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The Persian Campaign of the Karyagin or the Russian Spartans. An incredible story about the detachment of Colonel Karyagin Colonel Koryagin 1805

The campaign of Colonel Karyagin against the Persians in 1805 does not look like a real one military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet charges, "This is crazy! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden, platinum page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, delightful cunning and stunning Russian impudence. But first things first.

At a time when the glory of the emperor of France, Napoleon, was growing on the fields of Europe, and the Russian troops fighting against the French were performing new feats for the glory of Russian weapons, on the other side of the world, in the Caucasus, the same Russian soldiers and officers performed no less glorious deeds. One of the golden pages in the history of the Caucasian wars was written by the colonel of the 17th Chasseur Regiment Karyagin and his detachment.

The state of affairs in the Caucasus in 1805 was extremely difficult. The Persian ruler Baba Khan was eager to regain the lost influence of Tehran after the arrival of the Russians in the Caucasus. The impetus for the war was the capture by the troops of Prince Tsitsianov Ganzha. Because of the war with France, St. Petersburg could not increase the strength of the Caucasian Corps; by May 1805, it consisted of about 6,000 infantry and 1,400 cavalry. Moreover, the troops were scattered over a vast territory. Due to illness and poor nutrition, there was a large shortage, so according to the lists in the 17th Jaeger Regiment, there were 991 privates in three battalions, in fact there were 201 people in the ranks.

Having learned about the appearance of large Persian formations, the commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, Prince Tsitsianov, ordered Colonel Karyagin to delay the advance of the enemy. On June 18, the detachment set out from Elisavetpol to Shusha, having 493 soldiers and officers and two guns . The detachment included: the patron battalion of the 17th Jaeger Regiment under the command of Major Kotlyarevsky, the company of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment of Captain Tatarintsov and the artillerymen of Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich. At that time, Major of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Lisanevich was in Shusha with six companies of rangers, thirty Cossacks and three guns. On July 11, Lisanevich's detachment repulsed several attacks of the Persian troops, and soon an order was received to join the detachment of Colonel Karyagin. But, fearing an uprising of a part of the population and the likelihood of the Persians capturing Shusha, Lisanevich did not do this.

On June 24, the first battle took place with the Persian cavalry (about 3,000) who crossed the Shah-Bulakh River. Several attacks of the enemy who tried to break through the square were repulsed. Having passed 14 versts, the detachment camped at the mound of the Kara-Agach-BaBa tract on the river. Askaran. In the distance one could see the tents of the Persian armada under the command of Pir-Kuli Khan, and this was only the vanguard of the army, commanded by the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza. On the same day, Karyagin sent a demand to Lisanevich to leave Shusha and go to him, but the latter, due to the difficult situation, could not do this.

At 18.00 the Persians began to storm the Russian camp, the attacks continued with a break until the very night. Having suffered heavy losses, the Persian commander withdrew his detachments to the heights around the camp, and the Persians installed four false batteries to conduct shelling. With early morning On July 25, the bombardment of our location began. According to the memoirs of one of the participants in the battle: “Our situation was very, very unenviable and was getting worse hour by hour. The unbearable heat exhausted our strength, we were tormented by thirst, and the shots from the enemy batteries did not stop ... ". 1) Several times the Persians offered the detachment commander to lay down their arms, but they invariably received a refusal. In order not to lose the only source of water on the night of June 27, a sortie was made by a group under the command of Lieutenant Klyupin and Lieutenant Prince Tumanov. The operation to destroy the enemy batteries was successfully carried out. All four batteries were destroyed, the servants were partly killed, partly fled, and the falconets were thrown into the river. It must be said that by this day 350 people remained in the detachment, and half had wounds. varying degrees gravity.
From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 26, 1805: “Major Kotlyarevsky was sent by me three times to drive out the enemy who was ahead and occupied elevated places, drove away his strong crowds with courage. Captain Parfyonov, Captain Klyukin throughout the battle on various occasions were sent by me with fittings and hit the enemy with fearlessness.

At dawn on June 27, the attack on the camp was launched by the approaching main forces of the Persians. The attacks continued throughout the day. At four o'clock in the afternoon there was an incident that forever remained a black spot in the glorious history of the regiment. Lieutenant Lisenko and six lower ranks ran over to the enemy. Having received information about the plight of the Russians, Abbas-Mirza threw his troops into a decisive assault, but having suffered heavy losses, he was forced to abandon further attempts to break the resistance of a desperate handful of people. At night, another 19 soldiers ran across to the Persians. Understanding the gravity of the situation, and the fact that the transition of comrades to the enemy creates unhealthy moods among the soldiers, Colonel Karyagin decides to break through the encirclement, go to the river. Shah Bulakh and take a small fortress standing on its shore. The commander of the detachment sent a report to Prince Tsitsianov, in which he wrote: “... in order not to subject the remnant of the detachment to complete and final death and save people and guns, he made a firm decision to break through with courage through the numerous enemy who surrounded on all sides ... ".2)

