This is not Sparta - this is Russia! The feat of Karyagin’s detachment is an unequal battle, doomed to failure. Colonel Karyagin and his Russian Spartans.

CAMPAIGN OF COLONEL KARYAGIN'S TROODS
(summer 1805)

At a time when the glory of the French Emperor Napoleon was growing on the fields of Europe, and the Russian troops who fought against the French were performing new feats for the glory of Russian weapons, on the other side of the world, in the Caucasus, the same Russian soldiers and officers were accomplishing no less glorious deeds. Colonel of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Karyagin and his detachment wrote one of the golden pages in the history of the Caucasian Wars.

The situation in the Caucasus in 1805 was extremely difficult. The Persian ruler Baba Khan was eager to regain the lost influence of Tehran after the Russians arrived in the Caucasus. The impetus for the war was the capture of Ganja by the troops of Prince Tsitsianov. Because of the war with France, St. Petersburg could not increase the size of the Caucasian Corps; by May 1805 it consisted of about 6,000 infantry and 1,400 cavalry. Moreover, the troops were scattered over a vast territory. Due to illness and poor nutrition, there was a large shortage, so according to the lists in the 17th Jaeger Regiment there were 991 privates in three battalions, in fact there were 201 people in the ranks.

Having learned about the appearance of large Persian formations, the commander of Russian troops in the Caucasus, Prince Tsitsianov, ordered Colonel Karyagin to delay the enemy’s advance. On June 18, the detachment set out from Elisavetpol to Shusha, consisting of 493 soldiers and officers and two guns. The detachment included: the patron battalion of the 17th Jaeger Regiment under the command of Major Kotlyarevsky, a company of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment of Captain Tatarintsov and the artillerymen of Second Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich. At this time, Major of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Lisanevich was in Shusha with six companies of Jaegers, thirty Cossacks and three guns. On July 11, Lisanevich’s detachment repulsed several attacks by Persian troops, and soon an order was received to join the detachment of Colonel Karyagin. But, fearing an uprising of part of the population and the possibility of the Persians capturing Shushi, Lisanevich did not do this.

On June 24, the first battle took place with the Persian cavalry (about 3000) who crossed the Shah-Bulakh River. Several enemy attacks trying to break through the square were repulsed. Having walked 14 versts, the detachment camped at the mound of the Kara-Agach-BaBa tract on the river. Askaran. In the distance the tents of the Persian armada under the command of Pir Quli Khan could be seen, and this was only the vanguard of the army commanded by the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza. On the same day, Karyagin sent Lisanevich a demand to leave Shusha and go to him, but the latter, due to the difficult situation, could not do this.

At 18.00 the Persians began to storm the Russian camp, and the attacks continued intermittently until nightfall. Having suffered heavy losses, the Persian commander withdrew his troops to the heights around the camp, and the Persians installed four falconette batteries to conduct shelling. From the early morning of July 25, the bombing of our location began. According to the recollections of one of the participants in the battle: “Our situation was very, very unenviable and became worse hour by hour. The unbearable heat exhausted our strength, thirst tormented us, and shots from enemy batteries did not stop..." 1) Several times the Persians suggested that the detachment commander lay down his arms, but was invariably refused. In order not to lose the only source of water, on the night of June 27, a group was launched under the command of Lieutenant Klyupin and Second Lieutenant Prince Tumanov. The operation to destroy enemy batteries was successfully carried out. All four batteries were destroyed, some of the servants were killed, some fled, and the falconets were thrown into the river. It must be said that by this day 350 people remained in the detachment, and half had wounds of varying degrees of severity.

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 26, 1805: “Major Kotlyarevsky was sent by me three times to drive away the enemy who was in front and occupied elevated places, drove away strong crowds of them with courage. Captain Parfenov, Captain Klyukin, throughout the battle, on different occasions, were sent by me with riflemen and struck the enemy with fearlessness.”

At dawn on June 27, the main forces of the Persians arrived to storm the camp. The attacks were again carried out throughout the day. At four o'clock in the afternoon an incident occurred that would forever remain a black spot in the glorious history of the regiment. Lieutenant Lisenko and six lower ranks ran over to the enemy. Having received information about the difficult situation of the Russians, Abbas Mirza launched his troops into a decisive assault, but having suffered heavy losses, he was forced to abandon further attempts to break the resistance of a desperate handful of people. At night, 19 more soldiers ran over to the Persians. Realizing the gravity of the situation, and the fact that the transition of his comrades to the enemy creates unhealthy moods among the soldiers, Colonel Karyagin decides to break through the encirclement and go to the river. Shah-Bulakh and occupy a small fortress standing on its shore. The commander of the detachment sent a report to Prince Tsitsianov, in which he wrote: “... in order not to expose the remainder of the detachment to complete and final destruction and to save people and guns, he made a firm decision to break through with courage through the numerous enemy who surrounded him on all sides...”. 2)

