“Shoot rarely, but accurately. With a bayonet, if it is strong, the bullet will cheat, and the bayonet will not cheat. The bullet is a fool, the bayonet is good … The hero will kill half a dozen, and I've seen more. Take care of the bullet in the barrel. Three of them will ride - kill the first, shoot the second, and the third with a karachun bayonet."
A. V. Suvorov
Vesuvius spews flame, A pillar of fire stands in the darkness, A crimson glow is gaping
The black smoke flies upward.
The Pontus turns pale, the ardent thunder roars, Beats thunder after blows, The earth trembles, a rain of sparks flows, The rivers of red lava are bubbling, -
Oh Ross! This is your image of glory
That the light ripened under Ishmael.
G. Derzhavin. "Ode to the capture of Ishmael"
On December 24, the Day of Military Glory of Russia is celebrated - the Day of the capture of the Turkish fortress of Izmail. On December 11 (22), 1790, Russian troops under the command of the great commander Alexander Suvorov stormed the key Turkish fortress of Izmail, which the enemy considered "impregnable".
The Danube defended the fortress from the south. The fortress was built under the guidance of French engineers in accordance with the latest requirements of the fortification, and the Turks said: "It is more likely that the sky will fall on the ground, and the Danube will flow upward than Ishmael surrenders." However, Russian troops have repeatedly refuted the myths about the "inaccessibility" of certain fortresses and positions. It is interesting that Izmail was taken by an army that was inferior in number to the garrison of the fortress. The case is extremely rare in the history of military art.
The inaccuracy in the date of the day of military glory is due to the fact that the dates of most of the battles that took place before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Russia in 1918 in this law were obtained by adding 13 days to the "old calendar" date, that is, the difference between the new calendar and the old calendar dates, which they had in the 20th century. The difference between the old and the new style of 13 days only accumulated by the 20th century. In the 17th century, the difference was 10 days, in the 18th century - 11 days, in the 19th century - 12 days. Therefore, in historical science, different dates of these events are accepted than in this law.
Storming of Izmail, engraving of the 18th century
Background
Not wishing to come to terms with the results of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, incited by England and Prussia, Turkey in July 1787 demanded an ultimatum from Russia to return the practically newly acquired Crimea, renounce the patronage of Georgia and consent to inspect the Russian merchant ships passing through the straits. … Not receiving a satisfactory answer, the Turkish government on August 12 (23), 1787 declared war on Russia. The main goal of the Port was the capture of the Crimea. For this, the Ottomans had strong tools: a fleet with a large landing and the garrison of Ochakov.
In an effort to use their advantageous position, the Ottomans showed great activity at sea and in October they landed troops on the Kinburn Spit in order to capture the mouth of the Dnieper, but the Russian troops under the command of A. V. Suvorov destroyed the enemy landing. In the winter of 1787-1788. two armies were formed: Yekaterinoslavskaya Potemkina and Ukrainian Rumyantsev. Potemkin was supposed to advance from the Dnieper through the Bug and Dniester to the Danube and take the enemy's strong fortresses - Ochakov and Bender. Rumyantsev in Podolia was supposed to reach the middle reaches of the Dniester, maintaining contact with the Austrian allies. The Austrian army was located on the borders of Serbia, and the auxiliary corps of the Prince of Coburg was sent to Moldova to communicate with the Russians.
The campaign of 1788 as a whole did not bring decisive success to the ally. The Austrian army suffered a complete defeat in Wallachia. Potemkin only crossed the Bug in June and laid siege to Ochakov in July. He acted sluggishly, 80 thousand. The Russian army stood for five months at the Turkish fortress, which was defended by only 15 thousand Turks. Only in December did the army, tired of disease and cold, took Ochakov. After that, Potemkin took the army to winter quarters. The Prince of Coburg vainly besieged Khotin. Rumyantsev sent Saltykov's division to help him. The Turks, who did not want to surrender to the Austrians, whom they despised, surrendered to the Russians. Rumyantsev occupied northern Moldova, deploying troops in the Yassy-Kishinev region for the winter.
The 1789 campaign was more successful. Potemkin with the main army planned to take Bendery, and Rumyantsev with less forces had to go to the Lower Danube, where the vizier with the main Turkish army was located. In the spring, three Turkish detachments (a total of about 40 thousand people) moved to Moldova. The Prince of Coburg hastily retreated before the superior forces of the enemy. Rumyantsev threw Derfelden's division to the aid of the allies. General Wilim Derfelden scattered all three Turkish detachments. This was the last success of Rumyantsev's army. An army was taken from him and a unified Southern army was formed under the command of Potemkin, which slowly moved towards Bender.