The conductor in this desperate enterprise was a local resident, an Armenian Melik Vani. Leaving the convoy and burying captured weapons, the detachment moved on to a new campaign. At first they moved in complete silence, then there was a collision with the enemy's cavalry and the Persians rushed to catch up with the detachment. True, even on the march, attempts to destroy this wounded and mortally tired, but still the battle group did not bring good luck to the Persians, moreover, most of the pursuers rushed to rob the empty Russian camp. According to the legends, the Shah-Bulakh castle was built by Shah Nadir, and got its name from the stream flowing nearby. In the castle there was a Persian garrison (150 people) under the command of Emir Khan and Fial Khan, the suburbs occupied enemy posts. Seeing the Russians, the sentries raised the alarm and opened fire. Shots of Russian guns rang out, a well-aimed cannonball smashed the gate, and the Russians broke into the castle. In a report dated June 28, 1805, Karyagin reported: “... the fortress was taken, the enemy was driven out of it and out of the forest with a small loss on our part. On the enemy side, both khans were killed ... Having settled in the fortress, I await the orders of your excellency. By evening, there were only 179 people in the ranks, and 45 charges for guns. Upon learning of this, Prince Tsitsianov wrote to Karyagin: “In unheard-of despair, I ask you to back up the soldiers, and I ask God to back you up.” 3)

Meanwhile, our heroes suffered from lack of food. The same Melik Vani, whom Popov calls the "Good genius of the detachment", volunteered to get supplies. The most surprising thing is that the brave Armenian did an excellent job with this task, the second operation also bore fruit. But the position of the detachment became more and more difficult, especially since the Persian troops approached the fortification. Abbas Mirza tried to drive the Russians out of the fortification on the move, but his troops suffered losses and were forced to go over to the blockade. Being sure that the Russians were trapped, Abbas-Mirza offered them to lay down their arms, but was refused.

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 28, 1805: “Lieutenant Zhudkovsky of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment, who, despite the wound, volunteered as a hunter when taking batteries and acted as a brave officer, and Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich of the 7th Artillery Regiment, who, when almost all his gunners were wounded, he himself loaded the guns and knocked out the gun carriage under the enemy cannon.

Franz Roubaud, Living Bridge, 1892

Then Private Gavrila Sidorov jumped down to the bottom of the ditch, followed by a dozen more soldiers. Only two climbed out of the ditch.

The first gun, like a bird, flew to the other side, the second fell off and the wheel hit Private Sidorov in the temple. Having buried the hero, the detachment continued its march. There are several versions of this episode: “... the detachment continued to move, calmly and unhindered, until the two guns that were with it were stopped by a small ditch. There was no forest nearby to make a bridge; four soldiers voluntarily volunteered to help the cause, crossed themselves in the ditch and transported guns along them. Two remained alive, and two paid for heroic self-sacrifice with their lives.

One of the officers recalled: “... but as soon as Kotlyarevsky managed to move away from us, we were brutally attacked by several thousand Persians, and their onslaught was so strong and sudden that they managed to capture both of our guns. This is no longer a thing. Karyagin shouted: "Guys, go ahead, save the guns!" Everyone rushed like lions, and immediately our bayonets opened the way. Trying to cut off the Russians from the fortress, Abbas-Mirza sent a cavalry detachment to capture it, but the Persians failed here too. The disabled team of Kotlyarevsky threw back the Persian horsemen. By evening, Karyagin also came to Mukhrat, according to Bobrovsky, this happened at 12.00.

Having received a report dated July 9, Prince Tsitsianov gathered a detachment of 2371 people with 10 guns and went out to meet Karyagin. On July 15, the detachment of Prince Tsitsianov, having driven back the Persians from the Tertara River, camped near the village of Mardagishti. Upon learning of this, Karyagin leaves Mukhrat at night and goes to connect with his commander.

Having made this amazing march, the detachment of Colonel Karyagin for three weeks attracted the attention of almost 20,000 Persians and did not allow them to go deep into the country. For this campaign, Colonel Karyagin was awarded a golden sword with the inscription "for courage". Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin has been in the service since April 15, 1773 (Smolensk Coin Company), since September 25, 1775, a sergeant of the Voronezh Infantry Regiment. Since 1783, he was a lieutenant of the Belarusian Jaeger Battalion (1st Battalion of the Caucasian Jaeger Corps). Member of the storming of Anapa June 22, 1791, received the rank of major. Head of defense of Pambak in 1802. Chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment since May 14, 1803. For the assault on Ganja, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.

Major Kotlyarevsky was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree, the surviving officers were awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 3rd degree. Avanes Yuzbashi (melik Vani) was not left without a reward, he was promoted to ensign and received 200 silver rubles in a lifetime pension. The feat of private Sidorov in 1892, in the year of the 250th anniversary of the regiment, was immortalized in a monument erected at the headquarters of the Erivans Manglise.

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet charges, "This is crazy! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden, platinum page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, delightful cunning and stunning Russian impudence. But first things first.

