Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829 190 years ago, in June 1829, the Russian Danube army under the command of Diebitsch defeated the Turkish troops in the Battle of Kulevcen. This victory decided the outcome of the siege of Silistria, the fortress capitulated. Thus, the Russian army opened the road through the Balkans to Adrianople, which forced the Porto to capitulate.
Campaign of 1829. New commander-in-chief
The 1828 campaign did not lead to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. The Russian army was advancing with insufficient forces, and when crossing the Danube, the troops were scattered by the siege of three strong fortresses at once - Shumla, Varna and Silistria. This led to a waste of time and effort. Of the three sieges, only one ended in victory (the capture of Varna). At the same time, the Turks had the opportunity to defeat our army, if their command was more skillful, and the troops were better prepared.
As a result, all mistakes were attributed to the commander-in-chief Wittgenstein. Ivan Ivanovich Dibich was appointed the new commander-in-chief. He was the favorite of Tsar Nicholas, and during the war with Porte he was in the army, at first without any definite position. Therefore, Diebitsch was well aware of the state of affairs in the army in the field. Diebitsch had experience of wars with Napoleon, distinguished himself in a number of battles, then was chief of staff of the 1st Army and chief of the General Staff. The year 1829 became a "star" for him and forever inscribed the name of Diebitsch in the military chronicle of Russia.
With his characteristic determination, Diebitsch began to prepare the army for a new campaign. First of all, he strengthened the artillery, both siege and field (problems with artillery largely predetermined the failures of the 1828 campaign). The siege artillery was put in order and the number of large-caliber guns was increased to the widow (up to 88). Field artillery is provided by horses for transporting guns and ammunition boxes. For 24 six-pound mortars, new machines were ordered and 2 thousand charges each. Mortars were used as mining tools. They proved to be indispensable in the conditions of the offensive in the Balkans. They could be installed in the mountains and sweep away Turkish barriers on mountain paths. The ammunition situation has improved. The new commander-in-chief demanded that the artillery parks of the first and second lines have ammunition for 14 infantry divisions and 15 battery companies. Field troops were not supposed to experience a shortage of ammunition and shells.
In January 1829, the Russian army on the Danube front numbered about 105 thousand people. To replenish the troops, about 20 thousand more people were sent to Amiya from the reserve located in Little Russia. As a result, by the summer the Russian army numbered about 125 thousand people with 364 field and 88 siege weapons. This was somewhat more than at the beginning of the 1828 campaign, but not enough for a decisive offensive across the Danube, in Bulgaria. At the same time, the sanitary condition of the army was unsatisfactory: an unusually harsh winter for these places and problems with supply caused a high morbidity.
To improve the supply of the army, large stocks of provisions were created in the army stores. Bread was bought in the Danube principalities. Also, grain was transported by sea from Odessa and brought by land roads from Podolia.
Diebitsch changes the chief of staff of the army in the field. General Karl Toll was appointed to replace General Kiselev. He fought under the banners of Suvorov and was noted in the campaign of 1812, being the quartermaster general of the 1st army, and then the main army. The operational part of the headquarters was headed by another experienced general Dmitry Buturlin (future military historian). Late spring slowed down the outbreak of hostilities. The Russian command decided first of all to do away with Silistria in order to ensure the rear of the army. Then, relying on Varna and the fleet (the Black Sea Fleet dominated the sea), cross the Balkan Mountains and go to Constantinople, which should have forced the Turkish government to surrender.
The beginning of hostilities. Battle of Eski-Arnautlar
The Turkish army began hostilities at the end of April 1829. The vizier Mustafa Reshid Pasha moved from Shumla to Varna with 25 thousand BC. army. General Roth, who occupied Dobrudja, could oppose the enemy, in addition to the garrison of Varna, 14 thousand soldiers. Russian detachments occupied Bazardzhik, Pravody, Sizebol, Devno and Eski-Arnautlar, hiding behind a chain of Cossack posts.
On May 5, 1829, early in the morning, the vizier approached with 15 thousand troops (10 thousand infantry and 5 thousand cavalry) to Eski-Arnautlar, some of the troops were left in reserve. Another Turkish column of Galil Pasha at the same time went to Pravody. The Ottomans under Eski-Arnautlar were opposed by Major General Shits, under whose command there were 6 battalions, 12 guns and a hundred Cossacks (a total of 3 thousand people). Three Turkish columns, under the cover of riflemen, deployed in front of the redoubts, went to storm the Russian fortifications. The Turks achieved partial success, but soon the soldiers of the Company drove the enemy back. Then for 4 hours they repulsed the attacks of the superior forces of the enemy. A detachment of General Vakhten (4 battalions with 4 guns) arrived from Devno, inflicted a flank attack on the enemy and forced the Turks to retreat. The simultaneous attack of Galil Pasha's column on Pravoda was also repelled by the troops of General Kupriyanov.
