Battle of Tashkessen

Battle of Tashkessen
Part ofRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Date December 31, 1877 Location NearTashkessen(today Sarantsi),Bulgaria Result Ottoman withdrawal
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
GeneralArkadiy Kurlov GeneralIosif Gurko GeneralOtton Egorovich Rauch	Valentine Baker Ahmed Javad Pasha
Strength
24,000,17 guns,of which about 17,000 engaged Russian estimate:15,000, 22 guns	2,000–2,400or 3,000,7 guns and 2squadronsof cavalry Russian estimate:about 4,000, 7 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
2,000+ (British claim) 562 killed and wounded (Russian estimate)	half of the army (800–1,000 men)

TheBattle of TashkessenorBattle of Tashkesan(Turkish:Taşkesen Muharebesi) took place during theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878.It was fought between theOttoman Empireand theRussian Empireon December 31, 1877, in what is nowBulgaria.

The battle

TheOttoman ArmyofShakir Pasha,some 14,000 men,was on retreat from the village of Kamarli towardsSofiaandBoyacık.Shakir Pasha's army was threatened by a Russian force thatBurnabyclaimed had 30,000 men and "30battalionsof theRussian Guard"from its left flank, under the command of GeneralIosif Gurko,and another one, said to be 22,000 men strongbefore Kamarli. 2,400–4,000 men, 7 guns and two cavalry squadrons of Shakir Pasha's army had been detached under the command ofValentine Baker,aBritish-bornOttomangeneral. Baker Pasha was given orders to hold off the advancing Russian army in order to secure the retreat of Shakir Pasha's remaining troops. Baker Pasha entrenched his forces in the village of Taşkesen (nowSarantsi,Bulgaria). The superior Russian army surrounded the Ottomans, but its troops were scattered over a large territory, could not unite together and were slowed by deep snow,winter stormand difficult mountain terrain,so that only a part of them engaged;having a strong defensive position and with weather in their favour, the Ottomans successfully managed to hold off the advancing Russian forces for ten hours,allowing Shakir Pasha to withdraw, and hastily retreated as soon as the firing died down.At the end of the day the Ottoman forces were facing a Russian force ten times its size and ultimately left their position.Burnaby declared that the skirmish had cost the Russians more than 2,000 men and the Ottomans had lost more than 800 men,although the Russians established that only 562 of their men were killed and wounded in total.

During the night panic broke out in the Ottoman ranks, after rumours spread that the Russians had made a flanking movement. This caused the Ottomans to flee the village, killing the inhabitants.Valentine Bakerremarked: "We must burn that village to cover our crimes".One of his officers, Allix, accompanied by some men, advanced on the village that had just been captured by the Russians and Bulgarians. They set fire to some straw stacks, which quickly ignited the houses.

References

• George Bruce.Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981) (ISBN978-0-442-22336-6).
• Frederick Gustavus Burnaby.On Horseback Through Asia Minor.(Cosimo Inc., 2007, originally published in 1878) (ISBN978-1-60206-341-9).
• Frank Jastrzembski.Valentine Baker's Heroic Stand At Tashkessen 1877 A Tarnished British Soldier's Glorious Victory.(Pen & Sword, 2017) ISBN 9781473866805