In 1805 Russian empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory had long since declined by that time, and the British, who had never had a normal ground army. Both of them behaved like complete losers, and even the great Kutuzov, with all the strength of his genius, could not switch the Fale after Fail TV channel. In the meantime, in the south of Russia, the Persian Baba Khan, who was reading reports about our European defeats with a purr, had an Ideyka. Baba Khan stopped purring and again went to Russia, hoping to pay off for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - because of the usual staging of the usual drama "A crowd of so-called crooked-handed allies and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone", Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that the entire Caucasus was from 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers. Therefore, having learned that the city of Shusha (this is in the current Nagorno-Karabakh. Do you know Azerbaijan? Left-bottom), where Major Lisanevich was with 6 companies of rangers, there are 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza (I would like to think that he moved on a huge golden platform, with a bunch of freaks, freaks and concubines on golden chains, just like Xerxes), Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, the superhero Karyagin, the superhero Kotlyarevsky (which is a separate story) and the Russian military spirit.

They did not have time to reach Shusha, the Persians intercepted ours on the road, near the Shah-Bulakh River, on June 24. Persian Vanguard. A modest 10,000 people. Not at all at a loss (at that time in the Caucasus, battles with less than a tenfold superiority of the enemy were not considered battles and officially took place in reports as "exercises in conditions close to combat"), Karyagin built an army in a square and repelled the fruitless attacks of the Persian cavalry all day until the Persians were left with only scraps. Then he walked another 14 miles and stood in a fortified camp, the so-called wagenburg or, in Russian, walk-city, when the defense line is lined up from carts (given the Caucasian off-road and the lack of a supply network, the troops had to carry significant supplies with them). The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break for clearing piles of Persian bodies, funerals, weeping and writing postcards to the families of the dead. By morning, after reading the manual "The art of war for dummies" sent by express mail ("If the enemy has fortified and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him in the forehead, even if you are 40,000, and he is 400"), the Persians began to bombard our walk -city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenishing water supplies. The Russians, in response, made a sortie, made their way to the Persian battery and blew it up to hell, dropping the remnants of the cannons into the river, presumably with malicious obscene inscriptions. However, this did not save the situation. Having fought another day, Karyagin began to suspect that he would not be able to kill the entire Persian army with 300 Russians. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lisenko and six other traitors defected to the Persians, the next day 19 more hippies joined them - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed those from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. Uncomfortable.

At the officers' council, two options were proposed: or we all stay here and die, who is in favor? Nobody. Or we are going to break through the Persian encirclement, after which we STORM the nearby fortress, while the Persians are catching up with us, and we are already sitting in the fortress. It's warm there. Good. And flies don't bite. The only problem is that we are no longer even 300 Russian Spartans, but around 200, and there are still tens of thousands of them and they are guarding us, and all this will look like a Left 4 Dead game, where a crowd of brutalized zombies beats a tiny squad of survivors . Everyone loved Left 4 Dead already in 1805, so they decided to break through. At night. Having cut the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants in the program "Staying alive when it is impossible to stay alive" almost left the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian siding. A chase began, a shootout, then another chase, then ours finally broke away from the Mahmuds in the dark, dark Caucasian forest and went to the fortress, named after the nearby river Shah Bulakh. By that moment, the golden aura of the end shone around the remaining participants in the insane marathon "Fight as much as you can" (I remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of uninterrupted fighting, sorties, duels on bayonets and night hide and seek through the forests), so Karyagin simply smashed the gates of Shah-Bulakh with a cannon core, after which wearily asked the small Persian garrison: "Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Is that true?" The guys took the hint and fled. During the run, two khans were killed, the Russians barely had time to repair the gates, as the main Persian forces appeared, worried about the loss of their beloved Russian detachment. But this was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After an inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And that the convoy with food had to be abandoned during a breakthrough from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. At all. At all. At all. Karyagin again went out to the troops:

Friends, I know that this is not madness, not Sparta, and in general not something for which human words were invented. Of the already miserable 493 people, 175 of us remained, almost all of us were injured, dehydrated, exhausted, in the utmost degree of fatigue. There is no food. There is no wrap. Cores and cartridges are running out. And besides, right in front of our gates sits the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza, who has already tried several times to take us by storm. Do you hear the grunting of his tame freaks and the laughter of the concubines? It is he who waits for us to die, hoping that hunger will do what 40,000 Persians could not do. But we won't die. You won't die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I command you to muster all the impudence that you have, because this night we leave the fortress and break through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WE SHOULD TAKE AGAIN, WITH THE ENTIRE PERSIAN ARMY ON THE SHOULDERS. As well as freaks and concubines. This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is Russian history, chicks, and you are its main characters. Put sentries on the walls, who will call to each other all night, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We perform as soon as it gets dark enough!

It is said that there was once an angel in Heaven who was in charge of monitoring the impossibility. On July 7 at 10 pm, when Karyagin left the fortress to storm the next, even larger fortress, this angel died of bewilderment. It is important to understand that by July 7, the detachment had been continuously fighting for the 13th day and was not so much in the state of "terminators are coming", but in the state of "extremely desperate people, out of anger and fortitude alone, are moving into the Heart of Darkness of this insane, impossible, incredible, unimaginable trip." With cannons, with carts of the wounded, it was not a walk with backpacks, but a big and heavy movement. Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a night ghost, like a bat, like a creature from That Forbidden Side - and therefore even the soldiers who remained to call to each other on the walls managed to get away from the Persians and catch up with the detachment, although they were already preparing to die, realizing the absolute lethality of their task. But the Peak of Madness, Courage and Spirit was yet to come.

Moving through the darkness, haze, pain, hunger and thirst, a detachment of Russian ... soldiers? Ghosts? Saints of war? ran into a moat through which it was impossible to smuggle cannons, and without cannons, the assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhrata, had neither meaning nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, and there was no time to look for the forest - the Persians could overtake at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the rest, unfortunately, I could not find - silently jumped into the ditch. And they lay down. Like logs. No bravado, no talking, nothing. They jumped and lay down. The heavy cannons went straight for them. Under the crunch of bones. Barely suppressed moans of pain. More crunch. Dry and loud, like a rifle shot, crackling. Red splashed on the dirty heavy cannon carriage. Russian red.

Franz Roubaud, Living Bridge, 1892 (click to enlarge)

Only two climbed out of the ditch. Silently.

On July 8, the detachment entered Kasapet, ate and drank normally for the first time in many days, and moved on, to the Mukhrat fortress. Three miles from it, a detachment of a little more than a hundred people was attacked by several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the cannons and capture them. In vain. As one of the officers recalled: “Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead, save the guns!” Everyone rushed like lions...". Apparently, the soldiers remembered at what cost they got these guns. Red splashed again on the carriages, this time Persian, and splashed, and poured, and flooded the carriages, and the ground around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and poured, and poured, and poured until until the Persians fled in panic, unable to break the resistance of hundreds of ours. Hundreds of Russians. Hundreds of Russians, Russians just like you, who now despise their people, their Russian name, the Russian nation and Russian history, and allow themselves to silently watch how the state rots and falls apart, created by such a feat, such superhuman tension, such pain and such courage. Lying down in a moat of apathetic pleasures, so that the cannons of hedonism, entertainment and cowardice go on and on, crushing your fragile shy skulls with their wheels of laughing abomination.

Mukhrat was taken easily, and the next day, on July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin, immediately set out to meet the Persian army with 2,300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then joined with the remnants of the detachments of Colonel Karyagin.

Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all the officers and soldiers - awards and salaries, silently lay down in the ditch of Gavril Sidorov - a monument at the headquarters of the regiment, and we all received a lesson. Ditch lesson. Silence lesson. Crunch lesson. Red lesson. And the next time you are required to do something in the name of Russia and your comrades, and your heart is seized by apathy and a small, ugly fear of a typical child of Russia of the Kali Yuga era, actions, upheavals, struggle, life, death, then remember this moat.

Remember Gabriel.

Ace Ventura - Will

Everyone knows the feat of the Greeks at Thermopylae, when their detachment of about 5000 - 6000 people detained the Persian army of 200 - 250 thousand people.

The detachment of Colonel Karyagin numbered 500 people against 20 thousand Persians. That is, the ratio was the same as at Thermopylae.

However, the Greeks of that time were heavily armed and well-organized warriors, superior to the motley and poorly trained troops of the Persians in skill and weapons.

Hoplites on a vase from the Greco-Persian wars. Armament: spear, short sword, round shield, Corinthian type helmet, bronze shell (cuirass)

The army of Xerxes consisted of representatives of many peoples and tribes subject to the Achaemenid empire. Warriors of each nationality had their own weapons and armor. The Persians and Medes, according to the description of Herodotus, wore soft felt hats, trousers and colorful chitons. Armor was assembled from iron scales like fish scales, shields were woven from rods. They were armed with short spears and large bows with reed arrows. On the right thigh was a sword-dagger. Warriors of other tribes were armed much worse, mostly with bows, and often just clubs and burnt stakes, and dressed in copper, leather and even wooden helmets.

Meanwhile, the Russians had two cannons, against several falconet (small cannon caliber 50 - 100 mm) batteries and larger caliber cannons from the Persians.

The Russians held the Persian army not for three days, but for three weeks! In reality, the battle of Thermopylae was a defeat for the Greeks; if they had held the Persians for three weeks, Xerxes' army would have started to starve. And then he would not have captured and plundered a significant part of Greece.

Thanks to the detachment of Colonel Karyagin, the Persians not only did not invade the Caucasus, but in general they were later defeated ... by a detachment of 2400 soldiers, the princes of Tsitsianov!

