During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, the energetic Russian commander, Field Marshal von Diebitsch, led the Russian army over the Balkan mountains (rather than laying siege to Shumla, as the Turks expected) and mostly through the psychological shock his actions and speed inflicted on the Turks, went through the Ottoman heartland like hotshot through a tindebox. This resulted in the Ottomans suing for peace, and ultimately the treaty of Adrianople.
However, the crossing of the mountains had left his army in very poor shape - it had lost several thousand men, and those that were left were tired and sick. It has been said that if the Turks had kept their heads, they could have wiped his army out completely.
Certainly, the Russian supreme commander and an army of 35,000 men being completely smashed would have been a great victory for the Turks, but I wonder how much difference von Diebitsch's transbalkan offensive failing would really make? Would the Russians simply fight on for another year or two until they had achieved enough victories to compensate for the early defeat? Could a great victory against Russia have changed the course of the Greek war of Independence? Would such a victory have aided Mahmud II's reform programs? Might we see Serbia and the Danubian principalities (which gained effective autonomy in the treaty of Adrianople) integrated more closely with the rest of the Turkish domains again?
What do people think?
fasquardon
However, the crossing of the mountains had left his army in very poor shape - it had lost several thousand men, and those that were left were tired and sick. It has been said that if the Turks had kept their heads, they could have wiped his army out completely.
Certainly, the Russian supreme commander and an army of 35,000 men being completely smashed would have been a great victory for the Turks, but I wonder how much difference von Diebitsch's transbalkan offensive failing would really make? Would the Russians simply fight on for another year or two until they had achieved enough victories to compensate for the early defeat? Could a great victory against Russia have changed the course of the Greek war of Independence? Would such a victory have aided Mahmud II's reform programs? Might we see Serbia and the Danubian principalities (which gained effective autonomy in the treaty of Adrianople) integrated more closely with the rest of the Turkish domains again?
What do people think?
fasquardon