# Azov Campaign (1711)

Azov Campaign, phase in the Russo-Ottoman War (1710–1713)

## Before the campaign

According to the campaign plan of the Ottoman army, when the operation was launched to achieve a decisive result in the Danube region, the Beylerbeyi of Erzurum (province) Vizier İzmirli Ali Pasha and Trabzon Beylerbeyi Ebulkavuk Mehmet Pasha Together with the troops gathered in Trabzon, they were assigned to capture Azov Castle. Vizier Midillili İsmail Pasha was appointed for the operation planned around Özi and Sarı Ahmed Pasha was appointed as the commander of Özi Castle. Departing from Istanbul on April 7, the Ottoman navy consisted of 359 pieces (including transport ships). After receiving the troops gathered in Trabzon, the navy, numbering 30–35,000 men, proceeded to Özi and some of them were sent to the Captain-ı derya Köse Ali Paşazade Mehmed Pasha remained in the region. The remaining forces headed from Kefe to the Azov Sea. Azov Fortress, the main target of the Ottoman navy After the Siege of Azov (1696) fell to the Russians in 1696, it was fortified with modern defenses, and the Taygan Fortress, 60 kilometers to the west, was also fortified to defend itself. In addition, in front of Taygan, a powerful Russian fleet (18 pieces) protected the fortress against attacks from the sea.

## Campaign

the flagship of the Russian fleet in the Sea of Azov until 1711 Leaving the port of Kefe, the Ottoman fleet received ammunition and supplies for the siege from Yenikale (Crimea) in the Kerch Strait and then headed north to lay siege to Azov Fortress.
Unaware of the armistice at the end of the Battle of Prut, the Ottoman navy With 18 galleons, 14 galleys and numerous transports on 29 July 1711 arrived in front of the Troitsk fortress, which formed part of the Taygan Fortress. On July 30, seven Ottoman galleyss approached 7-8 kilometers off the Troitsk fortress, but retreated to a safe distance as Russian ships approached. After a stormy 31 July-1 August, on the morning of Sunday 2 August, taking advantage of sunsets on Sunday morning, she anchored opposite the fortress of Troitsk, defended by a garrison of 1,500 men under Lieutenant Colonel Brauer, and began a landing around Pavlosk. During this landing, the naval artillery supported the operation by shelling the Russian fortress. The Russian garrison returned fire. A raid by a group of Russian-Cossack infantry on the landing Ottoman troops failed, but succeeded in slowing down the Ottomans. However, the Ottoman troops retreated to the ships when all the forces in the fortress, supported by the four field guns in the fortress, went on the offensive. The Ottoman navy then sailed again. On August 4, the Ottoman navy tried to attack with galleonss this time, but again moved away from the area without a battle as the Russian ships caught up.

## After the campaign

Thus, the only successful operation of the Ottoman navy in 1711 was the transportation of army weights to the Battle of Prut, and the attempt to lay siege to the Azov Fortress failed. Returning to Istanbul, the navy was commanded by Captain-at-arms Köse Ali Paşazade Mehmed Pasha was dismissed.
However, the Treaty of Prut signed on July 21, 1711, It also marked the end of this first Russian Navy in the Black Sea. Indeed, with the Treaty, news of the signing of which reached the region on August 12, Russian Tsar Peter I. Peter I agreed to Abolition of the Russian Navy (1711) in the Black Sea, while ceding to the Ottoman Empire all the territories (including Azak and Taygan fortresses) it had captured in the Treaty of Constantinople (1700) in 1700.