The great campaigns relate to the well-known historical events that accompanied the military actions of the rulers of different countries and aimed at conquering lands in Europe, Asia and other regions. In all ages, humanity has been engaged in the redivision and capture of new territories: neighboring villages, cities and countries. And even in the XXI century, this topic is popular, but now among readers who are fond of the style of fantasy. An example would be a book written by R. A. Mikhailov, The Great Campaign, published in 2017.
The conquests of Charlemagne
In Europe in the VIII century, during the early Middle Ages, there were several regions where the ancestors of modern Europeans lived. Among them, the largest were Byzantium and the state of the Franks. The latter existed from the V century and was originally located on the territory of modern France, the capital of the city was Aachen.
Later, during the wars, the regions of Belgium, Holland, and some regions of Germany, Austria and Italy were annexed. Most of the lands were conquered by King Charles (742-814), who received the nickname "The Great" during his lifetime.
Karl’s conquests took place in 770-810:
- against the Lombard kingdom, which ended in 774 with the accession of Franks to the territory between Rome and the Alps;
- submission to Bavaria (787);
- a campaign against the tribes of the Western Slavs of Veletos (789) and the conquest of the lands of modern Poland;
- war with the Avar Kaganate (791-803), located on lands from the Adriatic to the Baltic Sea, including part of Poland and Ukraine;
- the campaign against the Arabs in 778-810 and the creation of the Spanish mark in the Pyrenees;
- one of the bloodiest campaigns of Charlemagne is the campaign against the pagan tribes of the Saxons (772-804), who lived in the present territory of Germany.
In December 800, Pope Leo III bestowed on Charles the Great the imperial crown, as a result the name of the Franks Empire appeared. After his death, the throne was inherited by his son Louis I, who subsequently divided the rule between 3 sons. This served as the beginning of the formation of large European states: France, Germany and Italy.
Crusades
According to historians, the era from the Crusades is considered to be the period from the end of the XI to the beginning of the XII century. The first participants called themselves pilgrims, pilgrims and participants in the sacred road. For the first time, the economic reason for such a military campaign was defined by Pope Urban in 1095 as the conquest of rich lands in the East to increase the Christian population of the world, which, due to the increased number, could no longer feed. The religious goal of the campaigns, the Roman Catholic Church proclaimed to prevent the storage of the Holy Sepulcher in the hands of infidels.
The first Great Crusade began in August 1096, several thousand ordinary people took part in it. On the way, many died from illnesses and deprivations, and very few pilgrims reached Constantinople. The Turkish army dealt with them quickly. In the spring of 1097, the main army of the crusaders came to Asia Minor. Along the way, they captured cities, establishing their power, after which their population became serfdom among the knights.
As a result of the first campaign, the position of Catholics strengthened, but proved to be fragile. Already in the XII century. as a result of the resistance of the Muslim peoples, the principalities and the state of the crusaders fell, and in 1187 Jerusalem conquered the Holy Land along with the Holy Sepulcher stored there.
The newly organized campaigns of the army of Christ did not bring tangible results. So, during the Fourth Crusade (1204) Constantinople was plundered, the Latin Empire was founded, but it existed until 1261. In 1212-1213. a pilgrimage was organized for children over 12 years old, most of whom died on the way. The rest reached Genoa and Marseilles, where they died of starvation, drowned during transportation on ships or were captured.
Altogether, 8 campaigns were made to the East: the latter was towards the peoples of the Baltic, where the new cities of the crusaders Riga, Revel, Vyborg and others were organized. As a result of the forcible spread of the Catholic religion, their area of ​​residence expanded, spiritual and chivalric orders appeared. But there was also an increase in confrontation between Muslims, an aggressive jihad movement appeared as a protest against the violent actions of the crusaders.
Campaigns of Genghisides in the Russian land
The great western campaign of the Mongolian army in Russia, the Bulgar and Europe began in the autumn of 1236 with the defeat of the Bulgar and the occupation of the territories of the Volga-Ural settlements and peoples (Mordovians, Saksins, Votyaks, etc.). The army of Genghisides consisting of 4 thousand soldiers and commanders decided to move on to the Polovtsian steppes and to Europe. Among the commanders were famous historical figures: Batu, Subudai, etc.
