The day of the capture of the Turkish fortress "Izmail". Izmail: where it is, map, fortress and other attractions

Capture of Ishmael

The assault on Izmail - the siege and assault in 1790 of the Turkish fortress of Izmail by Russian troops under the command of Chief General A.V. Suvorov, during Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791.

The assault on Izmail in 1790 was undertaken on the orders of the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, Field Marshal General G. A. Potemkin. Neither N.V. Repnin (1789), nor I.V. Gudovich, nor P.S. Potemkin (1790) could solve this problem, after which G.A. Potemkin entrusted the task to A.V. Suvorov.

Having arrived near Izmail on December 2 (13), Suvorov spent six days preparing for the assault, including training troops to storm models of the high fortress walls of Izmail. Near Izmail, in the area of ​​the current village of Safyany in as soon as possible earthen and wooden analogues of the moat and walls of Izmail were built - the military personnel trained to throw fascist weapons into the moat, quickly set up ladders, and after climbing the wall, they quickly stabbed and chopped down the stuffed animals installed there, simulating defenders. Suvorov inspected the exercises and was generally satisfied: his trusted troops did everything as they should. But, undoubtedly, he understood the complexity of the assault and its unpredictability. Even in the first days of the siege, having just arrived near Izmail, Suvorov, inconspicuously dressed and on a lousy horse (so as not to attract the attention of the Turks), accompanied by only one orderly, rode around the perimeter of the fortress. The conclusion was disappointing: “A fortress without weak points“, were his words to the headquarters based on the results of her examination. Many years later, Suvorov more than once confessed about Izmail in a fit of frankness: “You could only decide to storm such a fortress once in your life...”. Shortly before the assault, Suvorov sent an extremely short and clear letter-ultimatum in Suvorov style to the commander of the fortress, the great serasker Aidozle-Mehmet Pasha: “I arrived here with the troops. Twenty-four hours for reflection - and freedom. My first shot is already bondage. Assault is death." The great serasker’s answer was worthy: “The Danube would sooner flow backwards and the sky would fall to the ground than Ishmael would surrender.” It was clear to Suvorov and his headquarters: the Turks would fight to the death, especially since the Sultan’s firman was known, where he promised to execute everyone who left the Izmail fortress - the remnants of the Turkish troops defeated in Bessarabia gathered in Izmail, whom the Sultan actually sentenced for his failures to either die with honor in battle with the Russians, or with shame from their executioners. For two days, Suvorov conducted artillery preparation, and on December 11 (22), at 5:30 a.m., the assault on the fortress began. By 8 a.m. all the fortifications were occupied, but resistance on the city streets continued until 4 p.m.

Turkish losses amounted to 29 thousand people killed. The losses of the Russian army amounted to 4 thousand people killed and 6 thousand wounded. All the guns, 400 banners, huge reserves of provisions and jewelry worth 10 million piastres were captured. M. I. Kutuzov, the future famous commander, winner of Napoleon, was appointed commandant of the fortress.

December 24 is the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the capture of the Turkish fortress of Izmail by Russian troops under the command of A.V. Suvorov.

Assault on Izmail

Background

Not wanting to come to terms with the results of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, Turkey in July 1787 demanded from Russia the return of Crimea, the renunciation of Georgian protection and consent to inspect Russian merchant ships passing through the straits. Having not received a satisfactory answer, the Turkish government declared war on Russia on August 12 (23), 1787. In turn, Russia decided to take advantage of the situation to expand its possessions in the Northern Black Sea region by completely displacing Turkish troops from there.

In October 1787, Russian troops under the command of A.V. Suvorov almost completely destroyed the 6,000-strong Turkish landing force that intended to capture the mouth of the Dnieper on the Kinburn Spit. Despite the brilliant victories of the Russian army near Ochakov in 1788, at Focshan and on the Rymnik River in 1789, as well as the victories of the Russian fleet at Ochakov, and Fidonisi in 1788, in Kerch Strait and near the island of Tendra in 1790, the enemy did not agree to accept the peace terms that Russia insisted on, and in every possible way delayed the negotiations. Russian military leaders and diplomats were aware that the successful completion of peace negotiations with Turkey would be greatly facilitated by the capture of Izmail.

The Izmail fortress lay on the left bank of the Kiliya branch of the Danube between lakes Yalpukh and Katlabukh, on a gently sloping slope ending at the Danube bed with a low but rather steep slope. The strategic importance of Izmail was very great: the routes from Galati, Khotin, Bender and Kilia converged here; this was the most comfortable spot for an invasion from the north beyond the Danube into Dobruja. By the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1792, the Turks, under the leadership of German and French engineers, turned Izmail into a powerful fortress with a high rampart and a wide ditch with a depth of 3 to 5 fathoms (6.4 - 10.7 m), in places filled with water. There were 260 guns on 11 bastions. The garrison of Izmail consisted of 35 thousand people under the command of serasker Aidozly Muhammad Pasha. However, according to other sources, the Turkish garrison at the time of the assault on Izmail consisted of up to 15 thousand people, and it could have increased due to local residents. Part of the garrison was commanded by Kaplan Giray, the brother of the Crimean Khan, who was assisted by his five sons. The Sultan was very angry with his troops for all the previous capitulations and ordered with a firman that in the event of the fall of Ishmael, everyone from his garrison should be executed, wherever he was found.

Siege and assault of Izmail

In 1790, after capturing the fortresses of Kiliya, Tulcha and Isakcha, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Prince G. A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky, gave the order to the detachments of generals I. V. Gudovich, P. S. Potemkin and the flotilla of General de Ribas to capture Izmail. However, their actions were hesitant.

