Battle of Kozludzha
| Battle of Kozludzha | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 | |||||||||
 Battle of Kozludzha by Johann Friedrich Anthing | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Russian Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Abdul-Rezak Pasha |
Alexander Suvorov Mikhail Kamensky | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 40,000[1][2] | 8,000[1][2][3] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
3,000[4] 29 guns[3]107 standards[3] | 209[4] | ||||||||
The Battle of Kozludzha (also known as the Battle of Kozludža or the Battle of Kozluca), fought on 20 June (Old Style — June 9) 1774 near the village of Kozludzha (now Suvorovo, Bulgaria), was one of the final and decisive battles of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774).[5] The Russians managed to rout the Ottoman army, scoring a major victory.[5] This battle, alongside several others in this campaign, established the reputation of the Russian Lieutenant-General Alexander Suvorov as a brilliant commander of his time.[6][7] As a result of the council, however, the Russians did not undertake a further offensive beyond the Balkan Mountains deep into Ottoman territory due to the bad local roads and the lack of provisions, which were available only until 12 July. The commander-in-chief General-Feldmarshal Pyotr Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky was furious at the operational outcome and placed the responsibility for not moving the TO beyond the Balkan Mountains on Lieutenant-General Count Mikhail Kamensky, Suvorov's assistant at the battle of Kozludzha and the senior among the 6 generals (including Suvorov) who were at the council. Nevertheless, a peace treaty favorable to Russia would soon be signed—owing to the battle.[3]
The Ottoman forces were estimated at 40,000.[5][1][2] Russian numbers were much lower,[8] 8,000 men who participated in the battle.[1][2] All in all, Suvorov had about 19,500 men available. This was his corps (14,000), and part of Kamensky's forces (approximately 5,500 out of 11,000).[9] The Ottoman forces were demoralized due to previous defeats and had poor logistics (including a year of withheld back pay).[10]
Battle
[edit]The Russian army under Lieutenant-Generals[3] Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kamensky encountered the Ottoman forces of Abdürrezzak Pasha.[5][11] Although Abdürrezzak Pasha was a bureaucrat, he was one of the rare Ottoman statesmen who commanded a large military force.[12] After scouts reported to Suvorov, he immediately ordered the attack.[13] The Russian army, divided into four squares, attacked the Ottomans.[13] Ottoman cavalry charges were repulsed by the Russians,[14] while a Russian cavalry attack from the rear resulted in the capture of all of the Ottoman artillery.[13] Russian artillery fire is also said to have been highly devastating to the Ottoman forces.[15] Casualties were 3,000 for the Ottomans[4] and 209 for the Russians.[4][13] The Russians captured the Ottoman camp with its supplies, while the Ottomans abandoned Kozludzha[15] and retreated to Shumla/Shumen, where they were soon blockaded, suffering from further defeats and attrition.[8][11][13][15][16]
Aftermath
[edit]The Russian victory was one of the major reasons why a month later, on 21 July, the Ottomans were forced to sign the unfavorable Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca.[5][8][17]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Duffy C., Younghusband B. Eagles Over the Alps: Suvorov in Italy and Switzerland, 1799. Emperor's Press. 1999. P. 15
- 1 2 3 4 Dowling T. C. Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond. ABC-CLIO. 2014. P. 436
- 1 2 3 4 5 Petrushevsky, Alexander (1884). Generalissimus Prince Suvorov (in Russian). Vol. 1 (1st ed.). St. Petersburg: Типография М. М. Стасюлевича. pp. 175–180.
- 1 2 3 4 Dowling T. C. Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond. ABC-CLIO. 2014. P. 437
- 1 2 3 4 5 Political History and Culture of Russia. Nova Science Publishers. 2003. p. 171. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ Gregory Fremont-Barnes (June 2006). The encyclopedia of the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: a political, social, and military history. ABC-CLIO. p. 960. ISBN 978-1-85109-646-6. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ Alexander Mikaberidze (19 January 2005). Russian Officer Corps of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Casemate Publishers. p. 387. ISBN 978-1-61121-002-6. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- 1 2 3 Mesut Uyar; Edward J. Erickson (2009). A Military History of the Ottomans: From Osman to Atatürk. ABC-CLIO. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-275-98876-0. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ Tashlykov 2016.
- ↑ Jadwiga Nadzieja (1988). Od Jakobina do księcia namiestnika. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". p. 14. ISBN 978-83-216-0682-8.
- 1 2 Tony Jaques (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 545. ISBN 978-0-313-33538-9. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ Çelikten, Abdullah Burak (2022). "Abdürrezzak Bâhır Paşa'nin Hayati Ve Sıyası Faalıyetlerı (1730?-1781)". İstanbul 29 Mayıs Üniversitesi.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Wlodzimierz Onacewicz (1985). Empires by Conquest: Ninth century-1905. Hero Books. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-915979-04-2. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ Jadwiga Nadzieja (1988). Od Jakobina do księcia namiestnika. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". p. 15. ISBN 978-83-216-0682-8.
- 1 2 3 Virginia H. Aksan (1 January 1995). An Ottoman Statesman in War and Peace: Ahmed Resmi Efendi, 1700-1783. BRILL. p. 165. ISBN 978-90-04-10116-6. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ Gábor Ágoston; Bruce Alan Masters (1 January 2009). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. p. 493. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ Anthony Pagden (25 March 2008). Worlds at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle Between East and West. Random House Publishing Group. p. 362. ISBN 978-1-58836-678-8. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
Sources
[edit]- Tashlykov, S. L. (2016). "Козлуджинское Сражение 1774". Great Russian Encyclopedia. Electronic version. Retrieved 9 May 2023.