia planned to increase its possessions in the Caucasus and establish itself in the Northern Black Sea region. In August 1787, the Turkish government issued an ultimatum to Russia, demanding the transfer of the Crimea, recognition of the Turkish Sultan of Georgia as a vassal possession and permission toinspection of Russian merchant ships passing through the straits. In addition, the goal was also to strengthen the Black Sea coast and the Crimean Khanate. The Russian Empire refused to comply with the terms of the ultimatum, and Turkey declared war.
By starting hostilities, Turkey violated the terms of the Kuchuk-Kaynardzhi agreement. The Russian ambassador Yakov Bulgakov was captured by the Turks, whom they imprisoned in the Seven-Tower Castle.
Military operations took place in the Crimea and the North Caucasus. The capture of the Ochakov fortress was a key battle in the war between the Russian Empire and Turkey in 1787-1792.
Military balance
Ekaterinoslav and Ukrainian armies of the Russian Empire fought against Turkey, having a strength of 80 thousand and 40 thousand people, respectively. The Turkish fortress Ochakov in the summer of 1788 was protected by a garrison numbering from 15 to 20 thousand soldiers. The fortress was surrounded by a rampart and a moat and protected by 350 cannons. The Russian Black Sea Fleet also arrived in the harbor of Ochakov due to the fact that there were about 100 combat units of the Turkish fleet.
On the approaches to Ochakovo
The capture of the Ochakov fortress became the main goal of the Russian imperial army after the liberation of the Dnieper-Bug estuary from the Turkish fleet and the victory on the Kinburn Spit. The fortress of Ochakov was located within the borders of the Turkish territory of the Black Sea near the confluence of the Bug River. The fighting for Ochakov began at sea.
About 50,000 soldiers of the Yekaterinoslav army began advancing towards Ochakovo in May 1788. This army isthe command of G. A. Potemkin approached Ochakov. The commander decided on a long siege of the fortress.
Siege of the Turkish fortress
July 27, 1788, a large detachment of Turks made a sortie out of the fortress. The formations of the Russian army under the command of A. V. Suvorov entered into a tough battle with the enemy. Reinforcements came to the aid of the Turkish detachment. According to the calculation of A. V. Suvorov, at that moment it was necessary to strike from the side of the opened flank and thus take the fortress. However, G. A. Potemkin did not take decisive action, so the opportunity to capture the Turkish fortress Ochakov was missed.
Less than a month later, in August, the Turks made another sortie in an attempt to destroy the Russian battery, commanded by M. I. Golenitsev-Kutuzov. Through short dashes and shelter in the beams and ditches, the Turks reached the installed guns, as a result of which a heavy battle began. As a result of the counterattack undertaken, the rangers managed to push the Turkish Janissaries back to the walls of the fortress. They wanted to enter Ochakov on their own shoulders. However, at that moment M. I. Kutuzov was seriously wounded. The bullet hit him in the left cheek and exited through the back of the head, when the commander held a white handkerchief to give the troops a prearranged signal. This was the second most severe wound of Mikhail Illarionovich, from which he almost died.
The summer of 1788 did not bring victories to the Russian army, the commanders and troops were in agonizing expectation, which also did not give any tangible results. Meanwhile, the city's fortification plans had already been purchased from French engineers. Prince Potemkin still did not dare to start an assault on the fortress. He was stopped by Turkish artillery, which was located on the small island of Berezan south of Ochakov, near the entrance to the estuary. The possibility of a successful assault was from the sea, but artillery fire reached Kinburn and made it impossible to start an assault on Ochakov. Repeatedly Russian sailors tried to take "this impregnable fortification", however, the guards of the fortress vigilantly followed the actions of the Russians and raised the alarm in a timely manner, the opponents put up fierce resistance with firepower.
Prolonged confrontation
Autumn was approaching, Prince Potemkin continued to adhere to the tactics of waiting, the army had been in the trenches for a long time in the rain and in the cold. The Russian army suffered huge losses not only due to battles, but also due to food shortages, diseases that began due to frost, and hunger. Rumyantsev caustically called the seat under Ochakov stupid. Admiral Nassu-Siegen expressed the opinion in the summer that the fortress could have been conquered in April.
From the summer to the autumn of 1788, near their walls, with incredible efforts, the defenders of Ochakov held back the onslaught of the Russian army under the command of G. A. Potemkin. The garrison of the fortress was severely exhausted, but did not give up their positions.
G. A. Potemkin did not seek to collude with the Cossacks, remembering the rebel Pugachev, but there was no other way out. "Faithful Cossacks", former Cossacks were famous for their ability to decide the outcome of any battle in their favor. The Ochakov fortress could only be taken with their participation. But the Cossacks could not for a long timestart operation. Some of them went to Gadzhibey (Odessa), destroying stocks of equipment and food intended for Ochakov. Prince Potemkin G. A. decided that now the exhausted defenders of the fortress would not last long. However, the garrison did not surrender for the next month. The difficult and tense situation finally spurred the commander to launch an active offensive.
Storm of the Ochakov fortress
For six months, Russian troops unsuccessfully tried to take the Turkish fortress, after which it was decided to follow the plan of A. V. Suvorov and take Ochakov by storm. The onset of cold and frost influenced the departure of the Turkish fleet from Ochakov to the sea. Taking into account the difficult situation of the Russian forces, G. A. Potemkin decided to begin the capture of the Ochakov fortress. The date of the battle fell on December 6, 1788.