***

Having learned about the appearance of large Persian formations, the commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, Prince Tsitsianov, ordered Colonel Karyagin to delay the advance of the enemy. On June 18, the detachment set out from Elisavetpol to Shusha, with 493 soldiers and officers and two guns. The detachment included: the patron battalion of the 17th Jaeger Regiment under the command of Major Kotlyarevsky, the company of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment of Captain Tatarintsov and the artillerymen of Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich. At that time, Major of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Lisanevich was in Shusha with six companies of rangers, thirty Cossacks and three guns. On July 11, Lisanevich's detachment repulsed several attacks of the Persian troops, and soon an order was received to join the detachment of Colonel Karyagin. But, fearing an uprising of a part of the population and the likelihood of the Persians capturing Shusha, Lisanevich did not do this.

Several times the Persians offered the commander of the detachment to lay down their arms, but they were invariably refused. In order not to lose the only source of water on the night of June 27, a sortie was made by a group under the command of Lieutenant Klyupin and Lieutenant Prince Tumanov. The operation to destroy the enemy batteries was successfully carried out. All four batteries were destroyed, the servants were partly killed, partly fled, and the falconets were thrown into the river. It must be said that by this day 350 people remained in the detachment, and half had wounds of varying severity.

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 26, 1805: “Major Kotlyarevsky was sent by me three times to drive away the enemy who was ahead and occupied elevated places, drove away strong crowds of him with courage. Captain Parfyonov, Captain Klyukin were sent throughout the battle in different cases me with rifles and hit the enemy with fearlessness.

At dawn on June 27, the attack on the camp was launched by the approaching main forces of the Persians. The attacks continued throughout the day. At four o'clock in the afternoon there was an incident that forever remained a black spot in the glorious history of the regiment. Lieutenant Lisenko and six lower ranks ran over to the enemy. Having received information about the plight of the Russians, Abbas-Mirza threw his troops into a decisive assault, but having suffered heavy losses, he was forced to abandon further attempts to break the resistance of a desperate handful of people. At night, another 19 soldiers ran across to the Persians. Understanding the gravity of the situation, and the fact that the transition of comrades to the enemy creates unhealthy moods among the soldiers, Colonel Karyagin decides to break through the encirclement, go to the river. Shah Bulakh and occupy a small fortress standing on its shore. The commander of the detachment sent a report to Prince Tsitsianov, in which he wrote: "... in order not to subject the remnant of the detachment to complete and final death and save people and guns, he made a firm decision to break through with courage through the numerous enemy who surrounded from all sides ..."

The conductor in this desperate enterprise was a local resident, an Armenian Melik Vani. Leaving the convoy and burying captured weapons, the detachment moved on to a new campaign. At first they moved in complete silence, then there was a collision with the enemy's cavalry and the Persians rushed to catch up with the detachment. True, even on the march, attempts to destroy this wounded and mortally tired, but still the battle group did not bring good luck to the Persians, moreover, most of the pursuers rushed to rob the empty Russian camp. According to the legends, the Shah-Bulakh castle was built by Shah Nadir, and got its name from the stream flowing nearby. In the castle there was a Persian garrison (150 people) under the command of Emir Khan and Fial Khan, the suburbs occupied enemy posts. Seeing the Russians, the sentries raised the alarm and opened fire. Shots of Russian guns rang out, a well-aimed cannonball smashed the gate, and the Russians broke into the castle. In a report dated June 28, 1805, Karyagin reported: "... the fortress was taken, the enemy was driven out of it and out of the forest with a small loss on our part. On the enemy side, both khans were killed ... Settled in the fortress, I await the orders of your excellency." By evening, there were only 179 people in the ranks, and 45 charges for guns. Upon learning of this, Prince Tsitsianov wrote to Karyagin: "In unheard-of despair, I ask you to back up the soldiers, and I ask God to back you up."

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 28, 1805: "Lieutenant Zhudkovsky of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment, who, despite the wound, volunteered to be a hunter when taking batteries and acted as a brave officer, and Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich of the 7th Artillery Regiment, who, when almost all his gunners were wounded, he himself loaded the guns and knocked out the gun carriage under the enemy cannon.

Karyagin decides to take an even more incredible step, to break through the hordes of the enemy to the fortress of Mukhrat, not occupied by the Persians. On July 7, at 22.00, this march began, a deep ravine with steep slopes arose on the way of the detachment. People and horses could overcome it, but the guns? Then Private Gavrila Sidorov jumped down to the bottom of the ditch, followed by a dozen more soldiers. The first gun, like a bird, flew to the other side, the second fell off and the wheel hit Private Sidorov in the temple. Having buried the hero, the detachment continued its march. There are several versions of this episode: "... the detachment continued to move, calmly and unhindered, until the two guns that were with it were stopped by a small ditch. There was no forest to make a bridge nearby; four soldiers volunteered to help the cause, crossing themselves lay down in ditch and guns were transported along them. Two remained alive, and two paid for their heroic self-sacrifice with their lives. "

"Living bridge, an episode from the campaign of Colonel Karyagin to Mukhrat in 1805". Franz Roubaud

On July 8, the detachment came to Ksapet, from here Karyagin sent forward carts with the wounded under the command of Kotlyarevsky, and he himself moved after them. Three versts from Mukhrat, the Persians rushed to the column, but were repulsed by fire and bayonets. One of the officers recalled: “... but as soon as Kotlyarevsky managed to move away from us, we were brutally attacked by several thousand Persians, and their onslaught was so strong and sudden that they managed to capture both of our guns. This is not a thing at all. Karyagin shouted : "Guys, go ahead, save the cannons!" Everyone rushed like lions, and immediately our bayonets opened the way. Trying to cut off the Russians from the fortress, Abbas-Mirza sent a cavalry detachment to capture it, but the Persians failed here too. The disabled team of Kotlyarevsky threw back the Persian horsemen. By evening, Karyagin also came to Mukhrat, according to Bobrovsky, this happened at 12.00.