The first to conquer the peoples of Great Hungary, which was located, according to historians, between the Urals and the Volga. In 1237, the Mongols completely destroyed Volga Bulgaria, taking many prisoners and destroying more than 60 cities. Those who managed to save, went into the woods and waged a guerrilla war. After the subjugation of the Votyak and Mordvin tribes, the Mongols came close to the borders of Russia, which at that time was divided into many independent small principalities.
The Mongols initially tried to negotiate with the princes of Ryazan, waiting for the onset of winter. As soon as the ice was frozen, a huge mass of Tatars fell upon the city. Due to the disunity, the princes could not agree with neighboring cities (Chernihiv and Vladimir) for help, and after a few days the siege of Ryazan turned into ashes.
After that, the Mongols turned their interests to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. In the battle near Kolomna, almost all of the Russian army perished on the borders. Then the cities of Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov, Torzhok and others were subsequently destroyed. Then the Pereyaslav and Chernigov principalities fell after a many-day siege. The capture of Chernigov took place in October 1239 with the help of throwing machines.
In 1240, Khan Batuy threw his renewed and rested army into Kiev, which was taken after the assault. Further, the path of the Mongols went westward and moved to Volyn and Galicia. Local princes, as the troops approached, simply fled to neighboring Hungary and Poland.
Mongol conquest of Europe
By the winter of 1241, the Tatars reached the borders of Western Europe. Having begun the next offensive of the Great Campaign, the Mongols crossed the Vistula and captured Sandomierz, Lentica and went to Krakow. The local governors, although they managed to join forces, were defeated, and the city was taken after the siege.
At this time, the Polish princes began to collect a nationwide militia near Wroclaw, which also included regiments from Upper and Lower Silesia, southern Poland. The German knights and Czech squads moved to their aid. However, the Mongol-Tatars turned out to be faster and completely defeated Wroclaw, crossing the Oder River. They won the next victory over the army of Henry the Pious, killing himself and all the barons.
The southern group of the Mongols moved at that time to Hungary, destroying several cities and villages on the way. However, further the army, led by Batu Khan, faced strong resistance from local troops, which outnumbered them. When crossing the Chaillot River, they encountered royal armor, who first defeated them. The next morning, the Mongols prepared more carefully, installing throwing machines and moving over the pontoon bridges to the other side, they surrounded the Hungarian camp, killed many, others managed to escape to Pest. Later, the Mongol army took this city, completing the conquest of Hungary.
Only some German cities, Presburg (Bratislava) and other settlements of Slovakia could resist the Chingiz forces.
In 1242, the Mongols themselves stopped the invasion, which was due to their need to return to their homeland and to participate in the election of a new supreme khan to replace the deceased Ogedei. One of the remaining units led by Kadan remained with the goal of capturing the King of Hungary, who at that time fled with his family to the island of Trau. The Mongols could not cross the strait and therefore moved south, destroying several cities in Bosnia and Serbia.
The cities of Kotor, Drivasto and Swatch were the last on the way of the army of Kadan. The Great Mongol campaign against Europe ended on them: the khan decided to return to his homeland with the army, passing through Bulgaria and the Polovtsian steppes along the way . Residents of European countries for several centuries were horrified by the mere mention of the Mongols.
Hiking to Novgorod
The very first great campaign on the territory of the Russian state received its name after the taming of Novgorod by Ivan III, who began to reign in 1462. Being brought up in an atmosphere of malice and treachery, Ivan became a cautious, cold and calculating ruler who set himself the goal of uniting the principalities into one state . The strongest destinies in those days were Novgorod and Tver.
The merchant and wealthy city of Veliky Novgorod, ruled by the People’s Veche, was considered independent of other principalities. During the unification of the eastern Russian regions around Moscow, and the southwestern ones with Lithuania, the city residents enjoyed their position. The Novgorod freemen, the local robbers and earpads did considerable harm to the merchants carrying goods to Moscow.
The campaign of Ivan III to Novgorod took place in 1477, when Moscow troops besieged the city, trying to conquer people with hunger and disease. By January 1478, the forces of the besieged were running out, so the local ruler, along with the boyars and Novgorod merchants, came to Ivan and swore allegiance to him.