On November 26, the military council decided to lift the siege of the fortress due to the approach of winter. The commander-in-chief did not approve this decision and ordered General-in-Chief A.V. Suvorov, whose troops were stationed at Galati, to take command of the units besieging Izmail. Having taken command on December 2, Suvorov returned the troops retreating from the fortress to Izmail and blocked it from land and from the Danube River. Having completed the preparations for the assault in 6 days, Suvorov sent an ultimatum to the commandant of Izmail on December 7 (18), 1790, demanding that he surrender the fortress no later than 24 hours from the date of delivery of the ultimatum. The ultimatum was rejected. On December 9, the military council assembled by Suvorov decided to immediately begin the assault, which was scheduled for December 11.

The attacking troops were divided into 3 detachments (wings) of 3 columns each. Major General de Ribas's detachment (9,000 people) attacked from the river side; the right wing under the command of Lieutenant General P. S. Potemkin (7,500 people) was supposed to strike from the western part of the fortress; the left wing of Lieutenant General A. N. Samoilov (12,000 people) - from the east. Brigadier Westphalen's cavalry reserves (2,500 men) were on the land side. In total, Suvorov's army numbered 31 thousand people, including 15 thousand irregulars. Suvorov planned to begin the assault at 5 a.m., about 2 hours before dawn. Darkness was needed for the surprise of the first blow and the capture of the rampart; then it was unprofitable to fight in the dark, since it made it difficult to control the troops. Anticipating stubborn resistance, Suvorov wanted to have as much daylight as possible at his disposal.

On December 10 (21), at sunrise, preparations began for an assault by fire from the flank batteries, from the island and from the flotilla ships. It lasted almost a day and ended 2.5 hours before the start of the assault. On this day, the Russians lost 3 officers and 155 lower ranks killed, 6 officers and 224 lower ranks wounded. The assault did not come as a surprise to the Turks. They were prepared every night for a Russian attack; in addition, several defectors revealed Suvorov's plan to them.

Beginning of the assault (dark)

At 3 o'clock in the morning on December 11 (22), 1790, the first signal flare went up, according to which the troops left the camp and, forming columns, set out to the places designated by distance. At half past five in the morning the columns moved to attack.

Before the others, the 2nd column of Major General Boris Lassi approached the fortress. At 6 o'clock in the morning, under a hail of enemy bullets, Lassi's rangers overcame the rampart, and a fierce battle ensued at the top. The Absheron riflemen and Phanagorian grenadiers of the 1st column of Major General S. L. Lvov overthrew the enemy and, having captured the first batteries and the Khotyn Gate, united with the 2nd column. The Khotyn gates were open to the cavalry. At the same time, at the opposite end of the fortress, the 6th column of Major General M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov captured the bastion at the Kiliya Gate and occupied the rampart up to the neighboring bastions.

The greatest difficulties befell the 3rd column of Fyodor Meknob. She stormed the large northern bastion, adjacent to it to the east, and the curtain wall between them. In this place, the depth of the ditch and the height of the rampart were so great that the ladders of 5.5 fathoms (about 11.7 m) turned out to be short, and they had to be tied together two at a time under fire. The main bastion was taken.

The fourth and fifth columns (Colonel V.P. Orlov and Brigadier M.I. Platov, respectively) also completed the tasks assigned to them, overcoming the rampart in their sectors.

The landing troops of Major General Osip Deribas in three columns, under the cover of the rowing fleet, moved at a signal to the fortress and formed a battle formation in two lines. The landing began at about 7 o'clock in the morning. It was carried out quickly and accurately, despite the resistance of more than 10 thousand Turks and Tatars. The success of the landing was greatly facilitated by Lvov's column, which attacked the Danube coastal batteries in the flank, and by the actions of ground forces on the eastern side of the fortress.

The first column of Major General N.D. Arsenyev, which sailed on 20 ships, landed on the shore and divided into several parts. A battalion of Kherson grenadiers under the command of Colonel V.A. Zubov captured a very tough cavalier, losing 2/3 of its people. The battalion of Livonian rangers, Colonel Count Roger Damas, occupied the battery that lined the shore.

Other units also captured the fortifications lying in front of them. The third column of brigadier E.I. Markov landed at the western end of the fortress under grapeshot fire from the Tabiy redoubt.

Fighting inside the city (day)

When daylight arrived, it became clear that the rampart had been taken, the enemy had been driven out of the fortress tops and was retreating to inner part cities. Russian columns with different sides They moved towards the city center - Potemkin on the right, Cossacks from the north, Kutuzov on the left, de Ribas on the river side.

A new battle has begun. Particularly fierce resistance continued until 11 am. Several thousand horses, rushing out of the burning stables, raced madly through the streets and increased the confusion. Almost every house had to be taken in battle. Around noon, Lassi, who was the first to climb the ramparts, was the first to reach the middle of the city. Here he met a thousand Tatars under the command of Maksud Giray, a prince of Genghis Khan's blood. Maksud Giray defended himself stubbornly, and only when most of His detachment was killed and surrendered with 300 soldiers remaining alive.

To support the infantry and ensure success, Suvorov ordered the introduction of 20 light guns into the city to clear the streets of the Turks with grapeshot. At one o'clock in the afternoon, in essence, victory was won. However, the battle was not over yet. The enemy tried to attack individual Russian detachments or settled in strong buildings as citadels.

At two o'clock in the afternoon all columns penetrated into the city center. By 16 o'clock last defenders were killed, some of the exhausted and wounded Turks surrendered. The noise of battle ceased, Ishmael fell.

Results of the assault

The losses of the Turks were enormous; more than 26 thousand people were killed alone. 9 thousand were taken prisoner, of which 2 thousand died from their wounds the next day. In Izmail, 265 guns, up to 3 thousand pounds of gunpowder, 20 thousand cannonballs and many other military supplies, up to 400 banners, blood-stained defenders, 8 lançons, 12 ferries, 22 light ships and a lot of rich booty that went to the army, totaling up to 10 million piastres (over 1 million rubles). In the Russian army, 64 officers (1 brigadier, 17 staff officers, 46 chief officers) and 1816 privates were killed; 253 officers (including three major generals) and 2,450 lower ranks were wounded. The total losses of the army during the assault amounted to 4,582 people. The fleet lost 95 killed and 278 wounded.

