Battle of Cahul

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Battle of Cahul
Date 21 July 1770 Location Larga river Result Decisive Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire Khanate of Crimea
Commanders
Pyotr Rumyantsev
Strength
17,000	100,000 cavalry, 15,000 infantry, 100,000 Crimean Tatar cavalry
Casualties and losses
1000 killed and wounded	20,000 killed and wounded, 363 guns, all major fortresses overrun

The Battle of Cahul 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 army of 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 50,000 Ottoman infantry and 100,000 Ottoman cavalry. Another 100,000 Crimean 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 - İşmasıl (now Izmail), Kilya (now Kilia), Akkerman (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi), Ibrail (now Brăila), Isaccea, and Bender (modern Bendery).

Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) Orlov – Chesma – Larga – Cahul

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 Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.

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