The Battle of Kozludzha (also known as the Battle of Kozluca), fought on 20 June (

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

- June 9) 1774 near the village of Kozludzha (now Suvorovo,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

), was one of the final and decisive battles of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). The Russians managed to rout the Ottoman army, scoring a major victory. This battle, alongside several others in this campaign, established the reputation of the Russian general

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

as one of the brilliant commanders of his time. The Ottoman forces are estimated at about 40,000. Russian numbers were much lower, 8,000 men in total. The Ottoman forces were demoralized due to previous defeats and had poor logistics (including a year of withheld back pay).

Battle

The Russian army under Generals

and

Mikhail Kamensky Count Mikhail Fedotovich Kamensky (russian: Михаи́л Федо́тович Каме́нский; 19 May 1738 – 12 August 1809) was a Russian Field Marshal prominent in the Catherinian wars and the Napoleonic campaigns. Biography Mikh ...

encountered the Ottoman forces of General Abdul-Rezak Pasha. After scouts reported to Suvorov, he immediately ordered the attack. The Russian army, divided into four

squares In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

, attacked the Ottomans. Ottoman cavalry charges were repulsed by the Russians, while a Russian cavalry attack from the rear resulted in the capture of all of the Ottoman artillery. Russian artillery fire is also said to have been highly devastating to the Ottoman forces. Casualties were 3,000 for the Ottomans and 209 for the Russians. The Russians captured the Ottoman camp with its supplies, while the Ottomans abandoned Kozludzha and retreated to

Shumla Shumen ( bg, Шумен, also romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. Etymology The city was first mentioned as ''Šimeonis'' in 1153 by t ...

, where they were soon blockaded, suffering from further defeats and attrition.

Aftermath

The Russian victory was one of the major reasons why a month later, on 21 July, the Ottomans were forced to sign the unfavorable

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ( tr, Küçük Kaynarca Antlaşması; russian: Кючук-Кайнарджийский мир), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kayn ...

References

{{Ottoman battles Kozludzha Kozludzha Kozludzha 1774 in the Ottoman Empire 18th century in Bulgaria Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) Alexander Suvorov