Suvorov took measures to ensure order. Kutuzov, appointed commandant of Izmail, in important places posted guards. A huge hospital was opened inside the city. The bodies of the killed Russians were taken outside the city and buried according to church rites. There were so many Turkish corpses that the order was given to throw the bodies into the Danube, and prisoners were assigned to this work, divided into queues. But even with this method, Ishmael was cleared of corpses only after 6 days. The prisoners were sent in batches to Nikolaev under the escort of Cossacks.

Suvorov expected to receive the rank of field marshal general for the assault on Izmail, but Potemkin, petitioning the empress for his award, proposed awarding him with a medal and the rank of guard lieutenant colonel or adjutant general. The medal was knocked out, and Suvorov was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. There were already ten such lieutenant colonels; Suvorov became eleventh. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Prince G. A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky, having arrived in St. Petersburg, received as a reward a field marshal's uniform, embroidered with diamonds, worth 200 thousand rubles, the Tauride Palace; In Tsarskoe Selo, it was planned to build an obelisk for the prince depicting his victories and conquests. Oval silver medals were distributed to the lower ranks; for officers who have not received the Order of St. George or Vladimir, a golden cross was installed on St. George's ribbon; the chiefs received orders or golden swords, some received ranks.

The conquest of Ishmael was of great political significance. It influenced the further course of the war and the conclusion of the Peace of Iasi between Russia and Turkey in 1792, which confirmed the annexation of Crimea to Russia and established the Russian-Turkish border along the Dniester River. Thus, the entire northern Black Sea region from the Dniester to the Kuban was assigned to Russia.

The anthem “The Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!”, which until 1816 was considered the unofficial anthem of the Russian Empire, was dedicated to the victory at Izmail.

At sunrise on December 10, artillery preparation began, which continued all day, especially intensifying from 12 o'clock at night. The Russians fired 607 guns (40 field guns and 567 naval guns). The Turks responded with fire from 300 guns. Gradually the firing from the fortress began to weaken and finally stopped. The fire from Russian guns caused losses to the fortress garrison and suppressed Turkish artillery.

At 3 a.m. on December 11, 1790, the first signal racket went up in the darkness of the night. At this signal, Russian troops moved from their starting position to the places designated by order of Suvorov. The rifle and work teams approached the ditch. At 4 o'clock the second rocket took off, which meant that it was time to form columns and teams in the battle formation established for the assault and begin moving towards the walls of the fortress. At 5 o'clock. 30 min. In the morning, the third rocket rose, with the appearance of which the Russian troops moved to attack the fortress.

In darkness and fog, Russian assault columns quickly approached the walls of Izmail. At this time, Russian artillery began firing at the fortress with blank shells, which masked the approach of the assault columns.

The Turks did not fire until the Russians had approached within 400 steps. When the first ranks of Russian fighters reached this distance, Turkish artillery fired grapeshot at the approaching columns. Despite the fire, Russian soldiers, running up to the ditch, skillfully threw fascines at it or bravely forded it, although the water reached their shoulders. In front of the columns were riflemen and sappers with axes and shovels, and reserves moved behind.

Russian soldiers attached ladders that were up to 10 meters long to the walls of the fortress. However, in some places the walls were even higher. We had to connect two 10-meter ladders. Often the shaky ladders fell, but the Russian soldiers climbed up, helping each other. The soldiers climbed along sheer walls and a steep rampart, sticking bayonets and blades into it. Those who climbed the walls of the fortress lowered ropes from them and fought hand-to-hand combat with the Turks, who shot point-blank, pushed away ladders, and threw hand bombs.

The best Russian shooters at that time stood on the edge of the ditch and, seizing the moment of the flash of gun shots, accurately shot at the Turks who were on the walls of the fortress.

Already at 6 o'clock. on the morning of December 11, the fighters of the second column of Major General Lassi, in front of which Major L. Ya. Neklyudov walked with arrows, climbed the rampart and captured the lunette to the left of the Tabiya redoubt.

Leading his riflemen to the assault, Second Major L. Ya. Neklyudov showed an example of courage by personal example. Ahead of the fighters, L. Ya. Neklyudov was the first to cross the ditch and the first to climb the ramparts. Throwing himself at the Turks standing on the wall, L. Ya. Neklyudov began the battle on the fortifications of Izmail and was seriously wounded. The soldiers saved L. Ya. Neklyudov, one of the bravest participants in the assault on Izmail, who was the first to enter the fortress wall.

When these events developed to the left of the Tabia redoubt, the first column of Major General Lvov, due to the impossibility of a frontal attack, bypassed the Tabia stone redoubt with right side, but due to the brutal fire of the Turkish batteries she could not take it. The Turks, meanwhile, launched a strong counterattack on the second column, during which Major General Lassi was wounded. Suvorov’s favorites, the Phanagorian grenadiers under the command of Colonel Zolotukhin, fought especially successfully in this sector; The grenadiers managed to break open the Brossky and Khotinsky gates, let the reserve inside the fortress and connect with the Lassi column. Replacing the wounded Lassi, Colonel Zolotukhin took command of the second column. Meanwhile, Lvov's first column, continuing to attack aggressively, captured several Turkish batteries and broke into the fortress, where it united with the second column.

The column of Major General Meknob found itself in a difficult situation, which, instead of the curtain at the Khotyn Gate indicated to it by order of Suvorov, attacked the large bastion in the northwestern corner of the fortress, as well as the adjacent bastion and the curtain between them. Here the fortress rampart had the smallest height, and therefore this area was defended by the commandant of the fortress Aidozli-Mehmet Pasha himself with selected Janissaries. At the very beginning of the assault, Major General Meknob was wounded. He was replaced by Colonel Khvostov, who stood at the head of the soldiers going on the attack; Breaking the fierce resistance of the Turks, Russian soldiers overcame the rampart and pushed the Turks into the depths of the fortress.

