Siege of Lazarevsky

Last updated
Siege of Lazarevsky
Part of Russo-Circassian War
Plan forta Lazareva.jpg
Plan of the fort
DateFebruary 7, 1840
Location
Lazarevsky Fort, Black Sea Coastline (East coast of the Black Sea )
Result
  • Circassian victory
  • Lazarevsky fort destroyed by Circassians
  • 12 Circassian villages massacred by Russian authorities as "punishment campaign"
Belligerents
Flag of Russia.svg Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Circassian flag.svg Kizbech Tughujuqo [1]
Circassian flag.svg Ismail Berzeg
Circassian flag.svg Beyarslan Berzeg
Circassian flag.svg Mehmed Ali  [2]
Flag of Russia.svg Captain Marchenko  [3]
Flag of Russia.svg Lieutenant P. Fedorov [4]
Flag of Russia.svg Ensign V. Fedorov  [5]
Flag of Russia.svg Ensign Burachkov 
Strength
1,000 tribesmen 78—192 garrison forces
8 naval guns
Casualties and losses
150 Entire garrison killed

The siege of Lazarevsky took place during the Russo-Circassian War on the night of February 7, 1840. [6] After a 3-hour battle, the fortification was taken by the Circassians. [7] [8] The fort was then destroyed by Circassians, who did not want hostile elements in their land.

Contents

History

Siege

Lazarevsky Fort was built in 1839 on the eastern coast of the Black Sea at the mouth of the Psezuapse River. [9] In December 1839, Circassian spy Musa Shogen penetrated the Russian fortress of Lazarevsk, claiming to be fleeing from feuds. He remained in the fortification for three months and informed the Circassians outside, who were waiting to hear from him, about the situation in the enemy camp, the number of soldiers and weapons in the fortress. [10]

The garrison of the Lazarevsky Fort consisted of the 4th Musketeer Company of the Tenginsky Infantry Regiment and a team of Cossacks of the Azov Cossack Host. Also in the fortification were 8 different types of naval guns and defence weapons. On the night of February 7, 1840, Musa Shogen sneaked out of the fort and returned to his own community. At dawn, he guided the Circassian army to the doors of the castle. [11] After a 3-hour battle, the fortification was taken by the Circassians. [12] [13] The fort was then destroyed by Circassians, who did not want hostile elements in their land.

Result

The commander of the 4th Musketeer Company of the Tenginsky Infantry Regiment, Captain Marchenko, was the military commander of the Lazarevsky Fort at the time. [14] He was criticized for showing a humiliating performance in the defence of the fort. [15] [16]

After this victory, however, Circassians were not pleased. Expecting genocidal revenge from the Russians, the Circassians of the nearby villages from the early morning of May 23 began to pack their things and move to the mountains. On May 28, a large Russian detachment headed for the mountains and completely massacred 12 Circassian villages, after which the Circassians of other villages fled further into the mountains. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sochi</span> City in Krasnodar Krai, Russia

Sochi is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, and up to 600,000 residents in the urban area. The city covers an area of 176.77 square kilometers (68.25 sq mi), while the Greater Sochi Area covers over 3,502 square kilometers (1,352 sq mi). Sochi stretches across 145 kilometers (90 mi), and is the longest city in Europe, the fifth-largest city in the Southern Federal District, the second-largest city in Krasnodar Krai, and the sixth-largest city on the Black Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balkars</span> North Caucasian Turkic ethnic group

Balkars are a Turkic ethnic group in the North Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circassians</span> Northwest Caucasian ethnic group native to Circassia

The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in the North Caucasus. As a consequence of the Circassian genocide, which was perpetrated by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Circassian War in the 19th century, most of the Circassian people were exiled from their ancestral homeland and consequently began living in what was then the Ottoman Empire—that is, modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East. In the early 1990s, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Baryatinsky</span> Russian General and Field Marshal

Prince Aleksandr Ivanovich Baryatinsky was a Russian General and Field Marshal, Prince, governor of the Caucasus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terek Cossacks</span> Cossack host

The Terek Cossack Host was a Cossack host created in 1577 from free Cossacks who resettled from the Volga to the Terek River. The local aboriginal Terek Cossacks joined this Cossack host later. In 1792 it was included in the Caucasus Line Cossack Host and separated from it again in 1860, with the capital of Vladikavkaz. In 1916 the population of the Host was 255,000 within an area of 1.9 million desyatinas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caucasian War</span> 1817–1864 invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire

The Caucasian War or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series of military actions waged by the Russian Imperial Army and Cossack settlers against the native inhabitants such as the Adyghe, Abaza-Abkhazians, Ubykhs, Chechens, and Dagestanis as the Tsars sought to expand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azov Cossack Host</span> Cossack host on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov

Azov Cossack Host was a Cossack host that existed on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov, between 1832 and 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russo-Circassian War</span> Russian invasion and annexation of Circassia (1763–1864)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grigory Golitsyn</span>

Prince Grigory Sergeyevich Golitsyn was a Russian general and statesman from the princely Golitsyn family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian conquest of the Caucasus</span> 19th-century conquest of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire

The Russian conquest of the Caucasus mainly occurred between 1800 and 1864. The Russian Empire sought to control the region between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. South of the mountains was the territory that is modern Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Iran and Turkey. North of the mountains was the North Caucasus region of modern Russia. The difficult conquest of the intervening mountains is known as the Caucasian War. Multiple wars were fought against the local rulers of the regions, as well as the dominant powers, the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran, for control. By 1864 the last regions were brought under Russian control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Valerik River</span> Battle during the Caucasian War

The Battle of the Valerik River on 11 July 1840 was fought as part of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It occurred about 30 km southwest of the fortress of Groznaya between forces of the Imperial Russian Army and North Caucasian mountaineers led by the naib (viceroy) Ahberdila Muhammad. It remains famous because of the poem "Valerik" by Mikhail Lermontov, a participant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endirey</span> Village in Khasavyurtovsky District, Russia

Endirey is a village (selo) in the Khasavyurt District of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia. It is the center of the Endireyskoe Rural Settlement and has a population of 7,863 (2015). Endirey is an important historical center of the Kumyks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seferbiy Zaneqo</span> Circassian diplomat (1798–1860)

Seferbiy Zaneqo, or Sefer Pasha, was a Circassian diplomat and military commander who served as the 5th leader of the Circassian Confederation from 1859 to 1860. He took part in the Russo-Circassian War both in a military and a political capacity. Advocating for the Circassian cause in the west and acting as an emissary of the Ottoman Empire in the region. By the end of his life Zaneqo had emerged as the leader of the Circassian resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grigory Zass</span> Russian Imperial cavalry general (1797–1883)

Grigory Khristoforovich von Zass was an Imperial Russian general who commanded Russian cavalry troops in the Napoleonic Wars and Russo-Circassian War, initially gaining prominence for his genocidal actions against the Circassians, whom he reportedly saw as a "lowly race". He was the founder of the city of Armavir, Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jembulat Boletoqo</span> Circassian nobleman, military commander, and politician

Jembulat Boletoqo was a Circassian military commander, politician, nobleman and leader of the Temirgoy region. He was one of the most influential figures in the Russo-Circassian War. He had a big influence on the entire Trans-Kuban region. He was famous for his courage and tough will. He had great influence among all Circassians, including the Abadzekhs, with whom he was associated with.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolay Yevdokimov</span> Russian general

Count Nikolai Ivanovich Yevdokimov was a Russian infantry general who took part in the Caucasian War on both the western and eastern fronts. He played a major role in the Circassian genocide.

Circassians is a broad ethnonym of the Turkic origin, which in Russia, Turkey and Persia used to be, and in the case of Turkey is now, applied to peoples of different ethnicities living on the North Eastern and Eastern shores of the Black Sea, and in the Northern Caucasus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Khankala (1807)</span> Military action of Caucasian War

The battle of Khankala happened on 17 February 1807. In this action, the Khankala fortification was taken by storm. Russian forces entered Chechnya from three directions under the command of General of Infantry S. A. Bulgakov. The purpose of the expedition was to establish control over the strategically important Khankala Gorge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniyal Sultan</span>

Daniyal Sultan or Daniyal Bek was an ethnic Tsakhur nobleman, general-major of the Imperial Russian Army and in Ottoman Army and the last ruler of Elisu Sultanate. He is best known to be one of the naibs (viceroy), relatives, as well as a member of the close circle of Imam Shamil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheikh Mansur Movement</span>

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.

References

  1. Ghuaze - Ubıh casus Musa Şogen
  2. Archive Raevsky: in 5 volumes / ed. and note. B. L. Modzalevsky . - Ed. P. M. Raevsky
  3. Acts collected by the Caucasian Archaeographic Commission / Ed. A. P. Berger .
  4. Rakovich D.V. Tenginsky regiment in the Caucasus. 1819-1846
  5. Rakovich D.V. Tenginsky regiment in the Caucasus. 1819-1846
  6. Fadeev, 1935 , p. 147-148.
  7. AKAK, 1884 , p. 480-481, no. 415. Acts collected by the Caucasian Archaeographic Commission /
  8. Rakovich D.V. Tenginsky regiment in the Caucasus. 1819-1846
  9. Белевич 1910.
  10. Ghuaze - Ubıh casus Musa Şogen
  11. Fadeev, 1935 , p. 147-148.
  12. AKAK, 1884 , p. 480-481, no. 415. Acts collected by the Caucasian Archaeographic Commission /
  13. Rakovich D.V. Tenginsky regiment in the Caucasus. 1819-1846
  14. Fedorov, 1879 , p. 185-186.
  15. Yurov A. 1840, 1841 and 1842 in the Caucasus  // Caucasian collection .
  16. Rakovich D.V. Tenginsky regiment in the Caucasus. 1819-1846
  17. Karataev V. B. The Military Art and the Black Sea Coastline: the Amphibious Operations at the Mouth of the Psezuapse River in 1839—1840 years