Azov campaigns
Encyclopedia
Azov campaigns of 1695–96 (Азо́вские похо́ды in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
), two Russian military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
s during the Russo-Turkish War of 1686–1700, led by Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
and aimed at capturing the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
fortress of Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
(garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
- 7,000 men), which had been blocking Russia's access to the Azov Sea and the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. Since the Crimean campaigns
Crimean campaigns
Crimean campaigns of 1687 and 1689 were two military campaigns of the Russian army against the Crimean Khanate. They were a part of the Russo-Turkish War and Russo-Crimean Wars. These were the first Russian forces to come close to Crimea since 1569...
of 1687 and 1689 had failed because of the difficulty of moving a large army across the steppe, Peter decided to try a river approach.
The first Azov campaign
The first Azov campaign began in the spring of 1695. Peter the Great ordered his armyArmy
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
(31,000 men and 170 guns) to advance towards Azov. The army comprised crack regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s and the Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
and was divided into three units under the command of Franz Lefort
Franz Lefort
Franz Lefort was a Russian military figure of Swiss origin, general admiral , and close associate of Peter the Great....
, Patrick Gordon
Patrick Gordon
Patrick Leopold Gordon was general of the Imperial Russian army, of Scottish origin. He was descended from a Scottish family of Aberdeenshire, holders of the small estate of Auchleuchries, the family were connected with the house of Haddo.- Life :He was raised and remained a lifelong Catholic, at...
and Avtonom Golovin
Avtonom Golovin
General Avtonom Mikhailovich Golovin was a Russian military leader and one of the associates of Peter the Great.When tsar Peter I of Russia was a young boy, Avtonom Golovin served him as a room stolnik...
. Supplies were shipped down the Don from Voronezh.
Between June 27 and July 5, the Russians blocked Azov from land but they could not control the river and prevent resupply. After two unsuccessful attacks on August 5 and September 25, the siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
was lifted on October 1.
Another Russian army (120,000 men, mostly cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
men, Streltsy
Streltsy
Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...
, Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Cossacks and Kalmyks) under the command of Boris Sheremetev
Boris Petrovich Sheremetev
Boris Petrovich Sheremetev was created the first Russian count in 1706, and was also a diplomat and general field marshal during the Great Northern War. His children included Pyotr Sheremetev and Natalia Sheremeteva....
set out for the lower reaches of the Dnieper to take the Ottoman forts there. The main fort at Kazy-Kerman was taken when its powder magazine blew up, but the Russians were not able to hold the area and withdrew most of their forces. By the Treaty of Constantinople (1700)
Treaty of Constantinople (1700)
The Treaty of Constantinople or Istanbul was signed on 13 July 1700 between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1686-1700. Russian tsar Peter the Great secured possession of the Azov region and freed his forces to participate in the Great Northern War...
the remaining Russians were withdrawn and the lower Dnieper was declared a demilitarized zone.
The second Azov campaign
Azov Flotilla
The Azov Flotilla or Azov Naval Flotilla was the name given to several Russian naval forces operated on the Sea of Azov as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, by both the Soviets and the White Russians during the Russian Civil War, and as part of the Soviet Navy during World War II.-Russo-Turkish...
. The cavalry under the command of Sheremetev (up to 70,000 men) was once again sent to the lower reaches of the Dnieper. On April 23-26, the main forces (75,000 men) under the command of Aleksei Shein
Aleksei Shein
Aleksei Semyonovich Shein , Russian commander and statesman, the first Russian Generalissimus, boyar, great-grandson of Mikhail Shein....
started to advance towards Azov by land and by water (the rivers of Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
and Don). Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
and his galley fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
left for Azov on May 3. On May 27, the Russian fleet
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
(2 battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, 4 fire ship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
s, 23 galleys etc., built at Voronezh and nearby locations) under the command of Lefort reached the sea and blocked Azov. On June 14, the Turkish fleet (23 ships with 4,000 men) appeared at the mouth of the Don. However, it left after having lost 2 ships in combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
. After massive bombardment
Bombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire directed against fortifications, troops or towns and buildings.Prior to World War I the term term was only applied to the bombardment of defenceless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, it was only loosely employed to describe artillery...
from land and sea and seizure of the external rampart
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
of the fortress by the Ukrainian and Don Cossaks on July 17, the Azov garrison surrendered on July 19.
Aftermath
The Azov campaigns demonstrated the significance of having a fleet and marked the beginning of Russia's turning into a maritimeNavy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
power. Russia's success at Azov strengthened its positions during the Karlowitz Congress
Treaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...
of 1698-1699 and favored the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople
Treaty of Constantinople (1700)
The Treaty of Constantinople or Istanbul was signed on 13 July 1700 between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1686-1700. Russian tsar Peter the Great secured possession of the Azov region and freed his forces to participate in the Great Northern War...
in 1700.
As Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
's harbor wasn't convenient for the military fleet, the Tsar selected another more appropriate site on July 27, 1696 on the cape Tagan-Rog (Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
). On September 12, 1698 Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
was founded there, which became the first military base of the Russian Navy.
Although the campaign was a success, it was evident to Peter I of Russia
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
that he achieved only partial results, since his fleet was bottled up in the Sea of Azov due to Crimean and Ottoman control of the Strait of Kerch
Strait of Kerch
The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula in the west from the Taman Peninsula in the east. The strait is to wide and up to deep....
. A regular navy and specialists who could build and navigate military ships were necessary for resisting the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
attacks. On October 20, 1696 the Boyar Duma decreed the creation of the regular Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
, this date is considered to be the birthday of the Russian Navy. The first shipbuilding program consisted of 52 vessels.