From the north-eastern side, the Cossack column of Brigadier Orlov acted, which began to climb the rampart, but at that time the Turks made a sortie from the Bendery Gate with significant forces. A.V. Suvorov vigilantly watched the assault. Seeing that the enemy had struck Orlov’s Cossacks on the flank, he sent reinforcements to their aid - an infantry battalion, seven cavalry squadrons and a Cossack regiment. The Turkish counterattack was repulsed, but Orlov’s column was still unable to capture the rampart.

The column of Brigadier Platov, advancing along the ravine, encountered an obstacle - a curtain, which, crossing a stream flowing through the ravine, formed a dam with a depth above the waist. The Cossacks forded the dam. The Turks counterattacked Platov's column, cut it in two and threw it into the ditch. But thanks to the infantry battalion sent by Suvorov to help, Platov soon took possession of the curtain. Following this, part of Platov’s troops moved to support Orlov’s column, and the other part entered into cooperation with Arsenyev’s landing brigade advancing from the south.

From the eastern side, Russian troops stormed the most powerful fortification of Izmail - the New Fortress. Here the Turks met the sixth column going to attack with a hail of bullets and grapeshot. It was commanded by Major General M. I. Kutuzov. The soldiers of the column, led by Kutuzov, managed to climb the wall of the New Fortress. However, the Turks did not allow the initial success to develop. Attacking from all sides, not allowing the Russian soldiers to spread along the wall and penetrate deep into the eastern bastion, they immediately counterattacked with a 10,000-strong detachment. The Turks suppressed the Cossacks from Kutuzov's column with their numerical superiority and pushed them into a ditch filled with water. To help the Cossacks, who were armed only with short wooden faces that could not withstand the blows of Turkish scimitars, Kutuzov sent a battalion of Bug rangers. Having arrived in time to help, the rangers held back the Turkish hordes with a powerful bayonet strike, and then began to push back. Kutuzov himself, with a saber in his hands, fought in the first row of the attackers. Under the blows of Russian soldiers, the Turks retreated.

Developing this success, Kutuzov took from the reserve another battalion of Bug rangers, which continued to push back the Turks and expanded the captured sections of the fortress wall. The Turks fought like suicide bombers - they remembered the Sultan’s order to put to death every surviving warrior in the event of the surrender of the fortress. In the darkness, a bloody hand-to-hand battle took place on the rampart, near the bridge and near the ditch. New reinforcements were constantly arriving to the Turks. Concentrating fresh forces in numbers that far exceeded Kutuzov’s detachment, the Turks repeated a powerful counterattack.

Twice Kutuzov climbed the rampart, dragging the troops with him to the assault, and twice the enemy threw them back. Suffering heavy losses, Kutuzov asked Suvorov for support, but received the answer that a report about the capture of Izmail had already been sent to Russia, and he appointed Kutuzov himself as commandant of the fortress. Then Kutuzov gathered the Bug rangers, took his last reserve (two battalions of the Kherson Grenadier Regiment) and led the troops on an attack for the third time. Unfurling the regimental banner, riddled with bullets and buckshot, Kutuzov ran forward and was the first to rush towards the Turks, raising the heavy staff high with both hands. Seeing their commander and the battle flag flying above him, the Bug rangers, grenadiers and Cossacks loudly shouted “Hurray!” followed Kutuzov. Once again, the sixth column with a bayonet attack scattered the advancing Turks, threw them into the ditch, then captured two bastions and the Kiliya Gate, connecting through the middle rampart with Platov’s column and ensuring a brilliant victory for the left wing of the Russian troops.

The column of M.I. Kutuzov with bayonets paved its way to the center of the fortress to connect with the rest of the assault columns.

Already 45 minutes after the start of the assault, the fortress fence of Izmail was captured by Russian troops.

Dawn was beginning. The screams of the combatants, the cries of “Hurray!” and “Alla!” were heard around all the steppes of Izmail. The Turks fought with desperate courage. A large detachment of Turkish cavalry made a dashing sortie through the Bendery Gate, but was taken on pikes and checkers by Russian mounted Cossacks and destroyed. Two squadrons of Voronezh hussars then rushed through the open Bendery gates, broke into the fortress, where they successfully attacked the Turkish cavalry and assisted the rangers of the Bug corps in capturing the gates.

Simultaneously with the attack by ground forces, Izmail was attacked by landing units from the Danube. Russian ships with a landing force of marines and Black Sea Cossacks in 130 boats moved towards the fortress in the first line. In the second line, supporting the landing with artillery fire, sailed brigantines, lances, double boats and floating batteries. The Russian fleet advanced so quickly and skillfully that the Turks were forced to abandon their surviving ships and retreat behind the walls of the fortress. The fire of 99 heavy cannons, mortars, and howitzers met the attacking Russian ships. Despite the brutal grapeshot fire, the Russian landing at 7 o'clock. In the morning he landed on the shore near the fortress wall. Up to 10 thousand Turks defended the riverside side of Izmail. At the same time, on the western side of Izmail, the detachments of General Lvov and Colonel Zolotukhin, who had managed to unite, made their way along the rampart through crowds of desperately fighting Turks towards the detachment of Colonel Khvostov. Through the joint efforts of all three columns, the entire western rampart was completely cleared of the Turkish garrison. Kutuzov's attack from the eastern side, which helped the detachments of Orlov and Platov, advancing from the northeast, finally predetermined the capture of Izmail, for the fallen New Fortress was the most impregnable part of the Turkish defense.

At 8 o'clock. In the morning, Russian troops and sailors captured all the fortress walls and the main rampart of the Turkish defense. The attack was over. The assault columns that attacked Izmail united, closing the front of the encirclement. The Turks retreated to the city, preparing to defend the numerous stone buildings adapted for defense.

The complete unification of all Russian columns occurred at about 10 o'clock. morning.

