Prut campaign of the Russian army. Unsuccessful Prut campaign

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Prut campaign of Emperor Peter 1

The so-called Prut campaign of Tsar Peter the Great began in midsummer in 1711. It was then that, on the territory belonging to modern Moldova, the confrontation escalated within the framework of the war waged between Turkey and Russia. At the same time, the results of these military operations were quite bad for the Russian side. As a result of the war, Peter had to give up the fortress of Azov, which he had previously conquered, which was necessary for Russia both for the development of trade routes and acted as an important naval base. Let's look at the main events of the Prut campaign.

Two years before the events described above, Russia carried out Northern War defeat of the army Swedish king Charles the Twelfth. In the battle of Poltava, the entire army was practically destroyed, and the monarch himself was forced to flee to Turkey, where he hid until 1711, when Turkey declared war on Russia. But military operations stood still, because neither side actually wanted to enter into a large-scale war.

Modern historians often blame Peter the Great for the fact that it was precisely because of his omissions during this period that the war became possible. After all, if the Russian Tsar had started pursuing Karl after the Battle of Poltava, then most likely the outcome of events would have been different. However, Peter begins to pursue the fleeing king only three days after his flight. This miscalculation cost the Russian ruler the fact that the Swedish king managed to turn the Turkish Sultan against Peter.

The Russian side had at its disposal Russian army and the Moldavian corps. In total, about eighty-six thousand men and one hundred and twenty guns were collected. The Turkish side consisted of Ottoman army and troops Crimean Khanate. According to contemporaries, the Turkish army numbered four hundred and forty guns and one hundred and ninety thousand people!

For the Prut campaign, the Russian Tsar transports an army to Poland through Kyiv, bypassing the Soroki fortress, located on the banks of the Dniester. On June 27, 1711, the army, led by Peter himself and his associate Sheremetev, crossed the Dniester and advanced to the Prut River. It took a little less than a week to implement the plan, and if not for the frankly weak discipline in the Russian ranks and the lack of organization, many Russian soldiers would not have had to die from dehydration and exhaustion.

Chronology of the Prut campaign of Peter I

The following events unfolded as follows:

On July 1, Sheremetev’s troops reach the eastern bank of the Prut River, where they are suddenly attacked by Crimean cavalry. As a result, about three hundred Russian soldiers were killed, but this raid was repulsed.
Two days later, the army continues its movement along the banks of the river and reaches the town of Yassy.
On the sixth of the same month, Peter the Great ordered the crossing of the Prut. After a successful crossing, Dmitry Cantemir joins the troops.
Two days later, the Russian army splits up to better ensure provisions in this territory, and on the fourteenth of July it unites again.
A nine-thousand-strong garrison remains in Iasi, and the rest of the forces move forward.
The eighteenth of July begins new battle. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, Ottoman soldiers strike at the rear of the Russian troops. Despite the significant numerical superiority, the Turkish garrisons are retreating. The main reason for this lay in the weakly armed infantry and lack of artillery.
On July 19, the encirclement of Peter the Great's army began. At noon, the Turkish cavalry completely surrounds the Russian army, without entering the battle. The Russian Tsar decides to move up the river to choose more good place to take the fight.
On the twentieth, a huge gap formed during the movement of Peter's troops. The Turks immediately took advantage of this, striking the convoy, which was left without cover. Then the pursuit of the main forces begins. Russian troops take up a defensive position near the village of Stanilesti and prepare for battle. By evening, the Turkish army also approaches. The battle begins at seven o'clock in the evening, but the first Turkish attack was repulsed. In total, in this battle the Russians lost about two thousand soldiers (half fell on the field, and the others were wounded). However, the Turks' losses were significantly greater. They lost more than eight thousand people wounded and killed.
On July 21, a massive artillery attack on the Russian army begins. At the same time, in the intervals between shelling, the Turks continually attacked with cavalry and infantry. However, even with such an onslaught, the Russian army continued to bear the blow. Peter the Great himself was well aware of the hopelessness of the situation on the battlefield, and therefore he decides to propose the signing of a peace treaty at the military council. As a result of the negotiations, Shafirov was sent to the Turks as a post-peace officer.

This ended the Prut campaign of Peter the Great.

Map of the Prut campaign of 1711:

Table: Prut campaign of 1711

Video lecture: Prut campaign of Peter 1

Plan
Introduction
1 Background
2 Allies of Peter in the Prut campaign
3 Hike
4 Battle with the Turks. Environment
4.1 19 July 1711
4.2 20 July 1711
4.3 21 July 1711

5 Conclusion of the Prut Peace Treaty
6 Results of the Prut campaign
Bibliography

Introduction

Prut campaign - a campaign in Moldova in the summer of 1711 by the Russian army led by Peter I against Ottoman Empire during Russian-Turkish war 1710-1713.

With the army led by Field Marshal Sheremetev, Tsar Peter I personally went to Moldova. On the Prut River, about 75 km south of Iasi, the 38,000-strong Russian army was pressed to the right bank by the allied 120,000-strong Turkish army and 70,000-strong cavalry Crimean Tatars. The determined Russian resistance forced the Turkish commander to conclude peaceful agreement, according to which the Russian army escaped from a hopeless encirclement at the cost of ceding to Turkey Azov and the coast previously conquered in 1696 Sea of Azov.

