Colonel Pavel Karyagin lived in 1752-1807. He became a real hero of the Caucasian and Persian wars. The Persian campaign of Colonel Karyagin is called "300 Spartans". As chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment, he led 500 Russians against 40,000 Persians.
Biography
His service began in the Butyrsky regiment in 1773. Participating in the victories of Rumyantsev in the first Turkish war, he was inspired by faith in himself and the strength of the Russian troops. Colonel Karyagin subsequently relied on these supports during the raid. He simply did not count the number of enemies.
By 1783 he became a second lieutenant of the Belorussian battalion. He managed to stand out in the storming of Anapa in 1791, commanding the Chasseur Corps. He received a bullet in the arm, as well as the rank of major. And in 1800, already having the title of colonel, he began to command the 17th Chasseur Regiment. And then he became a regimental chief. It was in command of him that Colonel Karyagin made a campaign against the Persians. In 1804, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class, for storming the Ganzha fortress. But the most famous feat was accomplished by Colonel Karyagin in 1805.
500 Russians vs 40,000Persians
This campaign is similar to the story of 300 Spartans. Gorge, attacks with bayonets… This is the golden page of Russian military history, which included the frenzy of slaughter and unsurpassed mastery of tactics, amazing cunning and arrogance.
Circumstances
In 1805 Russia was part of the Third Coalition and things were going badly. The enemy was France with its Napoleon, and the allies were Austria, which was noticeably weakened, as well as Great Britain, which never had a strong land army. Kutuzov did his best.
At the same moment, the Persian Baba Khan became active in the southern regions of the Russian Empire. He began a campaign against the empire, hoping to recoup the past. In 1804 he was defeated. And this was the most successful moment: Russia did not have the opportunity to send a large army to the Caucasus: there were only 8,000-10,000 soldiers there. And then 40,000 Persians advanced to the city of Shusha under the command of Abbas-Mirza, the Persian prince. 493 Russians came out to defend the Russian borders from Prince Tsitsianov. Of these, two officers with 2 guns, Colonel Karyagin and Kotlyarevsky.
Start of hostilities
The Russian army did not manage to reach Shushi. The Persian army found them on the road near the Shakh-Bulakh river. It happened on June 24th. There were 10,000 Persians - this is the vanguard. In the Caucasus at that time, the tenfold superiority of the enemy was similar to the situation in the exercises.
Coming out against the Persians, Colonel Karyagin lined up his soldiers in a square. The round-the-clock reflection of enemy cavalry attacks began. And he won. After, having traveled 14 versts, he set up camp withwagon line of defense.
On the hill
In the distance, the main force of the Persians appeared, approximately 15,000 people. It became impossible to move on. Then Colonel Karyagin occupied the mound, on which there was a Tatar cemetery. It was more convenient to keep the defense there. Having broken the ditch, he blocked the approaches to the hill with wagons. The Persians continued to attack fiercely. Colonel Karyagin held the hill, but at the cost of the lives of 97 people.
On that day he wrote to Tsitsianov “I would pave… the road to Shusha, but the large number of wounded people, whom I have no means to raise, makes it impossible for any attempt to move from the place I occupied.” Persians died in great numbers. And they realized that the next attack would cost them dearly. The soldiers left only a cannonade, believing that the detachment would not last until the morning.
There are not many examples in military history in which soldiers, surrounded by a vastly outnumbered enemy, do not accept surrender. However, Colonel Karyagin did not give up. Initially, he counted on the help of the Karabakh cavalry, but she went over to the side of the Persians. Tsitsianov tried to turn them back to the side of the Russians, but in vain.
Squad position
Karyagin had no hope of any help. By the third day, June 26, the Persians blocked the Russians' access to water by placing falcon batteries nearby. They were engaged in round-the-clock shelling. And then the losses began to grow. Karyagin himself was shell-shocked three times in the chest and head, he was wounded in the side right through.
