Fragments of maps of the capture of Ishmael. Day of the capture of the Turkish fortress "Izmail"
Izmail city is located on the banks of the Danube River in the very south of the Odessa region, in the historical region of Bessarabia. On the other side of the river from the city is Romania. The distance from Izmail to the Black Sea coast is about 80 km. This place is quite isolated; to get to the city you have to drive for several hours through the remote steppe. Also, an hour and a half drive separates Izmail from the Ukrainian-Moldavian border - this is the main direction for traveling by car from Ukraine to Romania and Bulgaria.
How to get to Izmail?
Getting to Izmail, let's say, is not easy. highway, which connects the city with Odessa is in a rather deplorable state. Although in 2016 the authorities repaired several small plots this road, still in places road surface remains completely destroyed. There are several sections of the route where cars prefer to drive along the field rather than on the road, as there are fewer potholes there. If you don’t mind your car, then you can get from Odessa to Izmail in 4 hours. Regular buses and minibuses travel along the same road for about 5 hours, with a technical stop in Tatarbunary. Ticket price is about 120 UAH. During the daytime, minibuses run quite often, every 30-40 minutes.
There is also a train Odessa-Izmail and Kyiv-Izmail. From Odessa to Izmail, train No. 6860 departs three times a day (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday) at 16:20. The train leaves back from Izmail to Odessa on the same days at 23:59. Train Kyiv-Izmail-Kyiv No. 243/244 runs daily. Departure times from Kyiv and Izmail are the same - at 17:06. Travel time by train will be slightly longer than by bus or car - about 7 hours. But the tickets are also cheaper.
Sights of Izmail.
Izmail has several interesting places for tourists. Also, do not forget that just an hour’s drive from the city is Vilkovo (Ukrainian Venice), as well as the Black Sea coast.
Izmail Fortress
Probably everyone has heard about the legendary impregnable Izmail fortress, which was stormed by Suvorov’s troops in 1790. Unfortunately, this fortress has not survived to this day. After its capture, its walls were razed to the ground and nothing remained of this interesting architectural monument. Now on the site of the fortress there is the Izmail Memorial Park-Museum “Fortress”. The only surviving building from those times is the mosque building, where a diorama of the “storming of the fortress” is now being created.
Intercession Cathedral
Intercession Cathedral Holy Mother of God located in the city park in the center of Izmail on Suvorov Avenue. The cathedral was built in the first half of the 19th century on the site of the older St. Nicholas Church. The architect was A. Melnikov. Masha Pasha really liked this church. The cathedral itself looks quite unusual; it has long antique colonnades and porticoes. There is a nice park around it, and here you can also see a monument to Suvorov.
Suvorov Avenue
In the central part of the city, Suvorov Avenue has a long pedestrian green area where you can stroll. There are also many nice low two-story buildings built in the 19th century. If you walk along Suvorov Avenue straight towards the Danube, you will eventually come to the river station of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company and a small embankment along the Danube.
Infrastructure, entertainment in Izmail
In Izmail there is only one large supermarket, Tavriya, which is located on Suvorov Avenue at the entrance to the central part of the city. It is quite a long walk from here to the Intercession Cathedral and the city center. Several entertainment facilities are located on Mira Avenue in the area of the “circle” - a square with circular traffic, on which the monument to the liberators of Izmail is located. There is a cinema, Pizzeria Celentano and a number of other shops, restaurants and cafes. There are also many small shops and cafes located in the central part of Suvorov Avenue.
Our room in a VIP hotel in Izmail.
Where to stay in Izmail?
MashaPasha, visiting Izmail, stayed at the VIP hotel (20 Pushkin Street). This is one of best hotels city, clean, with good furniture. Prices for rooms in it start from 580 UAH. per double room per night. Hotel website www.vip-hotel.com.ua
In 1768, the Turkish Sultan declared war on Russia, headed at that time by Catherine II. Leader Ottoman Empire wanted to get Podolia and Volhynia, expand his possessions in the Northern Black Sea region and the Caucasus, and also establish a protectorate over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
During the war, the Russian army under the leadership of Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov defeated the Turkish troops, and the Mediterranean squadron of the Russian fleet under the command of Alexei Orlov and Grigory Spiridov defeated the Turkish fleet. As a result, Russia forced the enemy to sign the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty, according to which the Crimean Khanate formally gained independence, but in fact became dependent on Russia. In addition, the Ottoman Empire paid Russia military indemnities in the amount of 4.5 million rubles. and ceded the northern coast of the Black Sea along with two important ports.
In 1783, by the manifesto of Catherine II, the Crimean Khanate was annexed to Russia.
In 1787, the Ottoman Empire issued an ultimatum to Russia demanding the restoration of the vassalage of the Crimean Khanate and Georgia. In addition, the attacking side wanted to obtain permission from Catherine II to inspect ships passing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The Empress refused, and the Sultan immediately declared a new war on Russia. True, he didn’t know that
Austria, which shortly before signed a military treaty with the Russian Empire, will also fight against the Ottoman Empire.
