No GNW (or “Peter goes South”)

OK, how about the exchange happening without a war? IIRC, in OTL some kind of a swap happened (don’t remember if this was during EI or CII reign) with something going to Oldenburg and Denmark getting the Holstein/Schleswig and all this did not require a major war or any war at all. I understand that you guys are extremely blood thirsty but is a war really prerequisite for coming to a consensus? 😂



So the basic question is: are the Danish and Swedish rulers so bent on a quarrel over small pieces of land (and, as I understand, even one which none of them possesses, quarrel over Holstein) that they are going to ignore a possibility of the extremely profitable (as in 💰💵💶💷💴🤑 for pretty much nothing) arrangement?

OTL, Denmark got Holstein 1721 as the Duke a vassal to the King of Denmark, although the Duchy was still nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire (the normal mess of non-HRE monarchs with posessions inside the HRE). Holstein-Gottorp independent and allied to Sweden is "a pistol in the Danish realm's back" as was expressed by a Danish diplomat. Combined with the close-fought Scanian war, the revanchism for Scania, I have a hard time seeing a reconcilation between Denmark and Sweden at this time. They have been existential threats to each other, are each others arch-enemies and have fought more wars against each other than England and France.

Karl is unlikely to sell out his nephew Karl Fredrik (it would not be honourable), and the strategic position Sweden holds at the moment - with Holstein-Gottorp and its gaurantee by the Dutch and British through the Altona convention is combined with the alliance with Russia makes Sweden's current position quite good, and they have no real reason to seek change.

As for Denmark, one of the few things they don't lack is coin, since they still control the Sound dues. They do seethe with revanchism, and the idea that thy CAN take Sweden, if no grand power intervenes on Sweden's side (and Russia is not considered a grand power jut yet, just a strong regional power - their ability to project power against Danish interests is quite limited to nil).

It is about prestige, revanchism and national ideas. While you and me, with hindsight, may think it would be a much better idea for Denmark to seek a compromise and make money and secure its future in northern Germany, the contemporary Danish elite would not see it that way. 1658 and 1660 Sweden tried to end Denmark as a sovereign nation, this figures quite actively in the minds of the Danish elite.

The Danes do not have enemies in Germany at the moment (apart from Holstein-Gottorp, but that is only because it is allied to Sweden), quite the opposite - Hannover and Prussia are potential allies against Sweden.

OTL, the Danish army returned from the War of Spanish Succession experienced and victorious. If they suffer catastrophic defeats, the Danes might realise that their ability to wage a war of revanchism does not exist, but OTL and ITTL, they thought they could get it back, an they would try, for prestige and getting what they considered the eastern half of their realm back.

Like Germany 1933, they needed another defeat to realise revanchism is not a good idea.
 
Which is not an argument to make itself a tool of somebody else’s politics (as in OTL). Russia is getting what it wants/needs and then it is a matter of the mutually profitable trade relations (AFAIK, pretty much none of those with Austria and Prussia) with Sweden, the maritime powers and the Ottomans (for as long as they behave). Maybe eventually with France on the Med. How exactly the Hapsburgs are fitting into this schema?

Well you mentioned before in this thread that one of the reasons it is not worth it to expand influence over the Danube is the potential negative austrian response. But I am not arguing to follow the OTL policy vis-a-vis Austria. I am arguing of an opportunistic move that would be under a veneer of supporting the lawful/right side.

We know that Charles XII took honor and law quite seriously. Then, I hypothesized that a Prussian invasion of Silesia would tickle his sensibilities. When state interest corresponds with the monarch's sensibilities, then armies march. Then it is a win-win for Russia, since they can support their ally, maintain the high ground and get a favorable share of the Balkan/Danubian sphere of influence.

In other words, playing nicely did not produce any dividends so why stick to the losing scenario?
I know it. You know it. Do 1740 Russian aristocrats know it? They only have the 1696 case to draw conclusions from. At the same time, they want to be part of the club. And what better way than cover ambitions with a veil of playing nicely?


And the obvious question is: to which purpose?
Why was Russia trying to expand (even just in terms of influece) down that way for 160 years? I doubt all the reasons of multiple russo-turkish wars are butterflied.

In my view it first and foremost a matter of security. Novorossiya is safer with a border at the Prut. Novorossiya is even safer that if the Ottomans want to invade, they would have first to cross the Danube, fight their way against the local Romanians and then try to cross the Prut or Dniester. States tend to follow this line of thinking way too often, regardless if it makes sense with hindsight. The French had a pretty defensible border already, by since the time of Richelieu they were trying constantly to either annex Alsace or increase their influence. Richelieu did it. Mazarin did it. Louis did it albeit in a way that made more enemies than it was worth. Yet in their own minds, it was a defensive policy. And that is just one example of many many other similar cases.

Then to put it cynically, it is an outlet of expressing martial vigor: "All the cool kids states are fighting an occasional war. Howcan we prove ourselves to our peers/ the other faction in court?


What Austria can do in practical terms?
Nothing to be honest. But I am under the impression that 18th century diplomacy acted like that at least in some cases. But yeah, Austria can just sit there and watch the next russo-ottoman war.


The Danes do not have enemies in Germany at the moment (apart from Holstein-Gottorp, but that is only because it is allied to Sweden), quite the opposite - Hannover and Prussia are potential allies against Sweden.

OTL, the Danish army returned from the War of Spanish Succession experienced and victorious. If they suffer catastrophic defeats, the Danes might realise that their ability to wage a war of revanchism does not exist, but OTL and ITTL, they thought they could get it back, an they would try, for prestige and getting what they considered the eastern half of their realm back.
I agree. I cannot see Denmark accepting the status quo before the Holstein-Gottorp Question is answered.
 
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Is it written in the stars that Prussia has to be an enemy of Russia? They had their differences with Sweden (mostly over Pomerania), but the Swedes don't make Russian foreign policy. And if Courland/Livonia remains Swedish, Russian and Prussian borders are nowhere near each other and they have no real cause for friction. Peter (or a successor) might decide that the best way to prevent Swedish-Prussian conflict from destabilising the Baltic is to make allies of both of them - particularly if Russia isn't seeking and Austrian alliance.

Prussia, IMHO, is unlikely to join an anti-Swedish alliance unless the Swedes are already losing (as OTL) or Sweden is diplomatically isolated (which with a continuing Russian alliance, it won't be). There's no gain for Prussia in taking on Sweden and Russia to the greater glory of Denmark. They're more likely to target Silesia (if the Austrian Succession crisis occurs as OTL), Saxony or Danzig. Which raises the question - is Peter serious about propping up Saxony-Poland long-term, or was it a diplomatic fiction intended to stop Augustus from wriggling too much?
 
