Siege of Kars facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Siege of Kars
Part of the Crimean War
The Capitulation of Kars
Date June – 29 November 1855 Location Kars, Ottoman Empire Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire British Empire	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
William Fenwick Williams  Vasıf Pasha  Omar Pasha	Nikolay Muravyov-Karsky
Strength
17,000 soldiers	Infantry: 19,275 Cavalry: 6,450 Guns: 96 Rocket launchers: 16 Total: 25,725

The Siege of Kars was a really important battle during the Crimean War. It was one of the last big fights. In June 1855, the Russian Emperor Alexander II wanted to help his army fighting at Sevastopol. So, he told General Nikolay Muravyov to attack Ottoman lands in Asia Minor. General Muravyov gathered a large army of over 25,000 soldiers and many cannons. He decided to attack Kars, a very important fortress in what is now eastern Turkey.

Preparing Kars for Battle

In late 1854, a British General named William Fenwick Williams arrived in Kars. His job was to see what was happening and tell the British army's main commander. Williams found the city's defenses and soldiers in bad shape. Many Ottoman soldiers were new and had not been paid in months. Their weapons were old, and there were no hospitals. Many senior officers were not even there.

Because of this, the soldiers' spirits were low, and many were leaving. Williams was shocked by what he saw. He took charge, along with other foreign officers. He worked hard to make the soldiers more disciplined and better trained. He also helped strengthen the city's defenses. By the spring of 1855, about 17,000 soldiers were ready to defend Kars.

Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Kars by William Gush.

The Russian Attacks Begin

General Muravyov's army attacked Kars. The first attack was stopped by the Ottoman soldiers, led by General Williams. Muravyov tried a second attack, pushing the Ottoman troops back. He managed to take the main road and the high ground near the city.

However, the Ottoman soldiers fought back with new energy. This surprised the Russians. The fighting was very fierce, so the Russians changed their plan. Instead of direct attacks, they decided to start a siege. This meant they would surround the city and try to starve the defenders out. The siege would last until late November.

Omar Pasha's Attempt to Help

When the Ottoman Commander Omar Pasha heard about the attack on Kars, he asked for Ottoman troops to be moved from the siege of Sevastopol. He wanted them to go to Asia Minor to help Kars. After some delays, Omar Pasha left Crimea with 45,000 soldiers on September 6. He headed for Sukhumi on the Black Sea coast.

Omar Pasha's arrival near Kars made General Muravyov launch a third attack on the Ottoman forces inside Kars. By this time, the defenders were almost out of food. On September 29, the Russians attacked Kars again. This battle lasted seven hours and was very desperate, but the Russians were pushed back.

General Williams and his soldiers in Kars remained alone. Omar Pasha never reached the city to help them. Instead, he got involved in other fighting in Mingrelia and took Sukhumi. Meanwhile, the supplies in Kars were running very low.

The Final Days of the Siege

Heavy snow in late October made it very hard for any help to reach Kars. Selim Pasha, Omar Pasha's son, landed another army at Trebizond to the west. He started marching south towards Erzerum. His goal was to stop the Russians from moving further into Anatolia.

The Russians sent a small force from Kars to stop Selim Pasha. They defeated the Ottomans at the River Ingur on November 6.

The soldiers defending Kars could not face the harsh winter siege any longer. They surrendered to General Muravyov on November 28, 1855. To remember his victory, the tsar allowed Muravyov to change his name to "Muravyov-Karsky." When the Russians entered the city, they were shocked. Many soldiers were too weak to move and were dying. Despite the lack of help from Istanbul, General Williams praised his Ottoman troops. He said they "fell dead at their posts... as brave men should."

Legacy

• Kars Street in Port Williams, Nova Scotia is named after this event.
• Karsdale, Nova Scotia is also named after Kars.
• Kars, New Brunswick gets its name from Kars.
• Kars, Ontario is another place named after Kars.

See also

• Decline of the Ottoman Empire