Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Battle of Kars (1745)
The Battle of Kars (19 August 1745) was the last major engagement of the Ottoman–Iranian War. The battle resulted in the complete and utter destruction of the Ottoman army. It was also the last of the great military triumphs of Nader Shah. The battle was in fact fought over a period of ten days in which the first day saw the Ottomans routed from the field, followed by a series of subsequent blockades and pursuits until the final destruction of the Ottoman army. The severity of the defeat, in conjunction with another defeat near Mosul, ended any hopes of Ottoman victory and forced them to enter into negotiations with a significantly weaker position than they would otherwise have occupied.
During Nader's last punitive expedition in Dagestan, the Persian army moved south after devastating the region with many settlements razed to the ground and their inhabitants put to the sword. On June 14, 1745 Nader returned to Derbent remaining there for months before setting out south. He became extremely ill and had to be carried in a litter before the army halted at Yerevan.
The court physicians nursed the Shah back to health. Nader Shah was informed that two large Ottoman armies were headed eastward to his borders. One headed to Kars and the other to Mosul. Nader Shah immediately went on to the offensive and also split his forces into two. Nassrollah Mirza, Nader's son, was given a large component of the Persian army with the objective of defeating the Ottomans headed for Mosul and Nader himself set out for Kars where he unsuccessfully besieged the city in 1744.
Nader's army marched west past Yerevan when news was brought of the Ottoman army's departure from Kars under the command of Yegen Mohammad Pasha. Nader continued west and camped upon a hill near Yeghevārd. This was the same hill Nader had made camp on approximately 10 years previously when he had crushed an Ottoman army at the Battle of Yeghevārd. Yegen Pasha advanced until 10-12 kilometres from the Persian army and ordered his men to build extensive fortifications around their camp.[citation needed]
On 9 August the Ottomans began deploying 40,000 Janissary Infantry and 100,000 Sipahi Cavalry in the "European manner" with columns of infantry in the centre, artillery batteries interspersed between these columns and the cavalry in two bodies each on either flank. Nader ordered his Jazāyerchi to advance against the centre and after firing a single massed volley, draw their shamshirs and charge. The battle raged with either side feeding in a steady stream of reinforcements into the centre.[citation needed]
The Ottoman cavalry held back due to their inferiority to their Persian counterparts. Unlike in many other battles Nader fought in his career, he commanded the battle of Kars from his camp with messengers sending out his orders and returning with reports from the battlefield. By afternoon, Nader's retainers brought back reports from the battlefield which indicated there would be no decisive conclusion either way. Nader decided to don his armour and mount his horse.
Nader led a force of 40,000 elite cavalry from the Savaran-e Sepah-e Khorasan (translated as the "Riders of the Army of Khorasan") he had held in reserve against the flank of the Ottoman army in a huge attack. The ferocity of the fighting was such that two horses were shot from under Nader, but the Ottoman army could not sustain the impact of the charge and broke up. A contingent of Anatolian troops from Asia minor (15,000 men in all) fled, leaving the rest of the Ottoman army to retreat in utter chaos and confusion. The Persian army engaged in a pursuit until dusk and subsequently returned to their camp.[citation needed]
On the next day Nader sent forth a fowj (a unit approximately the equivalent of a regiment) to cut the logistical line of the Ottoman army back to Kars. The Persian army began surrounding the Ottoman camp. A few skirmishes ensued but all attempts by the Ottomans to break the encirclement failed. Yegen Pasha attempted to remedy this by deploying his guns. The Persian artillery batteries were deployed and a counter-battery fire was commenced in which the Ottoman artillery was outclassed in both accuracy and rate of fire. Many of Yegen Pasha's artillery pieces were destroyed, their components scattered across the field. This demoralising event brought the Ottomans trapped inside the camp's walls to the brink of mutiny. A stream of deserters came to the Persian camp bringing news of the ongoing turmoil in the Ottoman battlements. In the dark of night the Ottoman army silently abandoned their fortifications and marched west, but the Persian army immediately set out, hot on their heels, caught up and encircled them once more.