Well, how about the patched relations between Sweden and Denmark? The “Triple alliance” could pretty much dictate prices on the Baltic exports.

As other people have said some solution to the Gottorp question need to be found before Denmark would give up Scania. Of course there are solutions. Denmark would be willing to trade Oldenburg, the problem is the trade is not worth it for the House of Gottorp, but if there could be found a way to sweeten the trade, as example with Gottorps also got other territories the trade could be worth it, but to my knowledge there was no other territories whose ruling line ended going extinct with no clear heirs in the near future beside the principality of Neuchâtel.
 
Campaign of 1708 (cont)
33. Campaign of 1708 (cont)

[To make understanding of what is where easier, here is a link to this map of Romania https://ezilon.com/maps/images/europe/physical-map-of-Romania.gif ]

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In the early May of 1708 a brand new Grand Vizier [1] accompanied by a brand new Khan [2] at the head of a brand new army was crossing the Danube into Walachia at Zimnicea. To provide loyalty of the local population, the taxes had been cancelled for 5 years. His plan was to march to Bucharest and from there to the North via Buzau and Focsani, cross Prut at Ryabaya Mogila [3] and then attack Sheremetev’s army stretched from Bender to Khatin.

A separate corps, should be sent Southward to block (and try to destroy) Menshikov’s army which was spread on both sides of the low Danube garrisoning Isaccea, Ismail, Kiliya and Tulcha and patrolling the coast all the way to the Dniestrovskyy Lyman.

The plan was solid and quite realistic providing the enemy is going to cooperate by staying still. Even better if he is going to implement a cordon system spreading his forces over each and every village and town along the front and leaving them here expecting that the attacking opponent is going to do the same. In other words, there was more than one scenario in which this plan was doomed to be successful but enemy’s cooperation was a key element for the success. 😜

The Moldavian army

Crossing the Prut happened in the late June without problems but within few days the Tatar-Ottoman a camp of the vanguard led by the Khan Mehmed Giray (approximately 75,000 including 15, 000 Ottomans) had been attacked by the Russian force of 38,000 and, under the threat of being surrounded, was forced to retreat South to the Lagra River. The event itself was rather insignificant and the losses on both sides negligible (Mehmed Giray lost 400, the Russians - 46) but the important thing was in the tactical details. Instead of a traditional solid line, Sheremetev had been attacking in the battalion squares, dropped usage of the chevaux de frise and used artillery for protecting his infantry against the Tatar cavalry. Usage of the numerous squares (instead of a single army-wide formation) allowed a greater freedom of a maneuver threatening enemy’s encirclement [4].

Mehmed Giray positioned his troops behind the Lagra River with its right flank, unprotected by the river, being fortified by the earthworks. Few thousands of his troops tried twice to attack the approaching enemy but had been repelled. On July 7th the Russian came the camp and launched the attack. The main force was going against the Khan’s right flank with detachment under command of Michael Golitsyn should be demonstrating against the left flank. After the main force took the earthworks by storm, Golitsyn led hos troops across the Larga forcing the enemy to abandon the rest of his fortifications and the camp. The Tatar cavalry tried to cover the retreat but had been broken by the Russian heavy cavalry. The Russians captured 33 Turkish guns and the whole camp. The Ottoman losses amounted to 1,000 killed and 2,000 POWs while the Russian were 29 killed and 61 wounded. To be fair, in both battles the Russian had an overwhelming advantage in artillery: 160 against 33 [5].

At the news of the Tatar defeat at the the Vizier decided to act offensively. The corps sent to block Menshikov was recalled to the main army and joined it at Vulkanesty and the forces of Mehmed Giray were placed nearby ready to attack the Russian supply train coming to the army. In total Vizier had up to 120,000 troops (out of which up to 70,000 cavalry) and 140 artillery pieces.

To guarantee safety of the coming supply train and his army’s rear Sheremetev had to detach more than 6,000 to secure this direction. As a result, immediately for the battle he had approximately 20,000 infantry, 5,000 regular and irregular cavalry, 144 guns and only 2-4 days worth of the food. It would be prudent to retreat toward the coming supply train and to wait for Vizier’s attack in a chosen position. However, the dominating principle was “not to tolerate the enemy’s presence without attacking him”.

The advanced Ottoman army made its camp within 7km from the Russians on the left bank the Kagul river. After the reconnaissance, the Vizier formulated the plan of attack: imitating attack on the Russian center, attack the left flank with the main force. At the sound of the artillery fire the Khan had to cross the Salcha river and attack the Russians at the rear. The Ottoman attack was planned on July 21th.
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At 1AM of the 21st the Russians quietly left their position and marched toward the Ottoman camp in the square formations with artillery at the front. When the Ottomans saw them Vizier ordered his cavalry to attack the whole Russian front [7]. The cavalry charged but was repulsed by the Russian artillery. When attack on the center failed, the Ottoman cavalry shifted to attack the Russian right flank and, using a hollow between two columns, surrounded them. Part of the cavalry, using another hollow attacked another Russian square at the rear. Sheremetev sent reserves to cut their retreat route and the Ottomans had to flee to their retrenchment under the grapeshots. The rest of the Ottoman cavalry followed the suit and one of the Russian columns attacked and took a battery of 25 guns and then retrenchment with 93 guns.
By 8AM the Russians marched toward the main retrenchment of the Ottoman camp. 10,000 Janissary rushed out of the camp, attacked one of the squares and broke into it. Some soldiers panicked but this did not last for long: Russian battery opened fire at the Janissary and simultaneously they had been attacked on two sides by the Russian cavalry and on the third by a jager battalion sent from the column which entered the retrenchment. A grenadier regiment from a neighbor column launched a bayonet charge and the Janissary fled, pursued by the cavalry. The flank columns had been approaching from the rear and by 9AM the Ottomans fled. Halil Pasha, sword in hand, tried to stop his troops but to no avail.

Russian infantry was exhausted and could chase the fleeing enemy for more than 5km after which a further chase had been done by the cavalry. The next day pursuit continued and on 23rd the Russians reached the Ottoman crossing at the point where the Prut flows into the Danube. The Ottomans had more than 300 boats but the crossing was chaotic and Russian attack turned it into a disaster with the loss of all baggage train and 30 guns.
Russian trophies amounted to 140 artillery pieces and all Ottoman baggage train [8]. Ottoman estimated losses amounted to approximately 20,000.

Sheremetev got St. George 1st class (the 1st awarded) and also became the 1st Russian count [9].

