Azov campaigns of Peter the Great 1 briefly

Preceding the era of Peter's national history left a lot of unresolved issues, and one of them - the lack of access to the seas, seriously hampered the development of the Russian state. Moscow Russia has always fought hard for the right to own the southern expanses. The development of any power depends on the possibility of entering the world trading arena and the ability to conduct a competent foreign policy. The lack of direct access to the sea deprived Russia of great opportunities.

The reasons for the trips to the Azov

The urgent need for further growth of the state arose at the turn of the century, marked by the reign of the great reformer Peter 1, who placed the main task of strengthening the internal unity of the country, strengthening its military power and increasing global importance. The search for ways to enter the world political arena led to the inevitability of conducting a southern military campaign, which was called the Azov campaigns of Peter 1. We briefly describe other causes of their occurrence.

Historians claim that for many centuries, the Crimean Tatars raids from Russian lands almost five million people were stolen into slavery. The need to resist the barbarous hunting for people has become another reason for the beginning of the southern campaigns. The Tsigirin campaigns of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich and Crimean expeditions of Prince Golitsyn, undertaken in the second half of the 17th century, did not bring proper results, leaving the issue of firm positions on the Black Sea lands unresolved. Therefore, young Peter could not help concentrating all his attention on solving the issues of border security and opening up opportunities for the country's foreign policy development with the access to the southern seas.

In the war that began in the 1670s with Turkey and the Crimea, Russia acted as part of the strongest powers - members of the Christian coalition. In the 1690s, Russia's allies - Poland and Austria - concluded agreements with Turkey on the terms of peace without taking into account Russian interests, as the history maintains. Peter the First put forward demands for the termination of raids and the possibility of free navigation of the Russian flotilla in the Azov and Black Seas. They were contested by the Turks for several years. Negotiations dragged on until 1694. Then Peter 1 decided to achieve the fulfillment of the conditions by force of arms.

The main goal was the fortress of Azov, located in the mouth of the Don and blocking the exit to the Black Sea. Its capture opened the way to Russia for the sea, gave the possibility of building a naval fleet and creating an outpost for further combat operations. The years of the Azov campaigns of Peter the Great became a turning point in the history of the country.

Plans for the first hike

With the courage and maximalism inherent in youthful age, the young emperor in early 1695 declared a campaign to the Crimea. This was the first Azov campaign of Peter the Great. For the disorientation and distraction of the enemy's attention from Azov in Moscow, a gathering of the warriors, going to the lower reaches of the Dnieper under BP Sheremetyev, was announced. At the same time, the Thirty-thousandth Azov Army secretly formed, consisting of the three best divisions under the command of Generals Lefort, Gordon, Golovin, armed with more than 100 mortars and 40 peeps.

The emperor himself was listed in the army by the bombardier Peter Alekseev. The command of the troops was not concentrated in the same hands. Important issues were resolved at military councils and approved by Peter 1.

The first trip to the Azov

The Azov campaigns of Peter the Great began in 1695. In the spring, the ten-thousandth avant-garde of Division Gordon, concentrating in Tambov, moved to Azov. He walked the steppe to Cherkassk, where the Don Cossacks joined him. The fortress of Azov, located on the left bank of the Don, near its mouth, was a citadel beautifully fortified from all sides.

At the end of June, Gordon reached his final goal and camped near the fortress. To disembark the main forces above Azov by the Kaysugi River, he built the Mytishevaya jetty. At the same time, the main forces reached the rivers Moscow, Volga and the Oka to Tsaritsyn, then overland to Panshin, and then again along the Don to Azov, dispersed at the beginning of July, settled south of the fortress, stretching to the Kagalnik River. The siege park and ammunition were temporarily stored at Mytishevoy pier, which became a kind of base, from where the delivery of shells to the army was arranged.

Siege began with the advance units of Gordon's troops in early July with the strongest bombardment of the fortress, as a result of which its walls were seriously damaged. But the city besieged from the land was kept at the expense of food and ammunition coming from the sea. The Russian troops were land forces, they had no strong fleet and could not prevent the enemy, which caused the siege to not bring the desired effect. The Turks, supported by the cavalry of the Crimean Tatars, who fought behind the walls of the citadel, made frequent sorties.

