View source for Battle of Kulevicha

{{Short description|1829 battle of the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Kulevicha
| partof            = the [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)|Russo-Turkish War]]
| image             = Сражение при Кулевче.jpg
| image_size        = 300
| caption           = ''Battle of Kulevicha''
| date              = 11 June 1829
| place             = Kulevicha, [[Ottoman Empire]]<br />near present-day [[Kaspichan]], [[Bulgaria]]<br />{{Coord|43|15|26|N|27|6|58|E|display=inline,title}}
| result            = Russian victory
| combatant1        = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Russian Empire]]<br> {{flagicon|Moldavia}} [[Moldavia]]<br> {{flagicon|Wallachia}} [[Wallachia]]
| combatant2        = {{flagicon|Ottoman Empire|1793}} [[Ottoman Empire]]
| commander1        = '''[[Hans Karl von Diebitsch]]'''<br/>{{ill|Yakov Otroshchenko|ru|Отрощенко, Яков Осипович}}
| commander2        = [[Reşid Mehmed Pasha]]
| strength1         = 28,000:{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}{{efn|One estimate is {{circa}} 30,000 in total<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=КУЛЕВЧИНСКОЕ СРАЖЕНИЕ 1829 • Great Russian Encyclopedia – Electronic version |url=https://old.bigenc.ru/military_science/text/2120318 |access-date=12 March 2024 |website=old.bigenc.ru |year=2016}}</ref>}}
* 26,000 Russian [[Regular military|regulars]];{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}
* 2,000 [[Cossacks]].{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}
** 18,000 engaged<ref name=":0"/>
146 cannons<ref name=":0"/>{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}
| strength2         = 40,000:<ref name=":0"/>{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}
* 25,000 regular infantrymen;{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}
* 5,000 regular cavalrymen;{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}
* 10,000 [[Irregular military|irregular]] cavalrymen.{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}
** unknown number engaged
56 cannons<ref name=":0"/>
| casualties1       = {{circa}} 2,000 killed<ref name=":0"/>{{efn|By one estimate, 2,500 killed and wounded.{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}}}
| casualties2       = >5,000 killed{{sfn | Jaques | Showalter | 2007 | p= 550}}<ref name=":0"/><br/>{{circa}} 2,000 captured<ref name=":0"/>&nbsp;{{efn|By one estimate, the 5,000 casualties consisted of 3,000 killed and wounded and 2,000 captured.{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}}}<br/>almost all the artillery and the [[wagon train]]<ref name=":0"/>{{efn|By one estimate, all 56 cannons, and all the train.{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=496}}}}
}}

[[File:Коцебу. Бой под Кулевчей 30 мая 1829.jpg|thumb|right|The battle by [[Alexander Kotzebue]]]]

{{Campaignbox Russo–Turkish War, 1828–1829}}

The '''Battle of Kulevicha''', also known as the Battle of Kulevcha or Kulewtscha, was fought during the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829]], on 11 June 1829, between [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]].{{sfn | Jaques | Showalter | 2007 | p= 550}}

==Battle==
The Russians, led by [[Hans Karl von Diebitsch]] ([[German people|German]]-born general serving the [[Russian Empire]]), marched against the Ottomans led by Grand Vizier [[Reşid Mehmed Pasha]]<ref name=":0"/> ([[Georgians|Georgian]]-born general [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|enslaved]] as a child by the Ottomans) with the objective of [[Relief (military)|relieving]] [[Silistria]], {{convert|40|mi}} west of the village of Kulevicha.

First Reşid Pasha with an Army's 40,000-strong main force inclusive of 56 guns came out of [[Shumla]] with the aim of defeating the Russian detachment sent under the Russian command's plan to lure the Ottomans out of this town, and assisting the [[Siege of Silistra (1829)|besieged Ottoman troops]] with his active actions. Then Diebitsch, leaving part of his troops to continue the siege, with the main forces (about 30,000 people, 146 guns) moved against the Ottoman army and cut the way for its potential retreat, thus forcing Grand Vizier to give [[pitched battle]].<ref name=":0"/>

In the morning of 11 June the Russian [[vanguard]] under the command of [[General of the Infantry (Imperial Russia)|General of the Infantry]] [[Yakov Otroshchenko|Ya. O. Otroshchenko]] attacked his enemy and captured the heights near the village of Kulevicha, but under the onslaught of superior opponent forces was forced to abandon them, suffering losses. The Russian artillery fire and bayonet counterattacks of the Russian [[infantry]] stopped the Ottoman troops' advance. Having regrouped the forces by this evening (the Russian troops participating in the battle numbered ca. 18,000 men; how many Ottoman troops participated is not stated in the source used), supported by artillery fire, the Russian army went on the offensive and, having turned the Ottoman troops into flight, pursued them for about {{convert|8|km}}.<ref name=":0"/>

The Russians were victorious as the Turks got trapped in a valley suffering heavy casualties before they managed to withdraw.{{sfn | Jaques | Showalter | 2007 | p= 550}} General Diebitsch then headed towards [[Battle of Adrianople (1829)|Adrianople]].{{sfn | Jaques | Showalter | 2007 | p= 550}}

The Ottoman force was tasked with various different objectives in Bulgaria, most notably the suppression of Hadjuk revolts, however several other more important duties were tasked to the Ottoman force such as relieving Silistria of constant battle and preventing further Russian advancements into Bulgaria.

==References==
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==Sources==
* {{cite book | last=Jaques | first=T. | last2=Showalter | first2=D.E. | title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O | publisher=Greenwood Press | series=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-313-33538-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dh6jydKXikoC}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bodart |first=Gaston |date=1908 |publisher=C. W. Stern |publication-place=Vienna and Leipzig |title=Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905) |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_A0kNAAAAYAAJ/page/496 |author-link=Gaston Bodart |access-date=7 July 2022}}

[[Category:Battles of the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)|Kulevicha]]
[[Category:1829 in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Battles involving Wallachia|Kulevicha]]
[[Category:June 1829]]

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{{Ottoman-battle-stub}}
{{Ottoman (Turkish) battles}}