Most of the officers left. Remainedabout 150 able-bodied soldiers. All of them suffered from thirst and heat. The night was restless and sleepless. But the feat of Colonel Karyagin began here. The Russians showed particular perseverance: they found the strength to make sorties against the Persians.
Once they managed to reach the Persian camp and capture 4 batteries, get water and bring 15 falconets. This was done by a group under the command of Ladinsky. There are records in which he admired the courage of his soldiers. The success of the operation exceeded the colonel's wildest expectations. He went out to them and kissed the soldiers in front of the whole detachment. Unfortunately, Ladinsky was seriously wounded in the camp the next day.
Spy
After 4 days, the heroes fought with the Persians, but by the fifth day there was not enough ammunition and food. The last crackers are gone. Officers have been eating grass and roots for a long time. And then the colonel sent 40 people to nearby villages to get bread and meat. The soldiers did not inspire confidence. It turned out that among these fighters was a French spy who called himself Lisenkov. His note was intercepted. The next morning, only six people returned from the detachment, reporting the flight of an officer and the death of all the other soldiers.
Petrov, who was present at the same time, said that Lisenkov ordered the soldiers to lay down their arms. But Petrov reported that in the area where the enemy is nearby, this is not done: at any moment a Persian can attack. Lisenkov convinced that there was nothing to be afraid of. The soldiers understood: something is not right here. All the officers always left the soldiers armed, at least most of them. But there is nothing to do, there is an orderorder. And soon the Persians appeared in the distance. The Russians barely made their way, hiding in the bushes. Only six people survived: they hid in the bushes and began to fight back from there. Then the Persians retreated.
Hiding in the night
This greatly disappointed Karyagin's detachment. But the Colonel did not lose heart. He told everyone to go to bed and get ready for the night's work. The soldiers realized that at night the Russians would break through the enemy ranks. It was impossible to stay in this place without crackers and cartridges.
The wagon train was left to the enemy, but the extracted falconets were hidden in the ground so that the Persians would not get them. After that, the cannons were loaded with buckshot, the wounded were laid out on stretchers, and then, in complete silence, the Russians left the camp.
There were not enough horses. Jaegers carried guns on straps. There were only three wounded officers on horseback: Karyagin, Kotlyarovsky, Ladinsky. The soldiers promised to carry guns when needed. And they kept their promise.
Despite the complete secrecy of the Russians, the Persians discovered that the detachment was missing. So they followed the trail. But the storm has begun. The darkness of the night was pitch-black. However, Karyagin's detachment escaped during the night. He came to Shah-Bulakh, within its walls was the Persian garrison, which slept, not expecting the Russians. Ten minutes later, Karyagin occupied the garrison. The head of the fortress, Emir Khan, a relative of the Prince of Persia, was killed, the body was left with him.
And after the last shots, the Persians came to the fortress. Interestingly, instead of fighting, negotiations began. The Persians sent parliamentarians. The prince asked to give his bodyrelative. Karyagin, in response, announced his desire to return the prisoners in Lisenkov's sortie. But the heir replied that the Russians were all killed. And the officer himself died the next day from a wound. This, of course, turned out to be a lie, since it was known that Lisenkov was in the Persian camp. Nevertheless, the colonel gave the order to return the body of the murdered relative. He said that he believed him, but there is an old proverb: "Whoever lies, let him be ashamed." He added: "The heir to the vast Persian monarchy, of course, will not want to blush in front of us." And so they parted.
Blockade
The blockade of the fortress has begun. The Persians were counting on the colonel to surrender due to hunger. For four days the Russians ate grass and horse meat. But stocks have run out. Yuzbash appeared, providing a service. At night, having got out of the fortress, he told Tsitsianov about what was happening in the Russian camp. The alarmed prince, who did not have soldiers and food to help him, wrote to Karyagin. He wrote that he believed that Colonel Karyagin's campaign would end successfully.