Late silver medal "For the Persian War" in 1826 - 1828.

References

1. Popov K. Temple of Glory. T. 1. - Paris, 1931. . - S. 142.

2. Popov K. Decree. op. - P.144.

3. Bobrovsky P.O. The history of the 13th Life Grenadier Erivan Regiment of His Majesty for 250 years. T. 3. - St. Petersburg, 1893. - S. 229.

4. Popov K. Decree Op. - P.146.

5. Viskovatov A. The exploits of the Russians beyond the Caucasus in 1805 // Northern Bee, 1845. - P. 99-101.

6. Library for reading // Life of a Russian nobleman in different eras of his life. T.90. - St. Petersburg, 1848. - P.39.

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks, "This is crazy! - No, this is the 17th Russian Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, delightful cunning and stunning Russian impudence. But first things first.

In 1805, the Russian Empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory had long since declined by that time, and the British, who had never had a normal ground army. Both of them behaved like complete anguish ... and even the great Kutuzov, with all the strength of his genius, could not switch the Fail after Fail TV channel. In the meantime, in the south of Russia, the Persian Baba Khan, who was reading reports about our European defeats with a purr, had an Ideyka.

500 Russians versus 40,000 Persians

Baba Khan stopped purring and again went to Russia, hoping to pay off for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - because of the usual staging of the usual drama "A crowd of so-called allies-krivorukov-mu ... kov and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone", Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that on the entire Caucasus was from 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers.

Therefore, having learned that 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas-Mirza (I would like to think, that he moved on a huge golden platform, with a bunch of freaks, freaks and concubines on golden chains, like e fakin Xerxes), Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, the superhero Karyagin, the superhero Kotlyarevsky and the Russian military spirit.

The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break for clearing piles of Persian bodies, funerals, weeping and writing postcards to the families of the dead. By morning, after reading the manual “The art of war for dummies” sent by express mail (“If the enemy has fortified and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him head-on, even if you are 40,000, and he is 400”), the Persians began to bombard our walk -city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenishing water supplies. The Russians, in response, made a sortie, made their way to the Persian battery and blew it up the fuck. n, dropping the remnants of cannons into the river, presumably - with malicious obscene inscriptions.

However, this did not save the situation. Having fought another day, Karyagin began to suspect that he could not kill the entire Persian army. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lisenko and six other assholes defected to the Persians, the next day 19 more hippies joined them - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed those from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. Uncomfortable.

Everyone loved Left 4 Dead already in 1805, so they decided to break through. At night. Having cut the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants in the program “Staying alive when it is impossible to stay alive” almost left the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian siding. A chase began, a shootout, then another chase, then ours finally broke away from the Mahmuds in the dark, dark Caucasian forest and went to the fortress, named after the nearby river Shah Bulakh. By that moment, around the remaining participants in the crazy marathon “Fight as much as you can” (I remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of uninterrupted fighting, sorties, duels on bayonets and night hide and seek through the forests), a golden aura of 3.14zdetsa shone, so Karyagin simply broke the gates of Shakh- Bulakha with a cannonball, after which he tiredly asked the small Persian garrison: “Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Is that true?"

The guys took the hint and fled. During the run, two khans were killed, the Russians barely had time to repair the gates, as the main Persian forces appeared, worried about the loss of their beloved Russian detachment. But this was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After an inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And that the convoy with food had to be abandoned during a breakthrough from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. At all. At all. At all. Karyagin again went out to the troops:

Infantry regiment in a square. Musketeer companies (1), grenadier companies and platoons (3), regimental artillery (5), regiment commander (6), staff officer (8).

It is he who waits for us to die, hoping that hunger will do what 40,000 Persians could not do. But we won't die. You won't die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I command you to muster all the impudence that you have, because this night we leave the fortress and break through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WE SHOULD TAKE AGAIN, WITH THE ENTIRE PERSIAN ARMY ON THE SHOULDERS. As well as freaks and concubines.

This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is Russian history, chicks, and you are its main characters. Put sentries on the walls, who will call to each other all night, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We perform as soon as it gets dark enough!

It is said that there was once an angel in Heaven who was in charge of monitoring the impossibility. On July 7 at 22 o'clock, when Karyagin left the fortress to storm the next, even larger fortress, this angel died of consternation. It is important to understand that by July 7, the detachment had been continuously fighting for the 13th day and was not so much in the “terminators are coming” state, but rather in the state of “extremely desperate people, out of anger and fortitude alone, are moving into the Heart of Darkness of this crazy, impossible, incredible, unimaginable trip."