“I myself am surprised at the agility and courage of my people”
During the war, Russia won victories one after another. Thus, the Russian-Austrian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov defeated the Turkish army near Focsani. And the Sevastopol squadron, led by Marko Voinovich and Fyodor Ushakov, defeated the enemy fleet off the island of Fidonisi. About the naval battle, Catherine II wrote to the commander-in-chief of the Russian army and Prince Grigory Potemkin: “The action of the Sevastopol fleet made me very happy: it is almost incredible with what little force God helps to defeat the strong Turkish weapons! Tell me, how can I please Voinovich? Crosses of the third class have already been sent to you, will you give him one or a sword?
Soon the battle of the Kerch Strait took place, during which the Russian squadron under the command of Fyodor Ushakov won and did not allow the Ottoman Empire to land its troops in Crimea.
“I myself am surprised at the agility and courage of my people,” said Ushakov. “They fired at the enemy ship infrequently and with such skill that it seemed that everyone was learning to shoot at the target.”
And here is what Catherine II wrote about the results of the battle: “We celebrated the victory of the Black Sea Fleet over the Turkish fleet yesterday with a prayer service at Kazanskaya... I ask you to say a great thank you to Rear Admiral Ushakov on my behalf and to all his subordinates.”
Execute everyone
However, despite the multiple victories of the Russian army, the Ottoman Empire did not agree to accept the peace terms that Russia insisted on, and the Sultan delayed negotiations in every possible way. It became clear that it would be possible to speed up the negotiation process with the capture of Izmail - a powerful fortress with a high rampart and a wide ditch, whose garrison consisted of about 35 thousand people under the command of Aidozly Muhammad Pasha.
The Sultan issued an order that in the event of the fall of Ishmael, it would be necessary to execute every warrior who defended the fortress.
At the end of November 1790, Grigory Potemkin ordered Alexander Suvorov to take command of the units besieging Izmail. The commander immediately sent an ultimatum to the commandant of Izmail demanding that he surrender the fortress no later than 24 hours from the date of delivery of the ultimatum. The ultimatum was rejected.
Alexander Suvorov convened a military council, which decided that it was necessary to begin the assault as soon as possible. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the great Russian commander ordered his soldiers to “take Ishmael at any cost.”
State memorial museum A.V. Suvorov “Portrait of A.V. Suvorov in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment”, Joseph Kreutsinger. Oil on canvas, 40.5 × 31.5 cm. 1799.
“There were prisoners who died of fear at the sight of the carnage.”
The assault on the fortress was scheduled for the early morning of December 22: Suvorov believed that darkness was needed for the surprise of the first strike. However, according to historians, the Russian attack did not come as a surprise to the Turks: the latter were ready for an assault every night and, moreover, knew from the defectors about the commander’s plans.
At five o'clock in the morning the assault began, and soon the enemy was driven out of the fortress tops and retreated to inner part cities. Through the captured Brossky, Khotyn and Bendery gates, Alexander Suvorov moved reserves into battle. The Turkish garrison continued to resist - the troops of Aidozly Muhammad Pasha fought for every house. According to the memoirs, the Turks “sold their lives dearly, no one asked for mercy, women brutally rushed with daggers at the soldiers. The frenzy of the inhabitants increased the ferocity of the troops; neither gender, nor age, nor rank were spared; blood flowed everywhere - let’s close the curtain on the spectacle of horrors.”
By four o'clock in the afternoon the fortress was completely taken. 26 thousand Turks were killed, the rest were taken prisoner. Total losses Russians amounted to 4,582 people.
“Our soldiers attacked the Turks, who were armed with sabers and daggers, with pikes and bayonets,” recalled the French officer Langeron, a volunteer in the Russian army. “This battle lasted five hours: the Turks were expelled from the fortress walls, they barricaded themselves in the streets, and every house was besieged. Finally, at noon, four hundred Turks (the remaining of the 30 thousand who defended the city) laid down their arms and the battle stopped. The terrible robbery that followed ended only the next day. In almost all columns we lost a third killed and wounded, and in one - two thirds. For the 23 thousand participants in the assault, there were from 6 thousand to 7 thousand casualties, including the deaths of three major generals, one brigadier, six colonels, more than forty lieutenant colonels or majors and two hundred to three hundred junior officers.
It took several days to remove the corpses that filled the ditches, earthworks, streets and large areas. There was no question of saving the wounded; almost all of them were mercilessly finished off. There were prisoners who died of fear at the sight of this terrible massacre.”
If the fallen Russians were buried according to church rites, then the dead soldiers of the Ottoman Empire were thrown directly into the Danube. The captured Turks were sent to the city of Nikolaev under the escort of the Cossacks.
Suvorov appointed Mikhail Kutuzov, the future famous commander and conqueror of Napoleon, as commandant of the fortress.
Who got the diamond uniform?
“Thus, victory has been achieved,” Alexander Suvorov soon reported to Grigory Potemkin. - The Izmail fortress, so fortified, so extensive and which seemed invincible to the enemy, was taken by the terrible weapon of Russian bayonets, the stubbornness of the enemy, who arrogantly placed his hope in the number of troops, was defeated. Although the number of troops receiving secrets was supposed to be 42 thousand, according to exact calculations it should be 35 thousand. The number of the enemy killed was up to 26 thousand.
Seraskir Aidos Mehmet the three-bunched Pasha, who was in charge of Ishmael, sat down with a crowd of more than 1 thousand people in a stone building and did not want to surrender, was attacked by Phanagorian grenadiers in the command of Colonel Zolotukhin. And both he and everyone who was with him were beaten and stabbed.
