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{{Short description|1854 battle of the Crimean War}}
{{Short description|1854 battle of the Crimean War}}
{{Infobox Military Conflict
{{Infobox Military Conflict
|conflict=Siege of Calafat
| conflict = Siege of Calafat
|date=February – May 1854
| date = February – May 1854
| image = File:Fabrique de Pellerin - Combat près de Kalafat, 1854.jpg
| image = File:Fabrique de Pellerin - Combat près de Kalafat, 1854.jpg
|image_size = 300
| image_size = 300
| caption = Siege of Calafat by [[Fabrique de Pellerin]]
| caption = Siege of Calafat by [[Fabrique de Pellerin]]
|place=[[Calafat]], [[Wallachia]]
| place = [[Calafat]], [[Wallachia]]
|Coordinates={{coord|43|59|44.26|N|22|55|52.51|E|display=inline,title}}
| Coordinates = {{coord|43|59|44.26|N|22|55|52.51|E|display=inline,title}}
|result= Ottoman victory
| result = Ottoman victory
|combatant1={{flag|Russian Empire}}
| combatant1 = {{flag|Russian Empire}}
|combatant2={{flag|Ottoman Empire}}
| combatant2 = {{flag|Wallachia}}
|commander1=[[Joseph Carl von Anrep]]
| commander1 = [[Joseph Carl von Anrep]]
|commander2= Ahmed Pasha
| commander2 = Ahmed Pasha
|strength1= 40,000
| strength1 = 40,000
|strength2=30,000–36,000{{sfnp|Herbert von|1896|pp=98-99}}
| strength2 = 30,000–36,000{{sfnp|Herbert von|1896|pp=98-99}}
|casualties1 = 23,000 <small>(including the sick)</small>{{sfnp|Herbert von|1896|pp=98-99}}
| casualties1 = 23,000 <small>(including the sick)</small>{{sfnp|Herbert von|1896|pp=98-99}}
|casualties2 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Unknown
| units2 = [[Ottoman army in the 15th–19th centuries|Ottoman Army]]
| units1 = [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian Army]]
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Crimean War}}
{{Campaignbox Crimean War}}

Revision as of 17:01, 12 June 2022

Siege of Calafat

Siege of Calafat by Fabrique de Pellerin
DateFebruary – May 1854
Location
Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
 Russian Empire  Wallachia
Commanders and leaders
Joseph Carl von Anrep Ahmed Pasha
Units involved
Russian Army Ottoman Army
Strength
40,000 30,000–36,000[1]
Casualties and losses
23,000 (including the sick)[1] Unknown

The siege of Calafat took place in 1854 during the Crimean War.[2] The Russians unsuccessfully besieged the Ottoman army at this place for four months before finally withdrawing.

In July 1853, the Russian army invaded the Principality of Wallachia, which was an Ottoman vassal. Their army had some 91,000 men under the command of Prince Gorchakoff, with some 240 field artillery and 90 siege guns. In response, war was declared by the Ottomans and they assembled an army of some 60–70,000 under the command of Omar Pasha. The Ottomans had several fortified fortresses on the southern side of the Danube river, of which Vidin was one. The Turks made several plans to advance into Wallachia. On 28 October their army in Vidin crossed the Danube and established itself at the village of Calafat, and started building fortifications. Another army crossed the Danube at Ruse on 1-2 November in a feint attack to lure the Russians away from Calafat. This operation was unsuccessful and they retreated on 12 November, but in the meantime Calafat's defenses and the communication with Vidin had been improved.

In response to these events, the Russians marched towards Calafat and unsuccessfully engaged the Turks at the end of December. They then entrenched themselves at Cetate, where they were attacked by the Turks. The Turks were led by Ahmed Pasha, the Russians by General Joseph Carl von Anrep. There were several days of fighting until 10 January, whereupon the Russians retreated towards Radovan. After January the Russians brought troops to the surroundings of Calafat and started the unsuccessful siege, which lasted 4 months; they withdrew on 21 April. During the siege the Russians suffered heavy losses from epidemics and attacks from the fortified Ottoman positions.

Citations

  1. ^ a b Herbert von (1896), pp. 98–99.
  2. ^ Jaques (2007), p. 184.

References

  • Herbert von, F.W. (1896). The Chronicles of a Virgin Fortress: Being Some Unrecorded Chapters of Turkish & Bulgarian History. Osgood McIlvaine & Company.
  • Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 184.