1. Background

After the defeat in Battle of Poltava Swedish king Charles XII took refuge in the possessions of the Ottoman Empire, the city of Bendery. French historian Georges Hudard called the escape Charles XII"irreparable mistake" of Peter. Peter I concluded an agreement with Turkey on the expulsion of Charles XII from Turkish territory, but the mood at the Sultan’s court changed - the Swedish king was allowed to stay and pose a threat southern border Russia with the help of part of the Ukrainian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars. Seeking the expulsion of Charles XII, Peter I began to threaten war with Turkey, but in response, on November 20, 1710, the Sultan himself declared war on Russia. The real cause of the war was the capture of Azov by Russian troops in 1696 and the appearance of the Russian fleet in the Sea of Azov.

The war on Turkey's part was limited to the winter raid of the Crimean Tatars, vassals of the Ottoman Empire, on Ukraine. Peter I, relying on the help of the rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia, decided to make a deep campaign to the Danube, where he hoped to raise the Christian vassals of the Ottoman Empire to fight the Turks.

On March 6 (17), 1711, Peter I left Moscow to join the troops with his faithful friend Ekaterina Alekseevna, whom he ordered to be considered his wife and queen even before the official wedding, which took place in 1712. Even earlier, Prince Golitsyn with 10 dragoon regiments moved to the borders of Moldova; Field Marshal Sheremetev came from the north from Livonia to join him with 22 infantry regiments. The Russian plan was as follows: to reach the Danube in Wallachia, to prevent Turkish army cross, and then raise an uprising of peoples subject to the Ottoman Empire across the Danube.

2. Peter’s allies in the Prut campaign

· On May 30, on his way to Moldova, Peter I entered into an agreement with Polish king August II on the conduct of military operations against the Swedish corps in Pomerania. The Tsar strengthened the Polish-Saxon army with 15 thousand Russian troops, and thus protected his rear from hostile actions from the Swedes. Draw the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth into Turkish war failed.

· According to the Romanian historian Armand Grossu, “delegations of Moldavian and Wallachian boyars knocked on the thresholds of St. Petersburg, asking the tsar to be swallowed up by the Orthodox empire...”

· The Lord of Wallachia Constantin Brâncoveanu (rum. Constantin Brâncoveanu) back in 1709 sent a representative delegation to Russia and promised to allocate a 30,000-strong corps of soldiers to help Russia and pledged to provide the Russian army with food, and for this Wallachia was to become an independent principality under the protectorate of Russia . Principality of Wallachia ( modern part Romania) adjacent to the left (northern) bank of the Danube and was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire since 1476. In June 1711, when the Turkish army advanced to meet the Russian army, and the Russian army, with the exception of cavalry detachments, did not reach Wallachia, Brancoveanu did not dare to take the side of Peter, although his subjects continued to promise support in the event of the arrival of Russian troops.

· On April 13, 1711, Peter I concluded the secret Treaty of Lutsk with the Orthodox Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir, who came to power with the assistance of Crimean Khan. Cantemir brought his principality (a vassal of the Ottoman Empire from 1456) into vassalage of the Russian Tsar, receiving as a reward a privileged position in Moldova and the opportunity to pass on the throne by inheritance. Currently, the Prut River is the state border between Romania and Moldova, in the 17th-18th centuries. The Moldavian principality included lands on both banks of the Prut with its capital in Iasi. Cantemir added six thousand Moldavian light cavalry, armed with bows and pikes, to the Russian army. The Moldavian ruler did not have strong army, but with its help it was easier to provide food Russian army in dry regions.

· The Serbs and Montenegrins, upon hearing the news of the approach of the Russian army, began to launch a rebel movement, but they were poorly armed and poorly organized and could not provide serious support without the arrival of Russian troops on their lands.

In his notes, Brigadier Moreau de Braze counted 79,800 in the Russian army before the start of the Prut campaign: 4 infantry divisions (generals Allart, Densberg, Repnin and Weide) with 11,200 soldiers each, 6 separate regiments (including 2 guards and artillerymen) total number 18 thousand, 2 cavalry divisions (generals Janus von Eberstedt and Renne) 8 thousand dragoons each, a separate dragoon regiment (2 thousand). Given staffing level units, which, due to the transitions from Livonia to the Dniester, decreased significantly. The artillery consisted of 60 heavy guns (4-12 pounders) and up to a hundred regimental guns (2-3 pounders) in divisions. The irregular cavalry numbered approximately 10 thousand Cossacks, who were joined by up to 6 thousand Moldovans.

The route of the Russian troops was a line from Kyiv through the Soroki fortress (on the Dniester) to Moldavian Iasi through the territory of friendly Poland (part of modern Ukraine) with the crossing of the Prut.

Due to food difficulties, the Russian army concentrated on the Dniester - the border of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with Moldova - during June 1711. Field Marshal Sheremetev with his cavalry was supposed to cross the Dniester in early June and then rush directly to the Danube to occupy possible crossing points for the Turks, create food stores to supply the main army, and also draw Wallachia into the uprising against the Ottoman Empire. However, the field marshal encountered problems in supplying the cavalry with forage and provisions, did not find sufficient military support locally and remained in Moldova, turning to Iasi.