In the Izmail fortress, 245 cannons were found, including nine mortars, and twenty on the shore, 245 in total; a large powder magazine and various shells. 345 banners were taken as trophies, except for those that were torn in battles, seven horsetails, two sanzhaks, and eight lansons.
Bringing your lordship congratulations and gratitude for entrusting me with such a famous feat, I consider it my direct duty to testify to the firmness and courage of the leaders and the boundless zeal and courage of all ranks and to petition for your favor and patronage for reward for my employees and comrades.”
For the storming of Izmail, Alexander Suvorov dreamed of receiving the rank of field marshal - the highest military rank V ground forces Oh. However, Potemkin received the field marshal's uniform embroidered with diamonds, and Suvorov was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky regiment.
Thunder of victory, ring out!
After the capture of Izmail, panic began in the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan was forced to agree to the terms of the Treaty of Iasi, which ended the Russo-Turkish War. According to the document, the Ottoman Empire renounced its claims to Georgia and pledged not to take any hostile actions against Georgian lands. Russia secured the entire Northern Black Sea region and strengthened its political positions in the Caucasus and Balkans.
In 1794, the city of Odessa was founded on lands obtained as a result of the Treaty of Jassy.
The unofficial Russian anthem “Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!” is dedicated to the storming of Izmail. The author of the words was the poet Gabriel Derzhavin. Unofficial anthem Russian Empire began with the following lines:
Thunder of victory, ring out!
Have fun, brave Ross!
Decorate yourself with resounding glory.
You beat Mohammed!
Soon after the victory over the Turks, Alexander Suvorov began strengthening the new Russian-Turkish border along the Dniester River. By his order, Tiraspol, the largest city in Transnistria today, was founded on the left bank of the Dniester in 1792.
Capture of Ishmael
The assault on Izmail is 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 the Russian-Turkish War of 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 present village of Safyany, earthen and wooden analogues of the moat and walls of Izmail were built in the shortest possible time - the military personnel trained to throw a Nazi ditch into the moat, quickly set up ladders, after climbing the wall they quickly stabbed and chopped 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 its inspection. 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: “It’s more likely that the Danube will flow backward and the sky will fall to the ground than Ishmael will 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 was appointed commandant of the fortress, in the future famous commander, Napoleon's conqueror.
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 the Kerch Strait and near Tendra Island in 1790, the enemy did not agree 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 convenient place 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 at the expense of 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 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; left wing 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 a.m. on December 11 (22), 1790, the first flare, along 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) were 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 into the inner part of the city. Russian columns from different sides 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, he 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 4 p.m., the last defenders were killed, and 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, 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.
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.
Which fortress comes to mind first when you just mention the name of the brilliant Russian commander Alexander Suvorov? Of course, Ishmael! The assault and rapid capture of this stronghold of the Ottoman Empire, which blocked the path from the north beyond the Danube, actually into the inner regions of the Porte, became one of the peaks of his military career. And for the Russian army, the day of the capture of Ishmael forever became one of the most glorious episodes in its history. And rightfully now, December 24 is one of the seventeen memorable dates included in the list of Days of Military Glory of Russia.
It is noteworthy that even in this list, which ends with the Ishmael anniversary, there is a curious calendar discrepancy. The ceremonial date falls on December 24, and the actual day of the assault is December 22! Where did such discrepancy come from?
Everything is explained simply. In all documents relating to the course of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, the date of the assault on the fortress is December 11. Since we are talking about the 18th century, it is necessary to add another 11 days of difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars to this date. But since the list of Days of Military Glory of Russia in the 20th century was compiled, when calculating the dates according to the old style, out of habit, they added not eleven, but thirteen days. And so it happened that the memorable date was set for December 24, and in the description it was noted that the actual day of the assault was December 22, 1790 according to the new style - and December 11 according to the old style.
Suvorov and Kutuzov before the assault on Izmail. Hood. O. Vereisky
Everything depends on Ishmael
In the history of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, the story of the capture of Izmail occupies a special place. The prologue to this war was another Russian-Turkish war - 1768-1774. It ended with the actual annexation of Crimea to Russia (formally it ended in 1783), and the conditions that crowned military confrontation Kuchuk-Kainardzhisky gave Russian military and merchant ships the opportunity to be based on the Black Sea and freely exit it through the straits controlled by the Porte - the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. In addition, after the conclusion of this peace treaty, Russia received the opportunity to seriously influence the situation in the Caucasus, and actually began the process of including Georgia into the empire - which fully met the aspirations of the Georgian kingdom.
The course of the first Russian-Turkish war, waged by Empress Catherine the Great, was so unsuccessful for the Turks that when they signed the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace, they, despite the active intervention and support of England and France, did not dare to seriously argue with the Russian conditions. But as soon as the memory of the catastrophic defeats inflicted on the Ottoman troops by the Russians under the command of commanders Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov began to fade, Istanbul, which was very actively hinted at the injustice of the terms of the agreement by London and Paris, immediately wanted to reconsider the humiliating, in its opinion, agreement.