The guide in this desperate enterprise was a local resident, Armenian Melik Vani. Leaving the convoy and burying the captured weapons, the detachment set out on a new campaign. At first they moved in complete silence, then there was a collision with an enemy cavalry patrol and the Persians rushed to catch up with the detachment. True, even on the march, attempts to destroy this wounded and mortally tired, but still battle group did not bring the Persians any luck; moreover, most of the pursuers rushed to plunder the empty Russian camp. According to legend, the Shah-Bulakh Bal castle was built by Shah Nadir, and received its name from the stream that flowed nearby. There was a Persian garrison (150 people) in the castle under the command of Emir Khan and Fial Khan, the outskirts were occupied by enemy posts. Seeing the Russians, the guards raised the alarm and opened fire. Shots from Russian guns were heard, a well-aimed cannonball broke the gate, and the Russians burst into the castle. In a report dated June 28, 1805, Karyagin reported: “... the fortress was taken, the enemy was driven out of it and from the forest with little loss on our part. Both khans were killed on the enemy side... Having settled down in the fortress, I await the commands of your Excellency.” By evening there were only 179 men in the ranks and 45 gun charges. Having learned about this, Prince Tsitsianov wrote to Karyagin: “In unprecedented despair, I ask you to reinforce the soldiers, and I ask God to reinforce you.” 3)

Meanwhile, our heroes suffered from lack of food. The same Melik Vani, whom Popov calls “The Good Genius of the detachment,” volunteered to get the supplies. The most amazing thing is that the brave Armenian coped with this task superbly; the repeated operation also bore fruit. But the position of the detachment became more and more difficult, especially since Persian troops approached the fortification. Abbas Mirza tried to knock the Russians out of the fortification on the move, but his troops suffered losses and were forced to blockade. Believing that the Russians were trapped, Abbas-Mirza invited them to lay down their arms, but was refused.

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 28, 1805: “Lieutenant Zhudkovsky of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment, who, despite his wound, volunteered as a hunter during the capture of the batteries and acted like a brave officer, and of the 7th Artillery Regiment, Second Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich, who, when almost all his gunners were wounded, he himself loaded the guns and knocked out the carriage under the enemy cannon.”

Karyagin decides to take an even more incredible step, to break through the hordes of the enemy to the Muhrat fortress, unoccupied by the Persians. On July 7 at 22.00 this march began; a deep ravine with steep slopes appeared on the detachment’s route. People and horses could overcome it, but guns? Then Private Gavrila Sidorov jumped to the bottom of the ditch, followed by a dozen more soldiers. The first gun flew to the other side like a bird, the second fell off and the wheel hit Private Sidorov in the temple. Having buried the hero, the detachment continued its march. There are several versions of this episode: “... the detachment continued to move, calmly and unhindered, until the two cannons with it were stopped by a small ditch. There was no forest nearby to make a bridge; four soldiers volunteered to help the cause, crossed themselves, lay down in the ditch and transported the guns along them. Two survived, and two paid with their lives for heroic self-sacrifice.”

On July 8, the detachment arrived in Ksapet, from here Karyagin sent forward carts with the wounded under the command of Kotlyarevsky, and he himself followed them. Three versts from Mukhrat the Persians rushed at the column, but were repulsed by fire and bayonets. One of the officers recalled: “... but as soon as Kotlyarevsky managed to move away from us, we were brutally attacked by several thousand Persians, and their onslaught was so strong and sudden that they managed to capture both of our guns. This is no longer a thing at all. Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead, go save the guns!” Everyone rushed like lions, and immediately our bayonets opened the road.” Trying to cut off the Russians from the fortress, Abbas Mirza sent a cavalry detachment to capture it, but the Persians failed here too. Kotlyarevsky's disabled team drove back the Persian horsemen. In the evening, Karyagin also came to Mukhrat; according to Bobrovsky, this happened at 12.00.

Having received a report dated July 9, Prince Tsitsianov gathered a detachment of 2371 people with 10 guns and went out to meet Karyagin. On July 15, Prince Tsitsianov’s detachment, having driven the Persians back from the Tertara River, set up camp near the village of Mardagishti. Having learned about this, Karyagin leaves Mukhrat at night and goes to join his commander.

