The great battle at Rymnik in historical chronicles is one of the events of the Russo-Turkish war, which lasted from 1787 to 1791. It is considered one of the main battles of this period and the most outstanding victory of General Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov. For her, he received special awards both from Empress Catherine II and from the Austrian Emperor Joseph II.
Historical background to the battle
The military campaign lasted a year (since 1788). Before the battle of Rymnik took place, Russian troops entered into an alliance treaty with Austria. At that time, the empire had a parallel war with the Swedes. They felt that the enemy could not break into two fronts, so they wanted to gain a foothold in the Baltic. Despite the fact that Austria was a union country, it also had its own interest in this. If Russia began to lose the battle, it could well have begun a military operation to seize territories.
Based on all of the above, the Third Field Army was created, the command of which was transferred to Rumyantsev-Zadunaysky. After this, the Southern Army appeared, which was formed from the Ekaterinoslav and Ukrainian armies. The command was taken by Field Marshal Potemkin. From Austria a whole corps was given, commanded by Field Marshal Prince Saxon Saalfeld Friedrich Coburg. The location of the Prussian corps was the Seret River. The command of the third division was transferred to General Suvorov. To act, in which case, he had to with the corps of Coburg.
From the side of the Turks there was a thorough preparation for the battle. Yusuf Pasha, who commanded the troops of the Sultan, gathered a large army in the lower Danube. The first blow was supposed to be behind them and it was on the Austrian corps. However, opponents learned about all these movements. Suvorov immediately moved to the aid of the Austrians. This led to the fact that at the time of the decisive battle of Focsani, the allied forces were together, which led the Turks to confusion. As a result, the Austrians and Russians won.
It was this defeat of the Turks that led to the fact that the Prussian government did not begin to sign a peace treaty with the Sultan. The emperor of Austria was very pleased with the victory.
Next, we will examine in more detail the battle of Ramnik, whose year falls on 1789.
Who led the battle
In this Turkish-Russian war he became famous as the great commander, Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov. He came from a noble family, his father was also a soldier. Despite the fact that in childhood he was quite painful, he was subsequently able to achieve great achievements. A.V. Suvorov was considered an unusual nobleman, to some he even seemed an eccentric.
On his account quite a lot of different battles, the commander developed his own system of training and education of troops. She was later adopted for training young soldiers.
And, of course, his actions became outstanding when there was a battle at Rymnik. The commander acted the army competently, quickly and without the slightest hesitation. Subsequently, this particular battle was noted by contemporaries as one of the most outstanding.
The actions of the Russian Empire before the battle
The battle on Rymnik itself happened because the commander insisted on the command to continue the offensive after the victory at Fokshany. Of course, this did not happen right away, since Repnin hesitated.
The matter was decided that the Turks had intensified, about which the commander of the Austrian corps Coburg informed Suvorov. This led to the fact that on September 8, Suvorov advanced towards the Prussian prince and his army. The unification occurred on September 10th. Before the battle began on the river Rymnik, the commander Suvorov took over command. It was decided to attack the enemy.
Of course, before that they conducted reconnaissance and learned all the locations of the Turkish troops. They were quite far from each other, which was a mistake of strategic command. A plan was adopted to reduce enemy forces before the main battle.
The actions of the Turks
While the command of the Russian Empire was considering its actions, Yusuf Pasha led his troops to the lower Danube, namely to the Brail Fortress. Before the battle at Rymnik began, an army arrived, numbering about one hundred thousand soldiers. The other corps of Turkish soldiers commanded by Gassan Pasha distracted Repnin's group so that he could not strike from the flank.
Yusuf Pasha organized several camps. Near the Kryngu-Maylor forest, the main one was located, the rest were located in other villages.
Battle
Allied Austrian forces were supposed to cross the Rymnu River and attack two Turkish camps. They made two columns on the night of September 10th. At dawn, the Austrians and Russians were in place near the Tyrgo-Kukul camp. The Turks did not notice their approach. The assault on the Turkish camp began.
A.V. Suvorov simultaneously with the Prussian soldiers hit the enemy troops. The battle was quite successful and after some time ended in the complete defeat of the two camps. After that, the Turks fled towards the third, but Suvorov ordered them not to be chased, since after many hours of fighting the army was exhausted. Moreover, the defeat of the enemy was impressive.
Loss of two armies
The battle on the river Rymnik brought many casualties. After a short rest on September 12, Russian and Prussian troops approached the last Turkish camp. He was already abandoned, and the soldiers and the vizier retreated to the Buseo River. Then Yusuf Pasha showed himself on the disgusting side. He threw his army to the mercy of fate, crossing the vanguard and ordering the destruction of the crossing. The army tried to cross the river on their own or with the help of rafts. Only about fifteen thousand soldiers returned home.
The defeat, indeed, was crushing. About twenty thousand soldiers were killed, about four hundred people were captured. Eighty guns and a mortar, almost all military equipment that turned out to be abandoned, as well as traction - horses and mules were lost from equipment.
Russian troops, despite their small numbers compared with the Turks, lost only 179 people killed and wounded. And the Austrian corps lost about five hundred soldiers.
Events that occurred after the battle
The battle on the river Rymnik turned out to be a historical event and turned the tide of history. Because of this, the troops of the Turks were greatly demoralized, and the Russian Empire acquired an ally in the person of the Austrian state.
After the battle, Suvorov was presented for the award. He received the Order of St. Great Martyr and Victorious George the First Class. From the empress he was granted the title of Count Rymniksky. The Austrian emperor also received awards. Suvorov received the count dignity of the Holy Roman Empire.
In addition, the most distinguished commanders, such as Prince Shakhovsky, Lieutenant General Derfelden, Colonels Miklashevsky, Sherstnev and many others, were awarded.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that the battle of Rymnik showed the true valor of the Russian people, as well as the experience of the Russian commanders. In historical chronicles, the memories of Austrian soldiers about their allied forces remained. It was mentioned in them that the Suvorov warriors completely obey their commander, are loyal to him and fight very bravely and purposefully. Is this evidence of the valor of a Russian soldier?