First of all, the Ottomans demanded that Russia return Crimea to them, completely stop all actions to expand influence in the Caucasus, and agree that all Russian ships passing through the straits would be subject to mandatory inspection. Petersburg, which remembered the recently ended war very well, could not agree to such humiliating conditions. And he unequivocally rejected all the claims of Istanbul, after which the Turkish government declared war on Russia on August 13, 1787.
But the course of military operations turned out to be completely different from what was seen in the Ottoman Empire. The Russians, contrary to the expectations of Istanbul and the complimentary reports of spies in London and Paris, turned out to be much better prepared for war than the Turks. This is what they began to demonstrate, winning victories one after another. First, in the first major battle on the Kinburn Spit, General Suvorov’s detachment, which consisted of only one and a half thousand fighters, completely defeated a Turkish landing force three times larger than it: out of five thousand Turks, only about seven hundred people survived. Seeing that they could not count on success in the offensive campaign, and that there was no chance of defeating the Russian army in field battles, the Turks switched to passive defense, relying on their Danube fortresses. But even here they miscalculated: in September 1788, troops under the command of Pyotr Rumyantsev took Khotin, and on December 17, 1788, the army under the command of Potemkin and Kutuzov took Ochakov (by the way, the then unknown captain Mikhail Barclay de Tolly distinguished himself in that battle). In an effort to take revenge for these defeats, the Turkish vizier Hasan Pasha at the end of August 1789 crossed the Danube with a 100,000-strong army and moved to the Rymnik River, where on September 11 he suffered a crushing defeat from Suvorov’s troops. And the next year, 1790, the fortresses of Kiliya, Tulcha and Isakcha fell successively under the onslaught of Russian troops.
But even these defeats did not force the Porto to seek reconciliation with Russia. The remnants of the garrisons of the fallen fortresses gathered in Izmail - the Danube fortress, which in Istanbul was considered indestructible. And the first unsuccessful attempt of Russian troops under the command of Prince Nikolai Repnin to take Izmail in a swoop in September 1789 only confirmed this opinion. Until the enemy rose to the Izmail walls, Istanbul did not even think about peace, believing that this time Russia would break its teeth on this tough nut.
The Assault of Ishmael, 18th century engraving. Photo: wikipedia.org
“My hope is in God and in your courage”
The irony of fate was that the unsuccessful assault undertaken by Prince Repnin in 1789 became a kind of compensation to the Turks for losing the battle for Izmail in the late summer of 1770. Moreover, then the troops that still managed to take the obstinate fortress were commanded by the same Nikolai Repnin! But in 1774, under the terms of the same Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace, Izmail was returned to Turkey, which tried to take into account the mistakes of the first defense and strengthen the defense of the fortress.
Ishmael resisted very actively. Neither the attempt of Prince Nikolai Repnin, nor the efforts of Count Ivan Gudovich and Count Pavel Potemkin, who besieged the fortress in the fall of 1790, were successful. It got to the point that on November 26, the military council, in which Gudovich, Potemkin and the commander of the Black Sea rowing flotilla that entered the Danube, Major General Osip de Ribas (the same legendary founder of Odessa), sat, decided to lift the siege and command a retreat.
This decision was categorically rejected by the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky. But realizing that the generals, who had once already admitted their inability to take the fortress, were unlikely to do so even after a new formidable order, he entrusted the responsibility of capturing Izmail to Alexander Suvorov.
In fact, the future generalissimo was ordered to do the impossible: it is not without reason that some researchers believe that Potemkin, who was dissatisfied with the rapid promotion of the new commander, threw him under Izmail, hoping that he would be completely embarrassed. This was hinted at by the unusually soft tone of Potemkin’s letter, despite the rather tense relations between the military leaders: “My hope is in God and in your courage, hurry up, my gracious friend. According to my order to you, your personal presence there will connect all the parts. There are many generals of equal rank, and from this there always comes out a kind of indecisive Diet... Look at everything and order it, and pray to God and take action! There are weak points, as long as they work together. My most faithful friend and most humble servant, Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky.”
Meanwhile, the forces of the Russians, even after Suvorov brought with him only six months ago the Phanagorian Grenadier Regiment that he personally formed, as well as 200 Cossacks, 1000 Arnauts (volunteers from among the Moldovans, Wallachians and other peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, who were recruited for Russian service ) and 150 hunters of the Absheron Musketeer Regiment, its forces were significantly inferior to the forces of the Turks. In total, at the beginning of the assault, Suvorov had thirty-one thousand active bayonets and sabers. At the same time, the garrison of Izmail exceeded the number of Russian troops by at least 4,000 people. And what kind! This is how General Orlov writes about it: “The garrison for lately strengthened greatly, because troops from fortresses that had already been taken by the Russians also gathered here. ...In general there is no data for reliable and precise definition the strength of the garrison of Ishmael. The Sultan was very angry with the 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. ...The determination to defend Ishmael or die was shared by many of the other three- and two-bunch pashas. The faint-hearted few did not dare to reveal their weakness.”
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich. Photo: wikipedia.org
The fate of the fallen fortress
When Suvorov, who arrived near Izmail on December 2 (13), incognito examined the fortress in a circle, his verdict was disappointing: “A fortress without weak points.” But such a weak point was nevertheless found: it was the inability of the Turkish garrison to repel the simultaneous assault launched by Suvorov from three directions, including from a completely unexpected one - from the Danube bed. It also had an effect that for five days before the start of the assault, Suvorov’s troops, in full accordance with the commander’s plan, built and then learned to storm a model of the Izmail walls, and therefore had a perfect idea of how to act during the assault itself.