After crossing the Dniester on June 27, 1711, the main army moved in 2 separate groups: in front were 2 infantry divisions of Generals von Allart and von Densberg with the Cossacks, followed by Peter I with the guards regiments, 2 infantry divisions of Prince Repnin and General Weide, as well as artillery under the command of Lieutenant General Bruce. During the 6-day march from the Dniester to the Prut through waterless places, with sweltering heat during the day and cold nights, many Russian recruits, weakened by lack of food, died from thirst and disease. Soldiers died after reaching for and drinking water; others, unable to withstand the hardships, committed suicide.

On July 1 (New Art.), the Crimean Tatar cavalry attacked Sheremetev’s camp on the eastern bank of the Prut. The Russians lost 280 dragoons killed, but repelled the attack.

On July 3, the divisions of Allart and Densberg approached the Prut opposite Iasi (Iasi is located beyond the Prut), then moved downstream.

On July 6, Peter I with 2 divisions, guards and heavy artillery crossed to the left (western) bank of the Prut, where the Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir joined the king.

On July 7, the divisions of Allart and Densberg linked up with the corps of Commander-in-Chief Sheremetev on the right bank of the Prut. The Russian army experienced big problems with food, it was decided to cross to the left bank of the Prut, where they expected to find more food.

On July 11, cavalry and a convoy from Sheremetev’s army began crossing to the left bank of the Prut, while the remaining troops remained on the eastern bank.

On July 12, General Renne with 8 dragoon regiments (5056 people) and 5 thousand Moldovans was sent to the city of Brailov (modern Braila in Romania) on the Danube, where the Turks made significant reserves of forage and provisions.

On July 14, Sheremetev's entire army switched to west bank Prut, where troops with Peter I soon approached her. Up to 9 thousand soldiers were left in Iasi and on the Dniester to guard communications and keep the local population calm. After combining all forces, the Russian army moved down the Prut to the Danube. 20 thousand Tatars crossed the Prut by swimming with horses and began to attack the small rear units of the Russians.

On July 18, the Russian vanguard learned about the beginning of the crossing to the western bank of the Prut near the town of Falchi (modern Falchiu) large Turkish army. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the Turkish cavalry attacked the vanguard of General Janus von Eberstedt (6 thousand dragoons, 32 guns), who, having formed a square and firing from guns, on foot, completely surrounded by the enemy, slowly retreated to the main army. The Russians were saved by the lack of artillery among the Turks and their weak weapons; many of the Turkish horsemen were armed only with bows. As the sun set, the Turkish cavalry withdrew, allowing the vanguard to join the army in an accelerated night march in the early morning of July 19.

4. Battle with the Turks. Environment

On July 19, the Turkish cavalry surrounded the Russian army, not approaching closer than 200-300 steps. The Russians did not have a clear plan of action. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon they decided to move out to attack the enemy, but the Turkish cavalry pulled back without accepting the battle. The army of Peter I was located in the lowlands along the Prut, all the surrounding hills were occupied by the Turks, who had not yet been approached by artillery.

The Swedish monarch Charles XII took refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Peter 1 insisted that the Turkish Sultan expel the Swedish king from his country, but he left Charles on his territory. Then the Russian Tsar began to threaten the Sultan with war, but, having taken the initiative, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was the first to declare war on Russia. This happened on November 20, 1710. But the real reason for declaring war was the desire to return lost Azov during the second Azov campaign.

After the declaration of war, Türkiye was not active in the outbreak of the war. Only the Crimean Tatars raided Ukraine. Then Peter 1 decided to take the initiative into his own hands. His plan of action was this - to march to the Danube, cross the Danube and raise an uprising of peoples who belong to the Ottoman Empire, but want to be more independent.

Prut campaign of 1711 and its main events

Before the start of the Prut campaign, the Russian army was recounted. The test results were as follows:

almost 80,000 people regular army,
60 heavy artillery pieces (from 4 pounders to 12 pounders),
about 100 guns (caliber from 2 to 3 pounders).

Also, up to 10,000 Cossacks and up to 6,000 Moldovans joined the Russian army. The route of the Russian army was a straight line from Kyiv to the city of Iasi, crossing the Prut River.

On June 27, 1711, the Russian army crossed the Dniester River. After the Dniester, the army moved in two groups. The hike from the Dniester River to the Prut River lasted 6 days. This path was very difficult - many soldiers died from dehydration.

Since the Russian army was experiencing problems with forage, Peter decided to send General Renne with an army to the city of Brailov, where there were large supplies of food and fodder. Renne's army consisted of 5,000 dragoons and 5,000 Moldovans. (Renne captured Brailov on July 25, but surrendered the city 2 days later, since the Prut Peace Treaty had already been signed).

On July 14, Sheremetev’s army and the army of Peter 1 united on the western bank of the Prut River. About 9,000 soldiers were left in Iasi to protect the rear, the rest of the army moved along the Prut River towards the Danube River. On the 17th, another review of troops was held, but this time the army of Peter 1 consisted of only 47 thousand soldiers.

On July 18 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Turkish cavalry attacked the vanguard of Russian troops under the command of General Janus von Eberstedt.

The Russian general had at his disposal 6,000 dragoons and 32 cannons.