A.V. Suvorov announced a short rest in order to put the troops participating in the night assault in order. He ordered the attack of the city to begin from all sides simultaneously with all forces. Russian artillery prepared to assist the attack. The reserves moved closer so that, joining the advancing troops, they could strengthen the blow in the depths of the fortified city.

After some time, to the music of orchestras, in orderly rows from different sides, Suvorov’s miracle heroes rushed into a Russian bayonet attack, terrible for the enemy. A bloody battle ensued. Until 11 o'clock in the afternoon, a fierce battle continued on the outskirts of the city. The Turks did not give up and did not retreat. Each house had to be taken in battle. But the ring of attacking troops was closing ever closer.

The battle broke up into many small hand-to-hand fights that took place in the streets, squares, alleys, courtyards and gardens, inside various buildings.

The Turks settled in stone buildings of palaces, mosques, hotels and houses. The stone cavalier (casemate battery), behind the thick walls of which selected Janissaries defended, had not yet been taken.

By order of A.V. Suvorov, 20 light guns were brought through the gate at a rapid pace to accompany the Russian infantry advancing inside the fortress. From these cannons the artillerymen fired rapid fire with grapeshot along the streets. The offensive of the Russian artillery inside the fortress city had great importance, since by this time the Turks had already lost almost all of their artillery located on the fortress walls, and they had no mobile guns for street combat at all. During the first half of the day on December 11, the battle continued in the city, either subsiding or flaring up with renewed vigor. The surviving part of the garrison, in groups of two to three thousand people with individual guns, tried to continue resistance in strong and tall stone buildings. The Turks greeted the Russian fighters approaching these buildings with volleys, poured boiling tar on them, and brought down stones and logs on them. Small fortresses like these were taken by storm, using ladders to overcome the heights and smashing the gates with artillery fire.

L.V. Suvorov, who was among the fighting Russian soldiers, immediately indicated on the ground what needed to be done, how to use artillery, how to get around the enemy from the rear, how to interact with the various units mixed up during the battle, etc. On his orders, Sentinels were immediately assigned to captured powder magazines and weapons depots. Suvorov strictly forbade lighting anything on fire, since a fire on the streets of the city could rather hamper the offensive of the Russian troops than the defense of the Turks.

Next to the stone cavalier stood a very solid building. Seraskir Aidozli Mehmet Pasha defended it with 2 thousand of the best Janissaries, who had several cannons. The battalion of the Phanagorian Grenadier Regiment with artillery began the assault on this citadel. The battle lasted for almost two hours. First, Russian artillerymen smashed the gates with cannonballs, then the grenadiers burst into the building, where a fierce hand-to-hand fight took place. The Janissaries did not give up and defended themselves to the last man. Russian soldiers bayoneted the entire garrison of the citadel. Among the killed enemies was Izmail’s commandant Aidozli Mehmet Pasha.

The Turks stubbornly resisted under the command of Mahmut Girey Sultan in the building of the Armenian monastery, which had high and thick walls. The Russians smashed the monastery gates with cannonballs and hand-to-hand combat destroyed its defenders.

About 5 thousand Turkish Janissaries and Crimean Tatars, led by Kaplan-Girey, gathered in the city square, to the sounds of their music, fiercely attacked a detachment of Black Sea Cossacks and even took away two cannons. Two naval grenadier battalions and a battalion of rangers rushed to the rescue, crushing the enemies with a bayonet attack and killing them. The stone cavalier with a garrison of several thousand Janissaries, led by the megafis (governor) of Ishmael, held out the longest. Marines, the rangers and Cossacks took this stronghold by storm.

By one o'clock in the afternoon, Russian ground forces and sailors of the flotilla, fighting to clear the streets and buildings of Izmail from the enemy, reached the middle of the city, where the Turks still continued to stubbornly defend themselves, using the slightest opportunity for resistance. The incredible bitterness of both sides in the battle was explained simply: for the Russians, the capture of Izmail meant the speedy end of the war with Turkey and a blow to the emerging hostile coalition of Western European powers; For the entire Turkish garrison, the defense of the fortress was a matter of life and death, for the Sultan ordered the execution of anyone who survived the surrender of Ishmael.

Watching the progress of the battle vigilantly, Suvorov decided to deal the final blow to the enemy. He ordered the cavalry in reserve - four squadrons of carabinieri, four squadrons of hussars and two Cossack regiments - to simultaneously attack from the flanks of the remnants of the Turkish garrison, still defending inside the city, through the Brossky and Bendery Gates. Operating on horseback, hussars, Cossacks and carabinieri cut into the crowds of Turks. Clearing the streets and alleys of the enemy, Russian cavalrymen at times dismounted to fight against enemy ambushes. Skillfully interacting, the infantry, artillery and cavalry successfully defeated the Turks in street combat. Cossack patrols, scattered throughout the city, looked for hidden enemies.

By 4 o'clock. Day Russian ground forces and sailors completely captured the fortress and the city of Izmail. The assault was over. However, throughout the night from December 11 to 12, gunfire continued. Individual groups The Turks, holed up in mosques, houses, cellars and barns, suddenly fired at Russian soldiers.

No one escaped from the Ishmael garrison, with the exception of one Turk, who was slightly wounded and fell from the fortress wall into the Danube, and then swam across it on a log. This only surviving Turk brought the first news of the assault on Izmail to the Grand Vizier.

Suvorov immediately reported to the commander-in-chief Field Marshal Potemkin about the capture of the fortress city of Izmail and the destruction of the Turkish army in it in such expressive words. "The Russian flag is on the walls of Izmail."

Turkish losses were: 33,000 killed and seriously wounded, 10,000 prisoners. Among those killed, in addition to the commandant Izmail Aydozli-Mehmet Pasha, there were 12 more pashas (generals) and 51 senior officers - unit commanders.