With cannons, with carts of the wounded, it was not a walk with backpacks, but a big and heavy movement. Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a night ghost, like a bat, like a creature from That Forbidden Side - and therefore even the soldiers who remained to call to each other on the walls managed to get away from the Persians and catch up with the detachment, although they were already preparing to die, realizing the absolute lethality of their task.

Moving through darkness, darkness, pain, hunger and thirst, a detachment of Russian ... soldiers? Ghosts? Saints of war? ran into a moat through which it was impossible to smuggle cannons, and without cannons, the assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhrata, had neither meaning nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, and there was no time to look for the forest - the Persians could overtake at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the rest, unfortunately, I could not find - silently jumped into the ditch. And they lay down. Like logs. No bravado, no talking, nothing. They jumped and lay down. The heavy cannons went straight for them.

Only two climbed out of the ditch. Silently.

Apparently, the soldiers remembered at what cost they got these guns. Red splashed on the carriages, this time Persian, and splashed, and poured, and flooded the carriages, and the ground around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and poured, and poured, and poured until the Persians did not flee in panic, failing to break the resistance of hundreds of ours.

Mukhrat was taken easily, and the next day, on July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin: “We are still alive and for the last three weeks we have been forcing half of the Persian army to chase us. P.S. Borscht in the refrigerator, Persians near the Tertara River”, immediately came out to meet the Persian army with 2300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then joined with the remnants of the detachments of Colonel Karyagin.

Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all officers and soldiers - awards and salaries, silently lay down in the ditch of Gavril Sidorov - a monument at the headquarters of the regiment.

At a time when the glory of the Emperor of France, Napoleon, was growing on the fields of Europe, and the Russian troops fighting against the French were performing new feats for the glory of Russian weapons, on the other side of the world, in the Caucasus, the same Russian soldiers and officers were doing no less glorious deeds. One of the golden pages in the history of the Caucasian wars was written by the colonel of the 17th Chasseur Regiment Karyagin and his detachment.

The state of affairs in the Caucasus in 1805 was extremely difficult. The Persian ruler Baba Khan was eager to regain the lost influence of Tehran after the arrival of the Russians in the Caucasus. The impetus for the war was the capture of Ganzha by the troops of Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Tsitsianov. Because of the war with France, St. Petersburg could not increase the strength of the Caucasian Corps; by May 1805, it consisted of about 6,000 infantry and 1,400 cavalry. Moreover, the troops were scattered over a vast territory. Due to illness and poor nutrition, there was a large shortage, so according to the lists in the 17th Jaeger Regiment, there were 991 privates in three battalions, in fact there were 201 people in the ranks.

Having learned about the appearance of large Persian formations, the commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, Prince Tsitsianov, ordered Colonel Karyagin to delay the advance of the enemy. On June 18, the detachment set out from Elisavetpol to Shusha, with 493 soldiers and officers and two guns. The detachment included: the patron battalion of the 17th Chasseur Regiment under the command of Major Pyotr Stepanovich Kotlyarevsky, the company of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment of Captain Tatarintsov and the artillerymen of Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich. At that time, Major of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Lisanevich was in Shusha with six companies of rangers, thirty Cossacks and three guns. On July 11, Lisanevich's detachment repulsed several attacks of the Persian troops, and soon an order was received to join the detachment of Colonel Karyagin. But, fearing an uprising of a part of the population and the likelihood of the Persians capturing Shusha, Lisanevich did not do this.

On June 24, the first battle took place with the Persian cavalry (about 3,000) who crossed the Shah-Bulakh River. Several attacks of the enemy, who tried to break through the square, were repulsed. Having traveled 14 versts, the detachment camped at the barrow of the Kara-Agach-BaBa tract on the Askaran River. In the distance one could see the tents of the Persian armada under the command of Pir-Kuli Khan, and this was only the vanguard of the army, commanded by the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza. On the same day, Karyagin sent a demand to Lisanevich to leave Shusha and go to him, but the latter, due to the difficult situation, could not do this.

At 18.00 the Persians began to storm the Russian camp, the attacks continued with a break until the very night. Having suffered heavy losses, the Persian commander withdrew his detachments to the heights around the camp, and the Persians installed four false batteries to conduct shelling. From the early morning of July 25, the bombardment of our location began. According to the memoirs of one of the participants in the battle: “Our situation was very, very unenviable and was getting worse hour by hour. The unbearable heat exhausted our strength, thirst tormented us, and shots from enemy batteries did not stop ... ". Several times the Persians offered the commander of the detachment to lay down their arms, but they were invariably refused. In order not to lose the only source of water, on the night of June 27, a sortie was made by a group under the command of Lieutenant Klyupin and Lieutenant Prince Tumanov. The operation to destroy the enemy batteries was successfully carried out. All four batteries were destroyed, the servants were partly killed, partly fled, and the falconets were thrown into the river. It must be said that by this day 350 people remained in the detachment, and half had wounds of varying severity.