Finding himself completely surrounded, the Russian general lined up an army of dismounted dragoons in a square with artillery in the center. The Russians fired back and slowly retreated to the main forces.

The Turkish cavalry were armed mainly with bows and did not have artillery - this helped the dragoons to successfully repel attacks.

As soon as the sun set below the horizon, the Turks retreated and this gave the Russians a chance on the morning of the 19th to connect with the main army.

Battles with the Turkish army and encirclement

On July 19, the Turkish cavalry surrounded the Russian army, but did not approach the Russian soldiers at a distance closer than 300 steps. Since the Russian army was in a lowland, Peter 1 decided to go upstream of the Prut River in order to find a more advantageous position for defense.

At 11 p.m. the Russian army moved upstream of the Prut. The army marched in six parallel columns. Especially dangerous areas They defended themselves with slingshots carried by the soldiers in their arms. On that day, Peter 1's losses reached 800 people.

The next day in the morning, due to the rough terrain, a formation formed between the leftmost guard column and the neighboring column. big gap. The Tatars immediately took advantage of this and attacked the defenseless convoy. Before the columns united, quite a few people died. Due to a hitch, the Turkish infantry (Janissaries) with artillery managed to catch up with the Russian army.

At approximately 5 p.m., the Russian army stopped and took up defensive positions near Stanilesti, which is located 75 km from Iasi downstream of the river. Rod.

At 19:00 the first attack of the Turkish infantry began, but they were stopped by a volley of guns and rifles. While the Janissaries were hiding behind a hillock, the grenadiers began throwing grenades at them. Jumping out and rushing again to attack, the Turkish infantry was again stopped by a rifle salvo.

During the night, the Turks attacked the Russians 2 more times, but both times the attacks were repulsed. On that day, Russian losses amounted to almost 2,700 killed and wounded. Turkish losses ranged from 7,000 to 8,000.

On July 21, the Turks began shelling the Russian army with 160 guns. The Turkish infantry once again tried to attack the Russian army, but was again repulsed, losing many soldiers. Finding themselves surrounded, the affairs of the Russian army became worse and worse - there was little ammunition left, food was running out. At the council, Peter 1 proposed to begin peace negotiations, but if the Sultan refuses, then break through without sparing either yourself or the enemy.

There was a decision to send a trumpeter with a truce, but the commander of the Turkish troops refused and gave the order to attack. The Janissaries, having suffered huge losses, refused to go on the attack. After an unsuccessful first attempt, Peter decides to send a second letter with a proposal for peace, but this time he added that in case of refusal the Russian the army will go into a decisive attack without sparing yourself. After this letter, the Turkish vizier decided to conclude a truce for 2 days and begin peace negotiations.

On July 22, Vice-Chancellor Shafirov returned from the Turkish military camp with the terms of the Prut Peace Treaty. The main articles of the peace treaty were:

return of Azov to the Turks;
destruction of fortresses in the coastal lands of the Azov Sea;
destruction of the Azov fleet.

Results

After Peter's army crossed the Dniester River, he ordered a recount of the army. Of the 80,000 people before the campaign, only 37 and a half thousand soldiers + 5,000 soldiers of General Renne were in the ranks. During the Prut campaign, the army lost about 37,000 people, but only 5,000 died in battle, the rest died of hunger, dehydration, surrendered, and deserted.

The most important loss as a result of this campaign was the loss of control over the Sea of Azov and the loss of the Azov Fleet. Peter the Great wanted to transport three ships, one of them the Goto Predistance, to the Baltic Sea, but the Turks did not allow passage through the Bosporus Strait. Therefore, Peter had to sell these ships to the Turks.

Map of the Prut campaign

Diplomatic results of Poltava. Poltava reassured the Russian Tsar with the speedy conclusion of peace. But this hope was not destined to come true. It took another 11 long years to end the war.

The direct diplomatic result of the Poltava victory was the restoration of the Northern Alliance with the participation of the Polish-Saxon (Peter returned the Polish throne to Augustus II) and Danish kings. The Prussian king entered into a defensive alliance. Military consequences were also not long in coming. In 1710, Russian troops conducted a successful “fortress campaign”: they captured Riga (it was the most big city Kingdom of Sweden!), Revel and Vyborg. After Poltava, Russia waged war only on enemy territory.

Prut campaign against the Turks. However, the strengthening of Russia did not suit everyone in Europe. Türkiye received Charles XII in a friendly manner. Incited by Charles and European diplomats, the Sublime Porte declared war on Russia in 1711. Inspired by his victories, Peter led the Russian army deep into enemy territory to the banks of the Prut River and almost made a mistake similar to the one that led to the death of the Swedish army. Historians (starting with Peter I himself) have more than once compared Peter’s Prut campaign with the adventure of Charles XII in Ukraine.

Charles XII demands that the Turks resume
battles of the Prut

The Tsar recognized the error of his chosen strategy. The 38,000-strong Russian army, far from its borders, found itself surrounded by a 135,000-strong Turkish army. Heat and lack of water and food complicated the situation. Peter counted on the help of the population of Moldavia and Wallachia, but it turned out to be minimal. The ruler of Moldavia, Dmitry Cantemir, whom Voltaire compared with Mazepa, went over to the side of the Russian Tsar. The situation seemed critical. The threat of captivity loomed not only over the army, but also over the king, who was in the camp with his wife.

