The Crescent of the Sultan

Despite his victory over Ahmet Pasha, Potemkin still faced a shortage of supplies. (っ◔◡◔)っDue to the fall of Komlac, the Russian supply line has never been restored. After all, no one will throw supplies into the water.

The Ottoman army supplies in the Kahur area were transported from Fokshani and there would be no large-scale stocks. This resulted in the captured supplies not being enough to support the Russian army.

Faced with the dilemma of insufficient supplies, Potemkin made a prompt decision and decided to borrow food from local residents.

Under Potemkin's arrangement, the Russian army overfulfilled its mission in less than half a day, and the entire city of Kahur was massacred.

Piles of dead bodies were piled up at the city gates, residential areas, streets, and markets. The temperature in summer was frighteningly high. When the Russian army left, the bodies of the residents who were killed in the morning were already covered with flies, making Waves of unpleasant stench.

The Russian army, which was gradually losing its mind, even used artillery during the massacre. Many Romanians were buried directly under collapsed houses.

When Napoleon arrived, the Russian army had already left with the looted food, leaving Napoleon with a scene like purgatory on earth.

Ragusa, the Russian army that left two days ago was forced to stop here.

After receiving the news that Ahmed Pasha had been defeated, Hassan Pasha quickly returned to block the Russian army that might move north, and an encounter broke out between the two sides in Ragusa.

The Ottoman army, which was waiting for work, successfully defeated the Russian army's vanguard with the help of the geographical advantage, but then the main force of the Russian army commanded by Rumyantsev gave Haysan Pasha a surprise.

Intense artillery fire, flexible cavalry, and well-timed infantry rotating attacks. It reminded him of the scene when he and Napoleon were practicing. Although the place was different and the time was different, the feeling of powerlessness was the same.

If Muhammad Ali had not arrived in time to cover Hassan Pasha's withdrawal of the blocking fortifications built in advance, in this battle alone, the Russian army would have been able to completely break through the encirclement of the Ottoman army and regain the strategic initiative.

However, only one step away, the Russian army has been completely blocked here. Potemkin and Rumyantsev constantly tried to maneuver away from the Ottoman army, but were blocked time and time again by Hassan and Muhammad Ali.

The two sides were in a stalemate here. On the confrontation position, intensive artillery fire roared every day, looking forward to the collapse of the enemy army.

On July 2, 1788, Hassan and Ali, who had blocked the Turkish army for nearly two weeks, finally received reinforcements from Napoleon. The decisive battle between Russia and Turkey was about to break out, but the location was far away from the planned Izmail Fortress.

In terms of military strength: the Ottoman army totaled 100,000, including 65,000 infantry, more than 15,000 artillery and nearly 20,000 cavalry.

The Russian army totaled more than 50,000 people, including more than 30,000 infantry, 5,000 artillery, and 15,000 cavalry.

On July 4, 1778, the Russian army took the lead in launching an attack. The reason was simple: they ran out of food. The daily material consumption of an army of tens of thousands was astronomical, especially for the cavalry. In order to maintain combat effectiveness, the horses needed to be given enough fodder and bean cake.

Cahul was not a big city in the first place, and it was trapped in Ragusa by Hassan and Ali for nearly two weeks. If the cavalry had not been sent out to collect food every day, Rumyantsev estimated that he would have lasted even through the Fourth of July. Less than.

But we can't wait any longer. The food reserves on the opposite side are far greater than our own, and the only one who will lose in a protracted war is our own side. Besides, who knows whether the Ottomans will still send reinforcements here.

As for whether this was a gamble, Rumyantsev could feel that the quality of the army on the opposite side was not high. More importantly, he had a cavalry artillery force on hand.

If commanded properly, Rumyantsev believes that he still has the possibility of winning, just like the miracle he accomplished when he fought against Frederick II and Ottoman Marshal Khalili. He does not think that this lieutenant will be better than the Seventh Lieutenant. Friedrich II in the 2000 War was more powerful than Khalili, who had five times his strength in the Battle of Kargul.

That night, Rumyantsev ordered the entire army to attack. The Ottoman army on the opposite side did not seem to expect that the Russian army would attack at night, so that the Russian army successfully broke into the Ottoman barracks with little resistance.

However, this situation made Rumyantsev extremely uneasy. As an excellent commander, his intuition saved him and his army, and he quickly ordered a retreat when half of the vanguard troops had entered the Ottoman position.

Seeing that he could no longer attract more Russian troops, Napoleon on the high ground immediately ordered an artillery bombardment, but Rumyantsev's timely order kept the losses of the Russian troops within an acceptable range.

The two sides started the game cautiously. Time passed by little by little. The highly tense battlefield atmosphere made the soldiers on both sides so nervous that they did not even notice that the horizon was already slightly bright.

Finally, Rumyantsev saw a tiny flaw in the Ottoman army—a weak spot on the right wing when it changed formation.

Although this flaw is indeed quite small, it doesn't matter. A good commander can always seize the critical opportunity on the battlefield to expand the enemy's loopholes and put his own side at an advantage.

The Russian army began to attack. Surprisingly, Rumyantsev sent cavalry first, and the commander was Suvorov, who had been defeated by Napoleon before.

"Each cavalry regiment attacked in a staggered formation. After a roundabout way, the cavalry artillery was placed in the center of the left cavalry regiment. Prepare to bombard the enemy cavalry." Suvorov shouted, he was determined to wash away the lieutenant's influence in this battle. His shame.

"The infantry moved forward in skirmish formation, with one or two columns ready to fire, and the third column on standby." Potemkin personally went to the battlefield.

"The artillery massed on the left wing to provide cover for the infantry." Rumyantsev ordered.

If Selim were here, he would probably have begun to doubt whether this young version of the emperor could defeat the enemy. After all, he was one of the three famous generals of Tsarist Russia, serving Napoleon alone at the same time.

But the battle that followed would make all Europeans remember the name Napoleon, including Selim.

Rumyantsev knew very well the virtues of the Ottoman cavalry. They swarmed up against the wind and were extremely brave. They were not afraid of fighting no matter how hard they fought. But against the wind, they could run faster than anyone else.

Therefore, he sent the cavalry artillery to the cavalry, hoping that his cavalry could quickly defeat the enemy and further expand the loopholes on the enemy's right wing, allowing him to annihilate the enemy.

Facts have proved that Rumyantsev's experience was completely correct. With the superior firepower of the cavalry artillery, the Ottoman cavalry quickly defeated the Russian army.

After the entire right wing of the Ottoman army lost the protection of cavalry, a huge vacuum appeared.

Rumyantsev was overjoyed when he saw this, and quickly ordered Potemkin to carry out a rotating attack, concentrating the main force of the infantry on his left flank.

Under the cover of its own artillery, the Russian army launched the final general offensive. The right wing of the Ottoman army began to waver, and a miracle seemed to be happening again.

I am busy visiting relatives today during the Dragon Boat Festival, and the copy of the Russo-Turkish War is about to end, so I need to prepare the follow-up plot arrangements, so this is the only chapter. I hope you can understand.