Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)

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Russo-Turkish War (1768–74)
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Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
Part of the series of
Mediterranean
Result Russian victory
Territorial
changes
Ottoman Empire cedes
Enikale and part of Yedisan to Russia.
Crimean Khanate becomes a Russian client state
.
Belligerents Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
Imereti - drosha Kingdom of Imereti
Flag of the Mameluks Beylik of Egypt
Emirate of Palestine
Greek insurgents Circassia Circassia
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Bar ConfederationCommanders and leaders

The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was a major armed conflict that saw

balance of power that was acceptable to other European states and avoided direct Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe.[1]

Nonetheless, Russia was able to take advantage of the weakened Ottoman Empire, the end of the

Eastern Question that would feature in European diplomacy until the Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I
.

Background

Russian war with Poland

The war followed internal tensions within

Perpetual Treaty of 1768 between Poland and Russia, which was disadvantageous to Poland geopolitically, challenged the political supremacy of Poland's Catholic faith, prevented reform of the liberum veto, and allowed Warsaw's occupation by Russian troops. Rising unrest led to the massive revolt of the Bar Confederation, which became an alliance of noble, Roman Catholic, and peasant rebels.[3] In the fortified town called Bar, near the Ottoman border, the Bar Confederation was created on 29 February 1768, led by a landed Polish noble named Casimir Pulaski.[4] While the Russian army heavily outnumbered the confederates and defeated them several times in direct battle in Podolia Ukraine, bands of rebels waged low scale guerrilla war throughout Ukraine and southern Poland. On 20 June 1768, the Russian Army captured the fortress of Bar but when one band of surviving confederates fled over to the Turkish border, pursuing troops including Zaporozhian Cossacks, clashed with janissary garrison troops.[5] Polish revolts would dog Russia throughout the war and make it impossible for Catherine II to keep control of Poland.[3]

Ottoman situation

Mustafa III in his royal robes
Europe before the war

In the Ottoman Empire, revolts were widespread. Many noble factions had risen against the power of Sultan Mustafa III and would proceed to break away from the Ottoman Empire. In addition to this decentralization of the Empire the Ottomans were also faced with the revival of a unified Persia, which rose to oppose the Turks in Iraq.[6]

Upon the outbreak of the war the Ottomans seemed to have the upper hand as Russia was suffering from financial strain as a consequence of involvement in the

Grand Vizier Mehmed Emin Pasha would prove himself to be incompetent militarily.[12] The Russian army massed along the borders with Poland and the Ottoman Empire,[10]
which made it difficult for Ottomans troops to make inroads into Russian territory.

Russian invasion

)

Not content to let the Polish enemy flee over the border, Cossacks followed them into the Ottoman Empire. In the summer of 1768, Mustafa III received reports that the town of Balta had been massacred by Russian paid Zaporozhian Cossacks.[13] Russia denied the accusations, but it was reported that the Cossacks "certainly razed Balta and killed whomever they found".[14] With the confederates of Poland and the French embassy pushing the sultan along, with many pro-war advisors, the sultan on October 6 imprisoned Aleksei Mikhailovich Obreskov and the entire Russian embassy's staff, marking the Ottoman's declaration of war on Russia.[15]

After her victories in the war, Catherine II was depicted in portraits dressed in the military uniforms of

Mediterranean. While Russia remained in a superior position in the Black Sea, the withdrawal of British support left Russia unable to do anything more than cut down its own supply lines and disrupt Turkish trade in the area.[10]

Battle of Kagul, Southern Bessarabia, 1770

In January 1769, Crimean Khan

invaded the Russian held territories in modern-day Ukraine. Crimean Tatars and Nogais ravaged New Serbia and took a significant number of prisoners.[17]

On September 17, 1769, the Russians began their initial campaign over the

Jassy) on October 7. They continued the advance south into Wallachia, occupying its capital Bucharest on November 17.[12] From the capital of Bucharest, the Russians fanned out through the principality, only later being challenged by Grand Vizier Mehmed Emin Pasha at Kagul on Aug 1, 1770. The Russians routed the Grand Vizier's forces and allegedly one-third of the Ottoman troops drowned in the Danube trying to escape.[10]