The conditions of strong marks and hard frost did not prevent six columns of the Russian army from simultaneously launching an assault on Ochakov from two sides - western and eastern. Earthen fortifications between the castle of Gassan Pasha and Ochakov were captured by the first Major General Palen. After that, he sent Colonel F. Meknob to the castle of Gassan Pasha, and along the trench - Colonel Platov. The troops successfully occupied the trench, which allowed F. Meknob to enter the castle, and almost three hundred Turks remaining in it laid down their arms. The central earthworks were attacked by a third column, its commander, Major General Volkonsky, died, after which Colonel Yurgenets took command and reached the walls of the fortress. Lieutenant General PrinceDolgorukov with the fourth column occupied the Turkish fortifications and went to the gates of the fortress. Through the earthen fortifications, the fifth and sixth columns approached the Ochakov bastions. The sixth column of Lieutenant Colonel Zubin proceeded to the southern side of the fortress, dragging cannons over the ice. This allowed the troops to approach the bastions and gates of the Turkish fortress. Under the cover of heavy artillery fire, the grenadiers overcame the impregnable wall and entered the fortress.
Military losses of Russia and Turkey
According to various sources, a bloody, fierce battle continued for one or two hours. Ochakov was taken. According to some reports, the losses of the Russian army amounted to about 5 thousand people. According to researchers, it was the long siege of Ochakov that led to the death of a large number of soldiers of the Russian army. 180 Turkish banners and 310 guns became trophies. Approximately 4,000 Turkish soldiers fell into Russian captivity. Historians believe that the rest of the Turkish garrison and a significant part of the urban population were destroyed during the assault. The news of the assault on Ochakov came as a shock to Sultan Abdul-Hamid I, as a result of which he died of a heart attack.
Fall of Ochakov: meaning
The capture of the Ochakov fortress opened up Russia's access to the Danube and helped to establish control over the Dnieper Estuary, a shallow bay of strategic importance. Ochakov was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1791, when the warring parties signed the Treaty of Jassy. These military victories gave Russia the rightestablish themselves and take their positions on the Dnieper estuary. The security of Kherson and Crimea from Turkey was finally ensured.
Awards and honors for the winners
For the victory over Ochakov, Empress Catherine the Second granted G. A. Potemkin a field marshal's commanding baton adorned with laurels and diamonds. A. V. Suvorov was presented with a diamond feather for a hat worth 4,450 rubles. M. I. Kutuzov, who also distinguished himself in the battles of the Russian-Turkish war, was awarded the Orders of St. Anna, 1st class, and St. Vladimir, 2nd class. The Empress awarded the orders of St. Vladimir and St. George of the fourth degree to the officers of the Russian army who showed outstanding abilities during the battles of Ochakovo. The rest were awarded gold badges designed to be worn on a ribbon in a buttonhole with black and yellow stripes. The signs had the shape of a cross with rounded ends, they were something in between award medals and orders. The lower ranks received silver medals "For Courage" for the victory over the Turkish fortress.
Significant victories of 1788
The capture of the Ochakov fortress was not the only successful battle of the Russian army in the war between Russia and Turkey in 1787-1791. A year earlier, the Kinburn battle took place. The battles of 1788 were also won at Khotyn and at Fidonisi. In the summer and autumn of 1789, the Russian army won a victory at Focsani and Rymnik, in 1790 at the Kerch Strait. A significant event in the history of the Russian-Turkish war was the storming of another fortress - Izmail - also in 1790year. The last battle in the military confrontation between the two great empires was the battle of Kaliakria on July 31, 1791.
Austria's participation in the battles of 1787-1791
During the Russian-Turkish war in 1788, the Austro-Turkish war began, which was due to the contractual obligations of Austria and Russia in 1781. With the entry into the war, Austria suffered setbacks, and only with the first victories of the Russian imperial army, the Austrian troops were able to occupy Bucharest, Belgrade and Craiova in the autumn of 1789. In Sistovo (Bulgaria) in August 1791, Austria and Turkey signed a separate peace treaty. Under the influence of Prussia and England, who were interested in weakening the Russian Empire, Austria withdrew from the war and returned almost all the occupied territories to Turkey.
Outcome of the war
Turkey was again defeated in the war of 1787-1791. She did not have strong allies who could ensure the confrontation between Russia and Austria. In addition, Turkey was not able to fully restore military strength and combat capability after the First Turkish War. In battles, the Turks did not adhere to a specific strategy and tried to crush the enemy with numbers, and not with competent battle tactics. Not a single victory at sea or on land was won during the years of the war. Turkey not only lost territories, but was also obliged to pay Russia an indemnity in the amount of 7 million rubles.
Memory of the descendants of the victorious battle
Russian poet G. R. Derzhavin on the occasion of the victorious captureOchakov wrote an ode. A year after the battle, A. I. Bukharsky dedicated his work to Empress Catherine II "…To the capture of Ochakov".
In July 1972, in the building of the former Turkish mosque in Ochakovo, the Military Historical Museum named after. A. V. Suvorov. The main attraction of the museum was the diorama "Storm of the Ochakov fortress by Russian troops in 1788", which was painted by the artist M. I. Samsonov in 1971.