After a thirteen-hour battle, the fortress fell. The losses of the Turkish side were catastrophic: 29 thousand people died immediately, another two thousand died from wounds during the first day, 9000 were captured and were forced to carry the bodies of their fallen comrades out of the fortress and throw them into the Danube. Russian troops, although it is believed that during such operations the losses of the attackers are an order of magnitude greater than the losses of the defenders, escaped with much less bloodshed. Nikolai Orlov provides the following data in his monograph: “Russian losses are shown in the report: killed - 64 officers and 1,815 lower ranks; wounded - 253 officers and 2,450 lower ranks; the entire loss was 4,582 people. There is news that determines the number of killed to 4 thousand and wounded to 6 thousand, a total of 10 thousand, including 400 officers (out of 650).” But even if the last figures are correct, the result is still amazing: with superior enemy position and manpower, defeat him, exchanging losses one to two!
The further fate of Ishmael was bizarre. Lost for Turkey after the success of Suvorov, he returned to her under the terms of the Peace of Jassy: and all parties to the conflict were clearly aware that it was the fall of the fortress that accelerated his imprisonment. In 1809 Russian troops under the command of Lieutenant General Andrei Zass they will take it again, and the fortress will remain Russian for a long half-century. Only after Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War, in 1856, Izmail will be given to Moldova, a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, and the new owners, under the terms of the transfer, will blow up the fortifications and dig earthworks. And eleven years later, Russian troops in last time will enter Izmail to free it forever from the Turkish presence. Moreover, they will enter without a fight: Romania, which at that time will be the owner of the former fortress, will betray Turkey and open the way for the Russian army...
Exactly 220 years ago in December 1790, during the Russian-Turkish war, impregnable fortress Ishmael.
Map of Izmail.
Ishmael, the stronghold of the Ottoman Porte on the banks of the Danube, was rebuilt under the leadership of French and German engineers as an army fortress: the “ordu kalesi”. It was designed to accommodate an entire army. On three sides (northern, western and eastern) the fortress was surrounded by a 6 km long rampart, up to 8 meters high, with earthen and stone bastions. A ditch 12 meters wide and up to 10 meters deep was dug in front of the rampart, which selected places filled with water. On the southern side, Izmail was covered by the Danube. Inside the city there were many stone buildings that could be actively used for defense. The fortress garrison numbered 35 thousand people with 265 fortress guns. The commandant of Izmail was the experienced Turkish military commander Aidos Mehmet Pasha.
Ishmael was the bone in the throat or the crown jewel. He was bothering me and couldn't be controlled. In general, the campaign, launched in 1787, was successful. Ishmael was supposed to be the decisive point, the most powerful argument in peace negotiations. And, as always happens in such cases, the matter stalled.
In November, a Russian army of 31 thousand people (including 28.5 thousand infantry and 2.5 thousand cavalry) with 500 guns besieged Izmail from land. The river flotilla under the command of General Horace de Ribas, having destroyed almost the entire Turkish river flotilla, blocked the fortress from the Danube.
Two assaults on Izmail ended in failure and the troops moved on to a systematic siege and artillery shelling of the fortress. With the onset of autumn bad weather, mass diseases began in the army, located in open areas. Having lost faith in the possibility of taking Izmail by storm, the generals leading the siege decided to withdraw the troops to winter quarters. Everyone surrendered except de Ribas. He did not even think about withdrawing his troops. The last Russian-Turkish company was happy for him.
Joseph Mikhailovich de Ribas.
Brigadier de Ribas is given command of a small flotilla of gunboats. The romantic name “gunboat” meant a deckless oared longboat, the armament of which consisted of a single bow cannon. But under the command of the active and enterprising Ribas, it was a detachment of gunboats that scattered the Turkish fleet that had broken into the Dnieper estuary, thus defending the shipyards in Kherson.
In November 1788, Ribas's gunboats supported with fire the landing of the Black Sea Cossacks during the assault on fortified Berezan, the capture of which ensured a complete blockade of Ochakov, which ultimately made it possible to take it.
“To facilitate the actions of Your Imperial Majesty’s ground forces, I ordered the Grebnon Black Sea flotilla under the command of Mr. General Major Ribas, adding the boats of the faithful Black Sea Cossacks to enter the Danube... In order to take possession of the batteries at the mouth of this Girl, consisting of he sent a landing on the shore from a thousand Granoders of the Dniester seaside Granodersky Corps. When the ships approached the shore, the zeal of Your Imperial Majesty’s troops was such that they, disregarding their lives, threw themselves into the water and, keeping one weapon, swam to the shore; in this case, it was impossible to land more than six hundred people. The commander of the landing, Lieutenant Colonel. and the Cavalier de Ribas, seeing that the enemy had already begun to open it and that the flotilla, due to the opposition of the wind, could not help him, went to attack the batteries during the march; the enemy, hiding in the reeds, fired at him with rifle fire, to which he did not respond, trying to open him, to drive him and climb the battery with him...
