Russo-Turkish War, 1735-1739
Encyclopedia
Russo–Turkish War of 1735–1739, a war between Russia
and the Ottoman Empire
, caused by intensified contradictions over the results of the War of the Polish Succession
of 1733–1735 and endless raids by the Crimean Tatars
. The war also represented Russia's continuing struggle for the access to the Black Sea
.
in 1730–1736) and supporting the accession
to the Polish
throne
of Augustus III
in 1735 instead of the French
protégé Stanislaw I Leszczynski, nominated by pro-Turkish France
. Austria
had been Russia's ally since 1726.
were the raids of the Crimean Tatars on Cossack Hetmanate
(Ukraine
) in the end of 1735 and the Crimean khan
's military campaign
in the Caucasus
. In 1736, the Russian commander
s envisioned the seizure of Azov
and the Crimea
.
In 1735, on the eve of the war, the Russians made peace with Persia, giving back all the territory conquered during the Russo-Persian War.
On May 20, 1736, the Russian Dnieper Army (62,000 men) under the command of Field Marshal
Burkhard Christoph von Munnich
took by storm the Turkish fortification
s at Perekop
and occupied Bakhchisaray
on June 17. However, lack of supplies coupled with the outbreak of an epidemic
forced Münnich to retreat to Ukraine. On June 19, the Russian Don Army (28,000 men) under the command of General
Peter Lacy
with the support from the Don Flotilla
under the command of Vice Admiral
Peter Bredahl seized the fortress of Azov. In July 1737, the Münnich's Army took by storm the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. The Lacy Army (already 40,000 men strong) marched into the Crimea the same month, inflicting a number of defeats on the Army of the Crimean Khan and capturing Karasubazar. However, Lacy and his troops had to leave the Crimea due to lack of supplies.
In July 1737, Austria entered the war against Ottoman Empire, but was defeated a number of times, among others in the Battle of Banja Luka
. In August, Russia, Austria and Ottoman Empire began negotiation
s in Nemirov, which would turn out to be fruitless. There were no significant military operations in 1738. The Russian Army had to leave Ochakov and Kinburn
due to the plague
outbreak.
army crosseed the Dnieper, defeated the Turks
at Stavuchany
and occupied the fortress of Khotin (August 19) and Iaşi
. However, Austria was defeated by the Turks at Grocka
and signed the separate Belgrade Peace Treaty with the Ottoman Empire on August 21. This, coupled with the imminent threat of the Swedish
invasion
, forced Russia to sign the Treaty of Niš with Turkey on September 29, which ended the war.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the Ottoman Empire
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...
, caused by intensified contradictions over the results of the War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
of 1733–1735 and endless raids by the Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
. The war also represented Russia's continuing struggle for the access to 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...
.
Russian diplomacy before the war
By the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war, Russia had managed to secure a favorable international situation by signing a few treaties with Persia in 1732–1735 (which was at war with TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1730–1736) and supporting the accession
Accession
Accession has different definitions depending upon its application. In Property law, it is a mode of acquiring property that involves the addition of value to property through labor or the addition of new materials. In English Common law, the added value belonged to the original property's owner,...
to the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...
of Augustus III
Augustus III of Poland
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
in 1735 instead of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
protégé Stanislaw I Leszczynski, nominated by pro-Turkish France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
had been Russia's ally since 1726.
The course of the war in 1735–1738
The casus belliCasus belli
is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while means bellic...
were the raids of the Crimean Tatars on Cossack Hetmanate
Cossack Hetmanate
The Hetmanate or Zaporizhian Host was the Ruthenian Cossack state in the Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1782.The Hetmanate was founded by first Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising . In 1654 it pledged its allegiance to Muscovy during the Council of Pereyaslav,...
(Ukraine
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...
) in the end of 1735 and the Crimean khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
's military 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...
in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. In 1736, the Russian commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
s envisioned the seizure of Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
and the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
.
In 1735, on the eve of the war, the Russians made peace with Persia, giving back all the territory conquered during the Russo-Persian War.
On May 20, 1736, the Russian Dnieper Army (62,000 men) under the command of Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Burkhard Christoph von Munnich
Burkhard Christoph von Munnich
Count Burkhard Christoph von Münnich was a Danish-born German soldier-engineer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He was the major Russian Army reformer and founder of several elite military formations during the reign of Anna of Russia. As a statesman, he is...
took by storm the Turkish fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s at Perekop
Perekop
Perekop is a village located at the Perekop Isthmus connecting Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the Fortress Or Qapi that served as the gateway to Crimea...
and occupied Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray is a town in Central Crimea, centre of the Bakhchisaray raion , best known as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate...
on June 17. However, lack of supplies coupled with the outbreak of an epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
forced Münnich to retreat to Ukraine. On June 19, the Russian Don Army (28,000 men) under the command of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Peter Lacy
Peter Lacy
Count Peter von Lacy, or Pyotr Petrovich Lacy , as he was known in Russia , was one of the most successful Russian imperial commanders before Rumyantsev and Suvorov...
with the support from the Don Flotilla
Don Military Flotilla
The Don Military Flotilla was established in 1723 in Tavrov for countering Turkish vessels in the Sea of Azov. By 1735, the Russians had built 15 prams , some 60 galleys and other ships...
under the command of Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Peter Bredahl seized the fortress of Azov. In July 1737, the Münnich's Army took by storm the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. The Lacy Army (already 40,000 men strong) marched into the Crimea the same month, inflicting a number of defeats on the Army of the Crimean Khan and capturing Karasubazar. However, Lacy and his troops had to leave the Crimea due to lack of supplies.
In July 1737, Austria entered the war against Ottoman Empire, but was defeated a number of times, among others in the Battle of Banja Luka
Battle of Banja Luka
The battle of Banja Luka was a battle in which the Ottomans, led by Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha, defeated the Holy Roman Empire. It took place on 4 August 1737 near the Bosnian town of Banja Luka...
. In August, Russia, Austria and Ottoman Empire began negotiation
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy...
s in Nemirov, which would turn out to be fruitless. There were no significant military operations in 1738. The Russian Army had to leave Ochakov and Kinburn
Kinburn
Kinburn can mean the following:Places:*Kinburn Peninsula in Ukraine, on the Black Sea, forming the south shore of the Dnieper river estuary...
due to the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
outbreak.
The final stage of the war
In 1739, the MünnichBurkhard Christoph von Munnich
Count Burkhard Christoph von Münnich was a Danish-born German soldier-engineer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He was the major Russian Army reformer and founder of several elite military formations during the reign of Anna of Russia. As a statesman, he is...
army crosseed the Dnieper, defeated the Turks
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...
at Stavuchany
Battle of Stavuchany
The Battle of Stavuchany was a battle between the Russian and Ottoman armies, which took place on August 17 of 1739 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739....
and occupied the fortress of Khotin (August 19) and Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
. However, Austria was defeated by the Turks at Grocka
Battle of Grocka
The Battle of Grocka, also known as Battle of Krotzka, was fought between Austria and the Ottoman Empire on July 21–22, 1739, in Grocka, Belgrade. The Turks were victorious and took the city of Belgrade. The battle was part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.-Battle:The Austrians had direct orders from...
and signed the separate Belgrade Peace Treaty with the Ottoman Empire on August 21. This, coupled with the imminent threat of the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
, forced Russia to sign the Treaty of Niš with Turkey on September 29, which ended the war.