Grand Vizier Yusuf, learning about the movement of Potemkin's army, decided to defeat the Austrians in Moldova before the arrival of the main Russian forces. Against the weak corps of the Prince of Coburg, the strong corps of Osman Pasha was moved. But Alexander Suvorov with his division saved an ally. On July 21, 1789, the Russian-Austrian troops under the general command of Suvorov defeated the Ottomans near Focsani. Meanwhile, Potemkin besieged Bendery, but again acted passively, and pulled almost all available troops to himself. In Moldova, there was only one weak division of Suvorov.
The Ottoman command, having learned about the weak forces of the Russians and the Austrians, and their separate position, decided to defeat the detachments of Coburg and Suvorov. And then go to the rescue of Bender. 100 thousand Turkish army moved to the Rymnik River to defeat the Austrians. But Suvorov again saved the allies. On September 11, in the battle of Rymnik, the Russian-Austrian troops under the command of Suvorov utterly defeated the enemy hordes. The Turkish army simply ceased to exist. The victory was so decisive that the allies could safely cross the Danube and end the war with a triumphant campaign in the Balkans. However, Potemkin did not use this brilliant victory and did not abandon the siege of Bender. In November, Bendery was taken and the campaign ended there. The Austrians stayed inactive in this campaign until September, then crossed the Danube and captured Belgrade. Coburgsky's detachment after Rymnik occupied Wallachia.
Thus, despite the brilliant victories of the Russian army, Turkey refused to reconcile, taking advantage of the slowness of the Russian high command. Dragging out time, Porta entered into an alliance with Prussia, which sent 200 thousand army on the Russian and Austrian borders. Impressed by Prussia and England, Sultan Selim III decided to continue the war.
The campaign of 1790 began unsuccessfully for Russia. The military-political alignment was not in favor of Russia. Poland was worried. The war continued with Sweden. In February 1790, the Austrian Caesar Joseph II died. His successor Leopold II, fearing that the continuation of the war with Turkey would lead to a conflict with Prussia, began peace negotiations. In addition, the Austrian army was defeated. Austria concluded a separate peace. However, Catherine II was a tough person, the threats of Prussia and the "flexible" policy "of Austria did not work on her. Taking measures in case of war with Prussia, Catherine demanded decisive action from Potemkin. But the Most Serene Prince, according to his custom, was in no hurry, and was inactive all summer and autumn. A talented politician, courtier and manager, Potemkin was not a real commander. He was torn between the theater of operations and the court in St. Petersburg, fearing to lose his former influence.
The Turks, having rid themselves of Austria, returned to their original war plan. On the Danube, they defended themselves, relying on the first-class fortress of Izmail, and turned all their attention to the Crimea and the Kuban. With the help of a strong fleet, the Turks wanted to land a large landing and raise mountain tribes and Crimean Tatars against the Russians. However, the Russian fleet under the command of Fyodor Ushakov buried all the enemy's plans in the battle at the Kerch Strait (July 1790) and at Tendra Island (September 1790). The 40,000-strong army of Batal Pasha, which had landed at Anapa, with the goal of going to Kabarda, was defeated in the Kuban in September by the corps of General Gudovich. Later, on June 22, 1791, the commander of the Kuban and Caucasian corps, Ivan Gudovich, took the "Caucasian Izmail" - the first-class Turkish fortress of Anapa. The fortress, built under the leadership of French engineers, was Turkey's stronghold in the North Caucasus and a strategic foothold for operations against Russia in the Kuban and Don, as well as against the Crimea. Therefore, it was a strong blow to the Ottoman Empire.
Thus, the attempts of the Turks to land troops in the Caucasus and the Crimea and achieve dominance at sea were suppressed by the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Ushakov and the Gudovich corps. The Ottoman offensive strategy collapsed.
Ishmael
Only at the end of October Potemkin's army launched an offensive and moved into southern Bessarabia. Russian troops captured Kiliya, Isakcha, Tulcha. The detachment of Gudovich Jr., together with Potemkin's brother Pavel, besieged Izmail. But Russian troops could not take Ishmael, the siege dragged on. The island of Chatal, located opposite the fortress, was captured. This landing operation was boldly and decisively carried out by Major General N. D. Arseniev. He also installed artillery batteries at Chatala. During the preparation of the assault, they fired at the inner part of the fortress.