Having completed this amazing march, Colonel Karyagin’s detachment attracted the attention of almost 20,000 Persians for three weeks and did not allow them to go into the interior of the country. For this campaign, Colonel Karyagin was awarded a gold sword with the inscription “for bravery.” Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin in service from April 15, 1773 (Smolensk coin company), from September 25, 1775, sergeant of the Voronezh infantry regiment. Since 1783, second lieutenant of the Belarusian Jaeger Battalion (1st battalion of the Caucasian Jaeger Corps). Participant in the assault on Anapa on June 22, 1791, received the rank of major. Chief of the defense of Pambak in 1802. Chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment from May 14, 1803. For the storming of Ganja he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.

Major Kotlyarevsky was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree, and the surviving officers were awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree. Avanes Yuzbashi (melik Vani) was not left without a reward; he was promoted to ensign and received 200 silver rubles as a lifelong pension. The feat of Private Sidorov in 1892, the year of the 250th anniversary of the regiment, was immortalized in a monument erected at the headquarters of the Erivants Manglis.

Notes and sources.

1) . Popov K. Temple of Glory Paris 1931, vol. I, p. 142.
2) . Popov K. Decree. op., p.144.
3) . Bobrovsky P.O. History of His Majesty's 13th Life Grenadier Erivan Regiment for 250 years St. Petersburg 1893., vol. III, p. 229.
4) . Popov K. Decree op., p.146.
5) . Viskovatov A. The exploits of Russians beyond the Caucasus in 1805 // Northern Bee 1845, 99-101.
6) . Library for reading//Life of a Russian nobleman in different eras of his life St. Petersburg 1848., vol. 90., p. 39.

At that time, in the Caucasus, battles with less than a tenfold superiority of the enemy were not considered battles and were officially reported in reports as “exercises in conditions close to combat.”

If you are too lazy to read, watch the video.
From the author of the post:
Please do not criticize the author of this video regarding the style of presentation (for a certain segment of the population) of historical facts, as well as the conclusions he made in the association about the modern leadership of the country...
Because it will begin now)))

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks, "This is madness! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden page of Russian history, combining the carnage of madness with the highest tactical skill, amazing cunning and stunning Russian arrogance. But first things first.
In 1805, the Russian Empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory had long since faded, and the British, who never had a normal ground army. Both of them behaved like complete fools, and even the great Kutuzov could not do anything with all the power of his genius. Meanwhile, in the south of Russia, Ideyka appeared among the Persian Baba Khan, who was purring as he read reports about our European defeats.
Baba Khan stopped purring and went against Russia again, hoping to pay for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - due to the usual production of the usual drama “A crowd of so-called crooked-handed allies and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone,” St. Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that there were from 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers.
Therefore, having learned that 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas-Mirza were coming to the city of Shusha (this is in present-day Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan), where Major Lisanevich was located with 6 companies of rangers, Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, hero Karyagin, hero Kotlyarevsky and the Russian military spirit.

They did not have time to reach Shushi, the Persians intercepted ours on the road, near the Shah-Bulakh River, on June 24. Persian avant-garde. A modest 10,000 people. Without being at all taken aback (at that time in the Caucasus, battles with less than a tenfold superiority of the enemy were not considered battles and were officially reported in reports as “exercises in conditions close to combat”), Karyagin formed an army in a square and spent the whole day repelling the fruitless attacks of the Persian cavalry , until only scraps remained of the Persians. Then he walked another 14 miles and set up a fortified camp, the so-called Wagenburg or, in Russian, a walk-city, when the line of defense is built from baggage carts (given the Caucasian impassability and the lack of a supply network, the troops had to carry significant supplies with them).
The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break to clear the piles of Persian bodies, funerals, weeping and writing cards to the families of the victims. By the morning, having read the manual "Military Art for Dummies" sent by express mail ("If the enemy has strengthened and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him head-on, even if there are 40,000 of you and 400 of him"), the Persians began to bombard our walk - the city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenishing water supplies. The Russians responded by making a sortie, making their way to the Persian battery and blowing it up, throwing the remains of the cannons into the river.
However, this did not save the situation. After fighting for another day, Karyagin began to suspect that he would not be able to kill the entire Persian army. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lisenko and six more traitors ran over to the Persians, the next day they were joined by 19 more - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed losses from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. Uncomfortable.

