Anapa campaign (1787) | |||||||
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Part of Sheikh Mansur Movement | |||||||
Map of the Kuban River in October 1787, with Sheikh Mansur at the top–left | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Sheikh Mansur Movement | Tsardom of Russia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Sheikh Mansur | Maxim Rebinder General Ratiev | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
11,000 | 8,000 men 35 cannons | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | 200+ killed large number of wounded |
The Anapa campaign (1787) was a military expedition launched by the Russians to capture the fortress of Anapa. The Russians failed to capture the fort.
The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia on August 13, 1787. The Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great declared war against the Ottomans in response. These events made the Ottomans establish an alliance with the Chechen leader, Sheikh Mansur. The Ottomans sent expensive presents, hoping to recruit the Caucasians to join them in their ranks. Imam Mansur was also seeking help from the Ottomans against the Russians, saying that he exhaustively fought the Russians continuously. The Ottoman sultan dispatched a clock and binoculars as a gift and recognized Mansur as the leader of the Caucasian people. [1] [ unreliable source? ] The Ottomans also dispatched the governor of Trabzon, Kose Mustafa Pasha, to Anapa in order to support Imam Mansur. Mansur learned of the Ottoman march and went to meet them. [2] [ unreliable source? ]
Catherine dispatched an army to conquer the Ottoman fortress of Anapa, and Tsemez, a Russian force consisting of 8,000 men and 35 cannons, led by General Potemkin, was marching towards Anapa. Mansur was marching as well; however, he encountered the Russian army in Obun, a place between Laba and Urup. [3] [ unreliable source? ] [4] [ unreliable source? ] [2] [ unreliable source? ] Imam Mansur's force was 7,000 men, consisting of people from Circassia, Chechenia, Kuban, and the Nogais. [3] Mansur fought the Russians from September 20 to 22. The Chechens weren't able to compete with the Russians, so they withdrew. Immediately after this battle, Potemkin marched to Anapa and arrived there on September 25. The Russians thought Anapa was abandoned; [3] [ unreliable source? ] [4] [ unreliable source? ] [2] [ unreliable source? ] however, the Imam with a detachment of 300 people, under the cover of darkness, attacked the rearguard of the Russian troops and almost crushed it, After a two-hour battle, Mansur's warriors retreated. [5] [ unreliable source ]
On the same day, General Ratiev and his troops received an order to retreat beyond the Kuban. The main goal for this campaign did not end in success. Russian troops failed to capture the rebel imam and defeat his troops. In the battle with the Caucasians, the Russians suffered significant losses. Up to 200 people were killed, and there were also a large number of wounded. In this regard, on September 25, Potemkin ordered the troops to return to the shores of the Kuban. [6] [ unreliable source ]
Imam Shamil was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in the 1800s, the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (1840–1859), and a Sunni Muslim sheikh of the Naqshbandi Sufis.
Sheikh Mansur was a Chechen military commander and Islamic leader who led an anti-Russian North Caucasian resistance, known as the Sheikh Mansur Movement. He was influential in the resistance against Catherine the Great's imperialist expansion into the Caucasus during the late 18th century. Sheikh Mansur is considered the first leader of the resistance in the North Caucasus against Russian imperialism. He remains a hero of the Chechen and North Caucasian peoples in general, and their struggle for independence.
The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 involved an unsuccessful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to regain lands lost to the Russian Empire in the course of the previous Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). It took place concomitantly with the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791), Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) and Theatre War.
The Russo-Circassian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Circassia, was the invasion of Circassia by Russia, starting in 1763 (O.S) with the Russian Empire assuming authority in Circassia, followed by the Circassian refusal, and ending 100 years, 10 months and 6 days later with the last army of Circassia defeated on 21 May 1864 (O.S), making it exhausting and casualty-heavy for both sides. The Russo-Circassian War was the longest war both Russia and Circassia have ever fought and the longest war in the Caucasus region.
The Battle of Aldy, also known as the Battle of the Sunzha River was a failed military expedition launched by the Russian Empire with the aim of capturing Sheikh Mansur, who, through his speeches and teachings had gained a wide following the North Caucasus, especially in his hometown Aldy. His teachings on Jihad ("Gazavat") and his idea of the unification of the North Caucasian tribes under a single Islamic state concerned the Russian administration, who, as a result, sent a 3,000 strong force under Nikolai de Pieri in order to capture him.