True, Russian soldiers repulsed all the attacks of the Janissaries who carried big losses and finally refused to go into battle. Therefore, the Turkish commander-in-chief Baltaci Pasha entered into negotiations. The courage of Russian soldiers, the skill of diplomats (and, perhaps, the diamonds of Tsarina Ekaterina Alekseevna) determined the relatively easy conditions of the Prut Treaty: Russia ceded Azov to Turkey and pledged not to interfere in Polish affairs. Russian troops could return home without hindrance. Charles XII, who was located nearby in Bendery, was most dissatisfied with the agreement. He demanded troops to pursue Peter, but the Turks cooled his warlike ardor. Regretting the losses, the tsar found consolation in the fact that he could now concentrate entirely on Baltic problems.

Battle of Cape Gangut. 1715 A. Zubov

Victories at Gangut and Grengam. The war with the Swedes continued in Pomerania (Northern Germany) and Finland. The war had to be waged not for the sake of new conquests, but in order to persuade the Swedes to a peace beneficial for Russia (as the Tsar wrote, so that “the Swedish neck would bend more softly”). In 1714, under the leadership of Peter I, the first Russian victory was won galley fleet at Cape Gangut, which had great moral significance. A real attempt to make peace with Sweden at the Congress of Åland in 1718 was unsuccessful due to the death of the Swedish king (he died during the siege of a fortress in Norway). By that time, the Northern Alliance had collapsed, and Sweden had found an ally in Great Britain. A new victory of the Russian fleet near the island of Grengam on July 27, 1720 and the subsequent landing of Russian troops in Sweden made the Swedish queen Ulrika-Eleanor more accommodating.

Nystadt world. A peace treaty was signed in the Finnish city of Nystadt on August 30, 1721. Livonia, Estland, Ingria and part of Karelia with Vyborg went to Russia. Peter returned Finland to the Swedes and paid compensation of 2 million Reichstallers for lost territories. An exchange of prisoners took place.

As a result of the war, Russia received much Furthermore, which she hoped to receive when starting hostilities. She found not only a way out Baltic Sea, but also a number of economically developed territories. The war has become harsh school for the Russian state. The tsar himself called it a “three-year school,” because he believed that schoolchildren should study for 7 years. Russia emerged from the war with a strong army and navy. Actually Russian empire became a powerful European power, although it had to confirm this status in the subsequent wars of the middle and second half of the XVIII V.

The nature of the war. The war with Sweden was not for Russia " Patriotic War" Even such a talented historian as E.V. Tarle, in essence, failed to prove its liberating character. Of course, when the troops of Charles XII committed outrages in Ukraine, robbed and killed the local population, they rose up to fight the invaders. There was guerrilla warfare, which the Swedes also faced in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The general bitterness of the people and the actions of the partisans were considered in Europe a violation of the “rules of Christian and political peoples” in the conduct of war. But, as we have seen, in the war there were cases of betrayal and the transfer of part Ukrainian Cossacks on the side of the Swedish king.

The majority of the Russian population, experiencing the hardships of wartime, suffering from taxes and duties, was not very well aware of the goals of the massacre that dragged on for 21 years. It is no coincidence that uprisings broke out in the country; opponents of the tsar condemned the war and construction new capital on the marshy banks of the Neva. To the Tsar himself in 1717, in the afterword to the book by P.P. Shafirova about the reasons Swedish war had to prove the need to continue hostilities. “Because any war at the present time cannot bring sweetness, but burden, for this reason many are indignant about that burden.” But when great sacrifices have already been made, is it possible to cede conquered lands and fortresses to the enemy? - asked Peter. “And won’t the whole world laugh at the fact that, having already endured the 17th year and received such glory, and moreover security, we will expose ourselves to constant misfortune and eternal shame without any need?”

The price and meaning of victory. Indeed, victory in the war was not easy for Russia. The combat losses of the Russian army amounted to 120-130 thousand people, of which approximately 40 thousand were killed. Even more human lives(up to half a million) were carried away by disease.

The main event of the Northern War - the Battle of Poltava turned out to be truly fateful for Russia. She prepared for the country the fate of an empire - a state with multinational population formed as a result of conquest. On this path, the country faced not only victories, but also difficult trials.

Read also other topics Part III ""European Concert": the struggle for political balance" section “West, Russia, East in the battles of the 17th – early 18th centuries”:

9. "Swedish flood": from Breitenfeld to Lützen (September 7, 1631-November 16, 1632)
- Battle of Breitenfeld. Winter Campaign of Gustavus Adolphus
10. Marston Moor and Nasby (2 July 1644, 14 June 1645)
- Marston Moor. Victory of the parliamentary army. Cromwell's army reform
11. “Dynastic wars” in Europe: the struggle “for the Spanish inheritance” in early XVIII V.
- "Dynastic Wars". The fight for the Spanish inheritance
12. European conflicts are becoming global
- War of the Austrian Succession. Austro-Prussian conflict
- Frederick II: victories and defeats. Treaty of Hubertusburg
13. Russia and the “Swedish question”

Prut campaign


	R. Prut, Moldova
	Defeat of Russia
Opponents


Commanders
Tsar Peter I	Vizier Baltaci Mehmed Pasha
Marshal Sheremetev	Khan Devlet-Girey II
Strengths of the parties


Up to 160 guns	440 guns

37 thousand soldiers, of which 5 thousand were killed in battle	8 thousand killed in battle

Prut campaign- a campaign in Moldavia in the summer of 1711 by the Russian army led by Peter I against the Ottoman Empire during the Russian-Turkish War of 1710-1713.