At dawn, Lieutenant Colonel de Ribas sent a detachment on the remaining Turkish boats; this was accomplished very quickly and successfully to occupy the western battery, for the enemy left the battery without long-range resistance and ran into the reeds. taken here seven transport ships; there are thirteen cannons on the batteries, and six on the blown up ship; also several shells and food supplies." (From G. Potemkin’s report to Catherine II)
It is de Ribas who comes to mind brilliant idea replenish the fleet with sunken Turkish ships raised from the bottom of the estuaries. This is very important because sea ships they couldn’t drive with a deep draft fighting in the shallow coastal zone, river mouths and estuaries, and there was a catastrophic lack of galley and rowing.
In June 1789, commanding a separate detachment - the “vanguard” of Gudovich’s army, de Ribas took the fortified Gadzhubey by storm (here Odessa would later be founded through his efforts), and on November 4, already as commander of the Dnieper rowing flotilla, he took part in the capture of Bendery.
He took part in the famous battle at Cape Tendra and captured the fortresses of Tolchi and Isakchi.
“At dawn on the 7th day, the flotilla approached Tulcea. The castle was occupied by the Granoders under the command of Lieutenant Colonel de Ribas. The loot here was in addition to those captured yesterday, one warship. Transport and other small thirty-eight guns were found in the castle, ten gunpowder, two hundred and forty barrels and a considerable number of different military shells. The entire coast in front of the thicket was covered with members of the torn enemy ships. We counted more than a hundred killed by the Turks.” (From G. Potemkin’s report to Catherine II)
“After the defeat and destruction of enemy ships near Tulcha and after the capture of this City, Your Imperial Majesty’s flotilla, rising to Cape Chatalu, took its position there, which cut off all communication between Izmail and the right bank of the Danube. From there, Major General Ribas sent two divisions to Isakchi under the command of The fleet of Captain Lieutenant Litke and Lieutenant Colonel Deribas, following with great difficulty up the river against Strong Aspiration, they finally reached the end. to Isacce 13th of this month. The enemy met them with a brutal cannonade both from the Dry Route and from the flotilla, consisting of one Saitia, one Kirlangich and thirteen 2 Lansonov. But when our detachment approached, half a cannon shot opened its cruel, continuous fire and set fire to the enemy flotilla, some of our ships bypassed the opposing ones and island, came to her rear, then the enemy, brought into complete confusion, sought salvation in Flight, abandoning their ships, embankment batteries and a vast castle, which was immediately occupied by the troops landed on the embankment; twenty-two lançons were built here, while all the other ships fell into our hands, and in the castle a lot of all kinds of supplies, tools of all kinds, ropes, sheets, anchors and a significant amount of gunpowder were found." (From the report of G. Potemkin to Catherine II)
His flotilla, together with the flotilla of the Black Sea Cossacks, and also the landing troops landed on the lançons (which, by the way, were commanded by his brother Emmanuel), destroyed a significant part of the Turkish Danube fleet (about 200 ships in total), captured cannons, extensive warehouses along the banks of the Danube with food and military equipment, making it difficult to supply the besieged Ishmael. For this, he added St. George, 2nd class, to the orders he already had. The award was given by personal order of the Empress.
Ribas was approaching Ishmael. He believed in his military happiness. And suddenly the order was to go to winter quarters.
“When Ishmael was surrounded by strong troops, considering the last testimony of this man who fled from there on the 8th of NN about the number of the garrison and artillery, and moreover about the points, the defense of the excellent fortress was even more agreed upon: as there is no siege artillery, except for naval guns on the squadron and Field artillery has one set of charges, and for its close-range shots, batteries located on the flanks of the fortress are unreliable, when severe winter weather approaches and the distance is not close to winter apartments inflict final punishment on the designated batteries and then begin the assault. But since the success of this is doubtful, and even if it follows, there may be several thousand troops, for which sake they will be handed over to the high consideration of His Serene Highness the Commander-in-Chief. Due to these difficulties, if there is no assault, then according to military rules the obstruction must be changed into a blockade, since the garrison has food only for a month and a half; only so that the necessary parts of the troops, determined by sufficient provisions, as well as enough firewood for porridge and for heating, and other necessary benefits for standing, would have.
Successful measures must be taken for this. According to the force of the military regulations of the head .... point ...."
Ribas bombarded Potemkin with letters and campaign plans.
Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin, Field Marshal General, Commander of the Southern Army.
Maybe it wouldn’t have helped, but he had a powerful ally... Catherine the Second. She understood that if she did not end Turkey now, then in the spring the European powers would come to her side. Potemkin could not stand it - he gave up and sent a letter... to Alexander Suvorov, whose military glory shone, eclipsing the merits of others with its hot rays. The legendary defense of the Kinburg fortress, the no less legendary battle of Rymnik, the victory at Focsani - these are only the works of the last campaign.
V. Surikov. Portrait of A.V. Suvorov
“Ishmael remains a nest for the enemy and although communication is interrupted through the flotilla, he still ties his hands for further enterprises, my hope is in God and in your courage, hurry up, my gracious friend. According to my order to you, your personal presence there will connect all the parts.
There are many equal Generals, and this always results in some kind of indecisive Diet. Pisces will be to your advantage in everything, both in terms of enterprise and diligence. You will be pleased with Kutuzov too; look around and arrange it, and pray to God and take action; There are weak points, if only we could work together.