The Bessarabian Army

To avoid being annihilated piecemeal by the Ottomans, Menshikov arranged rendezvous of his troops at Akkerman leaving the garrisons only in the well-fortified and supplies Isaccea and Ismail thus securing the Danube crossings. At the news of the Sheremetev’s victories he led his, finally assembled army, back, crossed the Danube at Isaccea and marched South along the right bank of the Danube toward the port of Constanta, which he captured in the early August providing an important supply terminal for the future operations.

Menshikov got St. George of the 2nd class for capturing Constanta.

The naval affairs

Battle at the Kerch Strait
The Ottoman fleet under its new Kapudan Pasha sailed out of the Bosphorus toward the Ottoman fortress Anapa when it took the troops for landing in the Crimea. The Ottoman fleet had 10 ships of the line, 8 frigates and 36 transport ships.
On July 8th the Black Sea fleet under command of the rear-admiral Feodor Ushakov (10 ships of the line, 6 frigates and 16 small ships) took position at the Kerch Strait and around 9:30AM saw the approaching enemy. At 12PM the Ottomans opened fire from a ling distance. Ushakov took 6 frigates out if his battle line [10] and formed a “reserve corps”. Approximately at 3PM change of a wind allowed Ushakov to close at the the grapeshot distance of less than 100 meters, which allowed the “reserve corp” to advance and putvthe Ottomans between the two fires. At 16PM the Ottomans started turning under the Russian fire, suffering the considerable losses among the landing troops they had been carrying, and fled using their speed advantage. The Ottomans lost a single small ship but suffered enough losses to abort planned landing in the Crimea. They sailed to Varna to wait for the reinforcements.

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Battle of Tendra
On September 5 Ushakov’s fleet of 10 ships of the line, 6 frigates and small craft sailed from Balaklava to Kherson. At 6AM on 8 September it encountered the Ottoman fleet of 14 battleships, 8 frigates and 23 small craft at anchor near Tendra. As the Ottomans formed into a battle line, the Russian fleet sailed toward the tail end of the Ottoman line in 3 parallel lines, forming into one line as they did so. The Ottoman admiral, Hussein Pasha, seeing his tail threatened, turned north and came back parallel to the Russians, who followed suit so the two fleets ended up on paralleled tracks, heading north-east. This was completed by about 2 p.m.. Ushakov ordered 3 frigates to the off-battle side of the van to guard against an Ottoman doubling of the Russian line, leaving 13 ships of 710 guns in his line, opposed to 14 with 900 guns. Ushakov then turned toward the Ottoman ships and firing began at about 3 p.m.. By 6PM the Ottomans were in a full retreat. A higher speed allowed them to get away though, and soon after 8 p.m. firing ceased and the Russians anchored. The next day, 2 damaged Ottoman ships, the Kapitana (Vice Admiral's ship) and Melike Bahri were seen close by, and the Russians attacked. Melike Bahri surrendered without resistance, but the "Kapitana" put up a stout resistance even after it was fully surrounded. Ushakov in “Rozhdestvo Christovo” shot away all her masts and placed his ship across her bows, and at 3 p.m. she surrendered. Unfortunately she was seen to be on fire, and blew up after only 20 men, including Said Bey and her captain, had been taken off. Only 101 men were saved out of 800 on board. Russian privateers later brought in 3 small craft.
On their way to the Bosphorus one more Ottoman ship of the line sunk due to the received damage.
1641602730078.jpeg

Ushakov’s squadron sailed to Khadjibey [11].
1641602982397.jpeg

___________________
[1] Ivazzade Halil Pasha, if you don’t mind. If you do, substitute with a name of one who was holding this position in OTL 1708. Would not make too much difference because he is not going to keep this office for too long: Sultan Ahmed III was a firm believer in a principle “the cadres are all important” which, in his case probably sounded as “only the cadres are important”. Definition of the “cadres” was limited to those in the top positions.
[2] Mehmed Giray finally got promoted. Not that this promotion was going to result in any miracles.
[3] A popular place from crossing the Prut. Seems to be approximately at the level of Bender.
[4] Sorry, no schemas of this and the following battles: the maps have the “wrong” names and dates. 😂
[5] Based upon the experience of previous year campaign, a number of the field artillery was considerably increased: Sheremetev got 3 additional brigades of the field artillery, which almost doubled what he had previously.
[6] Which were falling into two major categories: (a) the huge cannons firing the stone balls of 50-70kg and (b) the tiny pieces shooting the balls of 1/2 or 1/4 pound.
[7] Which was, more or less the death warrant to his plan.
[8] Vizier’s coffers had been looted by the Cossacks before the commanders could take measures 😉
[9] Russia did not have this (or any other, except for “knyaz”) title so usually Peter had to appeal to the HRE Emperor for issue such a patent. Now, he decided to become completely independent in this area.
[10] On a long distance their small caliber guns were inefficient.
[11] Location of the modern Odessa.
 
Well you mentioned before in this thread that one of the reasons it is not worth it to expand influence over the Danube is the potential negative austrian response. But I am not arguing to follow the OTL policy vis-a-vis Austria. I am arguing of an opportunistic move that would be under a veneer of supporting the lawful/right side.

One of the reasons is not the same as “the reason” and definitely does not mean that Russia has to make unprofitable alliance just to avoid the Austrian displeasure. There were OTL reasons (misguided, with a benefit of a hindsight) for sticking to the Austrian alliance even if during the XVIII it did not cause anything but the problems, disappointments and huge losses. But so far in this TL these reasons are absent because Russia is pretty capable of beating the Ottomans on its own well before it may expect any help from Austria.

We know that Charles XII took honor and law quite seriously. Then, I hypothesized that a Prussian invasion of Silesia would tickle his sensibilities. When state interest corresponds with the monarch's sensibilities, then armies march. Then it is a win-win for Russia, since they can support their ally, maintain the high ground and get a favorable share of the Balkan/Danubian sphere of influence.
Charles sense of a law and honor was not don Quixotish (I’d say that in the PLC he was quite pragmatic with his looting practices) and it is mot not quite clear why he would decide to expand it into defending interests of the Hapsburgs toward whom he had zero obligations. Neither is it clear why Russia should jump into the same bandwagon: starting war with Prussia because Charles feels that Austria is offended is bizarre enough but doing this with a goal to get “influence” over the Danube principalities, aka, by getting to war with the Ottomans (on a top of one with Prussia) is a little bit too much. Anyway, let’s stick to the rule of this TL: Russia is not looking for control of the Danube Principalities. Period.