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 26, 1805: “Major Kotlyarevsky was sent by me three times to drive away the enemy who was ahead and occupied elevated places, drove away his strong crowds with courage. Captain Parfyonov, Captain Klyukin throughout the battle on various occasions were sent by me with fittings and hit the enemy with fearlessness.

At dawn on June 27, the attack on the camp was launched by the approaching main forces of the Persians. The attacks continued throughout the day. At four o'clock in the afternoon there was an incident that forever remained a black spot in the glorious history of the regiment. Lieutenant Lisenko and six lower ranks ran over to the enemy. Having received information about the plight of the Russians, Abbas-Mirza threw his troops into a decisive assault, but having suffered heavy losses, he was forced to abandon further attempts to break the resistance of a desperate handful of people. At night, another 19 soldiers ran across to the Persians. Realizing the gravity of the situation, and the fact that the transition of comrades to the enemy creates unhealthy moods among the soldiers, Colonel Karyagin decides to break through the encirclement, go to the Shakh-Bulakh River and occupy a small fortress standing on its bank. The commander of the detachment sent a report to Prince Tsitsianov, in which he wrote: “... in order not to subject the remnant of the detachment to complete and final death and save people and guns, he made a firm decision to break through with courage through the numerous enemy who surrounded from all sides ... ".

The conductor in this desperate enterprise was a local resident, an Armenian Melik Vani. Leaving the convoy and burying captured weapons, the detachment moved on to a new campaign. At first they moved in complete silence, then there was a collision with the enemy's cavalry and the Persians rushed to catch up with the detachment. True, even on the march, attempts to destroy this wounded and mortally tired, but still the battle group did not bring good luck to the Persians, moreover, most of the pursuers rushed to rob the empty Russian camp. According to the legends, the Shah-Bulakh castle was built by Shah Nadir, and got its name from the stream flowing nearby. In the castle there was a Persian garrison (150 people) under the command of Emir Khan and Fial Khan, the suburbs occupied enemy posts. Seeing the Russians, the sentries raised the alarm and opened fire. Shots of Russian guns rang out, a well-aimed cannonball smashed the gate, and the Russians broke into the castle. In a report dated June 28, 1805, Karyagin reported: “... the fortress was taken, the enemy was driven out of it and out of the forest with a small loss on our part. On the enemy side, both khans were killed ... Having settled in the fortress, I await the orders of your excellency. By evening, there were only 179 people in the ranks, and 45 charges for guns. Upon learning of this, Prince Tsitsianov wrote to Karyagin: "In unheard-of despair, I ask you to back up the soldiers, and I ask God to back you up."

Karyagin decides to take an even more incredible step, to break through the hordes of the enemy to the fortress of Mukhrat, not occupied by the Persians. On July 7, at 22.00, this march began, a deep ravine with steep slopes arose on the way of the detachment. People and horses could overcome it, but the guns? Then Private Gavrila Sidorov jumped down to the bottom of the ditch, followed by a dozen more soldiers. The first gun, like a bird, flew to the other side, the second fell off and the wheel hit Private Sidorov in the temple. Having buried the hero, the detachment continued its march. There are several versions of this episode: “... the detachment continued to move, calmly and unhindered, until the two guns that were with it were stopped by a small ditch. There was no forest nearby to make a bridge. Four soldiers volunteered to help the cause, crossed themselves in the ditch, and the guns were transported over them. Two remained alive, and two paid for their heroic self-sacrifice with their lives.

On July 8, the detachment came to Ksapet, from here Karyagin sent forward carts with the wounded under the command of Kotlyarevsky, and he himself moved after them. Three versts from Mukhrat, the Persians rushed to the column, but were repulsed by fire and bayonets. One of the officers recalled: “... but as soon as Kotlyarevsky managed to move away from us, we were brutally attacked by several thousand Persians, and their onslaught was so strong and sudden that they managed to capture both of our guns. This is no longer a thing. Karyagin shouted: "Guys, go ahead, go ahead, save the guns!" Everyone rushed like lions, and immediately our bayonets opened the way. Trying to cut off the Russians from the fortress, Abbas-Mirza sent a cavalry detachment to capture it, but the Persians failed here too. The disabled team of Kotlyarevsky threw back the Persian horsemen. By evening, Karyagin also came to Mukhrat, according to Bobrovsky, this happened at 12.00.

Having made this amazing march, the detachment of Colonel Karyagin for three weeks attracted the attention of almost 20,000 Persians and did not allow them to go deep into the country. For this campaign, Colonel Karyagin was awarded a golden sword with the inscription "For Courage". Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin has been in the service since April 15, 1773 (Smolensk Coin Company), since September 25, 1775, a sergeant of the Voronezh Infantry Regiment. Since 1783, he was a lieutenant of the Belarusian Jaeger Battalion (1st Battalion of the Caucasian Jaeger Corps). Member of the storming of Anapa June 22, 1791, received the rank of major. Head of defense of Pambak in 1802. Chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment since May 14, 1803. For the assault on Ganja, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.