Yuzbash returned with some food. There was only enough food for the day. Yuzbash began to lead the detachment at night past the Persians for food. Once they almost ran into the enemy, but in the darkness of the night and fog they set up an ambush. In a couple of seconds, the soldiers killed all the Persians without a single shot, only during a bayonet charge.
To hide the traces of this attack, they took horses, sprinkled blood, and hid the corpses in a ravine. And the Persians did not learn about the sortie and the death of their patrol. Such sorties allowedKaryagin hold on for another seven days. But in the end, the Persian prince lost his patience and offered the colonel a reward for going over to the side of the Persians, surrendering Shah Bulakh. He promised that no one would get hurt. Karyagin suggested 4 days for reflection, but that all this time the prince delivered food to the Russians. And he agreed. It was a bright page in the history of Colonel Karyagin's campaign: the Russians recovered during this time.
And by the end of the fourth day, the prince sent messengers. Karyagin replied that the next day the Persians would occupy Shah Bulakh. He kept his word. At night, the Russians went to the Mukhrat fortress, which was convenient to defend.
They walked by roundabout paths, through the mountains, bypassing the Persians in the dark. The enemy discovered the deception of the Russians only in the morning, when Kotlyarevsky with wounded soldiers and officers was already in Mukhrat, and Karyagin with guns crossed the most dangerous areas. And if it wasn't for the heroic spirit, any obstacle might have made it impossible.
Living Bridge
On impassable roads they carried guns with them. And having found a deep ravine through which it was impossible to move them, the soldiers with approving exclamations after the proposal of Gavrila Sidorov themselves lay down on its bottom, thus building a living bridge. It went down in history as a heroic episode of the campaign of Colonel Karyagin in 1805.
The first one crossed the living bridge, and when the second one passed, the two soldiers didn't get up. Among them was the ringleader Gavrila Sidorov.
Despite the haste, the squad dug a grave in which they lefttheir heroes. The Persians were close and overtook the Russian detachment before he managed to get to the fortress. Then they entered the fray, aiming their cannons at the camp of the enemy. Several times the guns changed hands. But Mukhrat was close. The colonel at night went to the fortress with a small loss. At that moment, Karyagin sent the famous message to the Persian prince.
Final
It should be noted that thanks to the courage of the colonel, the Persians lingered in Karabakh. And they did not have time to attack Georgia. So, Prince Tsitsianov recruited soldiers who were scattered around the outskirts, and went on the offensive. Then Karyagin got the opportunity to leave Mukhrat and go to the settlement of Mazdygert. There Tsitsianov received him with military honors.
He asked the Russian soldiers about what happened and promised to tell the emperor about the feat. Ladinsky was given the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, and after that he became a colonel. He was a kind and witty man, as all who knew him said about him.
Karyagin was given a gold sword with the engraving "For Courage" by the emperor. Yuzbash became an ensign, was awarded a gold medal and a pension of 200 rubles for life.
The remnants of the heroic detachment went to the Elizavetpol battalion. Colonel Karyagin was wounded, but a couple of days later, when the Persians came to Shamkhor, he even opposed them in this state.
Heroic Rescue
And on July 27, a detachment of Pir-Kuli Khan attacked a Russian transport heading for Elizavetpol. With him was only a handful of soldiers with Georgiandrovers. They lined up in a square and went on the defensive, each of them had 100 enemies. The Persians demanded the surrender of transport, threatening complete extermination. Dontsov was the head of transport. He called on his soldiers to die, but not to surrender. The situation was desperate. Dontsov was mortally wounded, and ensign Plotnevsky was captured. The soldiers lost their leaders. And at that moment, Karyagin appeared, changing the fight dramatically. From the cannons, the Persian ranks were shot, they fled.
Memory and death
Due to many wounds and campaigns, Karyagin's he alth suffered. In 1806 he suffered from a fever, and already in 1807 the colonel died. The illustrious officer for his courage became a national hero, a legend of the Caucasian epic.