Give instructions to Prince Golitsyn when God helps you go higher, the original is signed:
most faithful friend and most humble servant Prince
Potemkin-Tavrichesky."
Grenadier (presumably the Ekaterinoslav Regiment) 1790s. From an etching by Jacquemard 1790s.
Potemkin abdicated responsibility. “Before my orders reached General Anshef Gudovich, General Porutchik Potemkin and Major General de Ribas about entrusting you with command over all the troops located near the Danube, and about carrying out an assault on Izmail, they decided to retreat. I receive this hour about that report, I leave it to your Siya to act here at your best discretion, whether by continuing the enterprise on Ishmael or leaving it. Your Siya, being in place and having your hands untied, of course, do not miss anything that can only contribute to the benefit of the service and the glory of the weapon. Just hasten to let me know about the measures acceptable to you and provide the aforementioned Generals with your instructions." Suvorov had to decide for himself how to proceed. What, in fact, General Forward, as his Austrian allies would later call him, could decide - of course, an assault. Although, there was certainly a risk. “One could only dare to undertake such an assault once in a lifetime.” But Suvorov’s risk was never thoughtless. As soon as he appeared in the camp with his trusted Phanagorians and Absheronians, the mood in the troops changed. The magic of the name began to work - Suvorov is with us, which means everything will be fine. Work began to boil: weapons were checked, ladders were prepared, fascines were knitted.
A training ground was set up: walls and ramparts similar to those of Izmail, where assault techniques were practiced. "More sweat - less blood"
Soldiers of the combined grenadier battalions of the Yekaterinoslav Army, armed with cavalry carbines and bladed weapons on poles, knives on Ratovischi.
On December 7, Suvorov sent a letter from Potemkin to the commandant of Izmail with an ultimatum to surrender the fortress.
“Having brought my troops closer to Ishmael and surrounding this city on all sides, I have already taken decisive measures to conquer It.
Fire and sword are already ready to destroy every living creature in it; but before these destructive means are used, following the mercy of my most merciful Monarch, who abhors the shedding of human blood, I demand from you the voluntary surrender of the city. In this case, all the inhabitants and troops of the Izmail Turks of the Tatar and others who are under the Mohammedan law will be released beyond the Danube with their property, but if you continue your useless persistence, then the fate of Ochakov will follow with the city, and then the blood of innocent wives and babies will remain on your account.
The brave general Count Alexander Suvorov Rymniksky was appointed to carry out this."
Attached to the letter was a note from Suvorov - to Seraskir, the Chiefs and the entire society: “I arrived here with the army. 24 hours to think about surrender and freedom: my first shots are already bondage: assault death. Which I leave for you to consider.”
The Turks first asked for a day to think, and then responded no less figuratively: “The Danube would sooner stop its course and the sky bow to the ground than Ishmael would surrender.”
The assault was scheduled for December 11. Suvorov succeeded everywhere, he felt completely in his element - a worthy opponent, a completely impregnable fortress and he was finally alone. Not a single advisor-chief behind him. Under Kozludzhi, Kamensky “hung” in his arms; under Focsani and Rymnik, he had to reckon with the Prince of Coburg. He didn't miss a single detail. Was compiled detailed plan, column leaders were appointed, reconnaissance was carried out.
Private and chief officer of an infantry regiment in uniform 1786-1796
It was decided to attack in three detachments (three columns each). De Ribas was ordered to attack from the river side (three columns - Major General Arsenyev, Brigadier Chepega and Guard Major Markov). The right wing under the command of Lieutenant General P. S. Potemkin (7,500 people - three columns of Major Generals Lvov, Lassi and Meknob) was supposed to strike from the western part of the fortress; the left wing of Lieutenant General A.N. Samoilov (12 thousand people, three columns of brigadiers Orlov, Platov and Major General Golenishchev-Kutuzov) - 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, poorly armed.
On December 10 (December 21), at sunrise, preparations began for an assault by fire from the flank batteries, from the island, and from the flotilla ships (about 600 guns in total).
O. Vereisky. Suvorov and Kutuzov before the assault on Izmail.
It lasted almost a day and ended 2.5 hours before the start of the assault. At 3 a.m. on December 11 (December 22), the first signal flare went up, according to which the troops left the camp and, forming columns, set out to places designated by distance.
Map of the actions of Russian troops during the assault on Izmail.
At half past five in the morning the columns moved to attack. Was there fear or excitement? Of course, but there was no panic, everyone knew where they should stand and what to do. In front were riflemen (they had to stop at the fortress moat and suppress the defenders with fire) and convoys with ladders and fascines - to fill the moat.
The Turks heard: frenzied fire opened from the bastions and ramparts - rifle bullets, buckshot, cannonballs... The rangers and grenadiers climbed across the moat under the walls of the fortress on shaky, slippery fascines. Stones and logs were flying from above, but for artillery it was a dead zone. Here, near the walls, you could catch your breath. Wait for the stairs and go up. The most experienced ones walked ahead, those who stormed Ochakov and survived. The Janachars screamed on the walls, waving short, curved sabers.
At the top, bayonets were used.
Russians infantrymen during hand-to-hand combat
Suvorov himself was on the north side, not far from the third column.
Casket. Lacquer miniature. N.M. Zinoviev. Capture of Izmail by Suvorov.
