Battle of Cetate
| Battle of Cetate | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Crimean War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Russian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ahmed Pasha | Col AK Baumgarten | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 18,000 | ? | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ? |
831 killed 1190 wounded | ||||||
The Battle of Cetate was fought during the Crimean War. In this battle a Turkish force under Ahmed Pasha attempted to capture the town of Cetate in Wallachia, but were unsuccessful.
Background
This battle took place during the Danube campaign of the Crimean War. In the build-up to war, Russia had occupied the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, positioning troops on the northern) left bank of the Danube, the border of Ottoman territory. The Turks had responded by moving troops to the right bank to face them. In the west, on the border with Austria and Serbia, Russian troops in Cetate were faced by Turks in the fortress of Vidin. Following the Turkish ultimatum on 4 October 1853 to withdraw within 2 weeks, Turkish forces under Ahmed Pasha crossed the river and occupied the town of Kalafat, which they fortified as a bridgehead.
Action
On 31 December 1853 Ahmed Pasha and a force of several thousand cavalry, supported by infantry, advanced to attack Cetate, which was held by a Russian detachment, under Colonel AK Baumgarten. This attack was repulsed, after which both sides called up reinforcements. On 6 January 1854 (Christmas day in the Orthodox calendar) Ahmed renewed his assault with a force of 18,000 men. This was successful, and the Russian force was driven from the town with heavy losses. However, Russian reinforcements were also arriving during the day, and Ahmed, fearing an assault on his base and being cut off himself, abandoned the town and retreated to Kalafat.
Aftermath
The battle at Cetate was ultimately indecisive. After heavy casualties on both sides, both armies were back at their start positions. The Turks were still in a strong position and barring contact between the Russians and the Serbs, to whom they looked for support, but were themselves no nearer driving the Russians from the Principalities, their stated aim.
References
- W Baumgart: The Crimean War 1853-1856 (1999) ISBN 0 340 61465 X