At the officers' council, two options were proposed: or we all stay here and die, who's in favor? No one. Or we get together, break through the Persian ring of encirclement, after which we STORM a nearby fortress while the Persians are catching up with us, and we are already sitting in the fortress. The only problem is that there are still tens of thousands of us guarding us.
We decided to break through. At night. Having cut off the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants in the “Staying Alive When You Can’t Stay Alive” program almost escaped the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian patrol. A chase began, a shootout, then a chase again, then ours finally broke away from the Mahmuds in the dark, dark Caucasian forest and went to the fortress, named after the nearby river Shah-Bulakh. By that time, a golden aura shone around the remaining participants in the crazy “Fight as long as you can” marathon (let me remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of continuous battles, sorties, duels with bayonets and night hide-and-seeks in the forests), so Karyagin simply smashed the gates of Shah-Bulakh with a cannonball , after which he tiredly asked the small Persian garrison: “Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Really?”
The guys took the hint and ran away. During the run-up, two khans were killed, the Russians barely had time to repair the gates when the main Persian forces appeared, concerned about the disappearance of their beloved Russian detachment. But this was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After taking inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And that the food train had to be abandoned during the breakout from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. At all. At all. At all. Karyagin again went out to the troops:

Infantry regiment in square. Musketeer companies (1), grenadier companies and platoons (3), regimental artillery (5), regimental commander (6), staff officer (8).
“Out of 493 people, 175 of us are left, almost all of them are wounded, dehydrated, exhausted, and extremely tired. There is no food. There is no convoy. Cannonballs and cartridges are running out. And besides, right in front of our gates sits the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza, who has already tried to take us by storm several times.
He is the one waiting for us to die, hoping that hunger will do what 40,000 Persians could not do. But we won't die. You won't die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I order you to have all the nerve you have, because this night we are leaving the fortress and breaking through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WE WILL STORM AGAIN, WITH THE ENTIRE PERSIAN ARMY ON YOUR SHOULDERS.
This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is Russian history. Place sentries on the walls who will call to each other all night, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We'll head out as soon as it gets dark enough!

On July 7 at 10 p.m., Karyagin set out from the fortress to storm the next, even larger fortress. It is important to understand that by July 7, the detachment had been fighting continuously for the 13th day and was not in a state of “the Terminators are coming”, but in a state of “extremely desperate people, using only anger and fortitude, are moving into the Heart of Darkness of this crazy, impossible, incredible , an unthinkable journey."
With guns, with carts of wounded, it was not a walk with backpacks, but a large and heavy movement. Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a ghost at night - and therefore even the soldiers who remained calling to each other on the walls managed to escape from the Persians and catch up with the detachment, although they were already preparing to die, realizing the absolute mortality of their task.
Advancing through darkness, darkness, pain, hunger and thirst, a detachment of Russian soldiers encountered a ditch through which it was impossible to transport guns, and without guns, an assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhraty, had neither meaning nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, and there was no time to look for forest - the Persians could overtake them at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the others, unfortunately, I could not find - silently jumped into the ditch. And they lay down. Like logs. No bravado, no talking, no anything. They jumped down and lay down. The heavy guns drove straight at them.

Only two rose from the ditch. Silently.
On July 8, the detachment entered Kasapet, ate and drank normally for the first time in many days, and moved on to the Muhrat fortress. Three miles away, a detachment of just over a hundred people was attacked by several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the cannons and capture them. In vain. As one of the officers recalled: “Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead, go save the guns!”
Apparently, the soldiers remembered at WHAT price they got these guns. Red, this time Persian, splashed onto the carriages, and splashed, and poured, and flooded the carriages, and the ground around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and it poured, and it poured, and it poured until the Persians did not flee in panic, having failed to break the resistance of hundreds of ours.

300 Spartans in Russian (Campaign against the Persians in 1805) 300, 1805, Spartans, in Russian, campaign, against, Persians, year
Mukhrat was taken easily, and the next day, July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin: “We are still alive and for the last three weeks we have been forcing half of the Persians to chase us at the Tertara River,” he immediately set out to meet the Persian army with 2300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then united with the remnants of Colonel Karyagin’s troops.
Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all the officers and soldiers received awards and salaries, Gavrila Sidorov silently lay down in the ditch - a monument at the regiment headquarters.

In conclusion, we consider it worth adding that Karyagin began his service as a private in the Butyrka Infantry Regiment during the Turkish War of 1773, and the first cases in which he participated were the brilliant victories of Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. Here, under the impression of these victories, Karyagin for the first time comprehended the great secret of controlling the hearts of people in battle and drew that moral faith in the Russian people and in himself, with which he subsequently never considered his enemies.
When the Butyrsky regiment was moved to Kuban, Karyagin found himself in the harsh environment of Caucasian near-linear life, was wounded during the assault on Anapa, and from that time on, one might say, never left the enemy’s fire. In 1803, after the death of General Lazarev, he was appointed chief of the seventeenth regiment located in Georgia. Here, for the capture of Ganja, he received the Order of St. George 4th degree, and his exploits in the Persian campaign of 1805 made his name immortal in the ranks of the Caucasian Corps.
Unfortunately, constant campaigns, wounds and especially fatigue during the winter campaign of 1806 completely destroyed Karyagin’s iron health; he fell ill with a fever, which soon developed into a yellow, putrid fever, and on May 7, 1807, the hero passed away. His last award was the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree, received by him a few days before his death.