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 gates, united with the 2nd column. The Khotyn gates were open to the cavalry.
Engraving by S. Shiflyar “Storm of Izmail December 11 (22), 1790.” Made according to a watercolor drawing by the famous battle painter M.M. Ivanova The drawing was based on full-scale sketches made by the artist during the battle.
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 4th and 5th columns were not so lucky, they consisted of dismounted Cossacks with shortened pikes, and the fifth exclusively of Cossack recruits; both columns were subordinate to Major General Bezborodko. The peaks were easily cut by Turkish sabers, and the Cossacks found themselves practically unarmed in front of the enemy. Taking advantage of the confusion, the Turks opened the Kilik Gate and attacked the attacking flank. And if it weren’t for help from the reserves, the Cossacks would have had a very hard time.
Fragment of the diorama “Storm of Ishmael”. Izmailsky historical museum A.V.Suvorova
Difficulties also arose for the 3rd column of Meknob: it 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.
What about de Ribas? His landing troops landed on the beach around 7 am.
The rapid and successful progress of the attack was facilitated at the very beginning by the first assault ground column, which captured several Danube batteries and thereby facilitated the landing of troops.
The Turks were shot down from the river side as successfully as from the land side, and Ribas entered into contact with the columns of Lvov and Kutuzov.
Assault on Ishmael.
By 11 am, Russian flags were flying over almost all the bastions and curtains. The worst thing began - fighting in the city. For every street, for every house. Cruel, bloody, merciless. Several thousand horses broke out of the stables and rushed around the city in horror, increasing the general confusion. General Lassi was the first to reach the middle of the city, here he met a thousand Tatars under the command of Maksud Giray, the prince of Genghis Khan's blood. Maksud Giray defended himself stubbornly, and only when most of his detachment was killed, he surrendered with 300 soldiers remaining alive. Behind Lassi, others began to gradually approach the center. 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. By one o'clock in the afternoon the entire city was occupied; The Turks continued to defend themselves only in the mosque, two khans and the Tabiy redoubt, but could not hold out for long and were partly knocked out and partly surrendered.
Suvorov ordered the cavalry to finally clear the streets. It took time to carry out this order; Individuals and small crowds defended themselves like mad, while others hid, so that it was necessary to dismount to find them. An attempt to snatch Izmail back was made by Kaplan Giray, the brother of the Crimean Khan. He gathered several thousand horse and foot Tatars and Turks and led them towards the advancing Russians. But this attempt failed, he fell, and more than 4 thousand Turks were killed, including the five sons of Kaplan Giray. At two o'clock in the afternoon all columns penetrated into the city center. At 4 o'clock the victory was finally won. Ishmael fell. The fortress was taken by an army that was inferior in number to its garrison. The case is extremely rare in the history of military art.
A. Rusin. Entrance A.V. Suvorov to Izmail.
“...there is no stronger fortress, no more desperate defense, like Ishmael, who fell before the highest throne of Her Imperial Majesty in a bloody assault. I sincerely congratulate your lordship" (From the report of A.V. Suvorov to G.A. Potemkin)
R. Volkov. Portrait of M.I. Kutuzova
According to the promise given in advance by Suvorov, the city, according to the custom of that time, was given over to the power of the victors for three days. They got rich trophies. Suvorov, as always, did not touch anything. He even refused the magnificent horse in luxurious attire that was brought to him. “The Don horse brought me here, and I’ll leave here on it.” At the same time, Suvorov took measures to ensure order. Kutuzov, who was appointed commandant of Izmail at the height of the battle (in this way Suvorov “stimulated” the 6th column to perform feats), 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.
Medal for lower ranks take Ishmael.
The rewards “for the cause” were distributed in a whimsical manner, as always. 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.
Officer's Cross for take Ishmael.
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. Obviously, Grigory Alexandrovich did not forgive Alexander Vasilyevich either his military talent or his daring phrase. In response to Potemkin’s question: “How can I reward you, Alexander Vasilyevich?” Suvorov replied: “I am not a merchant and did not come here to bargain; no one except God and the Empress can reward me.” 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. 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; a gold badge was installed for officers; Based on Suvorov’s very detailed and fair report, the commanders received orders or golden swords, some received ranks.
8 - Officer's cross and soldier's medal for participation in the storming of Izmail in December 1790
9 - Breastplate officer badge of the Phanagorian Grenadier Regiment with the image of the Ishmael Cross. 19th century
The conquest of Ishmael was of great political significance. It influenced the further course of the war and the conclusion of the Treaty of Iasi between Russia and Turkey in 1791, which confirmed the annexation of Crimea to Russia and established the Russian-Turkish border along the river. Dniester. Thus, the entire northern Black Sea region from the Dniester to the Kuban was assigned to Russia.
Portrait of A.V. Suvorov. Hood. Yu.H. Sadilenko
Vesuvius spews flames,
A pillar of fire stands in the darkness,
The crimson glow gapes,
Black smoke flies upward in a cloud.
Pontus turns pale, furious thunder roars,
The blows are followed by blows,
The earth is shaking, sparks are raining,
Rivers of red lava are bubbling, -
Oh Ross! This is your image of glory,
That light was brewing under Ishmael.
G. Derzhavin. "Ode to the Capture of Ishmael"
Materials from Wikipedia and websites were used.