The Chechen–Russian conflict was the centuries-long ethnic and political conflict, often armed, between the Russian, Soviet and Imperial Russian governments and various Chechen forces. The recent phase of the conflict started after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and ended with the oppression of Chechen separatist leaders and crushing of the separatist movement in the republic proper in 2017.
The siege of Anapa or the storming of Anapa was a siege that took place on July 3, 1791, when the Russian Empire attacked the Turkish-regulated Anapa fort in Circassia as part of the Russo-Turkish War and the Russo-Circassian War.
The Battle of Grigoriopolis, or the siege of Grigoriopolis was a 2 day long siege of the Grigoripolis Redoubt by Sheikh Mansur's forces which ultimately failed and forced the North Caucasians to retreat.
The Battle of Tatartup took place on 21 November 1785 between the Russian Empire and several North Caucasian nations led by Sheikh Mansur and ended in a second major defeat for the latter, which led to most of his soldiers leaving him, after which he took refuge in Anapa.
The siege of Kizlyar in July 1785 was the second major confrontation between the Russian Empire and the forces of Sheikh Mansur. The North Caucasians hoped to capture the fortress of Kizlyar, which was the Russian economic center of the North Caucasus. After fierce fighting, they failed however as the fortress was well fortified and defended. After retreating, the Russian command sent the Tomsk infantry to attack the rebels as a show of strength and also to push them away from Kizlyar, but the regiment was forced to retreat with heavy losses, ending the 4 day long Siege of Kizlyar in no deciding victory for either side.
The siege of Kizlyar in August 1785 was the second and final attempt of Chechen forces and Kumyk allies led by Sheikh Mansur to capture the Kizlyar fortress.
The Battle of Kachkalikov, also known as the Battle of Ghachalq, was a surprise attack conducted by Chechen fighters of the Kachkalikov clan led by Ibba-Mullah, on a Russian army led by Colonel Savalyev on January 17, 1787.
The Anapa Campaign in the winter of 1790 was a military expedition launched by Russia to capture the fortress of Anapa. The expedition failed.
The Attack on Karginsk took place on 14 July 1785. Sheikh Mansur attacked Karginsk Redoubt with his army of North Caucasians before advancing on Kizlyar, which ended in a success for the former and his capture and looting of the redoubt. The attack was the first victory of Sheikh Mansur outside of Chechnya.
The Anapa campaign in 1788 was a military expedition launched by the Russians to capture the fortress of Anapa. The expedition ended in failure for the Russian army.
The Sheikh Mansur Movement, also known as the 1785–1791 Insurgency in the North Caucasus, was a major war between the Russian Empire and the North Caucasians, caused by the Chechen religious and military leader Sheikh Mansur, who opposed the Russian expansionist policies and wanted to unite the North Caucasians under one, single, Islamic state.
On January 16, 1788, Chechen fighters attempted to attack a plantation near Chervlyonnaya, spurred by Sheikh Mansur's letters urging them to attack Russian settlements. However, the Russian Empire repelled the attack.
The Battle of the Tokhtamysh River, also known as the Battle of the Abazinka River, was a major battle between the Ottoman forces and the North Caucasians with a Russian army led by Johann Hermann von Fersen. The battle ended in a major Russian victory and forced the Ottomans and North Caucasians to flee. The main commander of the combined army, Batal Hussein Pasha, was captured, however, according to some sources, Batal surrendered himself without a fight to the Russians and betrayed his army.
The Battle of the Shibza River was a short battle between Russian forces led by Yuri Bibikov and combined Turkish–Circassian troops led by Aji Mustafa Pasha. It ended in a Russian victory.
The siege of Anapa of 1788 was a major confrontation between the North Caucasians led by Sheikh Mansur and Turkish troops led by the commander of Anapa, Tatal-Bey, with a Russian force led by General Peter Tekeli. During the battle, the Russian army managed to force the Turks and North Caucasians into the fortress, after which they began besieging it. However, according to General Tekeli, the Russian army was not ready to storm Anapa yet, and if they managed to capture fortress, it would be difficult to hold. Thus, the Russian troops retreated from Anapa on October 15, 1788, and, except for minor skirmishes with Circassian mountaineers, the iege of Anapa was the last major battle of the campaign and the year 1788 as a whole.