The immortal feat of the Don and Zaporizhzhya Cossacks: Azov siege seat. Part of 2

1
Defense of the fortress

According to “The Story ...”: “Turkish forces surrounded us with great ones. Where the steppe was clean, there were many people there, that the forests are dark. From that power and horse land, near Azov, we bent and the water splashed out of the Don River, like in a flood ”... The Turkish army surrounded the fortress from the Don River to the Sea of ​​Azov in the 8 lines for 40 versts, the siege began. The first day was a demonstration of force: the enemy cavalry maneuvered menacingly in front of the walls, banners flew, drums rattled, trumpets were blown, etc. The enemy sought to break the will of the Cossacks. So they surrendered without a fight. Only 24 June 1641, the Turkish army for the first time demonstrated its firepower: "There was fire and smoke up to heaven, all our fortifications in the city were shaken, and the sun grew dim and painted in blood that day!" In the evening, the colonel demanded the surrender of the fortress: the Cossacks were promised a free pass, while resisting death and "cruel torments." The Cossacks answered this boldly: they called the Sultan poorly intelligent - he sent a huge army against the poor Cossacks, from whom they had nothing to take, promised to kill the next envoy, so that he would not say nonsense. In addition, they promised after the defense to take back Jerusalem and Constantinople, "for before that there was a Christian kingdom."


The Turkish ambassadors returned with nothing, the army began to prepare for the assault, occupying the initial positions. With the dawn of 25 on June 1641, shelling began, hundreds of nuclei flew into the fortress, but the Cossacks did not respond, took care of gunpowder. Then 30 thousand soldiers went to the assault: German mercenaries, janissaries and others. “Shouting violently, they began to chop axes and walls with axes and break with crowbars, climb on the walls. With knives, we were slaughtered with them in that attack ... ”. The rear ranks fired rifle fire, others climbed assault ladders, the Cossacks began to shoot back: “only fire and thunder stood like a terrible storm.” There was a terrible fight: they threw down enemies with stones, broke down the stairs, chopped them with sabers, pricked them with pikes. The Turkish army suffered significant losses from pre-prepared "mines" outside the walls, dug underground galleries there, stuffed them with barrels of gunpowder, canister, stones, iron ore. At a signal they were blown up, the enemy suffered heavy losses in manpower. The battle went on all day, in the end the Turks retreated, having lost thousands to the 10, only people killed, especially a heavy loss was sustained by a detachment of German mercenaries, it was actually destroyed, Pasha Kafa died, six colonels of the Janissaries. The Cossacks even made a raid and seized the great banner of the Sultan.

The next day, the Turks offered money to bury their dead, the Cossacks refused the money - “We are not selling merchandise!”, But they allowed the bodies to be collected. For three days the Turkish army buried its dead.

Having received the most severe lesson, having understood that it’s impossible to take Azov on the move, the Turkish command decides to begin a long-term siege. Artillery bombarded the city, but at that time soldiers and labor force were digging ditches day and night, preparing positions. Under the leadership of German and Italian engineers 150-thousandth army of "black men" built a huge earthen mountain. She was brought to the fortress in just a day's 3, then raised above the fortress wall and poured higher and higher. With her help, the Turks were able to fire the entire city, this could not be allowed. One day, almost all Cossack forces came out of Azov, shouting “Hurray!” And “God is with us!” And attacked the Turkish troops and unarmed workers who were digging in. The Turkish military units and the workers, taken by surprise, rushed to flee: “We killed many thousands of them at that time and took sixteen banners of the janissary from that mountain on the mountain ...”, reports the Tale of the Azov Seat.

But then the Turks continued their work - guns were dragged onto the earthen wall and opened fire on the fortress, but an unexpected terrible explosion shook the neighborhood; when the dust and dust settled, it became clear that the mountain was destroyed. The Cossacks, while the Turks were building a mountain, dug a tunnel, laid a mine and destroyed the enemy’s plan. People were lost, guns, enraged Turkish commanders ordered to pour a new earthen tower. The construction was even more powerful. New batteries were installed on it, considerable forces guarded the mountain so that the Cossacks could not make a new sortie. The fire was fought day and night. Without stops. Ruined fortifications, guns, Cossacks. In addition, the fortress was bombed with mortars, they were commanded by the French.