I'm proud to be Russian. I myself have not accomplished anything great, or maybe even the least significant, but when I hear news about the glorious deeds of a Russian person, I am immensely glad. Whether I am subjectively exaggerating the greatness of these deeds, or whether they really stand apart among all the deeds of the sons of men, I don’t know. But I can guess :))
One of these feats of Russian soldiers will be discussed below.

Colonel Karyagin's 1805 campaign against the Persians cannot be called an ordinary military story. Rather, it resembles action movies like “300 Spartans” and even surpasses (!) them: 40 thousand Persians vs. 500 Russians, mountainous terrain, gorges, days-long pursuit of Russians exhausted by marches, hungry, deprived of ammunition - brilliant bayonet attacks - “This is madness!” - “No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!”
This is a golden page of Russian history.

If you remember, in 1805 Russia fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and the war was not very successful. France was strong because of the genius of Napoleon, and our allies, the Austrians and the British, could not provide us with real support. Even Kutuzov’s genius did not bring a decisive advantage to the outcome of this confrontation. Apparently, only under such conditions could the Persian Baba Khan decide on the impudence that followed.
In 1805, Baba Khan again went against Russia, hoping to pay for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. It must be admitted that the moment for aggression was chosen quite well, since at that time there were from 8 to 10 thousand soldiers in the entire Caucasus, and, for a number of reasons, it was not possible to count on reinforcements.

Further events developed like this.
Having learned that 40 thousand Persians under the command of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza were marching on the city of Shusha (present-day Nagorno-Karabakh), where 6 companies of Major Lisanevich’s rangers were located, Prince Tsitsianov sent everything he could to help him. Namely, the battalion of the 17th Jaeger Regiment of 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, under the command of the legendary Colonel Karyagin and under the leadership of the Russian military spirit.
Before they could reach Shushi, the Persian vanguard of 10 thousand people had already intercepted them - June 24, the bank of the Shah-Bulakh River.
Our battalion spent the whole day repelling the fruitless attacks of the Persian cavalry in a square, until only horns and legs were left of them. Then they walked another 14 versts and set up a fortified camp, the so-called Wagenburg (in Russian, a walk-city): the defense line was built from convoy carts, which the troops were forced to carry with them in significant numbers.

The Persian attacks resumed in the evening and lasted until night, until they were forced to stop to clear the battlefield of piles of Persian corpses, funerals, crying and other necessary formalities. By morning, the Persians began to bombard our camp with artillery bombs, but they did not succeed for long. The Russians responded by launching a sortie: they made their way to the positions of the Persian battery, blew its guns to hell, throwing the remains of the guns into the river, and calmly returned to the camp with a sense of fulfilled duty.
The siege continued: continuous shelling, heat, lack of water... Defectors appeared: Lieutenant Lisenko with six other cosmopolitans fled to the Persians, a day later another 19 “pacifists” joined them.
At the officers' council, it was decided to break through the encirclement, then storm the nearby fortress, in order to then repel the attacks of the Persians, already protected by the walls.
No sooner said than done: at night, having cut out the enemy sentries, the Russian soldiers, trying not to make noise, were almost out of the encirclement, but they came across a Persian patrol. The events of that night followed each other quickly: a chase, a shootout, a chase again - and ours still broke away from the enemy and went to the fortress, named after the nearby river - Shah-Bulahu.

Our soldiers were exhausted, and there was no time to talk, so they acted decisively: they immediately smashed the gates of Shah-Bulakh with a cannonball and occupied the fortress. (Yes, I forgot to say that the garrison fled in panic).
Ours barely had time to repair the gate when the main forces of the Persians appeared, pursuing them.
By this time it became clear that there was no food in the fortress. But due to the fact that the supply train had to be abandoned during the breakout from the encirclement, they realized that those who were not going to die of hunger needed to do something.
Nobody wanted to die of hunger. We calculated the remaining forces: out of 493 people, 175 remained, most of whom were wounded, and all of them were dehydrated, exhausted, and extremely tired. Ammunition is running low...
They decided, leaving sentries on the walls of the fortress to create the appearance of presence, and with the main forces to move out of the fortress at night in order to carry out a forced march and storm another, more suitable fortress.