Ishmael was a powerful fortress on the left bank of the Danube. According to Turkish military terminology, it was called "hordu-kalesi", that is, "army fortress" - a fortress for gathering troops. Ishmael was able to accommodate an entire army, which is what happened. The remnants of the Ottoman garrisons from the already fallen fortresses fled here. The fortress was rebuilt by French and German engineers in accordance with the latest requirements of serfdom (work has been carried out since 1774).
Izmail fortress consisted of two parts - the larger western Old fortress and the eastern New fortress. The main rampart 6-6.5 km long encircled the city from three sides. The southern side was protected by the river. The height of the rampart, which was distinguished by its great steepness, reached 6-8 m. A ditch 12 m wide and up to 10 m deep stretched in front of them. In some places there was water up to 2 m deep. In front of the ditch, there were "wolf pits" and all kinds of traps for the attackers … On 11 bastions, mostly earthen, 260 guns were located. But the height of the bastions reached 20-24 meters. In the southwestern corner of the fortress there was a stone Tabia tower with a three-tiered cannon battery. From the tower to the river bank there was a moat and a strong palisade of sharpened logs. In the north there was the most powerful defense, in this direction Ishmael was protected by a fortress citadel. The Bendery bastion, clad in stone, was located here. To the west of the citadel was Lake Broska, the swampy terrain from which approached the moat, which worsened the attackers' ability to storm. On the Danube side, the fortress had no bastions, initially hoping for protection from the Danube flotilla. However, it was almost destroyed, so the Turks erected batteries with large-caliber guns, which made it possible to shell the river and field fortifications of Russian troops on the island of Chatal lying opposite Izmail. They were reinforced with small-caliber artillery, which was rescued from the dead ships. In total, the coastal part of the fortress was covered by about a hundred guns. The fortress had well-defended gates: from the west - Tsargradsky and Khotinsky, from the east - Kiliysky and from the north - Bendery. The approaches and roads to them were covered by flanking artillery fire, and the gates themselves were barricaded.
The fortress was defended by 35-40 thousand garrison headed by Mehmet Pasha. Almost half of the troops were selected infantry - the Janissaries. The rest were sipahs - light Turkish cavalry, artillerymen, armed militiamen. Also, detachments from the previously defeated Turkish garrisons and crews from the ships of the Danube military flotilla sunk near Ishmael flocked to the fortress. The Turks were supported by the Crimean Tatars under the leadership of Kaplan-Girey. The sultan was very angry with his troops for all the previous surrenders and ordered to stand to the last, ordering, in the event of the fall of Ishmael, to execute everyone from his garrison, wherever he was found. In addition, the fortress had large reserves and could be under siege for a long time.
Engraving by S. Shiflyar "The storming of Ishmael on December 11 (22), 1790"
As a result, the military council of the chiefs of the troops gathered near Ishmael decided to lift the siege. Winter was approaching, the soldiers were sick, freezing (there was no firewood), which led to large sanitary losses. There was no siege artillery, and the field guns were running out of ammunition. The morale of the troops fell.
Then Potemkin, who attached particular importance to the capture of Ishmael, hoping by this to persuade the Port to peace, entrusted the siege to Suvorov, telling him to decide for himself whether to take the fortress or retreat. In fact, Alexander Vasilyevich was ordered to do what other generals could not, or to retreat, to lower his prestige. Taking with him his miracle heroes from the Apsheron and Fanagorian regiments, Alexander Vasilyevich hurried to Ishmael. He met the already retreating troops and returned them to the trenches. The arrival of the victorious general encouraged the soldiers. They said: “Storm! There will be an assault, brothers, since Suvorov himself flew in …”.
Suvorov, despite all the problems of the Russian troops and the superiority of the enemy forces sitting behind strong fortifications, spoke in favor of the assault and began to actively prepare for it. He understood that the operation would be extremely difficult. In his letter to Potemkin, the general wrote: "A fortress without weak points." Alexander Vasilyevich would later say that such an assault can only be launched once in a lifetime. The new commander ordered the manufacture of assault ladders and fascines for filling the ditch. The main attention was paid to the training of troops. Next to his camp, Suvorov ordered to dig a ditch and fill a rampart like the Izmail one. The stuffed animals on the rampart depicted the Turks. Every night, the troops were trained in the actions necessary for the assault. The troops learned to storm the fortress: having overcome the moat and rampart, the soldiers stabbed the stuffed animals with bayonets.
