Storm Derbent - the assault of the fortress of the same name during the Russian-Persian war of 1796 . The ancient city with powerful fortified walls occupied a favorable geopolitical position, locking the coastal passage between the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian .
| Storming Derbent | |||
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| Main Conflict: Persian Campaign of 1796 | |||
| date of | May 10 ( 21 ), 1796 | ||
| A place | Derbent | ||
| Total | Russian victory | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
- 1 Background
- 2 Preparing for the assault
- 3 Storming the city
- 4 Consequences
- 5 notes
- 6 Literature
- 7 References
Background
In the spring of 1795, the Persians, led by the new ruler and founder of the Qajar dynasty, Aga Mohammed , invaded Kakheti and the Azerbaijani khanates , and on September 12 ( 23 ), 1795 they captured and plundered Tiflis . Fulfilling its obligations under the St. George Treaty of 1783 , the Russian government sent the Caspian corps (about 13 thousand people) from Kizlyar through Dagestan to the Azerbaijani provinces of Iran.
For the subsequent campaign in 1796, a strong Russian corps was formed in Kizlyar from two infantry and two cavalry brigades , in which, according to the personal designation of the empress, major generals commanded: Prince Tsitsianov , Bulgakov , Rimsky-Korsakov , Baron Benigsen , Count Apraksin and Matvey Ivanovich Platov , the commander in chief was Lieutenant-General Count Valerian Alexandrovich Zubov . Soon, Zubov entrusted to him units moved to Dagestan in the wake of the advanced detachment of General I. D. Savelyev . Saveliev came into the possession of Sheikh Ali Khan of Derbent and immediately invited him to conclude a defensive and offensive alliance against Persia . But the young eighteen-year-old khan left the letter unanswered, and the Russian detachment approaching the city was greeted with cannon shots.
While General Savelyev stood at a position under the walls of Derbent , Commander-in-Chief Zubov ordered Savelyev to leave the city and wait for the main building somewhere in a strong position. On May 2 ( 13 ), 1796, the commander-in-chief approached Derbent already with the main forces. Not far from the city, Cossack patrols were greeted by Derbent cavalry and foot soldiers, seated in the mountains and ravines. After a three-hour shootout, the enemy was driven back and locked up in a fortress, and Russian troops overlaid the city and opened cannonade on it [4] .
Preparing for the Assault
The Derbent fortress was divided into three parts: the first, or upper one, almost adjoining the mountains, consisted of the Naryn-Kala castle, which was very fortified by nature and art, the second part was actually called Derbent, consisting of a city surrounded by a wall, and, finally, the third part, The nearest to the sea was called Dubari and was separated from the residential city by a transverse wall. Up to 80 towers protruded from the walls, and 10 of them were large. In addition, a special tower was built in front of the Naryn-Kala castle on the west side. On the fortress walls were placed 9 copper and 3 cast - iron cannons and mortars , as well as 6 falconets [6] [5] . Large towers accommodated up to 100 people, medium-sized ones - up to 50 people, and small ones - from 15 to 20. A frequent chain was placed in the intervals between the towers on the fortress wall, and then all the other defenders were located in the city near the walls.
Having examined the city and made a reconnaissance of the surrounding area, Count Zubov saw that it was first necessary to take possession of the advanced tower, which prevented the strengthening of the batteries . He ordered to immediately open fire from several guns at different parts of the city and to direct the shots of one 12-pound gun exclusively against the tower. Released four cores had no effect on its walls, and therefore the fire was stopped. Zubov, seeing the impossibility of destroying the tower with artillery fire, decided to take control of it by storm [7] .
City Assault
On May 3 ( 14 ), 1796, after an intensive bombardment, the assault on the fortress began, but despite the desperate courage of the soldiers, the assault was repulsed. The battalion commander , Colonel Krivtsov, and almost all officers were wounded; more than a hundred people were out of order, and General Rimsky-Korsakov was forced to retreat to his former position.