The trophies of the Russian troops amounted to: 265 (according to other sources 300) guns, 345 banners, 42 warships, 3 thousand pounds of gunpowder, 20 thousand cannonballs, 10 thousand horses, 10 million piastres worth of gold, silver, pearls and precious stones and a six-month supply of food for the entire garrison and population of Izmail.

The Russians lost: 1,830 people killed and 2,933 people wounded. 2 generals and 65 officers were killed, 2 generals and 220 officers were wounded.

The next morning, December 12, 1790, from all the Russian artillery in the troops and on the ships of the Danube flotilla, as well as from all the captured cannons, mortars and howitzers located on the walls and in the bastions of the Izmail fortress and on the captured Turkish ships, fire was fired - salute in honor of the Russian troops and navy who took this mighty stronghold. A parade of troops and navy took place, at which A.V. Suvorov thanked the soldiers, sailors and Cossacks for their heroic actions in the battle. One of the battalions of the Phanagorian Grenadier Regiment, which was on guard, could not attend the parade. Suvorov went to the soldiers of the battalion and thanked each of them separately for their participation in the assault.

Russian troops fought with great skill and great heroism. During the assault, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov especially distinguished himself, leading the attack against the most powerful and main sector of the enemy’s defense - the New Fortress. In a report on December 21, 1790, reporting on the assault on Izmail to G. A. Potemkin, A. V. Suvorov wrote about Kutuzov:

“Major General and Cavalier Golenishchev-Kutuzov showed new experiments in his art and courage, overcoming all difficulties under strong enemy fire, climbed the rampart, captured the bastion and, when the excellent enemy forced him to stop, he, serving as an example of courage, held the place, overcame strong enemy, established himself in the fortress and then continued to defeat the enemies.”

The great commander A.V. Suvorov had exceptional confidence in M.I. Kutuzov. He said: “Order one, hint to another, but Kutuzov doesn’t need to say anything - he understands everything himself.”

Subsequently, Kutuzov asked Suvorov what his appointment as commandant of Izmail at the time of the assault meant.

“Nothing,” he answered. “Kutuzov knows Suvorov, and Suvorov knows Kutuzov.” If Izmail had not been taken, Suvorov would have died by his walls, and Kutuzov too.”

After the assault, M.I. Kutuzov wrote to his wife: “I won’t see such a thing for a century. The hair stands on end. A terrible city is in our hands." For Izmail Kutuzov was awarded the order and promoted to lieutenant general. From that time on, he acted as a well-known military leader, who was entrusted with increasingly responsible assignments.

They won one of the most striking victories in history, taking the Turkish fortress of Izmail.

How Türkiye famously woke up

Among the outstanding historical victories won by the Russian army, there are not many that not only remained in the memory of posterity, but even entered folklore and became part of the language. The assault on Ishmael is one such event. It appears both in jokes and in ordinary speech - the “capture of Ishmael” is often jokingly called “assault”, when in a short period of time it is necessary to carry out extremely large volume works The assault on Izmail became the apotheosis of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791. The war broke out at the instigation of Turkey, which was trying to take revenge for previous defeats. In this endeavor, the Turks relied on the support of Great Britain, France and Prussia, which, however, did not themselves intervene in hostilities. Turkey's ultimatum of 1787 demanded that Russia return Crimea, renounce the patronage of Georgia and agree to inspect Russian merchant ships passing through the straits. Naturally, Türkiye was refused and began military action. Russia, in turn, decided to use the favorable moment to expand its possessions in the Northern Black Sea region.

Fighting turned out disastrously for the Turks. The Russian armies inflicted defeat after defeat on the enemy, both on land and at sea. In the battles of the war of 1787-1791, two Russian military geniuses shone - commander Alexander Suvorov and naval commander Fyodor Ushakov.
By the end of 1790 it was obvious that Türkiye was suffering a decisive defeat. However, Russian diplomats were unable to persuade the Turks to sign a peace treaty. Another decisive military success was needed.

The best fortress in Europe

Russian troops approached the walls of the Izmail fortress, which was a key object of Turkish defense. Ishmael, located on the left bank of the Kiliya branch of the Danube, covered the most important strategic directions. Its fall created the possibility of Russian troops breaking through the Danube into Dobruja, which threatened the Turks with the loss of vast territories and even the partial collapse of the empire. In preparation for war with Russia, Türkiye strengthened Izmail as much as possible. The best German and French military engineers were engaged in fortification work, so that Izmail at that moment became one of the strongest fortresses in Europe.
A high rampart, a wide ditch up to 10 meters deep, 260 guns on 11 bastions. In addition, the garrison of the fortress at the time of the Russians’ approach exceeded 30 thousand people.
The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin, gave the order to capture Izmail, and the detachments of generals Gudovich, Pavel Potemkin, and the flotilla of Generalade Ribas began to carry it out.
However, the siege was carried out sluggishly, and a general assault was not planned. The generals were not cowards at all, but they had fewer troops at their disposal than were in the garrison of Ishmael. Taking decisive action in such a situation seemed crazy.
Having remained under siege until the end of November 1790, at the military council Gudovich, Pavel Potemkin and de Ribas decided to withdraw the troops to winter quarters.

The crazy ultimatum of a military genius

When this decision became known to Grigory Potemkin, he became furious, immediately canceled the order to withdraw, and appointed Chief General Alexander Suvorov to lead the assault on Izmail.

By that time there had run between Potemkin and Suvorov black cat. The ambitious Potemkin was a talented administrator, but his military leadership abilities were very limited. On the contrary, the fame of Suvorov spread not only throughout Russia, but also abroad. Potemkin was not eager to give the general, whose successes made him jealous, a new chance to distinguish himself, but there was nothing to do - Ishmael was more important than personal relationships. Although, it is possible that Potemkin secretly harbored the hope that Suvorov would break his neck on the bastions of Izmail.
The decisive Suvorov arrived at the walls of Izmail, turning back the troops that were already leaving the fortress. As usual, he infected everyone around him with his enthusiasm and confidence in success.