I know it. You know it. Do 1740 Russian aristocrats know it? They only have the 1696 case to draw conclusions from. At the same time, they want to be part of the club. And what better way than cover ambitions with a veil of playing nicely?

To be in s “club” they don’t have to kiss the Austrian posteriors. They are European power on its own right and by the time when WoSS is over they already have a record “which nobody can deny” and at least the Brits and the Dutch need them more than other way around. The Hapsburgs may need them but they don’t need the Hapsburgs.


Why was Russia trying to expand (even just in terms of influece) down that way for 160 years?
“If you had been doing something in a wrong way it is not a reason for keeping doing it this way” The Opening of Misty Beethoven 😂


I doubt all the reasons of multiple russo-turkish wars are butterflied.

Errrr…. Do I have something to say on this subject as well? 😂


In my view it first and foremost a matter of security. Novorossiya is safer with a border at the Prut. Novorossiya is even safer that if the Ottomans want to invade, they would have first to cross the Danube, fight their way against the local Romanians and then try to cross the Prut or Dniester.
With what is going on in this TL, the next time the Ottomans may be willing to invade is probably well beyond the point at which I’m going to finish the thread and, as such, unimportant.


Nothing to be honest. But I am under the impression that 18th century diplomacy acted like that at least in some cases. But yeah, Austria can just sit there and watch the next russo-ottoman war.

War over what exactly? The Russian XVIII century realistic expansionists goals in Europe are going to be satisfied in one war instead of 3. And the fantasy goals (protectorates, partitions, restoration of Byzantine Empire, etc.) are not on the table. 😜

 
Is it written in the stars that Prussia has to be an enemy of Russia?

None whatsoever. Actually, they were quite friendly during the reign of PI and then during the reign of CII even after FII screwed her (oops, not literally) over the PLC partition. The 7YW was a typical “cabinet war” for Russia.


They had their differences with Sweden (mostly over Pomerania), but the Swedes don't make Russian foreign policy. And if Courland/Livonia remains Swedish, Russian and Prussian borders are nowhere near each other and they have no real cause for friction. Peter (or a successor) might decide that the best way to prevent Swedish-Prussian conflict from destabilising the Baltic is to make allies of both of them - particularly if Russia isn't seeking and Austrian alliance.

Exactly. If Russia manages to solve its “Ottoman issue” in the early XVIII then Austrian alliance is meaningless and even troublesome.

Prussia, IMHO, is unlikely to join an anti-Swedish alliance unless the Swedes are already losing (as OTL) or Sweden is diplomatically isolated (which with a continuing Russian alliance, it won't be). There's no gain for Prussia in taking on Sweden and Russia to the greater glory of Denmark.
Yes, it does not look like any of the Prussian rulers was THAT unselfish.


They're more likely to target Silesia (if the Austrian Succession crisis occurs as OTL), Saxony or Danzig. Which raises the question - is Peter serious about propping up Saxony-Poland long-term, or was it a diplomatic fiction intended to stop Augustus from wriggling too much?
Well, in this TL maintenance of the PLC territorial integrity (after trimming) combined with a political discord is a long-term Swedish-Russian interest, August or no August. Letting one more kid (Prussia) to play in this sandbox is against this interest. OTOH, if that kid starts breaking windows in the house of a neighbor whom they don’t really like (and who is also trying to play in their sandbox), why would they care? Acting together they can kick the crap out of that kid at any moment so he is not gong to be a threat to them.
😜
 
OTL, Denmark got Holstein 1721 as the Duke a vassal to the King of Denmark, although the Duchy was still nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire (the normal mess of non-HRE monarchs with posessions inside the HRE). Holstein-Gottorp independent and allied to Sweden is "a pistol in the Danish realm's back" as was expressed by a Danish diplomat. Combined with the close-fought Scanian war, the revanchism for Scania, I have a hard time seeing a reconcilation between Denmark and Sweden at this time. They have been existential threats to each other, are each others arch-enemies and have fought more wars against each other than England and France.

Karl is unlikely to sell out his nephew Karl Fredrik (it would not be honourable), and the strategic position Sweden holds at the moment - with Holstein-Gottorp and its gaurantee by the Dutch and British through the Altona convention is combined with the alliance with Russia makes Sweden's current position quite good, and they have no real reason to seek change.

As for Denmark, one of the few things they don't lack is coin, since they still control the Sound dues. They do seethe with revanchism, and the idea that thy CAN take Sweden, if no grand power intervenes on Sweden's side (and Russia is not considered a grand power jut yet, just a strong regional power - their ability to project power against Danish interests is quite limited to nil).

It is about prestige, revanchism and national ideas. While you and me, with hindsight, may think it would be a much better idea for Denmark to seek a compromise and make money and secure its future in northern Germany, the contemporary Danish elite would not see it that way. 1658 and 1660 Sweden tried to end Denmark as a sovereign nation, this figures quite actively in the minds of the Danish elite.

The Danes do not have enemies in Germany at the moment (apart from Holstein-Gottorp, but that is only because it is allied to Sweden), quite the opposite - Hannover and Prussia are potential allies against Sweden.

Well, after the Russian entanglement with the Ottomans is over, it is 10-15 ships of the line added to the Swedish fleet and up to 100,000 within a realistic march from the Eastern Prussia (the PLC is not an issue). Not sure that for Prussia Rugen and Stralsund as a potential prize would be worthy of the quite realistic losses. Probably, turning against Denmark and Hanover is going to be more profitable.


OTL, the Danish army returned from the War of Spanish Succession experienced and victorious. If they suffer catastrophic defeats, the Danes might realise that their ability to wage a war of revanchism does not exist, but OTL and ITTL, they thought they could get it back, an they would try, for prestige and getting what they considered the eastern half of their realm back.

Well, IIRC, they decided to go to war only after the Swedes suffered very serious defeats and with the Russians invading the Swedish Pomerania and, with all their experience, they had been beaten at Helsingborg by a newly raised Stenbock’s army and forced to evacuate Scania with the loss of all their horses and artillery.

Here they have an intact and victorious Swedish army backed up by the Russian alliance and proposal of a profitable cooperation (did any ruler have so much money that he would not be interested in getting more?) so their chance of the revenge is close to zero.

Like Germany 1933, they needed another defeat to realise revanchism is not a good idea.
Ok, you convinced me: no happy Baltic Mafia family. With the exception of Norway’s timber (you don’t wish them to sell it for more money, fine by me), Denmark is not really needed for cornering the market. 😂
 
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In my self appointed role as Watson (asking dumb questions to squeeze more great info from the @alexmilman), who is TTL's Fedor Ushakov? I know there were Ushakovs throughout Russian history and Fedor is a very common Christian name, so nothing unusual about sharing his name with the OTL's famous Admiral, but I wonder if this is a specific historical figure.