The next day, General Zubov ordered the laying of siege batteries to begin. The siege battery position was built as close to the fortress as possible.
On May 8 ( 19 ), 1796 at ten o'clock in the morning a new assault on the tower began, under the command of General Bulgakov. The order of the commander of the expeditionary corps said:
| The tower must be taken without fail that the assault will take place in front of all the inhabitants of Derbent and failure may entail the triumph of the Persians, who from ancient times used to tremble before the Russian name. [8] |
Despite the desperate resistance of the defenders of the fortress, the Russians managed to take over the main tower. The fall of this tower allowed Russian troops to descend from the heights and lay trenches on the same day at a very close distance from the city walls. It was decided to lead the approaches against the Naryn-Kale castle as the commander of the entire city. Two days of bombing and a breach made in one of the towers shook the stubborn spirit of the defenders of Derbent. On May 10 ( 21 ), 1796, a white flag was thrown on the fortress wall, and after that Sheikh Ali Khan appeared in the Russian camp.
In total, the Russians lost 107 soldiers and 11 officers. Taken as trophies: 28 guns, 5 banners, 11,000 firearms.
Consequences
After the capture of Derbent for some time in the hands of the Russian Empire was the most important passage of the Caucasus. The capture of Sheikh Ali Khan, the ruler of the Cuban Khanate and Derbent, broke the spirit of resistance of the inhabitants of those places, which allowed the Russian army to capture Baku , Cuba , Shemakha in a short time. But despite this success, with the accession to the throne of Paul I and a change in the course of foreign policy, Russian troops were recalled from Transcaucasia (in December 1796), and all the conquered areas were returned.
Notes
- ↑ Dubrovin, 1886 , p. 93-94.
- ↑ Bobrovsky, 1893 , p. 62.
- ↑ Shishkevich, 2003 , p. 471.
- ↑ 1 2 Potto, 1887 , p. 287.
- ↑ 1 2 Shlyapnikova, 2012 , p. 60.
- ↑ Shishkevich, 2003 , p. 493.
- ↑ Shishkevich, 2003 , p. 472–473.
- ↑ Shishov, 2007 , p. 114.
Literature
- Bobrovsky P.O. History of the 13th Life-Grenadier Erivan His Majesty Regiment for 250 years (1642-1892): in 5 parts . - SPb. : Type. V.S. Balasheva , 1893. - T. 3. - 771 p.
- Butkov P.G. Materials for the new history of the Caucasus, from 1722-1803: in 3 parts . - SPb. : Type. Imperial Academy of Sciences , 1869. - T. 2. - 592 p.
- Gadzhimuradov M.T. Tactics and armament of the Russian troops during the capture of the Derbent fortress in 1796 // Army and society. - M .: Science-XXI, 2014 .-- No. 3 (40) . - S. 29—34 . - ISSN 2304-9677 .
- Dubrovin N.F. History of war and Russian dominion in the Caucasus: in 6 volumes . - SPb. : Type. I.N. Skorokhodova , 1886 .-- T. 3 .-- 550 s.
- Potto V. A. Persian campaign of Zubov // The Caucasian War in separate essays, episodes, legends and biographies: in 5 volumes . - 2nd ed. - SPb. : Type. E. Evdokimova , 1887. - T. 1 : From ancient times to Yermolov. - S. 285-296.
- Shishkevich M. I. Persian campaign of Count Zubov // History of the Russian army: in 7 volumes. - Ch. ed. N. L. Volkovsky . - SPb. : Polygon, 2003. - T. 2. - S. 470-480. - ISBN 5-89173-212-2 .
- Shishov A.V. Struggle for the Caucasus. - M .: Veche, 2007 .-- S. 105-138.
- Shlyapnikova E. A. Persian campaign of Russian troops in 1796 // Military History Journal . - M .: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation , 2012. - No. 5 . - S. 59-62 . - ISSN 0321-0626 .