The Cossacks were saved by the fact that they were well prepared before the start of the war - by building "secret secret chambers in the ground." The entire garrison, except for observers, was hiding in dugouts, crevices, underground galleries near the steep bank of the Don. But the Cossacks did not sit idly, they dug several dozen underground tunnels towards the enemy and made forays at night, cutting out Turkish units. The Turkish command decided to respond with the same coin - German engineers were instructed to dig undermines into the city, but the Cossacks apparently expected this step and, as experienced chess players, were proactive. All the undermining of the enemy was blown up, the Cossacks defeated European engineering in this battle. The Turks suffered significant losses in manpower.

Attack of the sea caravan, fight with vultures

The Turks spent a huge amount of gunpowder for round-the-clock firing, so they waited for the sea caravan with ammunition. "Plastuns" (Cossack intelligence) spotted an enemy caravan, and when it got dark, three hundred Don Cossacks, through a previously prepared underground passage, went to the coast and raised submerged strugi. They quietly crept up to the Turkish squadron and attacked her, some fought with the crews, others burned the enemy's ships. After the first explosion among the Turks began to panic, the ships were removed from the anchors, trying to get away from the dangerous place, faced, the fire spread. As a result, almost the entire caravan was destroyed.

A detachment of the Dontians, returning back on the coast, ran into an enemy army of many thousands. They took an unequal battle - rolling back to the river, they could not break through, the Turkish army closed the road. The Azov garrison also could not help, even the whole army, having left, would simply lie down in battle. But a real miracle happened - “it takes courage and cities”; Cossacks demanded to let them help the dying brothers. The elders were forced to concede: the gates opened and a detachment of Zaporizhzhya Cossacks rushed into battle. Turkish commanders did not believe their eyes: the infidels went crazy, the victory was near. The Turkish barnies moved in an avalanche direction, but the Cossacks conducted a unique maneuver - they knocked off the wedge, broke through the Turkish front and made their way to the remnants of their brothers' detachment. Sipahs were the elite of the Turkish troops, brave and skillful warriors, but they did not expect such a development of events. They mixed up, and while rebuilding the ranks, and the Pasha sent help, the Cossacks were able to go under the protection of the walls of Azov.

It was one of the exploits of the Russian warriors, about which it was possible to make films, write books, but why wake up memories that are not needed by this world ...


Sipahi

The continuation of the "seat"

The siege was delayed, rainy and cold September came, the Turkish ranks mowed down the disease. A shortage of ammunition and provisions began to manifest itself, and the fodder detachments that were sent to the headwaters of the Don were destroyed by the Cossacks who remained outside the fortress. The “Great Army” was demoralized by unsuccessful attempts to seize Azov and huge losses, discord began - they reproached the Crimean Khan for not leading his army into attacks. The army was melting not only from combat losses and diseases, deserters appeared.

Pasha sent a letter to the Sultan, where he proposed to postpone military operations until spring. From the capital of the empire - Istanbul - came a brief but terrible order: “Take the Azov or give your head!”. Delhi Hussein Pasha sent his people again and again to the attack of the fortress - all the Cossacks beat 24 to a large attack, multiplying the already huge losses - but he could not turn the tide. He tried again to solve the matter in peace: for the city they offered a ransom and a separate payment to each Cossack, plus free passage. The Cossacks refused to ransom, refused to leave the fortress, literally saying the following, continuing the traditions of the Svyatoslav ruses: “We don’t need your dog gold ... We, the young people, need fame around the world,” saying that they are not afraid of Turkish pasha and troops. “At once we told you that you will be remembered for us for ever and ever. Overseas, tell your Sultan how stupid it is to embark upon a Russian Cossack ... Put Azov on your bones better than before! ”They promised after the disgraceful defeat of the Turkish army to take the tribute 6 times more from the Ottoman Empire than before.