Suvorov had 33 battalions of regular infantry (14, 5 thousand people), 8 thousand dismounted Don Cossacks, 4 thousand Black Sea Cossacks (mostly former Cossacks) from a rowing flotilla, 2 thousand Arnauts (volunteers) - Moldavians and Vlachs, 11 cavalry squadrons and 4 Don Cossack regiments. A total of about 31 thousand people (28.5 thousand infantry and 2.5 thousand cavalry). As a result, a significant part of Suvorov's troops were Cossacks, most of whom had lost their horses and were armed mainly with melee weapons and pikes. Suvorov had many guns - several hundred, including the rowing flotilla. But there was almost no heavy artillery, and the available guns could not cause any serious damage to the enemy fortress. In addition, as Suvorov himself wrote in his report: "Field artillery has only one set of shells."
After completing the preparation of the assault in 6 days, Suvorov on December 7 (18), 1790 sent an ultimatum to the commandant of Izmail demanding the surrender of the fortress no later than 24 hours after the delivery of the ultimatum. “Seraskiru, the foremen and the whole community. I arrived here with the troops. 24 hours for reflection - will. My first shot is already bondage, the assault is death, which I leave you to think about. The ultimatum was rejected. Mehmet Pasha, confident in the inaccessibility of his fortifications, arrogantly replied that the sky would sooner fall to the ground and the Danube would flow backwards than Ishmael would fall.
On December 9, the military council assembled by Suvorov decided to immediately begin the assault, which was scheduled for December 11 (22). According to the "Military Regulations" of Tsar Peter the Great, according to the Peter's tradition, the right to be the first to vote at the military council was given to the youngest in rank and age. This turned out to be the brigadier Matvey Platov, in the future the most famous Cossack chieftain. He said: "Storm!"
Storm
On December 10 (21), with sunrise, artillery preparation for the assault by fire began from the flank batteries, from the island and from the ships of the flotilla (in total, about 600 guns were in operation). It lasted almost a day and ended 2, 5 hours before the start of the assault. With the beginning of the assault, the artillery switched to firing "empty shots", that is, with blank charges, so as not to hit their attackers and frighten the enemy.
Before the assault, Suvorov addressed the troops with the words: “Brave warriors! Bring to yourself on this day all our victories and prove that nothing can resist the power of Russian weapons … The Russian army besieged Ishmael twice and retreated twice; it remains for us for the third time either to win, or to die with glory."
Suvorov decided to storm the fortress in all places, including from the side of the river. The attacking troops were divided into 3 detachments of 3 columns each. A detachment of Major General de Ribas (9 thousand people) attacked from the river. The right wing under the command of Lieutenant-General PS Potemkin (7, 5 thousand people) was to strike from the western part of the fortress. The left wing of Lieutenant-General A. N. Samoilov (12 thousand people) advanced from the east. The cavalry reserve of Brigadier Westphalen (2, 5 thousand people) was waiting for the moment when the gates were opened. Suvorov planned to start the assault at 5 o'clock in the morning, about 2 hours before dawn. Darkness was needed for the surprise of the first strike, forcing the ditch and capturing the rampart. Ahead of each of the columns were specially selected arrows to defeat the defenders of the bastions and the rampart. Work teams also moved ahead: they carried axes and other tools on assault ladders. They had to make their way through palisades and other obstacles.
Suvorov and Kutuzov before the storming of Ishmael. Artist O. Vereisky
The assault did not come as a surprise to the enemy. They were expecting an attack from Suvorov. In addition, several defectors revealed to them the day the operation began. However, this did not stop the Russian soldiers. The first rangers from the 2nd column of General Lassi (Potemkin's right wing) climbed onto the rampart of the enemy fortress at 6 o'clock in the morning. They, repelling the fierce attacks of the Janissaries, captured an important stronghold of the enemy - the Tabia Tower. The heroes of the capture of Tabia were the grenadiers of the Fanagoria regiment of Colonel Vasily Zolotukhin, who captured and opened the Constantinople (Bross) gates for the cavalry.
Following this, the Absheron riflemen and the Phanagoria grenadiers of the 1st column of General Lvov captured the Khotin gate and united with the soldiers of the 2nd column. They opened the gates of the fortress for the cavalry. The greatest difficulties fell to the lot of the 3rd column of General Meknob. She attacked a part of the northern bastion, where the depth of the ditch and the height of the rampart were so great that the assault ladders of 11 meters were short. They had to be tied two together under fire. As a result, the soldiers broke into the enemy citadel.
The 6th column of General Mikhail Kutuzov (left wing of Samoilov) had to wage a heavy battle. She went to the assault in the area of the New Fortress. Kutuzov's column could not break through the dense enemy fire and lay down. The Turks took advantage of this and launched a counterattack. Then Suvorov sent Kutuzov an order to appoint him commandant of Ishmael. Inspired by the confidence, the general personally carried the infantry into the attack and, after a fierce battle, burst into the fortress. Our troops captured the bastion at the Kiliya gate. 4th and 5th columns, respectively, Colonel V. P. Orlov and brigadier M. I.
