Anapa Campaign (1790)

The Anapa Campaign in the winter of 1790 was a military expedition launched by Russia to capture the fortress of Anapa. The expedition failed.

Background
The fort of Anapa is located on Krasnodar Krai and facing the black sea and Crimea. In the past centuries, it was a trading post where Turks, Greeks, and Genoese people came to buy slaves from Circassia and Abkhazia. By the end of the 18th century, the fort became a battleground between the Ottomans, Russians, Circassians, Crimeans, and Nogai people due to its location. In 1787, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. The Chechen leader, Sheikh Mansur, who was allied with the Ottomans at the time, took a position to defend Anapa from the Russian army.

Campaign
In March 1790, Russia dispatched a military expedition to conquer the Ottoman fort of Anapa. The fort had a garrison of 15,000 men, led by Battal Hussein Pasha. The Russians were led by General Yuri Bibikov, who had a force of 12,000 men. Bibikov arrived at a village near the fort and attacked it; he also began attacking Circassian and Nogai tribes, defeating them. Pasha dispatched a force under Kose Mustasa Pasha to aid the tribes; however, he was defeated and forced back to the fort.

After his victory, Yuri attacked the fort of Anapa on March 24. The Russian troops did not have scaling ladders, horses, or food, and the hostile Caucasian population began attacking them. The Russian attack on the fort was also repulsed by heavy Ottoman artillery and attacks from the forces of Sheikh Mansur. As a result, the Russians called off the attack and withdrew. Yuri lost 5,000 men and 1,000 sick and wounded died 40 days later. The Russian Tsarina, Catherine the Great, dismissed Yuri, who was later sent for trial.