The next campaign to Veliky Novgorod occurred during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, in 1569. After the denunciation that the Novgorodians wanted to go over to the side of Poland, the tsar was furious. The troops were sent to the "rebellious" city, along the way they killed and robbed everyone in a row, from Tver to Novgorod. In January 1570, the squad of Ivan the Terrible entered the city, seized the treasury, and took into custody all the priests, noble gentlemen and merchants, having sealed their property.
After the arrival of the king, most of them were beaten to death, and Bishop Pimen was deprived of his dignity and sent to prison. Ivan the Terrible, along with his son, adjudicated all captured inhabitants, torturing them and killing entire families. Within a few weeks, 1,500 Novgorodians died, of which 200 nobles with households, 45 clerks with families, etc.
Azov campaigns of Peter I
The great Russian Tsar Peter I made many political changes in the country. The Russian-Turkish war was launched during the regency of Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna. The Azov campaigns of Peter the Great (1695-1696) became its continuation. The reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the overdue decision to eliminate the constant threat from the Crimean Khanate, the raids of which devastated the southern regions of Russia.
During this period, Turkey entered into force a ban for Russian merchants on the transport of goods through the Sea of ​​Azov and the Black Sea, which created difficulties for the supply of goods. The enemy’s key strategic point was the Azov Fortress, located at the mouth of the Don River. If captured, Russian troops could gain a foothold on the shores of Azov and take control of the Black Sea. This in the future made it possible to increase the number of sea trade routes, which would have a positive impact on the development of the country's economy.
The young Tsar Peter I, who had previously honed his strategic military capabilities on amusing regiments, wanted to test them in real military operations. For the first campaign, he gathered almost 31 thousand people and 150 guns. The siege of Azov began in June and lasted several months, but was not successful, despite the large numerical superiority of troops. In the Turkish garrison, there were 7 thousand people. After two unsuccessful assaults on the fortress in August and September, Russian troops suffered losses. On October 2, the siege was lifted.
Continuation of the siege of Azov
The second Azov campaign of Peter the Great, which began after more thorough preparation and accounting for previous mistakes, took place in the spring of 1696. Long before the hostilities began, shipyards in Voronezh and the surrounding cities, on which military ships were built, were arranged by order of the tsar (2 ships, 23 galleys , 4 firewalls, etc.) under the guidance of invited Austrian shipbuilders.
The number of ground forces totaled 70 thousand and consisted of archers, soldiers and Zaporozhye Cossacks, cavalry of Kalmyks, 200 guns and about 1300 different ships. At the end of May, a flotilla of Russian ships reached the Sea of ​​Azov and blocked the fortress, cutting it off from the Turkish fleet that came to the aid.
From the enemy’s side, the garrison of the fortress was strengthened by 60 thousand Tatars, who were located near Azov. However, all their attacks from the camp were repulsed by Russian Cossacks. July 19, after heavy artillery shelling, the Turkish garrison surrendered, and then the Russians occupied the Lyutih fortress near the mouth of the Don.
After the destruction of the Azov fortress , it was decided not to rebuild, and for the sea base, a place was determined at Cape Taganyem, where after 2 years the city of Taganrog was founded.
Grand Embassy (1697-1698)
The next decision of the young king was to conduct a peaceful diplomatic mission in Europe to expand the coalition of powers against Turkey. After the successful completion of the Azov campaigns, the Great Embassy was sent from Moscow, headed by F. Lefort, F. Golovin, consisting of 250 people. Peter I decided to participate in it, but incognito - under the name of the officer Pyotr Mikhailov.
The aim of the diplomats who visited Poland, France, Prussia, England and Austria was to familiarize themselves with the economic and state systems of European countries, study the practice of manufacturing weapons and ships, purchase weapons and attract specialists to work in Russia. After studying the political situation, it turned out that the countries of Europe are not interested in a war with Turkey.
Therefore, Peter I decided to start a war for access to the Baltic Sea and thus return the ancient Russian lands of the coastal territories of the Gulf of Finland. To this end, negotiations were held with Denmark, Saxony and Poland, which became allies in the Russian war against Sweden.
To consolidate the results of Russia's military and diplomatic actions in the Azov campaigns and the Great Embassy, ​​as well as to secure the southern borders of the state, the tsar sent a mission to Turkey led by E. Ukraintsev. After long negotiations, a peace agreement was concluded for a period of 30 years, according to which the coast of Azov along with Taganrog already belonged to Russia. The next step of the young king was the declaration of war with Sweden.
Campaign of the Chinese Communists
Created in 1921, the Chinese Communist Party existed in small groups in several provinces, each of which was led by its own generals, who were at war with each other. Another party in China - the Kuomintang (revolutionary-democratic) - established close relations with the government of the Soviet Union.
With the support of the USSR, the Kuomintang and the Communists created an alliance, with the active participation of the latter, the number of the Communist Party increased by 1925 to 60 thousand members. The alignment of forces changed after the death of Kuomintang leader Sun Yat-sen. He was replaced by General Chiang Kai-shek, who in 1926 won a bloodless victory in the coup in Canton and began to pursue a policy of disengagement from the Communists.
In March 1927 in Shanghai, workers led by communists took power into their own hands. But here the military representatives of the Western European powers that lived in the city intervened: they ordered Kaisi to suppress the communist rebellion. As a result of the actions of Chinese mercenaries and groups, hundreds of workers were killed, and the Communist Party and trade unions were banned. Terror against the Chinese Communists throughout the country claimed the lives of 400 thousand people.
The survivors began to organize groups from rural regions, gradually conquering more and more land. At the head of one of them - the Uprising of the Autumn Harvest - became Mao Zedong. By the beginning of the 1930s. the territory of the Soviet regions of China amounted to 4% of the country's area; the Red Army was organized to defend it.
In 1930-1933, Chiang Kai-shek tried using militarized campaigns to capture the Soviet region, gradually surrounding him in the ring with troops and firing points (blockhouses). The Communists had only one way: to break through the environment.
Intelligence established a "weak link" on one of the border sections, and at night the Red Army troops were able to break through the defenses and leave the territory of the Central Region. This was the beginning of the great campaign of the Chinese Communists and the Red Army. The exit from the encirclement was carried out by groups at several sites of fortifications.
The central column of communists was able to break through the Kuomintang defense, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. After 2 months, the Red Army, having traveled 500 km along mountain roads, was able to defeat the last strip of “impregnable” enemy fortifications. Then the Communists captured the cities of Liping, Zunyi and Guizhou, whose inhabitants welcomed them with hospitality.
The post of chief commissioner was taken by Mao Zedong, who led the further campaign. Their goal was to cross the Yangtze River. On their way they were pursued by Kuomintang troops and air raids.
The troops of Chiang Kai-shek tried to prevent the Red Army from moving across the rivers, destroying the crossings and setting up military garrisons on the shore, but the Communists managed to cross the other side along the half-dismantled bridge over the river. Dadu and joined with the fourth army group in the border region. After that, it was decided to divide into 2 groups: one will fight against the Kuomintang, the other against the Japanese. However, some units could not reach the desired regions and turned back. The last battle took place near the border of the Soviet district. Several columns of communists after difficult battles were able to connect with the main forces of the army.
The great campaign of the Communists ended only in October 1935. During this time, the Red Army covered 10 thousand kilometers, 7-8 thousand remained alive.
In the 21st century, in honor of the memorable events of its history, on July 2, 2017, China launched the most powerful Changzheng-5 rocket (translated from Chinese as the Great Campaign-5) from the Wenchang cosmodrome. However, the launch vehicle could not be completed. For technical reasons, it was not possible to put the Shijian satellite into orbit because of problems after launch. The previous launch in November 2016 was successful: 25 tons of cargo were delivered to the station. The scientists plan to launch the probe into the temporary orbit of Mars and the Earth.
Great Camping or Lost Lands
The theme of military campaigns and conquests continues in our time in literature. Popular with many readers who are fond of books in the style of fantasy, a novel by R. A. Mikhailov with this name was released in 2017 and is a continuation of the series “The World of Valdira” (part 8). The plot is based on the preparation and description of the sailing of a flotilla of thousands of warships to the ancient mainland Zar'graad. Mikhailov’s novel The Great Campaign describes the fascinating adventures that await sailors on the way. Not every one of them will be able to pass all the ordeals and endure a long road. Mysterious figures who have their own ambitious political plans will also come on the scene. The novel “The Great Campaign or Lost Lands”, according to readers, contains many battle scenes that are expertly inscribed in the virtual world of the writer’s imagination.