While some troops stormed the rampart, soldiers under the command of General de Ribas landed in the city from the side of the river. The attack of Ribas's troops was facilitated by the Lvov column, which captured the coastal Turkish batteries on the flank. As the sun rose, Russian soldiers were already fighting on the walls of the fortress, seizing the towers, gates and began to push the enemy inside the city. Street battles were also notable for their fierceness, practically no prisoners were taken.
The Ottomans did not surrender and continued to fight stubbornly, relying on numerous stone structures inside the fortress (private stone houses, mosques, commercial buildings, etc.), which were used as separate bastions and prepared in advance for defense. The Turks fought desperately, counterattacked. Almost every house had to be taken by storm. Suvorov threw all his forces into the city, including 20 light weapons, which were very useful. They cleared the streets of the defending and counterattacking Turks and Crimean Tatars with grapes, paving their way forward, knocking out the gates. By two o'clock in the afternoon, the Russians, having repulsed several fierce counterattacks by large Turkish detachments, finally made their way to the center of the city. By 4 o'clock the battle was over. The remnants of the Turkish garrison, wounded and exhausted, laid down their arms. Ishmael fell. It was one of the most brutal battles of this war.
On the same evening, December 11 (22), Suvorov briefly reported on the capture of the Turkish stronghold on the Danube to the commander-in-chief, Field Marshal G. A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky: “There is no strong fortress, no more desperate defense than Ishmael, who fell before the highest throne of Her Imperial Majesty in a bloody assault! My lowest congratulations to your lordship! General Count Suvorov-Rymniksky.
The storming of Ishmael. Diorama. Artists V. Sibirskiy and E. Danilevsky
Outcomes
The Turkish garrison ceased to exist, the battle was extremely fierce: more than 26 thousand people were killed alone (the city was cleared of corpses for several days). Nine thousand were taken prisoner, many of whom died of their wounds. According to other sources, the Turks lost 40 thousand people, including all senior commanders. Our troops seized huge booty: about 260 guns, a large amount of ammunition, more than 300 banners and badges, ships of the Turkish Danube flotilla and many trophies that went to the army, totaling up to 10 million piastres (over 1 million rubles). The losses of our troops amounted to about 4,600 people.
The storming of Ishmael was an outstanding feat of the Russian soldiers. In his report, Alexander Vasilyevich noted: "It is impossible to exalt with enough praise the courage, firmness and bravery of all ranks and all troops who fought in this matter." In honor of the victory, a special gold cross "For excellent bravery" was issued for the officers participating in the assault, and the lower ranks received a special silver medal with the inscription "For excellent bravery in the capture of Ishmael."
Painting by artist A. V. Rusin "Entry of A. Suvorov to Izmail". The work was written in 1953
Strategically, the fall of Ishmael did not have the desired effect on Istanbul. Spurred on by England and Prussia, the Sultan continued to persevere. Only the course of the campaign of 1791, when the Russian army under the command of Nikolai Repnin defeated the enemy in several battles (in these battles M. Kutuzov especially distinguished himself) and the defeat of the Ottoman fleet at Kaliakria from the Russian squadron of F. Ushakov, forced the Sultan to seek peace.
It is interesting that the victory for Suvorov turned into an easy disgrace. Alexander Vasilyevich hoped to receive the rank of Field Marshal for the storming of Ishmael, but Potemkin, petitioning for his reward to the Empress, offered to reward him with a medal and the rank of guard lieutenant colonel. The medal was knocked out, and Suvorov was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky regiment. There were already ten such lieutenant colonels and Suvorov became the eleventh. These awards seemed ridiculous to contemporaries in comparison with the victory won and the "golden rain" that fell on Potemkin. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky, having arrived in St. Petersburg, received as a reward a field marshal's uniform, embroidered with diamonds, at a cost of 200 thousand rubles, the Tavrichesky Palace. In Tsarskoye Selo, it was planned to build an obelisk for the prince depicting his victories and conquests. And Suvorov was removed from the troops (his quarrelsome, independent character, contempt for the palace order annoyed Potemkin), and the war was ended without the best Russian commander at that time. Suvorov was soon "exiled" to inspect all the fortifications in Finland. Not the best decision, considering the general's talents.
Gold award cross for officers - participants in the storming of Ishmael
