Battle of Kagul
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The Battle of Kagul was the most important land battle of the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774 and one of the largest battles of the 18th century. It was fought on 21 July 1770, just a fortnight after the Russian victory at Larga. The Russian commander Pyotr Rumyantsev arranged his 17,000 soldiers in solid squares and surprisingly chose to go on the offensive against the allied forces of the Khanate of Crimea and the Ottoman Empire, which were ten times stronger and comprised 50,000 Ottoman infantry and 100,000 Ottoman cavalry. Another 100,000 Tatar cavalry were deployed within 20 versts from the battlefield.
The comparatively small Russian army assaulted the Turks and put them to flight. The Russian casualties were 1,000, while casualties on the Turkish side amounted to over 20,000 soldiers killed and wounded. In the wake of this victory, the Russians captured 363 Turkish cannons and overran all major fortresses in the region - Izmail, Kilia, Akkerman (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi), Brailov (now Brăila), Isaccea, and Bendery (now Tighina).
| Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) |
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| Orlov – Chesma – Larga – Kagul |
In commemoration of the victory, Catherine II of Russia ordered the Kagul Obelisk to be erected in Tsarskoe Selo, while Frederick II of Prussia sent to Rumyantsev a congratulatory letter in which he compared the Russian victory to the deeds of the Ancient Romans. On the same day four years later Russia and Turkey signed the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji ending the war.