With the army led by Field Marshal Sheremetev, Tsar Peter I personally went to Moldova. On the Prut River, about 75 km south of Iasi, the 38,000-strong Russian army was pressed to the right bank by the allied 120,000-strong Turkish army and 70,000-strong cavalry Crimean Tatars. The determined resistance of the Russians forced the Turkish commander to conclude a peace agreement, according to which the Russian army broke out of a hopeless encirclement at the cost of ceding to Turkey Azov, previously conquered in 1696, and the coast of the Azov Sea.

Background

After the defeat in the Battle of Poltava, the Swedish king Charles XII took refuge in the possessions of the Ottoman Empire, the city of Bendery. French historian Georges Udard called the escape of Charles XII an "irreparable mistake" of Peter. Peter I concluded an agreement with Turkey on the expulsion of Charles XII from Turkish territory, but the mood at the Sultan’s court changed - the Swedish king was allowed to stay and create a threat to the southern border of Russia with the help of part of the Ukrainian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars. Seeking the expulsion of Charles XII, Peter I began to threaten war with Turkey, but in response, on November 20, 1710, the Sultan himself declared war on Russia. The real cause of the war was the capture of Azov by Russian troops in 1696 and the appearance of the Russian fleet in the Sea of Azov.

On March 6 (17), 1711, Peter I left Moscow to join the troops with his faithful friend Ekaterina Alekseevna, whom he ordered to be considered his wife and queen even before the official wedding, which took place in 1712. Even earlier, Prince Golitsyn with 10 dragoon regiments moved to the borders of Moldova, and Field Marshal Sheremetev with 22 infantry regiments came out from the north from Livonia to join him. The Russian plan was as follows: to reach the Danube in Wallachia, prevent the Turkish army from crossing, and then raise an uprising of the peoples subject to the Ottoman Empire beyond the Danube.

Allies of Peter in the Prut campaign

On May 30, on his way to Moldova, Peter I entered into an agreement with the Polish king Augustus II on the conduct of military operations against the Swedish corps in Pomerania. The Tsar strengthened the Polish-Saxon army with 15 thousand Russian troops, and thus protected his rear from hostile actions from the Swedes. It was not possible to drag the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth into the Turkish war.
According to the Romanian historian Armand Grossu, “delegations of Moldavian and Wallachian boyars knocked on the thresholds of St. Petersburg, asking the tsar to be swallowed up by the Orthodox empire...”
The ruler of Wallachia, Constantin Brâncoveanu, sent a representative delegation to Russia back in 1709 and promised to allocate a 30,000-strong corps of soldiers to help Russia and pledged to provide the Russian army with food, and for this Wallachia was to become an independent principality under the protectorate of Russia. The Principality of Wallachia (modern part of Romania) was adjacent to the left (northern) bank of the Danube and was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire since 1476. In June 1711, when the Turkish army advanced to meet the Russian army, and the Russian army, with the exception of cavalry detachments, did not reach Wallachia, Brancoveanu did not dare to take the side of Peter, although his subjects continued to promise support in the event of the arrival of Russian troops.
On April 13, 1711, Peter I concluded the secret Treaty of Lutsk with the Orthodox Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir, who came to power with the assistance of the Crimean Khan. Cantemir brought his principality (a vassal of the Ottoman Empire from 1456) into vassalage of the Russian Tsar, receiving as a reward a privileged position in Moldova and the opportunity to pass on the throne by inheritance. Currently, the Prut River is the state border between Romania and Moldova, in the 17th-18th centuries. The Moldavian principality included lands on both banks of the Prut with its capital in Iasi. Cantemir added six thousand Moldavian light cavalry, armed with bows and pikes, to the Russian army. The Moldavian ruler did not have a strong army, but with his help it was easier to provide provisions for the Russian army in arid regions.
The Serbs and Montenegrins, upon learning of the approach of the Russian army, began to launch a rebel movement, but they were poorly armed and poorly organized and could not provide serious support without the arrival of Russian troops on their lands.

Hike

In his notes, Brigadier Moreau de Braze counted 79,800 in the Russian army before the start of the Prut campaign: 4 infantry divisions (generals Allart, Densberg, Repnin and Weide) with 11,200 soldiers each, 6 separate regiments (including 2 guards and artillerymen) with a total of 18 thousand, 2 cavalry divisions (generals Janus and Renne) 8 thousand dragoons each, a separate dragoon regiment (2 thousand). The staffing number of units is given, which, due to the transitions from Livonia to the Dniester, significantly decreased. The artillery consisted of 60 heavy guns (4-12 pounders) and up to a hundred regimental guns (2-3 pounders) in divisions. The irregular cavalry numbered approximately 10 thousand Cossacks, who were joined by up to 6 thousand Moldovans.