Caucasian front

By now, Russia had some troops spread out north of the Caucasus. In 1769, as a diversion, the Russians sent

Gottlieb Heinrich Totleben with a small expeditionary force south into Georgia. The Georgians defeated an Ottoman army at Aspindza in 1770. The Siege of Poti on the Black Sea coast by a joint Russo-Georgian force in 1771 failed and Russian troops were withdrawn in the spring of 1772. It was the first time Russian troops had crossed the Caucasus. On the steppes north of the mountains, the later-famous Matvei Platov
and 2,000 men fought 25,000 Turks and Crimeans. The Cossack village of Naur was defended against 8,000 Turks and tribesmen.

Russian Mediterranean expedition

Battle of Chesme
, 1770

During the war, a Russian fleet, under Count

Ottoman Albania to mobilize irregular troops, which he used to crush the revolt in 1771.[19]

Just outside the city of

fire ships. The defeat at Chesma demoralized the Ottomans, and bolstered Russian morale.[11] Catherine II used this and other victories over the Turks to consolidate her reign over Russia domestically by commissioning medals in honour of the battle. Despite their naval successes, the Russians were unable to capture Constantinople
because of Ottoman fortifications as well as European concerns that victory would upset the balance of power.

War in the Mideast: Russian fleet movements denoted by red arrows

In 1771,

emir of Mount Lebanon, Yusuf Shihab, only after being paid a large ransom.[18]

In 1773, Yusuf Shihab entrusted the strengthening of Beirut's defences to

Ahmad al-Jazzar. When the latter began to act independently, Yusuf got into contact with Zahir al-Umar to remove him. Zahir suggested that they enlist the Russians. The Russian squadron, under Captain Ivan Kozhukov, blockaded and bombarded Beirut while Zahir negotiated Jazzar's withdrawal. The latter then entered Zahir's service, only to rebel against him after a few months. In consequence, the Russians occupied Beirut for a second time, for four months, to force Yusuf to pay a ransom.[18][20]

Mediation and ceasefire

Kaunitz, the Austrian equivalent of Minister of Foreign affairs, informed the Sublime Porte that Austria no longer considered the treaty of 1771 binding.[23]

A ceasefire between Russia and the Ottoman Empire commenced on May 30, 1772, but real negotiations did not begin until August 8. The peace talks broke down almost immediately over the Crimea, but the truce was extended until March 20, 1773.

Both parties had reasons to expand the negotiations, primarily to do with both sides wanting to keep fighting on a single front. The Ottomans were now quelling rebellions from Egypt and Syria and also faced incursions from

Persia. The Russians were facing a revival of a centralized Sweden, which had undergone a coup from King Gustav III
.

Final Russian offensive

On June 20, 1774, the Russian army, under the command of Alexander Suvorov, managed to rout the Ottoman army near Kozludzha. Russia used the victory to force the Ottoman Empire to acquiesce to Russia's preferences in the treaty.[24]

Peace treaty

On July 21, 1774, the Ottoman Empire had to sign perforce the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca.[25] The treaty did not overtly take away vast territories from the Ottomans – Poland had already paid the price of alienated territory. According to the treaty:[26]

  • The Crimean Khanate formally gained its independence from both powers (but in reality became dependent on Russia and in 1782 was directly annexed after bloody clashes between the Christian and Tatar populations).
  • Russia received war reparations of 4.5 million
    rubles[27]
  • The Ottoman Empire ceded to Russia two key seaports, Azov and Kerch, allowing the Russian Navy and merchant fleet direct access to the Black Sea
  • Russia gained the territory between the rivers Dnieper and Southern Bug
  • The Porte renounced Ottoman claims to Kabardia in the North Caucasus
  • Russia gained official status as protector of the Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire, which opened the door for future Russian expansion

As a consequence of the treaty, the Ottomans ceded the northwestern part of Moldavia (later known as Bukovina) to the Habsburg Empire.[28]

Russia quickly exploited Küçük Kaynarca for an easy excuse to go to war and take more territory from the Ottoman Empire.[29]

This war comprised but a small part of the continuous process of expansion of the Russian Empire southwards and eastwards during the 18th and 19th centuries.

