Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 155 Two-Front Offensive
At 8:00 AM, with Isfahani's order, 192 artillery pieces opened fire on Tbilisi. The intense bombardment caught the Russian army off guard, and casualties skyrocketed. Unwilling to see their troops fall, the Russian artillery joined the counterattack. However, the Iranian artillery completely disregarded their own safety, relentlessly bombarding the defensive positions, leaving the commanders bewildered.

After a barrage of artillery fire, the Iranian troops launched their attack. Seeing the enemy's actions, the defending commander realized the danger and quickly opened fire with artillery to stop them. However, due to a limited number of shells, the attack became ineffective after only a few shots.

After enduring artillery fire, the Iranian troops who had launched the charge appeared before Tbilisi, where Austrian soldiers on the positions were also putting up a fierce counterattack. However, there were too many soldiers charging this time, and they were completely overwhelmed. The Iranian troops suffered casualties as they pressed on.

An Iranian soldier, his face contorted in a ferocious grin, roared, halting the Russian soldier before him. He then thrust his bayonet into the soldier's abdomen. The Russian soldier, struck by the bayonet, collapsed to the ground, his eyes gradually losing their color.

In close combat, Iran's advantage gradually became apparent, with small groups often coordinating their attacks. The Russian army's lack of training was also magnified, and coupled with their lower morale compared to the Iranian forces, they gradually found themselves at a disadvantage.

The Russian commander in the church was extremely anxious; he had already committed all available troops to the battle. Now, all he could do was pray for God's protection.

Unfortunately, neither God, Allah, nor Buddha could protect him. Under pressure from the Iranian army, Russian troops began to desert. This further demoralized the remaining Russian soldiers, and the Iranian soldiers, seeing this, became even more emboldened and attacked with greater ferocity. Without reinforcements, the Russian troops, after a brief and desperate resistance, began to retreat.

The defending troops were overwhelmed by the overwhelming force of the Iranian soldiers' attack, and in panic, they turned and fled. The walls of Tbilisi, built decades ago by the Russian army and touted as impregnable, were captured by Iranian forces, who advanced into the inner city. Russian troops and civilians resisted, attempting to delay the Iranian advance.

But the collapse of morale happened in an instant, and more and more defenders could not hold out and surrendered to Iran. Under the overwhelming offensive of Iran, Tbilisi fell on April 22, 1853.

At this time, Britain and France also began their attack on Sevastopol. Because of the Ottomans' poor performance, they were treated extremely badly. According to Brunt, they were frequently beaten, cursed, spat on, and mocked by the British army. In the eyes of the British, they were no different from slaves, ordered to dig trenches or transport heavy supplies. Due to their religious beliefs, most of the rations issued to the British army were inedible for the Ottoman soldiers, so they never had sufficient food supplies.

In severe cases, some Ottoman soldiers began to steal, and were therefore flogged by British commanders far more than the British army's own limit of forty-five lashes.

At this point, the Russian army launched a small-scale counterattack and won. The next day, an Orthodox procession was held in Sevastopol, and captured British cannons were displayed in the streets. Russian soldiers also showed off various other spoils of war: British overcoats, swords, robes, helmets, boots, and warhorses. Morale in Sevastopol was immediately boosted by this victory. For the first time since the defeat at Alma, the Russian army felt that it could compete with the Allied forces.

But many more Russian soldiers were captured by the British, and many surrendered voluntarily or secretly escaped to the British side. They brought with them horrific stories about Sevastopol, saying that water was scarce, hospitals were overcrowded, and the streets were filled with the wounded and cholera patients. A German officer serving in the Russian army told the British that "they had to leave Sevastopol because the city smelled terrible, and the streets were littered with the dead and wounded."

After learning that Napoleon III was preparing to commit more troops to Crimea, Nicholas I believed that Menshkov should take advantage of the Russian army's numerical superiority and break the siege as soon as possible before French reinforcements arrived. He even sent his two sons, Grand Duke Mikhail and Grand Duke Nicholas, to encourage the troops and guarantee the implementation of his plan. Under such pressure, Menshkov finally agreed to launch an offensive, believing that the British army was easier to deal with than the French.

By 5 a.m., the Russian troops had quietly climbed the hill, carrying twenty-two field guns. For the past three days, heavy rains had made the steep slopes muddy and slippery, making it difficult for soldiers and horses to transport the guns up the mountain. That night, the rain stopped, and a thick fog rose, concealing their movement and allowing them to get very close to the British positions. The British sentries failed to detect the Russian approach. To avoid the inclement weather, they moved to a place where they could see nothing. Earlier that evening, they heard the sound of marching troops, but this failed to trigger any alarm.

Before they could react, the sentry post was captured by Russian harassment forces. Immediately afterwards, the vanguard of Russian infantry, numbering six thousand, emerged from the fog. They attacked the enemy, attempting to avenge their previous defeat. The British hastily put up a resistance.

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In the capital Tehran, the former Russian ambassador to Iran, Alexandrovich, returned. He secretly represented Russia in peace talks with Iran.

Nicholas I's health could no longer withstand large-scale stimulation. His ministers and the crown prince decided that the best way to alleviate pressure from Russia was to negotiate peace with Iran. Negotiating with Britain and France would be very difficult, while negotiations with Iran would be relatively easier.

So, just a few days after returning to St. Petersburg, the ambassador was taken to Tehran for peace talks. His goal was to delay the talks, ideally for ten months or a year. He believed that once Crimea was resolved, the Caucasus issue would be easily solved.

“It’s been a long time, Mr. Alexandrovich.”

"Yes. Long time no see."

Pezeshkian was in charge of the discussion with the special envoy, who changed his previous arrogance and started talking about the friendship between the two countries.

"The friendship between Russia and Iran dates back to the time of Peter the Great, when your Shah personally presented the Emperor with the Holy Robe of Mary. The Patriarch used this robe to heal hundreds of patients, which was the deepest period of friendship between the two countries."

“Yes, that was true back then,” Pezeshkian said. “But everything changed decades ago. War replaced peace, and I don’t know who caused it.”

(End of this chapter)