The Battle of Maltakvi was part of the
Russo-Turkish war (1806-1812), the battle of the Russo-Georgian army to capture
Poti fortress.
The Russian command attached great importance to the liberation of Poti from the Ottomans and tried by all means to achieve it. After unsuccessful negotiations with the commandant of the
Poti prison, the Russian command decided to take the prison by force. On August 12, the Russian army, together with the army of the
principalities of Samegrelo and
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
, moved towards
Poti. One part of the army moved to the left side of
Rioni river and stood about 3 km from the fortress. Part of it landed in the lower part of the river. Cannons should be placed on the right side of the river. On August 13, after the artillery fire, the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
left the fortified place and rushed to the fortress. Their garrison was surrounded on 3 sides. Artillery fire inflicted significant losses on the enemy, but the attack was delayed due to the lack of war material. In the second half of October,
Seraskir of Trebizond with 9,000 soldiers approached
Poti to help the
Turkish garrison. The Russian command managed to recruit
Mamiya V Guriel to its side. The army of
Guria principality under the command of
Vakhtang Eristavi
Vakhtang ( ka, ვახტანგ) is a masculine given name in Georgian language. The name derives from an ancient Persian expression, "vahrka-tanū," meaning of which translates into "wolf-bodied." Some sources argue that the meaning of the ...
and
Simon Gugunava
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
suddenly attacked the enemy from
Grigoleti
Grigoleti () is a small seaside village located on the Black Sea coast in the Lanchkhuti Municipality of Guria region of Georgia (country), Georgia.
Geography
It is situated in the Guria lowlands, 1.24 miles (2 km) south of Poti, approximately 1 ...
and severely defeated them. The Ottomans tried to escape by sea. Many drowned in the water, some scattered in the forest and swamp. On November 2, the units of the Samegrelo and Abkhaz army marched towards the
Maltakva river under the cover of artillery fire. The garrison of
Poti was forced to leave the fortress, which was captured on November 15 by General Dimitri Orbeliani with Megrelian-Abkhaz detachments.
References
{{Reflist
Conflicts in 1809
Russo-Turkish wars
November 1809 events
Battles involving Georgia (country)
Battles involving the Ottoman Empire