See also

References

  1. .
  2. .
  3. ^ a b Herbert H. Kaplan, The First Partition of Poland, New York and London: Columbia University Press, pg 101.
  4. ^ Jan Stanislaw Kopczewski, Kosckiuszko and Pulaski, Warsaw: Interpress Publishers, pg 85
  5. ^ Jan Stanislaw Kopczewski, Kosckiuszko and Pulaski, Warsaw: Interpress Publishers, pg 87
  6. ^ Jay Shaw Stanford, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Cambridge University Press, pg 253–255.
  7. ^ Russian Overseas Commerce with Great Britain pg 3
  8. ^ Carolly Erickson, Great Catherine, New York: Crown Publishers, pg 277
  9. ^ Sicker, Martin, The Islamic World in Decline, Westport, Connecticut London: Praeger, pg 70
  10. ^ a b c d Jay Shaw Stanford, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Cambridge University Press, pg 2
  11. ^ a b Carolly Erickson, Great Catherine, New York: Crown Publishers, pg 2
  12. ^ a b Sicker, Martin, The Islamic World in Decline, Westport, Connecticut London: Praeger, pg 57
  13. ^ Sicker, Martin, The Islamic World in Decline, Westport, Connecticut London: Praeger, pp. 69–70
  14. ^ Sicker, Martin, The Islamic World in Decline, Westport, Connecticut London: Praeger, p. 100.
  15. ^ Herbert H. Kaplan, The First Partition of Poland, New York and London: Columbia University Press, p. 105.
  16. ^ Russian Overseas Commerce With Great Britain During the Reign of Catherine II
  17. ^ Lord Kinross, 'The Ottoman Centuries', page 397
  18. ^ a b c Michael F. Davie and Mitia Frumin, "Late 18th-century Russian Navy Maps and the First 3D Visualization of the Walled City of Beirut", e-Perimetron, 2, 2 (2007): 52–65.
  19. ^ Yuzo Nagata, “Greek Rebellion of 1770 in the Morea Peninsula: Some Remarks through the Turkish Historical Sources”, in Studies on the Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire (Izmir: Akademi Kitabevi, 1995), 111 – 116
  20. ^ For general accounts of the Russian occupations of Beirut, see William Persen, "The Russian occupations of Beirut, 1772–74", Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society, 42, 3–4 (1955): 275–86, and Paul du Quenoy, "Arabs under Tsarist Rule: The Russian Occupation of Beirut, 1773–1774", Russian History, 41, 2 (2014): 128–41.
  21. ^ Herbert H. Kaplan, The First Partition of Poland, New York and London: Columbia University Press, pp. 119–20.
  22. ^ Jay Shaw Stanford, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Cambridge University Press, pp. 283. Jay Shaw Stanford, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Cambridge University Press, p. 89
  23. .
  24. ^ Sicker, Martin, The Islamic World in Decline, Westport, Connecticut London: Praeger, p. 73-
  25. .
  26. ^ "Treaty of Peace (Küçük Kaynarca), 1774". Empire in Asia: A New Global History. National University of Singapore. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  27. ^ Mikaberidze 2011, p. 492.
  28. ^ The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 and the Treaty of Kuciuk-Kainargi at historia.ro (in Romanian)
  29. .

Sources

  • Aksan, Virginia. "The One-Eyed Fighting the Blind: Mobilization, Supply, and Command in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774." International History Review 15#2 (1993): 221–238.
  • Aksan, Virginia. "Breaking the spell of the Baron de Tott: reframing the question of military reform in the Ottoman empire, 1760–1830." International History Review 24.2 (2002): 253–277.
  • De Madariaga, Isabel. Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great (1981) pp 205–14.
  • Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011). "Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji (1774)". In Mikaberidze, Alexander (ed.). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO.