Battle of Tashkessen

Technopedia Center

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
S1 Informatics S1 Information Systems S1 Information Technology S1 Computer Engineering S1 Electrical Engineering S1 Civil Engineering

faculty of Economics and Business
S1 Management S1 Accountancy

Faculty of Letters and Educational Sciences
S1 English literature S1 English language education S1 Mathematics education S1 Sports Education

Battle of Tashkessen - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 42°43′28″N 23°46′31″E / 42.7243565°N 23.77532°E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Tashkessen

Part of Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

Date	December 31, 1877
Location	Near Tashkessen (today Sarantsi), Bulgaria
Result	Ottoman withdrawal

Belligerents

Russian Empire

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

General Arkadiy Kurlov
General Iosif Gurko
General Otton Egorovich Rauch

Valentine Baker
Ahmed Javad Pasha

Strength

24,000,^[1]^[2] 17 guns,^[3] of which about 17,000 engaged^[4]

Russian estimate: 15,000, 22 guns^[5]

2,000^[6]–2,400^[7] or 3,000,^[4] 7 guns and 2 squadrons of cavalry^[3]

Russian estimate: about 4,000, 7 artillery pieces^[8]

Casualties and losses

2,000+ (British claim)^[9]

562 killed and wounded (Russian estimate)^[8]^[5]

half of the army (800^[9]^[8]^[5]–1,000 men)^[6]

v t e Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Kızıl Tepe Simnitza Svistov Elena Nikopol Stara Zagora Măcin Plevna Shipka Pass Lovcha Aladzha Gorni-Dubnik Erzurum Kars Tashkessen Sofia Plovdiv Harmanli

The Battle of Tashkessen or Battle of Tashkesan (Turkish: Taşkesen Muharebesi) took place during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire on December 31, 1877, in what is now Bulgaria.

The battle

The Ottoman Army of Shakir Pasha, some 14,000 men,^[3] was on retreat from the village of Kamarli towards Sofia and Boyacık. Shakir Pasha's army was threatened by a Russian force that Burnaby claimed had 30,000 men and "30 battalions of the Russian Guard"^[3] from its left flank, under the command of General Iosif Gurko, and another one, said to be 22,000 men strong^[3] before Kamarli. 2,400–4,000 men, 7 guns and two cavalry squadrons of Shakir Pasha's army had been detached under the command of Valentine Baker, a British-born Ottoman general. Baker Pasha was given orders to hold off the advancing Russian army in order to secure the retreat of Shakir Pasha's remaining troops. Baker Pasha entrenched his forces in the village of Taşkesen (now Sarantsi, Bulgaria). The superior Russian army surrounded the Ottomans, but its troops were scattered over a large territory, could not unite together and were slowed by deep snow, winter storm and difficult mountain terrain,^[10] so that only a part of them engaged;^[8] having a strong defensive position and with weather in their favour, the Ottomans successfully managed to hold off the advancing Russian forces for ten hours,^[6] allowing Shakir Pasha to withdraw, and hastily retreated as soon as the firing died down.^[4] At the end of the day the Ottoman forces were facing a Russian force ten times its size and ultimately left their position.^[1] Burnaby declared that the skirmish had cost the Russians more than 2,000 men and the Ottomans had lost more than 800 men,^[9] although the Russians established that only 562 of their men were killed and wounded in total.^[8]^[5]

During the night panic broke out in the Ottoman ranks, after rumours spread that the Russians had made a flanking movement. This caused the Ottomans to flee the village, killing the inhabitants. Valentine Baker remarked: "We must burn that village to cover our crimes". One of his officers, Allix, accompanied by some men, advanced on the village that had just been captured by the Russians and Bulgarians. They set fire to some straw stacks, which quickly ignited the houses.^[9]

References

George Bruce. Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981) (ISBN 978-0-442-22336-6).
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby. On Horseback Through Asia Minor. (Cosimo Inc., 2007, originally published in 1878) (ISBN 978-1-60206-341-9).
Frank Jastrzembski. Valentine Baker's Heroic Stand At Tashkessen 1877 A Tarnished British Soldier's Glorious Victory. (Pen & Sword, 2017) ISBN 9781473866805

^ ^a ^b Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: Prelude to Collapse 1839-1878, by James J. Reid, 2000, page 341 : ``...Baker´s small force defended the pass successfully against a Russian force ten times its size...´´
^ On Horseback Through Asia Minor, Frederick Burnaby, 2007, p. xxxiv
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e On Horseback Through Asia Minor, Frederick Burnaby, 2007, p. xxxv
^ ^a ^b ^c Barry Q. War in the East: A Military History of the Russo-Turkish War 1877-78. Helion and Company. 2012. P. 385
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kersnovsky A. The History of the Russian Army
^ ^a ^b ^c Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from ..., by Tony Jaques, page 1000, 2007
^ On Horseback Through Asia Minor, Frederick Burnaby, 2007, p. pxxxvi
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Tashkessen // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d On Horseback Through Asia Minor, Frederick Burnaby, 2007, p. xxxviii
^ Barry Q. War in the East: A Military History of the Russo-Turkish War 1877-78. Helion and Company. 2012. P. 384

42°43′28″N 23°46′31″E / 42.7243565°N 23.77532°E / 42.7243565; 23.77532

Battles involving the Ottoman Empire by era

Rise
(1299–1453)

Land battles

Naval battles

Gallipoli

Classical Age
(1453–1550)

Land battles

Naval battles

Transformation
(1550–1700)

Land battles

Naval battles

Old Regime
(1700–1789)

Land battles	Chelif Oran Pruth Petrovaradin 2nd Belgrade Kurijan Samarra Kirkuk Yeghevārd Ganja Banja Luka Grocka Perekop 1st Ochakov Stavunchany 1st Kars Khresili Aspindza Larga Kagul Kozludzha Kinburn 2nd Ochakov Mehadia Karánsebes
Naval battles	Imbros Matapan Çeşme Patras 1st Kerch Strait 2nd Ochakov Fidonisi

Modernization
(1789–1908)

Land battles

Naval battles

For 20th-century battles before 1914 see List of Ottoman battles in the 20th century
For the battles during World War I see List of Ottoman battles in World War I

Ottoman victories are in italics.

Categories:

Hidden categories: