F.Kruger. Portrait of A.F. Orlov. The year 1850
"In the last days of July, reliable news was received that a significant Turkish detachment had gathered at Slivna. There were units of Galil Pasha who had retreated from Yambol, and new reinforcements sent by the vizier from Shumla. Dibich could not, advancing towards Adrianople, leave significant Turkish forces on his flank and therefore decided to initially finish off the Slivna detachment, which was carried out on July 31. Thus, the Vizier's attempt to prevent our army from advancing towards Adrianople was unsuccessful. At Aydos, Yambol and Slivna, the Turkish detachments successively suffered setbacks and, finally, were finally dispersed. The vizier, while in Shumla, weakened his forces by consistently allocating detachments and lost direct contact with Adrianople. Dibich ensured a further offensive towards Adrianople from the rear and from the right flank and was now able to move towards his intended target without slowing down.
Although Dibich had few troops and could replenish the ranks of the regiments by waiting for the reserve units to approach, but taking into account the hasty gathering of Turkish troops to Adrianople and the rapid construction of fortifications, our commander-in-chief preferred the speed of numbers, and on August 2 he marched through Yambol to Adrianople. It was a hard hike. The sultry time has come. Our soldiers, unaccustomed to such heat, suffered greatly. A malignant fever was mowing down the ranks. With each march, the army melted away, as if after a bloody battle. In six days, under the scorching heat, the troops marched 120 miles, and on August 7, Dibich was at the walls of Adrianople. There were no more than 17,000 fighters in the ranks of his army, and this was under the walls of a strong fortress, in the heart of an enemy country, near the capital of the padishah. The bivouacs of the Russian army on the evening of August 7 were 2-3 versts from Adrianople. Dibich and Tolya went on a reconnaissance mission, intending to attack the city the next day.
By this time, up to 10,000 regular infantry, 2,000 militia, and 1,000 cavalry had gathered in Adrianople. Residents also gathered up to 15,000 armed police. The terrain around the city was extremely rugged, which contributed to stubborn defense, with stone walls and towers preserved in places. With the insignificant forces at the disposal of our commander-in-chief, it was impossible to surround the city; a decisive assault could, with the stubbornness of the defense, end in failure. However, it was least appropriate to be cautious at such a crucial historical moment, as it could reveal our weakness. Only unshakeable determination and speed could promise success, and we must do our commander-in-chief justice: he assessed the situation and showed courage during the decisive and most important period of the campaign.
The unexpected appearance of the Russians under the walls of Adrianople stunned the Turks. Almost no defensive measures were taken in advance. General confusion, disorderly conduct, disagreement between the commanding officers, the dull indifference of the troops and panic among the population — this is the state of Adrianople on the day the Russian army appeared at its walls.
On the evening of August 7, messengers from Ibrahim and Galil came to Dibich to discuss the terms of the surrender of the city. The Turks agreed to surrender the city in the event of a free retreat of troops without weapons. We got a lot of war booty in Adrianople. The occupation of Adrianople by the Russian army made a huge impression not only in Turkey, but throughout Europe. The mood in Constantinople was very disturbing. Now they began to believe that the Turkish capital was in imminent danger.
On August 9, the vanguard of our army advanced to Kirkliss and Lyula Burgas — the blow was carried over Constantinople.
The fall of Adrianople coincided with a series of setbacks for Turkey. In the Asian theater, the victorious march of Russian troops ended with the capture of Erzurum. The country was in turmoil. Supporters of reform and defenders of the old order waged a struggle. Under such circumstances, the Sultan was inclined to start peace negotiations.
However, the position of the Russian army in the theater of war was also very difficult. In Adrianople, the troops suffered greatly from the unbearable heat, rains and insufficient nutrition. The incidence was enormous; the hospitals were overcrowded. There was disappointing news from the rear areas: Shumla was holding out, General Kiselyov, appointed commander of the troops on the left bank of the Danube, was having a hard time keeping the Turks from a new invasion of Wallachia. Therefore, the Turks' attempts to start peace talks found a favorable response in our Headquarters. At the same time, Dibich believed that diplomatic negotiations should be conducted with firmness and determination, "in a military manner." The appropriateness on our part to start peace negotiations, in Dibich's opinion, was confirmed by the fact that the 25,000 army stationed across the Balkans was absolutely enough to reach Constantinople, but too insufficient to undertake any operations against the city of 600,000 Muslim population, or to seize European castles on the border. The Bosphorus. Our commander-in-chief cannot be denied the correctness of his judgments: in order to take Constantinople, he needed to occupy the Dardanelles with a strong detachment, knock the Turks from their strong positions between Adrianople and Constantinople, force the straits with a fleet and storm Constantinople. Was such a combat task feasible for the exhausted 25,000 Russian army?
On August 17, Turkish representatives arrived in Adrianople to negotiate peace, along with European diplomats who diligently took care of ending the war as soon as possible, threatening the general peace. Count Dibich entrusted negotiations to Prince Gorchakov and State Secretary Fontona, but they were soon replaced by Count Orlov and Count Palen, appointed by the sovereign. Initially, the negotiations progressed successfully, but when the question of the amount of the contribution arose, Turkish diplomats, referring to the depressing state of finances in the country, showed complete intransigence. Perhaps the reason for such intransigence was rumors about the smallness of the Russian army, the possibility of Austrian intervention, and finally the news of the movement of a 40,000-strong Albanian corps to the rescue of the capital. Seeing the intractability of the Turkish diplomats, Dibich announced to them that he was resuming hostilities. To confirm this, our troops moved towards the capital. The 2nd corps occupied Visa, the 6th occupied Lyule Burgas, followed by the 7th Corps. The decisive demonstration was crowned with complete success. On September 2, the peace treaty was signed by representatives of both sides. The main foundations of peace were as follows: the Prut and the Danube remained the border in Europe; in Asia, the Black Sea coast extended to us from the Kuban to the post of St. Peter the Great. St. Nicholas and the fortresses of Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe. The commercial fleet was granted the right to freely sail through the straits. Greece became a free country, Serbia became a vassal principality, Moldavia and Wallachia received separate governance."
The Adrianople Peace Treaty