They immediately confirmed their words: “Let us honor ourselves for the dead corpse,” said goodbye to each other and made a surprise attack for the enemy, in a fierce battle, destroying several thousand enemies.

The Turkish commander-in-chief was forced to change his tactics, deciding to take the Cossacks into thin air. The assault followed the assault, the Cossacks lost all the artillery, they had no one to change - the Pasha threw in the squad after squad, which succeeded each other. No more than 3 thousand Cossacks survived, who were exhausted by incessant battles, with enemy fire, but did not lose their fighting spirit. They even managed to make night raids, 4 times destroying the main structures of the enemy, seizing gunpowder, weapon.

The garrison was ready to die in battle (why not recall the words of the Grand Duke Rus Svyatoslav, “Let’s not disgrace the Russian land, we’ll don’t have any dead bones here), when ataman Osip Petrov offered to strike the Turkish army and fight to the last: "Die not in the pits, but gloriously, in battle." On the night of September 26 (October 6, after the 93 days of the siege), the Cossacks prayed, said good-bye to death, embraced and silently went to the last, deadly battle. But the battle did not take place ... the Turkish army actually fled, leaving the camp. Cossacks rushed in pursuit and captured more than 2 thousand prisoners, killing even more.

The immortal feat of the Don and Zaporizhzhya Cossacks: Azov siege seat. Part of 2


Results of the Azov seat


According to the Cossacks, they destroyed about 96 thousands of enemies under the walls of Azov, the Moscow ambassador in Istanbul reported the same thing: “150000 is left of the active army of 50000, the rest of the Cossacks were beaten”. Kafinsky Pasha Yusuf died, the wounded Khan of the Crimean Horde, Begadir Giray died on the way, Commander-in-Chief Hussein Deli-Pasha and Admiral Piyala Pasha were deprived of their ranks. It was a complete defeat of the "Great Army", which had the power with which it was possible to seize any European country. Moreover, the armada was stopped and put to flight not by an army of equal strength, but by a detachment of Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks, who proved that God is not in power, but in Pravda. They did not disgrace the honor of the Russian army, having become equal in majesty with the ancestors, the Russians of the Great Svyatoslav, who beat the countless hordes of the Khazars and the Romans.

The Donets wrote then to Moscow that in that battle there was not one among the Cossacks who would not have been wounded and shed his blood in the name of God. “We ask the whole army to be the sovereign tsar of all Russia to take from the hands of our Azov-city. Thus, he will protect his entire Ukraine (as the outskirts of the state were called then, the border lands are the author), there will be no threats from the Tatars, as ours will sit in Azov. And if the sovereign does not accept the city of Azov, then weep, let us leave him! ”

In Moscow, I was happy about the victory of the “dashing thieving” Cossacks, who are still their own. The Cossacks were given a generous salary, praised, but refused to take the Azov. From the point of view of strategy, on the one hand, it was profitable to take the city - to start to go to the southern seas, develop trade, strengthen the southern border, but, on the other hand, would again have to fight, and threatening events would brew on the western borders (one of their outcome will be the glorious Pereyaslav Rada), the Turkish Sultan threatened to destroy all Orthodox Christians in their possessions. The decision of the king was also confirmed by the Zemsky Sobor convened in January 1642. The Cossacks were commanded to leave Azov, which they did: in the summer of 1642, they left Azov, destroying the remains of fortifications.

But the city still became Russian, after a little more than half a century, in 1696, the city of Azov was taken by Russian troops of Peter the Great forever, and it is very symbolic that the Don Cossacks were the first to enter the fortress. Azov seat is considered to be one of the brightest pages. stories Cossacks and Russian history, a model of unparalleled valor of Russian soldiers who defeated the enemy not by number but by skill ...


Monument to the Cossacks who died in Azov.

Sources of:
Venkov A.V. Azov seat. M., 2009.
Krasnov P.N. History of the Don Cossacks. Pictures of the former Pacific Don. M., 2007.
Shambarov V.E. Cossacks: The History of Free Russia. M., 2007.
http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus7/Azov/frametext.htm
http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2011/2/2011_2_18.php
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  1. +1
    27 November 2012 21: 40
    Great events

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