Only a few knew what the commander really thought. Having personally toured the approaches to Ishmael, he briefly said: “This fortress has no weak points.”
And years later, Alexander Vasilyevich will say: “You could only decide to storm such a fortress once in your life...”.
But in those days, at the walls of Ishmael, the general-in-chief did not express any doubts. He set aside six days to prepare the general assault. The soldiers were sent to exercises - in the nearest village, earthen and wooden analogues of the moat and walls of Izmail were hastily built, on which methods of overcoming obstacles were practiced.
With the arrival of Suvorov, Izmail himself was placed under a strict blockade from sea and land. After completing preparations for the battle, the general-in-chief sent an ultimatum to the commander of the fortress, the great serasker Aidozle Mehmet Pasha.

The exchange of letters between the two military leaders was included in. Suvorov: “I arrived here with the troops. Twenty-four hours for reflection - and freedom. My first shot is already bondage. Assault is death." Aydozle Mehmet Pasha: “It’s more likely that the Danube will flow backwards and the sky will fall to the ground than Ishmael will surrender.”
After the fact, it is generally accepted that the Turkish commander was excessively boastful. However, before the assault, one could say that Suvorov was overly arrogant.
Judge for yourself: we have already talked about the power of the fortress, as well as about its 35,000-strong garrison. And the Russian army consisted of only 31 thousand fighters, of which a third were irregular troops. According to the canons of military science, an assault in such conditions is doomed to failure.
But the fact is that 35 thousand Turkish soldiers were actually suicide bombers. Enraged by the military failures, the Turkish Sultan issued a special firman in which he promised to execute anyone who left Ishmael. So the Russians were confronted by 35 thousand heavily armed, desperate fighters who intended to fight to the death in the fortifications of the best European fortress.
And therefore, Aidozle-Mehmet Pasha’s answer to Suvorov is not boastful, but quite reasonable.

Death of the Turkish garrison

Any other commander would really break his neck, but we are talking about Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. The day before the assault, Russian troops began artillery preparation. At the same time, it must be said that the timing of the assault did not come as a surprise to the Izmail garrison - it was revealed to the Turks by defectors, who apparently did not believe in Suvorov’s genius.
Suvorov divided his forces into three detachments of three columns each. Major General de Ribas's detachment (9,000 people) attacked from the river side; the right wing under the command of Lieutenant General Pavel Potemkin (7,500 people) was supposed to strike from the western part of the fortress; the left wing of Lieutenant General Samoilov (12,000 people) - from the east. 2,500 cavalrymen remained Suvorov's last reserve for the most extreme case.
At 3 a.m. on December 22, 1790, Russian troops left the camp and began to concentrate in the initial places for the assault. At 5:30 a.m., about an hour and a half before dawn, the assault columns began their attack. A fierce battle began on the defensive ramparts, where the opponents did not spare each other. The Turks defended themselves furiously, but the attack from three different directions disoriented them, preventing them from concentrating their forces in one direction.
By 8 o'clock in the morning, when it was dawn, it became clear that Russian troops had captured most of the outer fortifications and began to push the enemy towards the city center. Street battles turned into a real massacre: the roads were littered with corpses, thousands of horses, left without riders, galloped right along them, and houses were burning. Suvorov gave the order to introduce 20 light guns into the streets of the city and hit the Turks with direct fire with grapeshot. By 11 o'clock in the morning, the advanced Russian units under the command of Major General Major General Boris Lassi occupied central part Ishmael.

By one o'clock in the afternoon, organized resistance was broken. Individual pockets of resistance were suppressed by the Russians until four o'clock in the evening.
A desperate breakthrough was carried out by several thousand Turks under the command of Kaplan Girey. They managed to get outside the city walls, but here Suvorov moved a reserve against them. Experienced Russian rangers pressed the enemy to the Danube and completely destroyed those who broke through.
By four o'clock in the afternoon Ishmael had fallen. Of the 35 thousand of his defenders, one person survived and managed to escape. The Russians had about 2,200 killed and more than 3,000 wounded. The Turks lost 26 thousand people killed; out of 9 thousand prisoners, about 2 thousand died from wounds in the first day after the assault. Russian troops captured 265 guns, up to 3 thousand pounds of gunpowder, 20 thousand cannonballs and many other military supplies, up to 400 banners, large supplies of provisions, as well as jewelry worth several millions.

Purely Russian award

For Turkey it was a complete military disaster. And although the war ended only in 1791, and the Peace of Jassy was signed in 1792, the fall of Ishmael finally broke morally Turkish army. The very name of Suvorov terrified them.
According to the Treaty of Iasi in 1792, Russia gained control of the entire northern Black Sea region from the Dniester to the Kuban.
Admired by the triumph of Suvorov’s soldiers, the poet Gavriil Derzhavin wrote the anthem “The Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!”, which became the first, still unofficial anthem of the Russian Empire.

But there was one person in Russia who reacted with restraint to the capture of Izmail - Prince Grigory Potemkin. Petitioning Catherine II to reward those who distinguished themselves, he suggested that the Empress award him a medal to the lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment.
The rank of lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky regiment itself was very high, because the rank of colonel was held exclusively by the current monarch. But the fact is that by that time Suvorov was already the 11th lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, which greatly devalued the award.
Suvorov himself, who, like Potemkin, was an ambitious man, expected to receive the title of Field Marshal General, and was extremely offended and annoyed by the award he received.

By the way, Grigory Potemkin himself for the capture of Izmail was awarded a field marshal’s uniform, embroidered with diamonds, worth 200,000 rubles, the Tauride Palace, as well as a special obelisk in his honor in Tsarskoye Selo.
In memory of the capture of Ishmael in modern Russia December 24 is the Day of Military Glory.