On July 7, at 10 p.m., the remnants of the battalion under the command of Karyagin set out from the fortress. By this time, the detachment had been fighting continuously for the 13th day.
It was possible to move forward, with God's help, quietly, although we marched with guns and with carts of wounded. A little later, the detachment was caught up by the soldiers remaining on the fortress walls. The rearguard was commanded by Kotlyarevsky, the future legendary general, the “second Suvorov” - “Conqueror of Azerbaijan”.
... And here is the ditch. It is necessary to go through it with guns, because without them there can be no talk of storming the fortified fortress of Mukhrata. The only problem is that there is nothing to fill it with: there is nothing suitable nearby, and time is running out. Four Russian soldiers - Gavrila Sidorov and three others, whose names, unfortunately, are unknown today - silently jumped into the ditch. Guns were placed on the shoulders as a bridge. The guns drove right over them. Two people rose from the ditch.

On July 8, the detachment was in Kasapet, quickly refreshed itself and moved on to Mukhrat. Three miles from the target, the detachment, at that time consisting of about a hundred people, was attacked by several thousand Persian cavalrymen, who managed to break through to the guns and capture them. Here they hurried, although how could they know what kind of guns these were and at what cost they were dragged here.
... As one of the officers recalled: “Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead, go save the guns!”
The Persians could not withstand the attack - they fled in panic. Not immediately, of course, but, apparently, they fell quickly - and, presumably, ours did not look the most friendly. Well, Persians, they are Persians.
Mukhrat was taken immediately, and the next day, July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin, immediately set out to meet the Persian army with 2,300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the enemy and united with the remnants of Colonel Karyagin’s troops.
Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all officers and soldiers received awards and salaries, and a monument to Gavrila Sidorov was erected at the regiment headquarters. Here's the story.
Karyagin’s words in his surviving response to Abbas Mirza, who offered the colonel high ranks and huge money in the Persian service, are significant:
“Your parent has mercy on me; and I have the honor to inform you that when fighting the enemy, they do not seek mercy except traitors.”

Eternal memory to the heroes! The Kingdom of Heaven to them!

A true story from the 19th century that is very similar to Spartan self-sacrifice. The feat was accomplished by Colonel Karyagin together with his detachment of 500 people in Karabakh. Their goal was to contain and distract the enemy forces, while Prince Tsitsianov would gather the entire army together. At the height of the battle, Russian soldiers not only fought bravely, but also made several tactical maneuvers, and were also able to preserve their cannons while crossing the river.

Persian conflict of interest

Russia sought to seize the Transcaucasian territories, which is why the Russian-Persian War began in 1804, which from the first minutes became successful for the Russian side. The very next year, 2 khans surrendered: Sheki and Karabakh, recognizing the protectorate of Russia. This fact could not help but anger the Persian Shah Feth-Ali. In response, he gathered 40 thousand soldiers, placing Crown Prince Abbas Mirza at its head. The task was to take revenge on the traitor khans, return the territories, and also, with a successful outcome, return Georgia, which had already belonged to Russia for 4 years.

Having learned about the Persian plans, the Russian command did not waste time. The commander-in-chief, Prince Pavel Tsitsianov, who was in Transcaucasia, could count on only 8 thousand soldiers. It was important to take into account that these 8 thousand had to be collected throughout the occupied territory. It would take time, and the enemy was already close. Due to the risk of being defeated, the 17th Jaeger Regiment of 493 soldiers plus 2 guns was formed in the shortest possible time.

17th Jaeger Regiment

Karyagin had extensive combat experience. He fought under the command of Suvorov against the Turks. On June 21, 1805, the regiment set out from Ganja to the Shushi region, where it encountered the Persian vanguard. Using the method of constructing a square (in the form of a square or rectangle), the regiment repelled attacks for more than a day, after which it fortified itself in a “walk-city” cart (a 4-5-meter wooden tower, moved along beams), and held the defense for another 3 days. The number of Russian fighters during this time decreased significantly: 200 people died or were wounded. The next day, Karyagin broke through the blockade and was able to lead his soldiers to the accidentally abandoned Shakhbulag fortress. Here, of course, it was safer, but provisions were running out, requiring some action to be taken. The main forces of the enemy - 20 thousand Persians - had already approached the fortress.

Deciding to lull the Persians' vigilance, the Russians began negotiations for surrender - a cunning move by Karyagin. Well, while they were negotiating, on July 8 Karyagin secretly transferred his fighters to the nearest fortress Mukhrat. And during this time, the messenger reached the Russian borders and brought sad news about the difficult situation with the 17th Jaeger Regiment.