Also, would Peter be tempted to look for some foreign sailor to put in charge of the squadron, since there would be no Russians with experience of command of several ships of the line? Or possibly have one attached to a Russian commander, a la Elphinstone and Orlov?
 
In my self appointed role as Watson (asking dumb questions to squeeze more great info from the @alexmilman), who is TTL's Fedor Ushakov? I know there were Ushakovs throughout Russian history and Fedor is a very common Christian name, so nothing unusual about sharing his name with the OTL's famous Admiral, but I wonder if this is a specific historical figure.
Yes, of course, this is a very specific one, the same admiral you mentioned (would you be happier if this was a head of the Secret Chancellary? 😜). Just as with all naval figures except Apraksin, I “transplanted” him from the future Ottoman wars: you guys kept bringing up the naval questions and Peter’s time was quite short of the needed personages. 😂
Also, would Peter be tempted to look for some foreign sailor to put in charge of the squadron, since there would be no Russians with experience of command of several ships of the line? Or possibly have one attached to a Russian commander, a la Elphinstone and Orlov?
If you noticed, the early encounters have foreign commanders. Ushakov comes at a very end when the Russians have a couple years for getting experience with their ships of the line.

Speaking of the “attachments”, actually, the senior admiral of the OTL Archipelago expedition had been Spiridov, not Elphinston, but there were numerous British sailors in the squadron (notice that in Ushakov’s battles the names of subordinate commanders are absent so they can be whoever you want). The fundamental difference with this TL is that A. Orlov was not a naval commander. He was a head of the whole expedition with a task broader than just the naval operations. Here we have strictly the fleet operations with no figureheads.

Anyway, before entering the Russian service Elphinston did not have “experience of command of several ships of the line” either. His top level up to this point was command of the 60 gun ship (for 3 years) and before this 32 and 20 gun ships. Cornelius Cruys, Peter’s real admiral, was captain of a merchant ship who then served for two years as onder-equipagemeester at the naval dockyard of the Amsterdam Admiralty after which he left for Russia. So why not a Russian?

Edit. The first victory of the Russian sail fleet happened in 1719 when Russian squadron of the ships of the line (6 out of which 4 or 5 participated plus one frigate) attacked Swedish squadron of 1 ship of the line, 1 frigate and 1 brigantine and captured them (battle of Osel). Russian squadron had been commanded by the Russian captain Naum Senyavin and out of two ship commanders mentioned one was Russian. So there is nothing fantastic about Russian sailor of that period being in charge of a squadron of the ships of the line. Naum Senyavin, did not even got any foreign naval education.

OTOH, while Cruys was doing a very important administrative and organizational work, his only attempt to play an admiral of a battle fleet (in 1713) ended up with a complete fiasco for which he was removed from the service and returned only during the reign of EI.
 
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Campaigns of 1708 - 1709 edited
34. Campaigns of 1708-1709

Now Sheremetev and Menshikov found themselves in somewhat complicated situation. On one hand, the Ottomans had been on a run, their army disintegrating in a process. On another hand, they were at the end of their supply line and the area ahead (see the map in previous chapter) was not very promising (to put it mildly) in the terms of getting food and forage. Also, the intensive usage of the artillery meant that supplies of ammunition were dangerously low and magazine in Bender had to be replenished from the major depots on Ukraine.

Possession of the mouth of the Danube and Constanta had been somewhat helpful to the Bessarabian Army but the Russian cargo capacities on the Black Sea had been limited and for carrying supplies from the cost to the Moldavian Army up the Danube one would need a huge number of the river boats, which simply were not available. A small craft, mostly the double sloops and traditional Cossack boats could not carry too much of it, the bigger warships had been otherwise occupied patrolling the Black and Azov sea to prevent the Ottoman landings in the Crimea and attacks on the newly-founded Kherson and even with the few commandeered merchant ships from Kafa and other Crimean ports, the capacity simply was not adequate for the task.
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So the bulk of all types of the supplies had to be brought from a far rear by land and there were usual issues of getting enough wagons, horses/oxen, the crews, etc. and moving these caravans along the bad roads…..

As a result, the Moldavian Army established its headquarters in Iasi and spread the detachments along the Siret River with a task to conduct the limited depth raids across for collecting food and forage and conducting reconnaissance.

Menshikov temporarily left his deputy, general Bauer, in charge and went to the rear to perform the task in which he excelled: bully everybody into getting and delivering things that the armies needed [1].
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The chosen strategy was not expected to produce any decisive results but just pushing ahead would almost definitely result in destruction of the Russian army due to the exhaustion and diseases [2]. It was also important to figure out the next Ottoman moves and a proper response to them: even with the established system of the reserve battalions and a greater efficiency of preparing the new cadres, the Russian resources were not unlimited and, while not being efficient at all, the Ottoman Empire had population almost two times greater than Russia (24.8M vs. 13.6M), so the losses had to be cut down to a necessary minimum.

On the Ottoman side, Sultan Ahmed and his new Vizier [3] came to a new strategy. It became reasonably clear that a practice of throwing the mobs of the ill-trained troops at the Russian artillery and bayonets did not produce the expected results. As a result, the Sultan ordered not to use the irregulars and the Vizier composed infantry of his new army exclusively from the Janissary [4] and was of a smaller size, which had a benefit of cutting down a size of supply train and somewhat improve general logistics. Another part of the plan was to avoid the field battles and instead to put strong garrisons into the key fortresses and only under the favorable circumstances launch the big-scale offenses. The main strategic task was defense of the right bank of the Danube so the Ottomans had been updating fortifications and strengthening garrisons of Braila (Brailov)
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Silistra

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and Giurgiu

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And, deeper into the Ottoman territory, Shumen
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and Varna
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On a diplomatic front the Ottomans proposed to the Hapsburgs transfer of the Little Walachia (Oltenia) and 10,000,000 piasters 3,000,000 in advance) if they manage to persuade Russia to return its conquests [5].
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This basically left most of Walachia being almost “free for all” territory with Braila being quite vulnerable because Russian occupation of Dobruja put them in control of the Danube well upstream of the fortress with a reliable communication possible only to the West from the river. But, OTOH, it was fitting the general strategy: it is tempting for the Russians to attack so let them waste time and resources besieging it and then facing a need to besiege the next one and so on. Of course, a reasonably-sized field army had been left based on Bucharest and separate detachments had been placed to the West of the Siret to control the Russian movements and make incursions to its left bank but neither should act too aggressively unless they have overwhelming odds on their side.