Hub AI
Battle of Kars (1745) AI simulator
(@Battle of Kars (1745)_simulator)
Battle of Kars (1745)
The Battle of Kars (19 August 1745) was the last major engagement of the Ottoman–Iranian War. The battle resulted in the complete and utter destruction of the Ottoman army. It was also the last of the great military triumphs of Nader Shah. The battle was in fact fought over a period of ten days in which the first day saw the Ottomans routed from the field, followed by a series of subsequent blockades and pursuits until the final destruction of the Ottoman army. The severity of the defeat, in conjunction with another defeat near Mosul, ended any hopes of Ottoman victory and forced them to enter into negotiations with a significantly weaker position than they would otherwise have occupied.
During Nader's last punitive expedition in Dagestan, the Persian army moved south after devastating the region with many settlements razed to the ground and their inhabitants put to the sword. On June 14, 1745 Nader returned to Derbent remaining there for months before setting out south. He became extremely ill and had to be carried in a litter before the army halted at Yerevan.
The court physicians nursed the Shah back to health. Nader Shah was informed that two large Ottoman armies were headed eastward to his borders. One headed to Kars and the other to Mosul. Nader Shah immediately went on to the offensive and also split his forces into two. Nassrollah Mirza, Nader's son, was given a large component of the Persian army with the objective of defeating the Ottomans headed for Mosul and Nader himself set out for Kars where he unsuccessfully besieged the city in 1744.
Nader's army marched west past Yerevan when news was brought of the Ottoman army's departure from Kars under the command of Yegen Mohammad Pasha. Nader continued west and camped upon a hill near Yeghevārd. This was the same hill Nader had made camp on approximately 10 years previously when he had crushed an Ottoman army at the Battle of Yeghevārd. Yegen Pasha advanced until 10-12 kilometres from the Persian army and ordered his men to build extensive fortifications around their camp.[citation needed]
On 9 August the Ottomans began deploying 40,000 Janissary Infantry and 100,000 Sipahi Cavalry in the "European manner" with columns of infantry in the centre, artillery batteries interspersed between these columns and the cavalry in two bodies each on either flank. Nader ordered his Jazāyerchi to advance against the centre and after firing a single massed volley, draw their shamshirs and charge. The battle raged with either side feeding in a steady stream of reinforcements into the centre.[citation needed]
The Ottoman cavalry held back due to their inferiority to their Persian counterparts. Unlike in many other battles Nader fought in his career, he commanded the battle of Kars from his camp with messengers sending out his orders and returning with reports from the battlefield. By afternoon, Nader's retainers brought back reports from the battlefield which indicated there would be no decisive conclusion either way. Nader decided to don his armour and mount his horse.
Nader led a force of 40,000 elite cavalry from the Savaran-e Sepah-e Khorasan (translated as the "Riders of the Army of Khorasan") he had held in reserve against the flank of the Ottoman army in a huge attack. The ferocity of the fighting was such that two horses were shot from under Nader, but the Ottoman army could not sustain the impact of the charge and broke up. A contingent of Anatolian troops from Asia minor (15,000 men in all) fled, leaving the rest of the Ottoman army to retreat in utter chaos and confusion. The Persian army engaged in a pursuit until dusk and subsequently returned to their camp.[citation needed]
On the next day Nader sent forth a fowj (a unit approximately the equivalent of a regiment) to cut the logistical line of the Ottoman army back to Kars. The Persian army began surrounding the Ottoman camp. A few skirmishes ensued but all attempts by the Ottomans to break the encirclement failed. Yegen Pasha attempted to remedy this by deploying his guns. The Persian artillery batteries were deployed and a counter-battery fire was commenced in which the Ottoman artillery was outclassed in both accuracy and rate of fire. Many of Yegen Pasha's artillery pieces were destroyed, their components scattered across the field. This demoralising event brought the Ottomans trapped inside the camp's walls to the brink of mutiny. A stream of deserters came to the Persian camp bringing news of the ongoing turmoil in the Ottoman battlements. In the dark of night the Ottoman army silently abandoned their fortifications and marched west, but the Persian army immediately set out, hot on their heels, caught up and encircled them once more.