Pruth River Campaign facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pruth River Campaign |
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| Part of the Great Northern War and the Russo-Turkish wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
Co-belligerent:  Swedish Empire |
 Tsardom of Russia Cossack Hetmanate (faction of Ivan Skoropadsky) Moldavia |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Baltacı Mehmet Pasha Devlet II Giray |
Peter the Great Boris Sheremetev Carl Ewald von Rönne Ivan Skoropadsky Dimitrie Cantemir |
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| Strength | |||||||
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Total: 260,000 – 320,000 190,000 – 250,000 Ottomans70,000 Crimean Tatars |
38,000 Russians 30,000 Cossacks5,000 Moldavians |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 27,285 including 4,800 in battle | ||||||
The Pruth River Campaign was a short war between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It is also known as the Russo-Ottoman War of 1710–1711. The main battle happened from July 18 to 22, 1711, near the Pruth river in a place called Stănilești.
This war began after Russia's ruler, Peter the Great, led his army into Moldavia. Moldavia was a land controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Peter did this after the Ottomans declared war on Russia.
The Russian army, with about 38,000 soldiers, and 5,000 Moldavian helpers, were not ready for a big fight. They soon found themselves surrounded by a much larger Ottoman army. This army was led by the Grand Vizier (a top minister) Baltacı Mehmet Pasha.
After three days of fighting and many losses, Peter and his army were allowed to leave. But they had to agree to give up the fortress of Azov and the land around it. The Ottomans won this war. This victory led to the Treaty of the Pruth, which was later confirmed by the Treaty of Adrianople.
Contents
Why the War Started
The Pruth River Campaign began because of another big conflict called the Great Northern War. In that war, Sweden, led by King Charles XII of Sweden, was fighting against Russia, led by Tsar Peter the Great.
In 1709, Charles XII invaded Ukraine, which was controlled by Russia. But his army was badly beaten at the Battle of Poltava. Charles XII and his remaining soldiers escaped to Bender. This was an Ottoman fortress in Moldavia.
The Ottoman Sultan (Ahmed III) refused to send Charles XII back to Russia. Peter I kept asking for Charles XII to be handed over. This made Peter I decide to attack the Ottoman Empire. So, on November 20, 1710, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia.
Around the same time, the ruler of Moldavia, Dimitrie Cantemir, made a deal with Tsar Peter. This deal was called the Treaty of Lutsk. Moldavia promised to help Russia fight the Ottomans. They would provide troops and let the Russian army use their land and forts.
In the summer of 1711, Peter led his army into Moldavia. They joined forces with Cantemir's troops near Iași, the capital of Moldavia. Then, they marched south along the Pruth river. Their goal was to cross the Danube river, which was the border with Ottoman lands.
Meanwhile, the Ottoman government gathered its own army. This army was much bigger than the Russian and Moldavian forces. Some say it was six times larger. The Ottoman army was led by Baltacı Mehmet Pasha. They moved north to meet the Russians in June 1711.
Battles and Events
Peter sent his general, Boris Sheremetev, to stop the Ottoman army from crossing the Danube. However, soldiers from the Crimean Khanate attacked Sheremetev's forces. The Crimean Khanate was a powerful ally of the Ottomans. They provided many fast horsemen. Sheremetev also struggled to find enough food for his troops. Because of this, the Ottoman army crossed the Danube without any problems.
Attack on Brăila
While the main Russian and Moldavian army moved along the Pruth river, a part of the Russian army went towards Brăila. This was a big port city on the Danube river. It was in Wallachia but directly controlled by the Ottomans.
This Russian army, led by General Carl Ewald von Rönne, met some Wallachian soldiers. These Wallachian troops were led by Toma Cantacuzino. He went against the orders of his ruler and joined the Russians. Together, the two armies attacked Brăila. They captured the city after a two-day fight on July 13–14, 1711.
The Battle of Stănilești
Peter and Cantemir gathered their troops on one side of the Pruth river. The Ottomans were on the other side. On July 19, Ottoman janissaries (elite soldiers) and Tatar horsemen crossed the river. They swam or used boats. They pushed back the Russian advance guard (the first group of soldiers). This allowed the rest of the Ottoman army to build bridges and cross the river.