Basically, each side was waiting for the opponent to make the first, and hopefully the wrong, move but such a move was not going to happen before the next year because neither side was ready for the major operation.


Naval affairs
The Ottomans sent a naval squadron toward Ochakov, Kherson and while the Black Sea fleet and this squadron had been maneuvering, the Ottoman convoy managed to land 6,000 troops led by Mehmed Giray in the Crimea near Alushta. It was expected that this landing is going to trigger a major Tatar uprising but their respond was well below the expectations. It took Dolgoruky and Weide few days to assemble 4,000 troops and to march it to Alushta where the Ottomans made a fortified camp. In their, now standard, manner the Russians stormed retrenchment under the cover of artillery fire and proceeded with a bayonet charge. The lucky ones managed to make it to the ships but Mehmed Giray was not among them. At least that year no more attempt had been done. Encounter at Ochakov ended up without significant results: when the Russians started getting uncomfortably close, the Pttomans disengaged and sailed to Varna.




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[1] While as an army commander he was easily replaceable, nobody else, except Peter himself, had that much authority and energy in the area of the “resources mobilization”.
[2] Epidemics of the “plague” (чума), whatever exact infectious disease this term meant, were occurring practically every summer and had been quite devastating.
[3] The Sultans always had unlimited supply of them. Name of this one was Silahdar Mehmed Pasha. Not that it really matters.
[4] This was, definitely, a progress but the Janissary already had been not really regular: many of them had been part time traders or even the full time traders and artisans who were put on the lists to beef up the numbers but never served and at best passed through a rudimentary training with a musket.
[5] In OTL this did happen (I mean, MT agreed) in 1771 when Austria had free hands and was looking for a way to compensate for the losses of WoAS and the 7YW and getting something for free (at least 3M as an advance payment) was very tempting. Here Austria is in the midst of WoSS and Hungarian rebellion so it desperately need money (army of Prince Eugene to a great degree had been held together by his reputation and permission to loot as a compensation for not receiving salary) and may be tempted to accept an offer. OTOH, it does not have any diplomatic influence over Russia so I’m not sure if the Sultan would even bother such an offer but if he does, the Austrians most probably would grab 3M and think about the consequences later. Not that it would matter at the end. I was tempted not to include this episode at all but then it came to my attention that, by a reason which I can’t quite figure out, I did not write yet anything nasty about the Austrians and need to fix this unforgivable omission. 😂😂😂😂
 
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@alexmilman I think something went wrong? The text got cut off at a rather weird moment
Actually, it somehow disappeared in the middle of writing and then unfinished piece of it reappeared so I had to post it and delete. Then, in a posted piece by whatever reason the images had been screwed up and I had to restore them.Sorry for the mess.
 
Actually, it somehow disappeared in the middle of writing and then unfinished piece of it reappeared so I had to post it and delete. Then, in a posted piece by whatever reason the images had been screwed up and I had to restore them.Sorry for the mess.
No problem, glad it's fixed now.
 
Campaigns of 1708-1709 (cont)
34. Campaigns of 1708-1709 (cont)

As often happens with the good plans, the initial Ottoman plan of defense by the Siret River with the main army in Bucharest proved to be problematic due to a potential threat to their right flank from the Army of Bessarabia: obviously, advancing from Constanta by the right Bank of the Danube the Russians could block a retreat route for the Vizier’s army located in Bucharest if the Army of Moldavia starts an offensive. Vizier decided to play it safe by recalling his troops from the Siret, cross the Danube at Guirgiu and further strengthen defense of the Danube line by placing a strong garrison at Turnu Magurele.


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By the end of January 1709 the Vizier accomplished withdrawal of his forces on the right bank of the Danube. His main army was approximately 40,000 strong with 200 artillery pieces and he had approximately 80,000 in the garrisons of the Danube fortresses and there was still a strong river flotilla on the Danube.

Sheremetev had, as a field army, approximately 40,000 regular troops and 5,000 Cossacks. Menshikov - less than 20,000 regulars and 10,000 irregulars. Some reinforcements had been coming but it will take months until they arrive.

Gradually, the small craft of the Don flotilla started arriving to Tulcea but moving it up the Danube would be possible only after capture of the Ottlman-held Braila. The fortress was defended by 6,000 Ottomans with 120 cannons. Due to the fact that the Army of Bessarabia lacked the siege artillery, the siege park of the Army of Moldavia had been moved there together with an infantry brigade. The siege started on February 15 led by Menshikov who simply could not miss an action [1]. On February 25 the breach was made but the storm was repelled with the heavy losses (more than 500 dead and over 1,300 wounded). However, the Ottomans also lost almost a third of the garrison at it was clear that they would not be able to repel the second attack. Commandant of the fortress started parleys and on February 27 Braila capitulated. The garrison was allowed to leave without weapons and all supplies, artillery and 25 cannon boats guarding the river had been left to the victor.

Menshikov sent a boastful report regarding the brilliant victory backed up by Sheremetev’s letter about its strategic importance for the future operations [2]. Peter was pleased enough to give Menshikov his coveted St. George 1st Class but it finally downed upon him that it does not make sense to keep holding two armies on a single theater and that, with the successes like this one, “Aleksashka” is going to run out of troops well before the war will be over. So Menshikov had been recalled to the court [3], got a hero welcome, received a lot of praise, congratulations andmade Governor-General of Moscow gubernia , position of a great political and administrative importance. He was given the funds for constructing a huge palace on Tverskaya [4].
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And an official residence of the Governor-General had been built on the same street.
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Leftovers of the Army of Bessarabia, under command of general Bauer, had been converted into a separate corps within Army of Moldavia. The Don flotilla, strengthened by the cannon boats captured at Braila, had been renamed into the Danube flotilla and made ready to sail upriver to support the future operations.


In the early March 10,000 Ottomans marched from Giurgiu in a hope to capture Bucharest held by a weak Russian garrison. but had been intercepted by general Repnin who stopped his march on Turno, covered 150 km in 4 days and repulsed them . However, his attempt to take Giurgiu failed with the heavy losses (514 killed and 1,795 wounded). Vizier considered this a good opportunity to develop upon the success and his main army of 30,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry marched on Bucharest but met Repnin with 18,000, was defeated with a loss of 2,000 killed and 350 captured and fled across the Danube. Giurgiu fortress capitulated to the Russian cavalry detachment of 1,500. Repnin fell ill and left the army being replaced by general von Essen who, on Sheremetev’s order, sent a small cavalry force to demonstrate against Turnu making impression that a big force is coming against it. Essen’s main force has to remain at Giurgiu threatening crossing and preventing Vizier from going anywhere.