On July 1 (New Art.), the Crimean Tatar cavalry attacked Sheremetev’s camp on the eastern bank of the Prut. The Russians lost 280 dragoons killed, but repelled the attack.

On July 3, the divisions of Allart and Densberg approached the Prut opposite Iasi (Iasi is located beyond the Prut), then moved downstream.

On July 6, Peter I with 2 divisions, guards and heavy artillery crossed to the left (western) bank of the Prut, where the Moldavian ruler Dmitry Cantemir joined the king.

On July 7, the divisions of Allart and Densberg linked up with the corps of Commander-in-Chief Sheremetev on the right bank of the Prut. The Russian army was experiencing big problems with food, it was decided to cross to the left bank of the Prut, where they expected to find more food.

On July 11, cavalry and a convoy from Sheremetev’s army began crossing to the left bank of the Prut, while the remaining troops remained on the eastern bank.

On July 14, Sheremetev’s entire army crossed to the western bank of the Prut, where troops with Peter I soon approached it. Up to 9 thousand soldiers were left in Iasi and on the Dniester to guard communications and keep the local population calm. After combining all forces, the Russian army moved down the Prut to the Danube. 20 thousand Tatars crossed the Prut by swimming with horses and began to attack the small rear units of the Russians.

On July 18, the Russian vanguard learned that a large Turkish army had begun crossing to the western bank of the Prut near the town of Falchi (modern Falchiu). At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the Turkish cavalry attacked the vanguard of General Janus (6 thousand dragoons, 32 guns), who, having formed in a square and firing from guns, on foot, completely surrounded by the enemy, slowly retreated to the main army. The Russians were saved by the lack of artillery among the Turks and their weak weapons; many of the Turkish horsemen were armed only with bows. As the sun set, the Turkish cavalry withdrew, allowing the vanguard to join the army in an accelerated night march in the early morning of July 19.

Battle with the Turks. Environment

July 19, 1711

At the military council, it was decided to retreat at night up the Prut in search of a more advantageous position for defense. At 11 o'clock in the evening, having destroyed the extra wagons, the army moved in the following battle formation: 6 parallel columns (4 infantry divisions, the guard and the dragoon division of Janus), with convoys and artillery in the intervals between the columns. Guards regiments covered the left flank; Repnin's division was moving on the right flank adjacent to the Prut. From dangerous sides, the troops covered themselves from the Turkish cavalry with slingshots, which the soldiers carried in their arms.

The losses of the Russian army in killed and wounded that day amounted to about 800 people.

By this time the army numbered 31,554 infantry and 6,692 cavalry, mostly unhorsed, 53 heavy guns and 69 light 3-pounder guns.

20 July 1711

By the morning of July 20, a gap had formed between the lagging far left guard column and the neighboring Allart division due to the uneven march of the columns over rough terrain. The Turks immediately attacked the convoy, which was left without cover, and before the flank was restored, many convoys and members of officers' families were killed. For several hours the army stood waiting for the restoration of the combat march formation. Due to the delay of the Turkish infantry, the Janissaries with artillery managed to catch up with the Russian army during the day.

At about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the army rested its extreme right flank on the Prut River and stopped for defense near the town of Stanileşti (Romanian: Stănileşti, Stanileşti; about 75 km south of Iasi). On the opposite eastern steep bank of the Prut, the Tatar cavalry and the Zaporozhye Cossacks allied to them appeared. Light artillery approached the Turks and began shelling Russian positions. At 7 o'clock in the evening there followed an attack by the Janissaries on the location of the Allart and Janus divisions, which were moving forward somewhat due to the terrain conditions. The Turks, repulsed by rifle and cannon fire, lay down behind a small hill. Under the cover of gunpowder smoke, 80 grenadiers pelted them with grenades. The Turks counterattacked, but were stopped by gunfire at the slingshot line.

Polish General Poniatowski, a military adviser to the Turks, personally observed the battle:

Brigadier Moreau de Braze, who was not at all favored in Russian service, nevertheless left the following review of the behavior of Peter I at the critical moment of the battle:

At night the Turks made forays twice, but were repulsed. Russian losses as a result of the battles amounted to 2,680 people (750 killed, 1,200 wounded, 730 prisoners and missing); the Turks lost 7-8 thousand according to the report English Ambassador in Constantinople and the testimony of brigadier Moro de Braze (the Turks themselves admitted to him the losses).

July 21, 1711

On July 21, the Turks surrounded the Russian army, pressed against the river, with a semicircle of field fortifications and artillery batteries. About 160 guns continuously fired at Russian positions. The Janissaries launched an attack, but were again repulsed with losses. The situation of the Russian army became desperate; there was still ammunition left, but the supply was limited. There was not enough food before, and if the siege dragged on, the troops would soon be in danger of starvation. There was no one to expect help from. In the camp, many officers’ wives cried and howled; Peter I himself at times fell into despair, “ ran back and forth around the camp, beating his chest and could not utter a word».

At the morning military council, Peter I and his generals decided to offer peace to the Turkish Sultan; in case of refusal, burn the convoy and break through " not to the stomach, but to death, not showing mercy to anyone and not asking for mercy from anyone" A trumpeter was sent to the Turks with a peace proposal. Vizier Baltaci Mehmed Pasha, without answering Russian offer, ordered the Janissaries to resume their attacks. However, they, having suffered great losses on this and the previous day, became agitated and began to murmur that the Sultan wanted peace, and the vizier, against his will, was sending the Janissaries to slaughter.

