Siege of Kars

The plan of the Russian assault on Kars on September 17, 1855

The siege план of Kars bя Russian forces, 1855

Siege of Kars (1828). Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)

Pictorial history of the Russian war 1854-5-6: with maps, plans, and wood engravings

Map of a fortress of Kars and vicinities during the Crimean War, 1853-1855

Pictorial history of the Russian war 1854-5-6: with maps, plans, and wood engravings

In June 1855, during the Crimean War (1854–1856), Kars, a city in north-eastern Turkey, was besieged by a Russian army of 25,000 men. Demoralised by their defeats at the hands of the Russians, the Turks left the defence of Kars to Brevet Colonel (later General Sir) William Fenwick Williams who was the British commissioner with the Ottoman Army in Anatolia. Through his brilliant organisation, the garrison was able to repulse three major Russian attacks, but eventually cold, famine and an outbreak of cholera forced it to surrender on 26 November 1855. In the foreground, the commander of the garrison of Kars, the british brevet colonel William Fenwick Williams. In the background, the governor of the Caucasus and the commander-in-chief of the Caucasian army (from the end of 1854), the russian general of the infantry N.N. Muravyov, accepting the capitulation of Kars.
Historical Overview
Russian success on the Caucasus front against the Ottomans.
Quick Facts
Tsardom of Russia
- Commander: Nikolai Murawjow
- Strength: ca. 25.000
- Casualties: ca. 2.500
Ottoman Empire
- Commander: Williams (brit. Berater)
- Strength: ca. 17.000
- Casualties: ca. 6.500
Strategic Context
Struggle for dominance in the Caucasus region.
Related Literature
Historical Locations
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