Private Sidorov

We should not forget about the important event that occurred with the remaining detachment near the Tertary stream during the transition from Shahbulag to Muhrat. When the Russians were ready to say goodbye to two guns, Private Sidorov suggested a way to transport them to the other side. It’s a pity that all the circumstances of the case are unknown to us, but we know that Gavrila Sidorov proposed to build a bridge from guns and people along the bottom of the stream. Thus, the guns were transported directly over them. Of course, there were injuries here, and Gavrila himself, unfortunately, received injuries incompatible with life. A monument was erected in his honor at the regimental headquarters.

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 is not similar to real military history: 493 soldiers against 20 thousand Persians. It's like a prequel to 300, but cooler.

You can’t have two deaths, but you can’t avoid one, and you know, it’s better to die in battle than in a hospital.

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like a prequel to “300 Spartans” (40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks, “This is madness!” - No, fuck, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!). A golden page of Russian history, combining the carnage of madness with the highest tactical skill, amazing cunning and stunning Russian arrogance. But first things first.

In 1805, the Russian Empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory had long since faded, and the British, who never had a normal ground army. Both of them behaved like complete assholes, and even the great Kutuzov, with all the power of his genius, could not switch the “Fail after Fail” TV channel. Meanwhile, in the south of Russia, Ideyka appeared among the Persian Baba Khan, who was purring as he read reports about our European defeats.

Baba Khan stopped purring and went against Russia again, hoping to pay for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - due to the usual production of the usual drama “A crowd of so-called allies-crooked-armed assholes and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone,” St. Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that for the entire Caucasus there were between 8,000 and 10,000 soldiers.

Therefore, having learned that 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas-Mirza are coming to the city of Shusha (this is in today's Nagorno-Karabakh. You know Azerbaijan, right? Bottom left), where Major Lisanevich was located with 6 companies of rangers. that he was moving on a huge golden platform, with a bunch of freaks, freaks and concubines on golden chains, like e fakin Xerxes), Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, the superhero Karyagin, the superhero Kotlyarevsky and the Russian military spirit.

The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break to clear the piles of Persian bodies, funerals, weeping and writing cards to the families of the victims. By the morning, having read the manual “Military Art for Dummies” sent by express mail (“If the enemy has strengthened and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him head-on, even if there are 40,000 of you and 400 of him”), the Persians began to bombard our walk - the city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenishing water supplies. The Russians responded by making a sortie, making their way to the Persian battery and blowing it up, throwing the remains of the cannons into the river, presumably with malicious obscene inscriptions.

However, this did not save the situation. After fighting for another day, Karyagin began to suspect that he would not be able to kill the entire Persian army. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lisenko and six other assholes ran over to the Persians, the next day they were joined by 19 more hippies - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed losses from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. Uncomfortable.

Everyone loved Left 4 Dead already in 1805, so they decided to break through. At night. Having cut off the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants in the “Staying Alive When You Can’t Stay Alive” program almost escaped the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian patrol. A chase began, a shootout, then a chase again, then ours finally broke away from the Mahmuds in the dark, dark Caucasian forest and went to the fortress, named after the nearby river Shah-Bulakh. By that time, a golden aura shone around the remaining participants in the crazy “Fight as long as you can” marathon (let me remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of continuous battles, sorties, duels with bayonets and night hide-and-seeks in the forests), so Karyagin simply smashed the gates of Shah- Bulakha with a cannonball, after which he tiredly asked the small Persian garrison: “Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Is that true?”

The guys took the hint and ran away. During the run-up, two khans were killed, the Russians barely had time to repair the gates when the main Persian forces appeared, concerned about the disappearance of their beloved Russian detachment. But this was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After taking inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And that the food train had to be abandoned during the breakout from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. At all. At all. At all. Karyagin again went out to the troops:

Friends, I know that this is not madness, not Sparta, or anything for which human words were invented. Of the already pitiful 493 people, 175 of us remained, almost all of them were wounded, dehydrated, exhausted, and extremely tired. There is no food. There is no convoy. Cannonballs and cartridges are running out. And besides, right in front of our gates sits the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza, who has already tried to take us by storm several times. Do you hear the grunting of his tame monsters and the laughter of his concubines?

He is the one waiting for us to die, hoping that hunger will do what 40,000 Persians could not do. But we won't die. You won't die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I order you to have all the nerve you have, because this night we are leaving the fortress and breaking through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WE WILL STORM AGAIN, WITH THE ENTIRE PERSIAN ARMY ON YOUR SHOULDERS. And also freaks and concubines.