Sheremetev sent the vizier a second letter, which, in addition to a repeated proposal for peace, contained a threat to go into a decisive battle in a few hours if there was no response. The vizier, having discussed the situation with his military leaders, agreed to conclude a truce for 48 hours and enter into negotiations.

Vice-Chancellor Shafirov, endowed with broad powers, was appointed to the Turks from the besieged army with translators and assistants. Negotiations have begun.

Conclusion of the Prut Peace Treaty

The hopeless situation of the Russian army can be judged by the conditions to which Peter I agreed, and which he outlined to Shafirov in the instructions:

Give Azov and all previously conquered cities on their lands to the Turks.
Give the Swedes Livonia and other lands, except Ingria (where St. Petersburg was built). Give Pskov as compensation for Ingria.
Agree to Leshchinsky, the protege of the Swedes, as the Polish king.

These conditions coincided with those put forward by the Sultan when declaring war on Russia. 150 thousand rubles were allocated from the treasury to bribe the vizier; smaller amounts were intended for other Turkish commanders and even secretaries. According to legend, Peter's wife Ekaterina Alekseevna donated all her jewelry for bribery, however, the Danish envoy Just Yul, who was with the Russian army after it came out of encirclement, does not report such an act of Catherine, but says that the queen distributed her jewelry to save the officers and then, after peace was concluded, she gathered them back.

On July 22, Shafirov returned from the Turkish camp with peace terms. They turned out to be much lighter than those that Peter was ready for:

Return of Azov to the Turks in its previous state.
The devastation of Taganrog and other cities in the lands conquered by the Russians around the Sea of Azov.
Refusal to interfere in Polish and Cossack (Zaporozhye) affairs.
Free passage of the Swedish king to Sweden and a number of non-essential conditions for merchants. Until the terms of the agreement were fulfilled, Shafirov and the son of Field Marshal Sheremetev were to remain in Turkey as hostages.

On July 23, the peace treaty was sealed, and already at 6 o’clock in the evening the Russian army, in battle order, with banners flying and drums beating, set out for Iasi. The Turks even allocated their cavalry to protect the Russian army from the predatory raids of the Tatars. Charles XII, having learned about the start of negotiations, but not yet knowing about the conditions of the parties, immediately set off from Bendery to the Prut and on July 24 in the afternoon arrived at the Turkish camp, where he demanded to terminate the treaty and give him an army with which he would defeat the Russians. The Grand Vizier refused, saying:

On July 25, the Russian cavalry corps of General Renne with the attached Moldavian cavalry, not yet knowing about the truce, captured Brailov, which had to be abandoned after 2 days.

On August 13, 1711, the Russian army, leaving Moldova, crossed the Dniester in Mogilev, ending the Prut campaign. According to the recollection of the Dane Rasmus Erebo (secretary of Yu. Yulya) about Russian troops on the approach to the Dniester:

The vizier was never able to receive the bribe promised to him by Peter. On the night of July 26, the money was brought to the Turkish camp, but the vizier did not accept it, fearing his ally, the Crimean Khan. Then he was afraid to take them because of the suspicions raised by Charles XII against the vizier. In November 1711, thanks to the intrigues of Charles XII through English and French diplomacy, Vizier Mehmed Pasha was removed by the Sultan and, according to rumors, was soon executed.

Results of the Prut campaign

During his stay in the camp beyond the Dniester in Podolia, Peter I ordered each brigadier to submit a detailed inventory of his brigade, determining its condition on the first day of entry into Moldova and where it was on the day the order was given. The will of the Tsar's Majesty was fulfilled: according to Brigadier Moro de Braze, of the 79,800 people who were present when entering Moldova, there were only 37,515, and the Renne division had not yet joined the army (5 thousand on July 12).

Perhaps the Russian regiments had an initial shortage of personnel, but no more than 8 thousand recruits, for which Peter I reproached the governors in August 1711.

According to Brigadier Moro de Braze, during the battles of July 18-21, the Russian army lost 4,800 people killed, Major General Widmann. Renne lost about 100 people killed during the capture of Brailov. Thus, they deserted, were captured and died, mainly from disease and hunger in initial stage campaign, more than 37 thousand Russian soldiers, of which about 5 thousand were killed in battle.

Having failed, according to the Prut Agreement, to expel Charles XII from Bendery, Peter I ordered the suspension of compliance with the requirements of the treaty. In response, Türkiye again declared war on Russia at the end of 1712, but fighting limited themselves only to diplomatic activity until the conclusion of the Treaty of Adrianople in June 1713, mainly on the terms of the Prut Treaty.

The main result of the unsuccessful Prut campaign was the loss by Russia of access to the Sea of Azov and the recently built southern fleet. Peter wanted to transfer the ships “Goto Predestination”, “Lastka” and “Speech” from the Sea of Azov to the Baltic, but the Turks did not allow them passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles, after which the ships were sold to the Ottoman Empire.

Azov was again captured by the Russian army 25 years later in June 1736 under Empress Anna Ioannovna.