Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 159 Collapse
The Russian forces in the Caucasus were at their wits' end, retreating again and again after the fall of Gori. After losing a series of strongholds, the Iranian army was now not far from Sukhumi.

At this very moment, Vorontsov's health finally gave out. On July 26, Vorontsov died in Sukhumi at the age of 71.

The governor's death severely damaged the morale of the remaining Russian troops, who could only cower in Sukhumi awaiting rescue. Meanwhile, in Batalpashenskaya, a state-building ceremony was underway.

In the presence of 28 Circassian elders and over a hundred important figures, the Circassians finally gained independence from the Russian Empire.

The newly formed nation was named Czerksia, with Shia Islam as its state religion. Because the Sunni leader could not offer them any assistance, they had no choice but to seek help from Iran.

Cerksia has blocked Russia's second route to the South Caucasus, and now only Sukhumi remains a point of contact. Unfortunately, Russia still considers Sevastopol the most important.

Nicholas I's previous command was dismantled, and due to the war, uprisings broke out in areas where the rule was weaker.

In Kazakhstan, herders who refused to submit to Russian rule launched a rebellion; in the Caucasus and Poland, more than a dozen guerrilla groups fought against Russia; and in the North Caucasus, Crescent Moon Christians launched attacks everywhere, causing chaos in areas south of Tsaritsyn and Rostov.

The Russian troops preparing to rescue the South Caucasus had to cross swamps and guerrilla-infested areas in the south, but most of them were serfs who had been temporarily conscripted. They were not very good at fighting, were poorly trained, and lacked supplies. How could such an army fight a war?

The Russian people's patience seemed to have finally reached its limit. Anti-war propaganda in the streets became more frequent, and local governments naturally cracked down relentlessly. Nicholas I's health remained uncertain, as it was unknown how long the Tsar could hold on.

A large group of people had gathered in a house outside Moscow. Most of them were highly educated intellectuals, and they were discussing a major matter concerning the future. Thick curtains were drawn over all the windows, and the house was surrounded by vigilant guards.

These people did not attend the Slavic march in the city center because their views differed from those of the Slavophiles. They were members of the Russian populists.

After the failure of the European revolutions in 1848, Alexander Herzen, who was wandering in Europe, reflected on the situation and concluded that the foundation of socialism—the village commune—existed in Russia, thus giving birth to his Russianist ideology.

Under his influence, Russian intellectuals, represented by Chernyshevsky, began to form a series of organizations. They inherited most of the ideas of the Decembrists, while paying more attention to peasant revolution.

"As everyone can see, the current situation of the war is inevitable. At this point, we must make our own decisions for the future of Russia. Today's decisions will be recorded in history, and even if we fail, they will remind future generations that there is still a way to save Russia."

Upon his return from exile, Herzen addressed the attendees, emphasizing the importance of this secret meeting.

"I hope you can go to the countryside and see the farmers. They are the foundation of the entire country. The defeat in this war will cause them great losses, and this will be the best opportunity to change this country."

Everyone malfunctioned, but two reacted most strongly: Nikolai Platonovich Ogarev and 18-year-old Nikolai Chernyshevsky.

Ogarev was born into a noble family in St. Petersburg. He later moved to Moscow. As a boy, he met Herzen, and the two swore an oath on Sparrow Hills in Moscow to carry on the revolutionary cause of the Decembrists and dedicate themselves to the liberation of the Russian people. Together with Herzen, he founded the North Star newspaper, calling on the people to overthrow the Tsar. At this time, war was threatening to devastate Russia.

By this time, Russia had exhibited all the signs of an economic crisis: sluggish trade, weak production, currency devaluation, and fiscal bankruptcy. Under these circumstances, peasant uprisings began. Although modern plantations and farms existed in the Baltic region, in many other areas, communal land ownership and medieval strip farming systems eliminated the incentive for individual farming.

Even in rapidly developing cities, workers are forced to contend with inadequate drainage systems, pollution, appalling housing conditions, and high taxes. This has led to rampant alcoholism, a temporary escape from the harsh realities of life.

In the Poltava and Tambov provinces, much of the land lay fallow; manor houses were burned down, and livestock were butchered. In central Russia, unrest broke out in 68 districts, and 66 plantations were destroyed. The worst-hit area was Saratov.

Meanwhile, the Russification policies targeting ethnic minorities pushed Lithuanians, Poles, Estonians, and others to the opposite side. Riots erupted repeatedly, plunging the entire country into turmoil.

On August 2, revolutionaries in Russia formed the Land and Freedom Society. They advocated overthrowing the Tsar and serfdom, establishing a republic, and began their activities in various places.

In Ukraine, an important agricultural region of Russia, serfs in more than a dozen cities broke out in protests, burning down plantations and fleeing, and the protests quickly spread to the Polish region bordering Austria.

The turmoil in the rear and the defeat at the front complemented each other. In an attempt to cut off the supply line to Sevastopol, the Anglo-French forces launched an attack on Kerch, which controlled the supply line to the Sea of ​​Azov. After paying a heavy price, Kerch was finally captured.

During the preceding winter months, the siege entered a period of relative calm as both sides focused on fortifying their defenses. While the work of building fortifications resulted in little major fighting, the Russian forces did launch sporadic attacks on the Anglo-French trenches, with little success.

Gradually, as neither side made much progress in the siege, the exchange of fire became symbolic. When there was nothing else to do, and the soldiers grew increasingly bored, they turned the firefight into a sporting activity. One side would tie a piece of cloth to the tip of their rifle bayonet and extend it out of the trench to serve as a target for the other to aim at and shoot. If the other side hit, they would cheer and shout; if they missed, they would boo.

With the arrival of spring, the Allied forces launched an offensive. The shelling continued relentlessly, with at least two thousand artillery shells falling on the bastions every day. After the large-scale shelling ended, the Russian army counted 160,000 artillery shells and mortar shells that had landed in Sevastopol, destroying hundreds of houses and killing or wounding 4700 soldiers and civilians.

The Russian army also deployed 409 artillery pieces and 57 mortars in retaliation, firing a total of 80000 cannon shells and grenades over ten days. However, the Russian army quickly discovered that it lacked ammunition and could not sustain a high-intensity artillery counterattack. Therefore, it could only retaliate at appropriate times.

The reduced Russian firepower gave the Allied forces the initiative, and the shelling intensified. On August 15, the infantry launched an offensive and quickly captured two bastions.

At this time, the Russian army was in the same situation as the Russian army in the Caucasus. The engineering genius Totleyben was seriously wounded in the shelling and had to retreat to the second line. Six days later, Nakhimov, the hero of the Sinop naval battle, was hit in the face by a bullet while inspecting the gun emplacements of the bastion. He was then sent back to his residence and died after being in a coma for two days.

The departure of the two heroes demoralized the Russian army. They repelled enemy attacks on other fortresses, but the most important Malakhov fortress was captured, forcing the defenders to retreat from Sevastopol.

On the night of September 2nd, the Russian commander ordered the complete evacuation of all military and civilian personnel on the south bank. Before retreating, the Russian army destroyed military installations and burned supplies. The night sky was reddened by the flames of burning houses, and the distant sounds of artillery fire from the bastions mingled with the explosions within Sevastopol, making them indistinguishable from one another. The crossing was completed the following morning. The last garrison received the signal to leave the bastions and burn the city. They used their remaining cannons to sink the last ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the harbor before retreating to the north bank.

(End of this chapter)