This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is Russian history, little birds, and you are its main characters. Place sentries on the walls who will call to each other all night, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We'll head out as soon as it gets dark enough!

It is said that there was once an angel in Heaven who was in charge of monitoring the impossibility. On July 7 at 10 p.m., when Karyagin set out from the fortress to storm the next, even larger fortress, this angel died of frost. It is important to understand that by July 7, the detachment had been fighting continuously for the 13th day and was not so much in the state of “the Terminators are coming”, but rather in the state of “extremely desperate people, using only anger and fortitude, are moving into the Heart of Darkness of this insane, impossible, incredible, unthinkable journey."

With guns, with carts of wounded, it was not a walk with backpacks, but a large and heavy movement. Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a night ghost, like a bat, like a creature from That Forbidden Side - and therefore even the soldiers who remained calling to each other on the walls managed to escape from the Persians and catch up with the detachment, although they were already preparing to die, realizing the absolute mortality of their task.

A detachment of Russian... soldiers moving through darkness, darkness, pain, hunger and thirst? Ghosts? Saints of War? faced a ditch through which it was impossible to transport cannons, and without cannons, an assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhrata, had neither meaning nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, and there was no time to look for forest - the Persians could overtake them at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the others, unfortunately, I could not find - silently jumped into the ditch. And they lay down. Like logs. No bravado, no talking, no anything. They jumped down and lay down. The heavy guns drove straight at them.

Only two rose from the ditch. Silently.

Franz Roubaud "The Living Bridge" 1892

On July 8, the detachment entered Kasapet, ate and drank normally for the first time in many days, and moved on to the Muhrat fortress. Three miles away, a detachment of just over a hundred people was attacked by several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the cannons and capture them. In vain. As one of the officers recalled: “Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead, go save the guns!”

Apparently, the soldiers remembered at WHAT price they got these guns. Red, this time Persian, splashed onto the carriages, and splashed, and poured, and flooded the carriages, and the ground around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and it poured, and it poured, and it poured until the Persians did not flee in panic, having failed to break the resistance of hundreds of ours.

Mukhrat was taken easily, and the next day, July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin: “We are still alive and for the last three weeks we have been forcing half of the Persian army to chase us. P.S. Borscht in the refrigerator, Persians at the Tertara River,” immediately came out to meet the Persian army with 2,300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then united with the remnants of Colonel Karyagin’s troops.

Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all the officers and soldiers received awards and salaries, and Gavrila Sidorov silently lay down in the ditch - a monument at the regiment headquarters.

P.S. In conclusion, we consider it worth adding that Karyagin began his service as a private in the Butyrka Infantry Regiment during the Turkish War of 1773, and the first cases in which he participated were the brilliant victories of Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. Here, under the impression of these victories, Karyagin for the first time comprehended the great secret of controlling the hearts of people in battle and drew that moral faith in the Russian people and in himself, with which he, like an ancient Roman, never considered his enemies.

When the Butyrsky regiment was moved to Kuban, Karyagin found himself in the harsh environment of Caucasian near-linear life, was wounded during the assault on Anapa, and from that time on, one might say, never left the enemy’s fire. In 1803, after the death of General Lazarev, he was appointed chief of the seventeenth regiment located in Georgia. Here, for the capture of Ganja, he received the Order of St. George 4th degree, and his exploits in the Persian campaign of 1805 made his name immortal in the ranks of the Caucasian Corps.

Unfortunately, constant campaigns, wounds and especially fatigue during the winter campaign of 1806 completely destroyed Karyagin’s iron health; he fell ill with a fever, which soon developed into a yellow, putrid fever, and on May 7, 1807, the hero passed away. His last award was the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree, received by him a few days before his death.

P.P.S. According to the data, there were not 40 thousand Persians against 493 soldiers and officers of Colonel Karyagin, but “only” 20 thousand Persians. Let us recall that at the Battle of Thermopylae the army opposing the Persians numbered about 7 thousand people, and not 300 Spartans. The Persian army was about 200 thousand. Which is the numerical advantage of the Persians over the Greeks 1 to 30, while the army of Colonel Karyagin was 1 to 40. Taking into account the actions in open areas, and not in a narrow gorge like the Greeks, Karyagin’s feat makes us think about the uniqueness of this military company. Karyagin himself did not die with everyone, like Tsar Leonid with his Spartans, but with a detachment of 100 people made his way to the army of Prince Tsitsianov. For this campaign, Karyagin received a golden sword with the inscription “For bravery.”