Peter tried to bring his main army forward to help the advance guard. But the Ottomans pushed his troops back. Peter then moved the Russian and Moldavian army into a strong defensive spot at Stănilești. They dug trenches there. The Ottoman army quickly surrounded them, trapping Peter's forces.
The janissaries attacked many times, but the Russians fought them off. The Ottomans lost about 8,000 soldiers. However, the Ottomans used their cannons to fire at the Russian and Moldavian camp. This stopped them from getting to the Pruth river for water. Peter's army was starving and thirsty. He had no choice but to agree to a peace treaty with the Ottomans. He signed it on July 22.
The Peace Treaty
The war ended on July 21, 1711, with the Treaty of the Pruth. This made Charles XII of Sweden very unhappy. The treaty was confirmed again in 1713 by the Treaty of Adrianople (1713).
The treaty said that Russia had to give the fortress of Azov back to the Ottomans. The Russian forts at Taganrog and other places had to be destroyed. Also, the Tsar promised not to get involved in the affairs of Poland–Lithuania.
The Ottomans also demanded that Charles XII be allowed to travel safely back to Sweden. They also asked Peter to hand over Dimitrie Cantemir. Peter agreed to all demands except for giving up Cantemir. He said Cantemir had escaped from his camp.
There is a story that Baltacı Mehmet Pasha received a large bribe from Peter the Great. This bribe supposedly made the peace treaty easier for the Russians than it should have been.
What Happened Next
Some historians believe that Baltacı Mehmet Pasha made a big mistake by offering such easy terms to the Russians. Peter himself was leading the Russian army. If Baltacı Mehmet Pasha had captured Peter, history might have been very different. Without Peter, Russia might not have become a powerful empire.
At first, people in Constantinople (the Ottoman capital) were happy about the victory. But then, a group that wanted more war turned public opinion against Baltacı Mehmet Pasha. They accused him of taking a bribe from Peter the Great. Because of this, Baltacı Mehmet Pasha was removed from his job.
One immediate result of the war was a change in how the Ottomans treated Moldavia and Wallachia. These were Christian states that paid tribute to the Ottomans. To get more control over them, the Ottomans started appointing their own Christian rulers. These rulers were called Phanariotes. This began in Moldavia in 1711 and in Wallachia in 1716.
The Moldavian ruler Cantemir fled to Russia with many of his followers. The Ottomans then chose Nicholas Mavrocordatos to rule Moldavia. The ruler of Wallachia, Constantin Brâncoveanu, was accused by the Sultan of working with the enemy. Brâncoveanu had gathered his Wallachian troops near the Moldavian border. He was waiting to see if the Christian armies would win so he could join them. But he was also ready to join the Ottomans if they won. When Toma Cantacuzino joined the Russians, Brâncoveanu had to choose. He quickly returned gifts he had received from the Russians and sided with the Ottomans. However, the Sultan's suspicions grew. Three years later, Brâncoveanu and his four sons were arrested and executed in Constantinople.
Charles XII and his ally, the Crimean Khan Devlet II Giray, kept trying to convince the Sultan to declare another war. In the spring of 1712, the group that wanted war almost succeeded. They accused the Russians of not leaving Poland as agreed. But war was avoided through talks, and a second treaty was signed on April 17, 1712.
A year later, in 1713, the war party finally succeeded. They again accused the Russians of not leaving Poland. Ahmed III declared another war on April 30, 1713. However, there were no major battles, and another peace treaty was quickly made.
Finally, the Sultan became annoyed with the war party. He decided to help the Swedish king return home. Ahmed III also removed Devlet II Giray from his position as Crimean Khan. He sent him away to the island of Rodos. This was because Devlet II Giray had not shown enough respect to Charles XII during the campaigns against Russia. Charles XII then left the Ottoman Empire for Stralsund in Swedish Pomerania. At that time, Stralsund was under attack by soldiers from Saxony, Denmark, Prussia, and Russia.
Images for kids
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Peter I at the Pruth River by Mikhail Matveevich Ivanov
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Bataille du Prout. Illustration from William Hogarth (1697-1764) for the Travels by Aubry de la Motraye, 1724
See also
- Hasan (Janissary secretary)