Sheremetev started marching his main force South in two columns: one marching via Focsani and Buzau and another via Brasov and Ploesti [5]. Bauer, taking into an account his limited forces and isolated position, was ordered to proceed with a caution. His two main tasks were to hold Constanta and to secure the Danube crossing at Fetesti - Cernavoda: Vizier’s idea of a defensive belt on the Danube was good but Sheremetev was not planning to accommodate him.

Domestic affairs

It was announced with a great pomp that (recently converted into Othrodoxy) Tsarevna Elena Karlovna gave birth to a male child named Peter after his grandfather.

The extensive fireworks dedicated to this event and planned personally by Peter Senior resulted in a major fire in Moscow giving the Tsar an opportunity to play one of his many favorite roles: a firefighter. In which he was competently assisted by the newly-appointed Governor-General of Moscow, Head of the Preobrazensky Prikaz, General-Admiral, and other high-ranking officials. After the fire had been dealt with, the celebrations continued. 😂
____________
[1] And a change for finally getting St. George 1st class. 😜
[2] In the mutually-profitable style of patting each other’s back, in his report Menshikov did not forget to mention importance of the Shetemetev’s siege artillery and infantry. This modus operandi (rare as it was) proved to be much more awarding (literally 😜 and figuratively) than backstabbing as a result of which there may be no rewards at all.
[3] To be completely honest, I was simply looking for the opportunity to take Menshikov off the picture. 😜 Not only a need to provide him with some action screwed a possibility to just plagiarize the real war of 1768-74 causing a need to study the relevant geography and invent not fully moronic alternatives but it really lost any practical sense to have two separate armies there, especially taking into an account their shrinking sizes. A “glorious screwup” (in OTL during the Prut campaign Ronne in 1711 forced Braila’s capitulation with 5,600 dragoons) with enough of a bloodshed amounts to a major victory (which it is, strategically) and allows Peter to kick Menshikov upstairs without hurting his ego. 😂😂😂😂
[4] Actually, this is Razumovsky Palace, starting from 1831 it was housing the famous “English club”, the most prestigious nobility’s club in Russian Empire. But it is located on Tverskaya.
[5] No, he was not planning to capture the oil fields there. 😂
 
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Campaign of 1709
35. Campaign of 1709
Interlude:
In March 1709 Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf, Obersthofkanzler of the Hapsburg Empire sent an ambassador to Moscow with an offer of mediation in the ongoing war. Taking into an account the Austrian behavior at Karlowitz, Peter was not enthusiastic to get them involved and then some details of their intended position became known: return of the Crimea and other Russian conquest to the Ottomans. Which was the last nail in a coffin. An ambassador was allowed a ceremonial audience with the Tsar (kissing the hand and questions regarding the Emperor’s and Tsar’s health) but everything else had to be discussed with Prince Vasily Golityn who politely came with a counter-offer of the Russian mediation in the Hapsburg conflict with the King of France. Demagoguery regarding the Russian recognition as an “European state” fall on the deaf ears. Golitsyn declared that Russia is already recognized as such by everyone it cares about and the Hapsburgs are not on that list. Taking into an account an absence of any realistic leverages, the Austrians had to drop the whole thing (but 3,000,000 piasters never had been returned). 😜



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By May 23 1709 a part of the Moldavian army crossed the Danube at Fetesti - Cernavoda and joined the former Bessarabian Army which now became Bauer’s corps of Moldavian army. The crossing, guarded by the Danube flotilla was quite uneventful because most of the “meaningful” Ottoman river craft (cannon boats) had been captured at Braila leaving Vizier mostly with the small rowing boats. All together, on the right bank of the Danube Sheremetev had approximately 50,000 with approximately 15,000 more on the left bank.

At that time, according to the data obtained from the captured Turks, the enemy’s forces had been allocated the following way: in and around Silistra - 35,000; in Ruse - 15,000; in Varna - 6,000 and in Bazardjik [1] - 20,000 under command of Numan Pasha and Vizier was in Shumen with 10,000.

Following the “rules of war” [2], Sheremetev would have to start with attacking a well-fortified Silistra, simultaneously guardingooo himself from the Ottoman attacks coming from Ruse and/or Bazardjik. Which would most probably result in an expensive and very bloody mess with the losses forcing him, even in the case of success at Silistra, to get back to the left bank of the Danube simply because he would not have enough forces to continue his offensive [3]. So, instead of trying to break a wall with his head, he opted for a principle: “if the enemy occupies a very strong position, take care that he will remain in it” [4]: as long as the Ottomans are sticking to their position at Silistra, he is free to destroy their forces at Bazardjik, Varna and Shumen. If they get out of Silistra, then on the open they are doomed. The Russian troops on the right bank of the Danube will force them not to leave Ruse because if they do, it will be easily taken (or, as an option, the corps on the right bank will simply cross the Danube upriver forcing the garrison to turn back).

The Ottomans did not disappoint him: when the Army of Moldavia marched to cut communication between Silistra and Bazardjik, its vanguard under general Weisman intercepted Numan Pasha who made camp near Kaynardzha village, approximately 20 km from Silistra.

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Weisman had approximately 5,600 troops with 45 guns and Numan Pasha up to 20,000. In what by now became a standard behavior, Weisman sent the light troops to keep the Ottoman cavalry off, marched his vanguard for 1.5km through a narrow defile and entered an open place in front of the Ottoman camp after which arranged his infantry into a square and took position on a high ground opposite to the enemy’s camp. The Ottoman artillery opened fire from a distance of 2km, which was pretty much useless. The main Russian force arrived and, due to the narrowness of a valley, arranged a square with a narrow front and stretched in depth. Cavalry remained in the marching columns. The troops had been advancing in that order when the Ottomans launched a counter-attack. Their cavalry on the left broke the Russian cavalry which was partially dispersed and partially retreated behind the vanguard square. The following charges of the Ottoman cavalry against vanguard square had been repelled. At the same time the Ottoman infantry attacked the Russian main square but had been beaten off by the artillery firing grapeshot and infantry fire. After this the Ottoman infantry launched a second attack in its usual mob-like style and had been beaten off again. At that point Weisman had been killed but, after two failed attacks the Ottomans had been dispirited and counter-attack of the Russian cavalry, which by that time reformed behind the right flank, won the day. Infantry charged with the bayonets and the Ottomans run. Being extremely pissed off by the death of their popular commander, the Russians were not taking prisoners killing more than 5,000 with a loss of 19 killed and 161 wounded [5].

