The Battle of Oltenița (or Oltenitza) was fought on 4 November 1853
and was the first engagement of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
. In this battle an
Ottoman army under the command of
Omar Pasha
Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas ( tr, Ömer Lütfi Paşa, sr, Омер-паша Латас, Omer-paša Latas; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in Austrian territory to Serbian Or ...
was defending its fortified positions from the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
forces led by General
Peter Dannenberg, until the Russians were ordered to withdraw.
[Engels, pp.516-522.] The Russian attack was called off just when they reached the Ottoman fortifications, and they retreated in good order, but suffered heavy losses.
The Ottomans held their positions, but did not pursue the enemy, and later retreated to the other side of Danube.
[Ann Pottinger Saab. The Origins of the Crimean Alliance, Volume 11. ]University of Virginia Press
The University of Virginia Press (or UVaP) is a university press that is part of the University of Virginia. It was established in 1963 as the University Press of Virginia, under the initiative of the university's then President, Edgar F. Shannon ...
, 1977. P. 119
Background
This battle took place during the Crimean War. In the build-up to war, Russia had occupied the
Danubian Principalities
The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...
of
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
, positioning troops on the (northern) left bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, the border of Ottoman territory. The Ottoman Empire had responded by moving troops under the general command of
Omar Pasha
Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas ( tr, Ömer Lütfi Paşa, sr, Омер-паша Латас, Omer-paša Latas; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in Austrian territory to Serbian Or ...
to the right bank to face them. On their left flank, the Ottomans gathered a large force near the westernmost fortress of
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
, but there were no significant numbers of Russians (they were afraid of diplomatic attrition with Austria). In the centre, Russian forces south of
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
were faced by Ottoman forces in the fortresses of
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
,
Turtukai and
Silistra
Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Sil ...
. Following the Ottoman ultimatum on 4 October 1853 to withdraw within 2 weeks, Ottoman forces under Ferik Ismail Pasha crossed the Danube River from Vidin to Kalafat on 28 October 1853 to drive the Russians out of the western part of Wallachia. On 30 October
Omar Pasha
Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas ( tr, Ömer Lütfi Paşa, sr, Омер-паша Латас, Omer-paša Latas; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in Austrian territory to Serbian Or ...
himself arrived at the troops gathered near the Turtukai fortress.
Action
![Szathmary_-_The_Oltenitza_Quarantine_1854](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Szathmary_-_The_Oltenitza_Quarantine_1854.jpg)
On 2 November 1853 the vanguard of an Ottoman force under Omar Pasha crossed the Danube in eastern Wallachia and occupied the fortified quarantine post near the village of
Oltenița
Oltenița () is a city in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, on the left bank of the river Argeș, where its waters flow into the Danube.
Geography
The city is located in the southwestern part of the county; it stands across the Danube fro ...
, opposite the
Turtukai fortress. First, one battalion of the Ottomans crossed over, followed by another; they managed to carry out some fortification work. According to the report of Omar Pasha, there were three companies of ordinary infantry and two companies of riflemen, as well as 150 horsemen and 6 cannons on the bridgehead. Several batteries of artillery were placed on the right (Ottoman) bank of the Danube, as well as on the island near the quarantine. Omar Pasha himself remained in Turtukai during the battle. On 4 November, Russian troops under the command of General
Dannenberg attacked the fortified positions of the Ottomans. Russians had 8 battalions of infantry and 9 squadrons of cavalry (about 6000 people in total). At first, for two hours, Russian artillery (16 guns) fired, gradually shifting positions closer and closer to the Ottoman line of defense. Then, deciding that the return fire was already sufficiently weakened, the Russians moved all their infantry into the attack. The infantry moved in dense battalion columns, under the fierce fire of Turkish riflemen and guns, and suffered heavy losses. The attackers advanced to the moat, but there they were ordered to retreat, having lost about 970 men in total.
[Tarle Y. The Crimean War](_blank)
/ref>
Their failure was seen as the result of a smaller number of troops, poor reconnaissance and insufficient artillery support, which failed to neutralise the strongest enemy defense, and an order to withdraw that was issued at the time when the Russian troops were already successfully storming the enemy positions. Emperor Nicholas I, after having studied the battle in detail, commented that the troops of Dannenberg did not have enough artillery to drive the Ottomans from their defensive positions and suppress the fortified Ottoman cannons, which were supported by other artillery positions built on the right shore of the Danube, and should have fought in a looser formation, using marksmen against the embrasure
An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...
s of the enemy fortifications. Dannenberg himself justified his order to retreat for the following reason: by entering the Turkish positions, his troops would be vulnerable to Turkish artillery fire from the other side of the Danube. But this explanation was unsatisfactory, because it is not clear why the infantry attack was made at all in this case.
Omar Pasha officially declared that he lost about 180; the Russians, although they did not know the actual losses of the enemy, assumed that they should be heavy, largely due to the massive use of shrapnel
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
at close range.
Aftermath
The battle of Oltenitza was the first military engagement of the Crimean War. It resulted in a tactical victory for the Ottoman forces, in that the Russians withdrew, and the Ottoman forces were left in possession of the bridgehead on the left bank of the Danube. However, the Ottomans did not pursue the Russians. Later, the Russian command pulled up additional forces to Oltenitza and the Ottomans left for the right bank to their start position.
The battle was exaggerated in the European press as a great Ottoman triumph, but strategically it had little impact,[ and Western newspapers were confused by the Ottoman retreat that followed. Nevertheless, Russian pride was certainly stung, and the Ottomans were encouraged by their first serious victory.]
See also
* Battle of Cetate
The Battle of Cetate was fought during the Crimean War. In this battle a large Ottoman force under Ahmed Pasha unsuccessfully attempted to capture the village of Cetate which was controlled by Russian Colonel .
Background
The battle took plac ...
* Siege of Calafat
The siege of Calafat took place in 1854 during the Crimean War. The Russians unsuccessfully besieged the Ottoman army at this place for four months before finally withdrawing.
In July 1853, the Russian army invaded the Principality of Wallachi ...
* Siege of Silistra
The siege of Silistria, or siege of Silistra, took place during the Crimean War, from 11 May to 23 June 1854, when Russian forces besieged the Ottoman fortress of Silistria (present-day Bulgaria). Sustained Ottoman resistance had allowed Fren ...
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
* Engels, Friedrich, "The War on the Danube" contained in the ''Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich: Volume 12'', International Publishers: New York, 1979.
*
*
*Rhodes, G.; A personal narrative of a tour of military inspection in various parts of European Turkey..., 1854.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Oltenita
Conflicts in 1853
Oltenitza
Oltenitza
Military history of Romania
1853 in the Ottoman Empire
19th century in Romania
1853 in Romania
November 1853 events