War in Crimea - I
Following the 'letter of Sheil' and within five months of establishing a new relationship with London, the Crimean War began as Russian naval forces destroyed an Ottoman squadron at Sinope. Naser Al-Din called up the Persian Army almost immediately, prompting Dolgokurov to dispatch a letter to the Emperor Nicholas in St. Petersburg. 'Somehow' that letter never arrived, though still officially unknown suspicions are heavy for Persian involvement in stealing and destroying the document. Regardless, Persia began to mobilize in concordance with France, Britain, and her allies. Purchases of artillery, Enfield rifle-muskets, and training along European lines was still in progress when the war broke out. Using Prussian and British 'advisors', the army was still re-developing itself when the Shah ordered its split into three forces, one for movement into the Caucasus to reclaim former territory, one to move into the Khiva, Bukara, and Kokand areas, and another for home defense. Despite the use of more modern technologies, the lack of infrastructure and focus on the Black Sea meant that the Russians were mainly focused elsewhere when the first attacks came. Thus we cover the two fronts:
Caucasus
Battle of Agdam
With the breach of the Russian frontier in late June of 1854, the Persian Army began making steady progress into the Caucasus. Cheering crowds of Muslims and Christians alike welcomed the 'liberators' and southern Armenia fell quickly. It was at Agdam that the first major 'battle' was fought, though this was more of a delaying action as a fortress was being built north of the town near the Kuma river. Persian forces took almost a full day to arrive and organize, the scant 3,000 Russian soldiers in the area decided to fall back but were not fast enough for light Persian cavalry. As a result what was supposed to be a retreat turned into a route, Russian forces were unable to load rifles fast enough to bear the first charge of the Persian cavalry which killed over 1200 soldiers before the colonel in charge surrendered. His general had already fled, but the single-digit casualties would make the news first in Asia then in Europe and America. By July 12, most of the Caucasus south of Baku was back in Persian hands with quick work being made of stragglers as the army marched northwards.
Battle of Mingacevir
The second major battle of the Caucasian Front occurred on August 11, 1854 with Russian forces consolidating a line along the Kura River, the largest town and most accessible bridgehead east of Lake Sevana was found at the town of Mingacevir. Going around the lake would expose the northwestern frontier of Persia to the Russian army stationed there, thus battle seemed inevitable. Yerevan had a small Russian encampment but upon word that the Persians were crossing over the Armenians revolted and massacred the Russians there. Upon reaching Mingacevir the Persian forces numbered about 12,000 while the Russians numbered about 7,000. Waiting until nightfall and taking advantage of the poorly lit environs, the Persians recounted an old military trick. Using torches attached to the horns of cattle over two thousand bulls were sent charging into the Russian fortifications at about 1am. This left the panicked Russians tired, their expenditure of ammunition relentless, and the hoofs of cattle beating down left enough noise to make the soldiers believe a cavalry charge was underway. As the torches burned into the heads of the cattle they trampled literally anything in their path, knocking down the new wooden fortress and setting fire to the installation. This resulted in the deaths of over 300 soldiers caught in burning wooden wreckage, the next morning a well-rested Persian army in step appeared on the horizon and the Russian general in charge evacuated his troops east to Baku though he lost over 1000 more to injury and surrender. An expectation of a fleet on the Caspian to evacuate the Russian forces was written in the General's diary...
Battle of Baku
Although the Russians had a fleet in the Caspian, the desperation for troops in the Black Sea with the sighting of the British and French forces made sure that the required personnel were not available at Astrakhan for such an evacuation. Thus when Ivan Krasnov arrived to take command, he had his predecessor executed for (perceived) incompetence and drilled the remaining 6,000 men as much as he could in the two weeks before the Persian Army arrived. Persia brought its cannons to bare and the crude oil wells of the area caught fire, causing the city to literally burn to the ground. History records that only 583 Russian soldiers survived to see General Krasnov surrender to the Persians on September 19, 1854, and immediately thereafter the Persian Army worked to reduce the fires. Within a month, Tblisi would also return to the Persian fold as the Persians were welcomed with open arms and cheers.
Battle of Vladikavkaz
December 01, 1854 saw an unusually cold winter storm passing through the area of the primary Russian fortress in the Caucasus at Vladikavkaz. The passage north was controlled from here as were the local armies that had ravaged the local populace and subjugated the Armenians and Islamic populations. The local hatred of the place was near-legendary, but without arms of cannonry no one would challenge the Russian authorities. Persian forces were expected to head up the coast for Makhachkala as that had once been Persian territory, so the bulk of the armed forces had amassed there. With near-total surprise the fortress fell quickly after an attack via the Terek River allowed for very quiet approaches. Sentries watching the river were quietly killed via bows and arrows from land-based forces as a group of thick-shoed men numbering one hundred strong worked their way downriver dressed in local clothing and each carrying two American-made Colt revolvers (some taken from Russian soldiers, others from Persian stores) along with a razor-sharp short sword. As the Persian Army waited, these men infiltrated the reduced-staffed fortress via the river and raised the Qajar flag above it while the rest of the Persian Army caught up. This gave rise to the 'Special Forces' tradition of the One Hundred later expanded to the Three Hundred as a mockery of the Spartans who defended Thermopylae. Ali Hessan was present at this battle as well as Mingacevir and his experiences would inspire his engineering of warships in the decades to come.
Siege of Makhachkala
April 1, 1855 saw the start of the siege as the Persians fought relentlessly down the Terek River in an attempt to cut off then surprise the garrison. While the isolation worked, the surprise did not and artillery from both sides began to fire relentlessly as siege-works went up quickly. Russian reinforcements were deferred to Kars where another Russian territory came under serious threat, Major General Jafargulu Javanshir of the Imperial Russian Army is highest ranking officer left. Russia recognized his claim to the Karabakh Khanate but had disbanded the actual khanate a generation earlier. Quietly communications and negotiations were held with Qajar representatives. Javanshir was offered a chance to be a semi-autonomous lord with a quarter of his holdings restored, immunity from taxation for himself as well as whichever descendant held title to his rank as leader of the Karabekh tribe, and in return he must pay a fixed annual duty along with supplying soldiers in times of war so long as he remained loyal to the Shah. With his army starving and little hope for reinforcement, Jayanshir accepted the offer and surrendered the garrison on May 30, 1855. While smaller battles were still fought until the end of the war, this marked the effective completion of the Caucasus conquests.