On the night of July 20, several units of the army of Peter I moved to the right bank of the main Don and, having built fortifications and armed the soldiers with artillery, got the opportunity to fire the city from the north. As soon as they approached the ramparts, Russian troops began the assault on August 5. Azov stood up. The siege lasted a long time, it was decided to re-storm. After breaking into the city through a small collapse from a mine explosion, Gordon's soldiers were crushed by Turkish troops. The attack failed again, the Turks forced the Russian troops to a general retreat. Azov campaigns of Peter the Great, in particular, the first of them, revealed mistakes and misses in the command and conduct of the siege battle.

Grieved by the setbacks and heavy losses, Peter gave a decision to end the siege: on Sept. 28, they began to disarm the batteries, and on October 2 all troops went to Moscow.

Successes Sheremetyev

The actions of Sheremetyev on the Dnieper somewhat compensated the bitterness of defeat in the Azov campaign. He took possession of two fortresses, ruined the citadels abandoned by the Turks. And although the failure in the main direction of military operations forced the young emperor to draw Sheremetyev's army to the borders, his contribution to the Azov campaigns of Peter the Great was considerable.

Preparing for a new campaign

Realizing the importance of achieving the set goals and analyzing the reasons for the setbacks, Peter 1 began preparations for the next southern campaign. He realized that the failure of this campaign was based on the absence of the fleet, and the successful conduct of military operations is possible only in a single interaction of the army and the military flotilla capable of blocking approaches to Azov from the sea, thus depriving it of replenishment of supplies with help from outside. Peter the Great, whose reigns were full of great events, ordered to start building ships in the Preobrazhensky and Voronezh, he headed the construction.

In parallel, the regiments of the new Azov army were formed, partially reinforced by Sheremetev's forces, a set of civilians and the call of the Cossacks. To fill the shortage of army engineer cadres, Peter addressed the heads of the Allied states, Poland and Austria.

The second southern hike

The Azov campaigns of Peter the Great continued. In the spring of 1696, the army under Generalissimo A. Shein, consisting of the divisions of the generals Gordon, Golovin and Rehman, totaling 75,000 men, was prepared for the Second Azov campaign. Over the winter they built a fleet, which Lefort began to command. It consisted of 2 ships, 23 galleys and 4 fire-ships. Peter 1 appointed Voronezh as the gathering point for the army, from where it was planned to send the bulk of the troops to Azov by land, and to transport artillery and the remaining formations by water. The infantry marched from Moscow on March 8 and by the end of the month, concentrating in Voronezh, proceeded to load ships, after which the army's main units headed for the fortress.

On May 19, the forward units of Gordon's division landed near Novosergievsk, slightly above Azov. The main echelon of Russian ships controlled the movement of the Turkish fleet standing in the roadstead. After several insignificant encounters the Turks did not dare to come up with an amphibious assault force to reinforce the city. Their squadron went into the sea, not doing anything to save the citadel. The garrison of the fortress did not expect a second siege. Using this omission, the Russian troops, which had come up to the beginning of June, strengthened the camps, occupied completely preserved approaches and began to install artillery.

Siege of the Fortress

The second siege of Azov by Peter I was much more successful. And although the Tatars, dispersed across the steppe, periodically attacked the besiegers, but the garrison of Azov, isolated from the outside world, was not very active. He directed the siege work of Generalissimo Shein. The ships of Peter the Great stood in the roadstead, he himself was in the sea and only occasionally moved ashore to monitor the course of military operations.

Developments

The fortnightly bombardment of the citadel, begun in mid-June, did not bring the desired results - the ramparts and walls were not seriously damaged. Then it was found an unusual, but effective solution: to erect a higher than a serf, a shaft, move it to the wall and, falling asleep a moat, begin the assault. It was a gigantic job. Every day 15 thousand people were engaged in it: at the same time two shafts were built, and the outer one was intended for installation of artillery. The Austrian specialists, engineers, miners and gunners who came to the army led the work, applying the latest methods of military engineering of that time.

The capture of Azov by Peter 1 in 1696

The capture of Azov happened quickly: in the middle of July the Zaporozhians, tired of the long siege, together with the Don Cossacks, made a sudden attack on the citadel and, having captured a part of the earth wall, forced the Turks to retreat. This success decided the final outcome of the war. Thus ended the Azov campaigns of Peter 1. Briefly and powerfully repulsing several unsuccessful counterattacks, the Russian formations offered to surrender. The besieged Turks began negotiations on the terms of surrender. On July 19 the army of Peter entered Azov.

It is difficult to overestimate the significance of this victory for Russia and the youngest king who started the country's reign with the triumphant victory that the Azov campaigns of Peter the First brought. The comparison table of the historical events of both campaigns shows how quickly the emperor analyzed and evaluated the mistakes, how brilliantly they were corrected.