Vizier found himself forced to advance from Shumen to protect Varna. With the leftovers of the Numan Pasha’s army he had up to 20,000 [6] and called for 3,000 more from Varna garrison. These forces had been placed under command of Reis Effendi [7] Hadji Abdul Rezak. Sheremetev sent against him a corps of 17,000 under command of Michael Golitsyn. The battle itself was interesting only by the geographic obstacles (forest and narrow defile) through which the Russian troops had to pass. After this it was business as usual: the battalion squares in the first line with the columns in a reserve and artillery at the front. When, after 3 hours of shooting, the Ottoman fire weakened, Golitsyn ordered his infantry to advance but the Ottomans did not oblige waiting for the bayonet charge and fled to Shumla leaving artillery and the camp. The Ottoman losses were rather small, 500 killed and 100 taken prisoners but, after Shumla was surrounded, it became obvious to the Ottomans that the further resistance is hopeless.
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Vizier asked for the armistice and sent his representatives to Kaynardzha for signing the peace. Sheremetev gave him 5 days for the discussion after which he was going to continue the offensive. On July 21 peace was signed.

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The main conditions were:
The Ottoman Empire recognized loss of the Crimea and the borders by the Dniester and Kuban rivers.
Russia got a right to hold a fleet on the Black Sea with a right of a free passage through the Straits.
Russian merchant ships and the merchants were getting the same rights as the French and British.
The Ottoman Empire had to pay Russia 7.5 millions piasters of the war contribution.
Russia would not prevent the Crimean and Nogay Tatars from moving into the Ottoman territories and the Ottoman Empire would permit the same to its Christian subjects.
In the future communications the Ottomans will address a Tsar as “Padishah” [8].
The Ottomans are getting a preferable treatment in purchasing salt from the Crimea.


There was nothing about the Russian protectorate over the parts of the Ottoman territories or any other form of intervention into their internal affairs.

________________
[1] Now Dobrich (on the map)
[2] Some kind of a delusion popular at that time. For example, Louis XIV warned Marshal Catinat that Prince Eugene is a dangerous opponent because he is not following the “rules of war”.
[3] Which is what Rumyantsev did during his first offensive in 1773, with the results outlined above.
[4] Stolen from Pratchett 😂
[5] At least this was officially reported.
[6] When you are reading description of the war of 1768-74, the first impression is that the Ottoman soldiers were not just growing on the trees but that the new “fruits” were getting ripe few times per year. The Numan Pasha had 20,000 but when it came to the battle, the number grew to 30,000. Vizier had 10,000 at Shumla but in a battle of Kozludzha, to quote wiki, “The Ottoman forces are estimated at about 40,000” with the Russian forces being only 8,000. To the credit of the Russian wiki, they had a decency to make the Russian 24,000 but both are confused regarding a general in charge: Suvorov, of course, more famous but Kamensky was in charge as one with a greater seniority in promotion (Potemkin issued a specific order on this subject). Being very free with the Ottoman numbers was a modus operandi of both Western and Russian generals and historians. 😂
[7] Why would a bureaucrat in charge of the foreign affairs be placed at the head of an army is beyond my understanding.
[8] Creating an opening to the future assumption of the imperial title.
 
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Yes, of course, this is a very specific one, the same admiral you mentioned (would you be happier if this was a head of the Secret Chancellary? 😜). Just as with all naval figures except Apraksin, I “transplanted” him from the future Ottoman wars: you guys kept bringing up the naval questions and Peter’s time was quite short of the needed personages. 😂
This Ushakov fits to be the granduncle of THE Ushakov we know from Catherine wars (not grandfather, because grandfather was Ignat).
There were a Fedor Prokhorovich Ushakov and Fedor Maximovich Ushakov in Petrine service in this period. Presumably one of them made career in the Navy TTL.
A Fedor Naumovich Ushakov was a stolnik of poor Tsarina Eudoxia so I don't count him.
No problem with Senyavins because all three Senyavin brothers went in the Navy OTL and at least one of them is good for something seagoing (Julian Senyavin was a naval administrator, as was Ivan (who is presumably in charge of one of the new wharfs TTL), but the third brother, Naum, actually was a career sailor and rear admiral).
 
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One more excellent update!

The Ottoman Empire had to pay Russia 7.5 millions piasters of the war contribution.

I have no idea what this sum would represent in rubles. Would it cover all the war expenses by Russia or a significant part?

Russian merchant ships and the merchants were getting the same rights as the French and British.
That is simply excellent. The Ottoman Empire will be a great market for russian products. But even more importantly the Straits are open for russian merchantmen to reach the markets of France and Italy. Time to start making pasta with russian wheat.

Russia would not prevent the Crimean and Nogay Tatars from moving into the Ottoman territories and the Ottoman Empire would permit the same to its Christian subjects.
I had mentioned before about Greeks and Armenians moving to the Black Sea ports. The other potential group is Levantines (mostly italian-speaking catholics) from Constantinople and Smyrna looking for business opportunities.

the Austrians had to drop the whole thing (but 3,000,000 piasters never had been returned). 😜
Well, they need all the cash they cough up for the war against Louis.

On the not so bright side, the Austrias establish themselves as perfidious. First how they acted in 1696 and now they dare ask the Czar to simply give up his conquests after he has fulfilled his goals!

Things like that linger in the institutional memory of diplomats for quite some time.
 
This Ushakov fits to be the granduncle of THE Ushakov we know from Catherine wars (not grandfather, because grandfather was Ignat).
There were a Fedor Prokhorovich Ushakov and Fedor Maximovich Ushakov in Petrine service in this period. Presumably one of them made career in the Navy TTL.
A Fedor Naumovich Ushakov was a stolnik of poor Tsarina Eudoxia so I don't count him.
No problem with Senyavins because all three Senyavin brothers went in the Navy OTL and at least one of them is good for something seagoing (Julian Senyavin was a naval administrator, as was Ivan (who is presumably in charge of one of the new wharfs TTL), but the third brother, Naum, actually was a career sailor and rear admiral).
The name is not a problem: I was considering a completely fictional one. It is just that for a while I was considering posting the schemas of the battles instead of the pictures and on all of them there was “Ушаков” 😂.
The important part of the story is that, contrary to the popular perception, there were Russian sailors of that time who made it on the top and performed quite well, like Naum Senyavin.
 
The name is not a problem: I was considering a completely fictional one. It is just that for a while I was considering posting the schemas of the battles instead of the pictures and on all of them there was “Ушаков” 😂.
I simply tried to reconstruct which one was used, so gave an idea. No record on the names of Andrei Ushakov (the one of secret police fame) brothers, though, one of them easily can be Fedor.
 
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