General Roth sent after the retreating enemy Major General Ryndin with battalions of the Okhotsk and 31st Jaeger Regiments, 5 guns. As reinforcements, the Yakutsk, 32nd Jaeger regiments and 4 guns followed them. Russian troops attacked the Ottomans, especially when they passed through the Derekioi Gorge. However, when entering the valley, they ran into enemy reserves. The Turks met the two forward battalions with strong rifle and artillery fire. Our troops suffered heavy losses. Then the Turkish cavalry surrounded the remnants of the battalions. General Ryndin was killed. The remaining Russian troops continued to stubbornly fight back and were rescued by the arrival from Eski-Arnautlar under the command of Colonel Lishin. Also, soon a detachment of Kupriyanov arrived, which undertook a sortie from Pravod, by the evening the Turks retreated.
Thus, the vizier's army was reflected in the battles at Eski-Arnautlar and at Pravod. During this battle, our losses amounted to more than 1,100 people, the losses of the Turks - about 2 thousand people.
Siege of Silistria
In May 1829, hostilities resumed on the Danube. The Russian rowing river flotilla (more than 30 ships) approached Silistria and began shelling the enemy fortress. The main forces of the Russian army began to cross the Danube. However, the crossing was hampered by the spring flood. The river spreads especially wide in its lower reaches. It was decided to cross the Danube in two sections, which are significantly distant from each other (more than 200 km). The Turkish command did not dare to concentrate their forces in one place, so the Russian army crossed without problems. On May 9, two divisions of the 3rd Army Corps and part of the forces of the 2nd Army Corps were the first to cross the river in the Kalarash area. Here the sappers, for the supply of troops to the river, within a month built a bluff 6, 5 km long across the swampy floodplain. The crossing itself was carried out on ships of the Danube Flotilla, ferries and boats and watercraft assembled along the entire river, including ordinary rafts.
Russian troops immediately besieged Silistria and on the move captured all the advanced earthworks - trenches and redoubts. The Turks retreated to the internal fortifications. In these battles, the Turks lost up to 400 people only in killed, our losses - 190 people. At the same time, the left bank of the Danube was cleared of small Ottoman cavalry detachments, which attacked small units of the Russian army, fired at our army posts and conducted reconnaissance.
The garrison of the fortress numbered 15 thousand people. Silistria had a fortress wall with redoubt bastions armed with guns. The artillery of the fortress consisted of about 250 guns. The weak point of the Turkish fortress was that it was located in a lowland and was well-fired from large-caliber guns from riverside heights. For a correct siege of a strong fortress, it was necessary to transport siege artillery to the other side of the river. Light river vessels could not carry heavy guns. It was decided to build a pontoon ferry near the town of Kalarash. There were two islands on the river, which should have greatly facilitated the crossing. However, pre-built pontoons (pontoons) for the bridge were located up the river, 75 km from Silistria. They had to be floated down the river under fire from the batteries of Ruschuk and Silistria itself. They were also threatened with attack by the Turkish Danube Flotilla.
25 soldiers were placed on the plates. For towing pontoons (there were 63) boats were used. They guided the pontoons carried by the river itself. At the forefront were large boats with arrows and ferries with guns and rocket launchers. The Turks tried to stop this flotilla with the help of several gunboats. However, the ferry, which was carrying a rocket platoon under the command of Lieutenant Kovalevsky, fired a missile salvo at enemy ships. The Turkish gunboats did not accept the battle and fled under the protection of the coastal batteries of Silistria.
At the end of May, the pontoon bridge was successfully completed. Coastal batteries were installed on the islands in case of an attack by the Turkish flotilla. Significant forces took part in the siege of Silistria: 29 battalions, 9 squadrons, 5 Cossack regiments and 76 field guns. In addition, there were also siege weapons, including Turkish trophy and guns of the Danube flotilla. Thanks to successful siege operations, already on May 18, two batteries began shelling the fortress from a distance of 600 meters. The Turks tried to return fire, but quickly lost the artillery duel.
Fall of Silistria
The systematic shelling of the Turkish fortress was so successful that on June 19 the Ottoman garrison, exhausted by the bombing and heavy losses, capitulated. Silistria surrendered at the mercy of the victor, with all her numerous artillery and large reserves, which made it possible to withstand a long siege.
During the siege of Silistria, the Turkish garrison lost 7 thousand people killed and wounded, over 6, 5 thousand people were captured. Losses of Russian troops: more than 300 dead and over 1,500 wounded. The trophies of the Russian army were enormous: a hundred banners, about 250 guns, a large amount of ammunition. 16 gunboats of the Turkish Danube flotilla and 46 different ships became Russian trophies. The Turkish sailors did not dare to break through and surrendered. The Russian Danube flotilla established complete dominance on the river.