Ishmael "from hand to hand"

It is interesting that the capture of Izmail by Suvorov was not the first and not the last assault on this fortress by Russian troops. It was first taken in 1770, but following the war it was returned to Turkey. Suvorov's heroic assault in 1790 helped Russia win the war, but Izmail was returned to Turkey. For the third time, Izmail would be taken by the Russian troops of General Zass in 1809, but in 1856, following an unsuccessful Crimean War, it will come under the control of Turkey's vassal Moldova. True, the fortifications will be torn down and blown up.

The fourth capture of Izmail by Russian troops will take place in 1877, but it will take place without a fight, since Romania, which controlled the city during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, will conclude an agreement with Russia.
And after this, Izmail will change hands more than once, until in 1991 it becomes part of independent Ukraine. Is it forever? Hard to say. After all, when it comes to Ishmael, you can’t be completely sure of anything.

Victory of the Russian Empire

Assault on Izmail- siege and assault in 1790 of the Turkish fortress of Izmail by Russian troops under the command of Chief General A.V. Suvorov during the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1792

Suvorov took measures to ensure order. Kutuzov, appointed commandant of Izmail, placed guards in the most important places. A huge hospital was opened inside the city. The bodies of the killed Russians were taken outside the city and buried according to church rites. There were so many Turkish corpses that the order was given to throw the bodies into the Danube, and prisoners were assigned to this work, divided into queues. But even with this method, Ishmael was cleared of corpses only after 6 days. The prisoners were sent in batches to Nikolaev under the escort of Cossacks.

Captions: "For excellent courage" on the front side and "Ishmael taken December 11, 1790" on the reverse.

Suvorov expected to receive the rank of field marshal general for the assault on Izmail, but Potemkin, petitioning the empress for his award, proposed awarding him with a medal and the rank of guard lieutenant colonel or adjutant general. The medal was knocked out, and Suvorov was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. There were already ten such lieutenant colonels; Suvorov became eleventh. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Prince G. A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky, having arrived in St. Petersburg, received as a reward a field marshal's uniform, embroidered with diamonds, worth 200 thousand rubles, the Tauride Palace; In Tsarskoe Selo, it was planned to build an obelisk for the prince depicting his victories and conquests. Oval silver medals were distributed to the lower ranks; for officers who have not received the Order of St. George or Vladimir, a golden cross is installed on the St. George ribbon; the chiefs received orders or golden swords, some received ranks.

The conquest of Ishmael was of great political significance. It influenced the further course of the war and the conclusion of the Peace of Iasi between Russia and Turkey in 1792, which confirmed the annexation of Crimea to Russia and established the Russian-Turkish border along the Dniester River. Thus, the entire northern Black Sea region from the Dniester to the Kuban was assigned to Russia.

The anthem “The Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!” was dedicated to the victory at Ishmael! ", considered until 1816 the unofficial anthem of the Russian Empire.

Notes

Sources

• A. A. Danilov. History of Russia in the 9th-19th centuries.
• Team of authors.“One Hundred Great Battles”, M. “Veche”, 2002

Links

• The Assault of Ishmael, - from the book. “Kutuzov”, Rakovsky L. I.: Lenizdat, 1971

WITH Today is the day of military glory of Russia...
It was erected in honor of the Day of the capture of the Turkish fortress of Izmail by Russian troops under the command of A.V. Suvorov in 1790. Special meaning During the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, Izmail, the citadel of Turkish rule on the Danube, was captured. The fortress was built under the leadership of German and French engineers in accordance with the latest fortification requirements....

The Izmail fortress was considered impregnable. Its walls are made of durable stone. From the south it was protected by the Danube, which is half a kilometer wide. And all around there was a high rampart stretching for six miles, from three to four fathoms in height, and around the rampart a ditch was dug 12 meters wide and 6 to 10 meters deep, in some places there was water up to 2 meters deep. There were more than two hundred huge cannons on the rampart...

Inside the city there were many stone buildings convenient for defense. The fortress garrison numbered 35 thousand people and 265 guns.

In November 1790, Russian troops (outnumbered) began the siege of Izmail. Two attempts to take the fortress ended in failure. And then the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Field Marshal G.A. Potemkin entrusted the capture of the impregnable fortress to Suvorov. Intensified preparations for the assault began.

In an effort to avoid bloodshed, Suvorov sent an ultimatum to the commandant of Izmail to surrender the fortress:

“To Seraskir, the elders and the whole society. I arrived here with the troops. 24 hours to think about surrender - and the will; My first shots are already bondage. Assault is death. Which I leave to you to consider.”

In response, the Turks sent a long, flowery answer, the meaning of which boiled down to a request for another 10 days to think about it.

Phrase: “It is sooner that the sky will fall to the ground and the Danube will flow upward than Ishmael will surrender,” was told to Suvorov after the assault, but was not expressed as an official response to the ultimatum.

Suvorov gave the Turks another day to think and continued to prepare the troops for the assault.

(11) On December 22, 1790, Russian troops in nine columns from different directions moved to storm the fortress.

The river flotilla approached the shore and, under the cover of artillery fire, landed troops. The skillful leadership of Suvorov and his comrades, the courage of soldiers and officers decided the outcome of the battle, which lasted 9 hours - the Turks defended stubbornly, but Izmail was taken.

The enemy lost 26 thousand killed and 9 thousand captured. 265 guns, 42 ships, 345 banners were captured.

Suvorov indicated in his report that the Russian army lost 1,815 people killed and 2,455 wounded. It is noteworthy that Izmail was taken by an army that was inferior in number to the garrison of the fortress. The case is extremely rare in the history of military art.

Suvorov gave the city to the army for three days to plunder. Many soldiers' families became rich after this. The soldiers recalled for a long time the assault on Ishmael and the wealth of its population. Those who did not regret parting with their property and showed resistance were mercilessly killed. Suvorov himself did not take anything, not even the stallion that was very persistently given to him.

Success was ensured by the thoroughness and secrecy of preparation, the surprise of actions and the simultaneous impact of all columns, and the clear and precise setting of goals.

The basis of Calend.ru, paintings - Internet