The Crescent of the Sultan

The North Caucasus region where the Circassians live is not a barren area, and to some extent, the environment may be quite pleasant.

The Caucasus Mountains provided the Circassians with vast valleys.

The area's topography is diverse, including steep canyons, dense forests and broad plateaus.

Secondly, there are abundant natural resources: the Circassians can rely on the abundant grasslands and pastures in the mountains to graze livestock such as sheep, cattle and horses.

Lakes and rivers were equally plentiful: Circassians inhabited places such as the Pearl of the Orient - the shores of the Black Sea and the Kuba River.

These waters provide abundant fish stocks, providing an important source of their food supply.

Finally, there are climatic conditions: the living environment of the Circassians is climatically diverse.

Alpine areas have lower temperatures, cold winters and cool summers, which are conducive to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.

The climate in coastal areas is relatively warm and has four distinct seasons.

It can be said that the production environment of this land is still good. If it were not for the current lack of strength of the Ottoman Empire, and Selim did not want to provoke the Russians, the Sudan would have won it directly.

But there is no need. After all, the anti-French war is coming soon. Seize this opportunity to quickly strengthen the Ottoman Empire. Why bother to give the Russians face at this time and come together to fight?

I don’t know when the French will officially declare war on Prussia and Austria. Selim is also drunk on the low efficiency of the French government. He even suspects that the other party may be overtaken by Prussia and Austria.

While the Sultan was thinking about France, the army led by Dombrowski had already fought against the Russians.

In the North Caucasus, Major General Alexei is waiting for the arrival of the Circassian convoy.

According to the intelligence, the other party's senior leaders will also evacuate together. If they don't seize this opportunity, if they want to completely take over the other party, they will probably have to wait until the next Russian-Turkish war, hoping that the Russian army can enter Constantinople. .

Just when Major General Alexey was waiting almost impatiently, in the distance, the Circassian convoy finally appeared, and Alexey immediately became energetic.

Although after Repnin left, almost all the Russian troops in the entire region were under his control, but Alexei did not bring many troops with him.

First, dealing with the Circassians is simply killing a chicken with a sledgehammer.

Secondly, Major General Alexei's own direct troops also need credit, so why bother involving outsiders.

In the end, Alexey brought three brigades of troops, which were also his old subordinates.

For so many years, I have been living in the Caucasus Military Region. From the major general to the soldiers below, all of them are proficient in fishing.

But, that's not important. In the view of the major general, the Circassians are just a bunch of savages who don't even have a few guns. It's easy to deal with them.

With this mood in mind, when the Circassian convoy reached the middle of the road, Major General Alexey stopped talking and waved his hand, and the Russian troops lying in wait immediately started to attack.

Since this area is already at the junction of grasslands and mountains, the vegetation is quite dense, and Alexei's army can be hidden. This really caught the Circassians by surprise.

After all, in order to make the acting realistic, the best way is to let the actors not know that they are practicing, so Sherifali and Sultan did not tell these soldiers anything about the attack.

When the Russian army rushed over, the entire Circassian convoy was almost stunned. However, Sherifali quickly summoned the Circassian light cavalry guarding the convoy and began to resist the opponent's attack.

Don't underestimate the Circassian cavalry. This is the foundation of this nation.

The reputation of the Circassians was known as early as the fifteenth century.

“Between the Sea of ​​Azov and the Caspian Sea, a new militant republic emerged, composed of people who spoke our language and professed our faith.

Some of them, who wanted neither to submit to the Mongols nor to Lithuania, lived as free men on the islands of the Dnieper, protected by rocks, impenetrable reeds and marshes.

They attracted many Russians fleeing oppression, mixed with them, and formed a nation.

This nation has become fully Russian, just like their ancestors, who lived in the Kiev region since the tenth century, were already almost Russian.

The Circassians, who grew in numbers and cultivated a spirit of independence and brotherhood, formed a Christian military republic in the countries south of the Dnieper, began to build settlements and settlements in those places destroyed by the Tatars fortress.

They assumed the responsibility of defending Lithuanian possessions from the Crimeans and Turks, and won special protection from King Sigismund I of Poland, who granted them many civil liberties as well as land above the rapids of the Dnieper River, Cherk The city is named after them.

Representing in them a mixture of European and Asiatic characteristics, they were indomitable in war, born cavalry and horsemen, sometimes stubborn, willful, and predatory, but by feats of industry and valor they absolved themselves of their crimes.

They are believed to be Russian fugitives seeking wild freedom and booty in the Black Wind tribe's devastated Urus, near the Volga River near the Don, an uninhabited but fertile land that long ago was Asia trade route to northern Europe. They established themselves in what is now the region; they captured the city of Akhas, I think they called it Cherkeski. "

This is the conclusion made by a Russian historian. Although Selim scorned the other party’s claim that the Circassians are Russians, this historian at least pointed out one thing: the Circassians are indeed very special. Can fight.

In what way can this be demonstrated? They did not listen to anyone. Even Tsar Ivan the Terrible complained about them to the Ottoman Sultan.

They resented their dependence on the Ottoman Empire and did not recognize Russia's supremacy over them - in 1549 their leader Sariyazman, claiming to be an ally of Ivan IV, built a fortress on the Don: they occupied The river reached its mouth, demanding tribute from Azov and fighting against the Nogais, Astrakhans, and Tauridas.

Even this ally was obtained by Ivan after marrying a Circassian princess.

Now, except for the quality of equipment and military tactics, this cold weapon cavalry, which has hardly changed since the late Middle Ages, is about to show its power from the old era.

The Russian infantry, which had already developed a skirmish line, was immediately stunned by the sudden attack of the Circassian light cavalry. However, Alexei, an idiot, did not release his cavalry at this time, nor did he direct the infantry to form. phalanx.

After fighting for a while, the Russian army retreated in embarrassment, which made Sherifali dumbfounded. The performance of the Russian army was not in line with their plan. In the past, when Repnin was around, the Circassians should have fled. .

Dombrowski, who was hiding on the other side of the mountain, was already stupid at this time. He thought that Alexei's level was not good, but he never thought that it was so bad. With the Russian army fighting like this, he didn't know how to carry out the attack. Follow-up plan.

Here, the Russian army has stopped moving, and here, the Circassians are also confused. How should we fight this battle?