Re: Russo-Turkish War (1703 - 1707)

[TLS]

Moscow Campaign

Winter-Spring, 1707

Both armies, the Allied and Russian, spend the Winter turn hunkering down and preparing for what will likely be the decisive campaign year ahead of them. The Russian economy has been heavily battered by years of raids and sackings--the Ukraine lies desolate, Smolensk has been captured, and credit lines are burdening the country to the end of its leash. The Poles and Ottomans are also bloodied, both in terms of men and finances, but more of the core of their realms remain under their control and provide income for the coming year ahead. The Russians again aid and abet General Winter in his campaign against the invaders through their partial destruction of Smolensk (the Polish cavalry brigade is shattered, and its remnants are merged with the 2 cavalry regiments to create 1 full cavalry brigade, while the Ottoman vassal brigades, both Crimean and Romanian, are reduced to battalions) but not on the same scale as the year before, both due to the fact Smolensk is more intact and the winter is not quite as harsh.

With the Spring thaw, Augustus sets out for Moscow at the head of the large army. The Russians under Menshikov anticipate his move and strike out to reinforce Moscow, where the Tsar has been raising new units in a hurried attempt to prevent the fall of his erstwhile capital. Smolensk, however, is much closer to Moscow than Pskov is, and Augustus hits the gates of Moscow a good three weeks ahead of Menshikov’s army.

Battle of Moscow, May 10

Allies (Under command of Augustus)
-5 Polish Infantry Brigades
-1 Polish Cavalry Brigade
-1 Ottoman Infantry Brigade
-1 Romanian Infantry Battalion
-1 Crimean Infantry Battalion

Russians
-1 Fortress
-1 Garrison Brigade
-2 Militia Infantry Brigades

Augustus finds Moscow in a state of preparation for the coming onslaught, but not exactly an impregnable wall of fire and steel. The Russians have hurriedly raised some militia, but the core of their regular forces are marching from Pskov. Though attacking a fortified city is never an easy task (Russians get FF turns), he pushes ahead, relying on his overwhelming numbers in an attempt to take the city. The Allied army is able to inflict heavy casualties in its first push on the city, though Augustus’ infantry core takes a strong hit in so doing (2 Polish Infantry brigades shattered, Russians lose Garrison and 2 Mil brigades shattered). The Muscovite fortress refuses to surrender even in light of these heavy casualties, and thus Augustus keeps up the pressure and sends a second wave into the breach. The sole Russian fortress again inflicts substantial hits on the Poles, but it is ultimately overcome (Russian fortress destroyed, 1 Polish infantry brigade and 1 Polish cavalry brigade shattered).

Casualties of the Battle of Moscow

Poland (5,000 casualties)
-3 Infantry brigades shattered, reformed into 1 brigade, 1 battalion (3,750 casualties)
-1 Polish cavalry brigade shattered, reformed into 1 regiment (1,250 casualties)

Russia (4,750 casualties, 3,750 captured)
-1 Fortress destroyed (1,000 casualties)
-1 Garrison shattered (1,250 casualties, 1,250 captured)
-2 Militia brigades shattered (2,500 casualties, 2,500 captured)

While the Tsar has already evacuated Moscow, a city for which he holds little love due to his plans for a new capital at St. Petersburg, the loss of the Muscovite heartland is a heavy blow. Menshikov arrives outside the city in early June, dismayed to find that his charge to defend the city has met with failure without his men spilling a drop of their own blood. He takes up positions around Moscow upon his arrival, preparing to besiege the city if that is what his Tsar so desires, though cognizant that the Tsardom may not recover from this loss.

Forces in theater, end of Spring

Poland

Moscow (under the command of Augustus)
-3 Infantry Brigades
-1 Infantry Battalion
-1 Cavalry Regiment

Ottomans

Moscow
-1 Infantry Brigade
-1 Romanian Battalion
-1 Crimean Infantry battalion

Russia

Outside Moscow (Under the command of Menshikov)
-4 Infantry brigades
-1 Infantry brigade (in training)
-1 militia infantry brigade
-1 cavalry brigade
-1 militia cavalry brigade

[TLS]

Leszczynski’s Rebellion

Winter-Spring, 1707

Though he does not know the eventual fate of his Russian sponsors, Leszczynski can see well enough by the start of 1707 that he needs to gain further momentum to continue his struggle against the Saxon king. He has exhausted whatever support he can derive from the Ruthenian voivodeships and his spies tell him that the Royalists slowly cobbling together a large force to trap him, and then destroy him, in Lwow. The Russian garrison in Kiev secures his supply lines to Russia, allowing the flow of weapons and gold to continue, but does not move to join his endeavor into the Polish interior. The only advantage he has is that the Royalists have yet to consolidate their armies, and are currently split between Warsaw and Krakow. He thus sets off into the heart of Poland and the old Polish capital at Krakow, seeing to score a proper victory and hopefully rally more of the Polish nobility to his cause. During his march through Lesser Poland he is able to attract small bands to follow him (1 militia infantry brigade), though is unable to get the garrison to defect en masse and is forced to attempt to take the city through force of arms.

The Battle of Krakow, April 29, 1707

Poland
-1 Fortress
-1 Infantry Brigade

Rebels
-1 Infantry Brigade
-1 Cavalry Brigade
-3 Militia Infantry Brigades

Though the Rebels outnumber the defenders almost 3-1, the discrepancy of arms and strength of the Royalist position (FF turn) do not play to Leszczynski’s favor. He sends wave after wave of his men against the Royal city, taking substantial hits and inflicting little in the turn (1st FF 1 Mil brig shattered, 1st MF 1 Mil brig shattered with no hits, 2nd FF 1 cav brig shattered), and though in his last push he is able to push further in and hit the Royalist garrison his army is ultimately turned back before it can take the Fortress itself (2nd MF 1 Polish inf brigade shattered, 1 Rebel inf brigade and 1 mil brigade shattered)

Casualties of the Battle of Krakow

Poland (1,250 casualties)
-1 Infantry brigade shattered, reduced to battalion (1,250 casualties)

Rebels (6,250 casualties, 1,250 deserted)
-1 Inf brigade shattered, reduced to battalion (1,250 casualties)
-1 Cav brigade shattered, reduced to regiment (1,250 casualties)
-3 Militia infantry brigades shattered, reduced to 1 (3,750 casualties, 1,250 deserted)

Leszczynski is thus forced to march a furious retreat back to his positions at Lwow in shame, having lost over half of his army in the attempt to take Krakow. Meanwhile, the Royalists spend the Spring turn consolidating regular units from across their territories, and have amassed an ominously named “Army of Justice” in Warsaw. The military threat of Leszczynski’s rebellion has been beaten back, but it has not yet been extinguished.

Forces in theater, end of Spring

Royalist

Krakow
-1 Fortress
-1 Infantry Battalion

Warsaw
-2 Infantry Brigades
-1 Cavalry Brigade
-2 Saxon Infantry Brigades

Rebels

Lwow [Under the command of Leszczynski]
-1 Infantry Battalion
-1 Cavalry Regiment
-1 Militia Brigade

[Lefty]

Augustus sends out an emissary asking for the original terms: Estonia and restoration of borders taken after the Truce of Andrusovo, including Smolensk and Kiev. Augustus promises protection for Muscovy and captured soldiers.

[Reddawn]

Augustus sends out an emissary asking for the original terms: Estonia and restoration of borders taken after the Truce of Andrusovo, including Smolensk and Kiev. Augustus promises protection for Muscovy and captured soldiers.

Tsar Peter considers these terms onerous, and remarks that the phrase "Eternal Peace" must have a different meaning in Poland than it does in Russia. He will entertain peace for Kiev or Smolensk, not both, and not Estonia.

[Ottoman]

The Ottomans send a envoy with their terms for peace to Russians

Agree not to fortify Kiev and Kharkov
6 points of payment, at 1 point/year beginning when the war concludes
20 year nonaggression pact between Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and our vassals

[Reddawn]

The Ottomans send a envoy with their terms for peace to Russians

Agree not to fortify Kiev and Kharkov
6 points of payment, at 1 point/year beginning when the war  concludes
20 year nonaggression pact between Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and our vassals

Peter accepts these terms, and would allow the Ottomans to parole safely from Moscow, on the condition that it is a separate peace, and the payments occur at the conclusion of the war with the Poles.

[Ottoman]

The Ottomans send a envoy with their terms for peace to Russians

Agree not to fortify Kiev and Kharkov
6 points of payment, at 1 point/year beginning when the war  concludes
20 year nonaggression pact between Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and our vassals

Peter accepts these terms, and would allow the Ottomans to parole safely from Moscow, on the condition that it is a separate peace, and the payments occur at the conclusion of the war with the Poles.

Ottomans response that they can't accept peace until peace with Poles occurs well.

[Reddawn]

The Ottomans send a envoy with their terms for peace to Russians

Agree not to fortify Kiev and Kharkov
6 points of payment, at 1 point/year beginning when the war  concludes
20 year nonaggression pact between Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and our vassals

Peter accepts these terms, and would allow the Ottomans to parole safely from Moscow, on the condition that it is a separate peace, and the payments occur at the conclusion of the war with the Poles.

Ottomans response that they can't accept peace until peace with Poles occurs well.

If the Ottomans support the onerous Polish terms, the war must continue.

[TLS]

Moscow Campaign

Summer, 1707

Augustus has taken Moscow and sits in the Kremlin like the Polish kings of old, fancying himself the new Sigismund III--the last Polish king to have marched into Muscovy at the head of an army. However, he is shocked when the Russians refuse his reasonable terms, and, indeed, have the gall to not only not surrender, but to actively besiege him in their fallen capital. He has no desire to end up like his slain rival, Charles, dead at the end of a bloody siege, and decides that the best defense is a strong offense. Thus, before the Russians are able to properly invest the siege, he sallies his allied army once more to destroy Menshikov’s army.

2nd Battle of Moscow, June 2

Allies (Under command of Augustus)
-3 Polish Infantry Brigades
-1 Polish Infantry Battalion
-1 Polish Cavalry Regiment
-1 Infantry Brigade
-1 Romanian Infantry Battalion
-1 Crimean Infantry battalion

Russians
-4 Infantry brigades
-1 Infantry brigade (in training)
-1 militia infantry brigade
-1 cavalry brigade
-1 militia cavalry brigade

Menshikov has yet to fully invest the siege--his previous orders indicated the Tsar would be inclined to peace in the event of the loss of Moscow, and his sovereign’s newly inspired desire to fight to the death caught him off guard. Thus, he has yet to properly build defensive positions (neither side gets a benefit) when he sees that Augustus is sallying forth in glory from the walls of the captured capital. Neither man has any intention of flinching or giving the battle anything less than their all--come hell or high water, they know that at least one of the two will leave the field in disgrace, chains, or a coffin.

The Polish army is smaller in terms of manpower, but consists solely of regulars, while the larger Russian army has a larger contingent of militiamen or hastily scrambled recruits, so the forces stand almost entirely equal in terms of firepower (the Allies have 4 units which hit on a 1-4 and 4 that only hit on 1, while the Russians have 4 which hit on 1-4, 1 which hits on 1-3, and 3 which hit only on 1). This parity becomes readily apparent in the first round of combat, in the mid-morning, as the two armies engage for the first time on what will be a long and bloody day (Allies lose 1 Polish infantry brigade, 1 Ottoman infantry brigade, and 1 Romanian infantry battalion, while the Russians lose 1 infantry brigade, 1 militia cavalry, and 1 militia infantry shattered). Menshikov feels that he has gotten the better of the first engagement, as he can see that the Allied infantry core has been heavily pummeled, but his advantage is soon negated when the armies re-engage. By early afternoon the armies have lost almost all of their core forces (Russians lose 2 infantry brigades, Allies lose 1 Polish infantry brigade and 1 cavalry regiment), but still neither man will yield.

The day drags on as blood and acrid smoke rises from the field with the increasingly exhausted armies still surging back and forth across the ground beside the Moskva river. The armies, now reduced to only fragments of their full strength capable of meaningful combat, seem to be on track for another inconclusive set of engagements when the Poles finally manage to achieve a measure of tactical dominance (the Russians lose 1 mil infantry, 1 cavalry brigade, while the Poles only lose an infantry battalion). During the combat Augustus--never one to flinch from engaging in combat--is struck in the arm by a Russian bullet and knocked from his horse. His lieutenants quickly drag him from the fighting, and the loss is obfuscated by the haze of war. He deliriously yells “press the attack! To the last man!” as he fades out of consciousness, and his forces do just that. The summer day lasts long this far north, and thus the fighting continues even into the twilight hours. Finally, the Poles and Russians meet in one last bloody and chaotic melee, with only the slight Polish superiority in numbers carrying the day (Russia and and Poles each lose an infantry brigade, the Poles hold the field by virtue of their single infantry battalion remaining in fighting shape).

Unbeknownst to the Poles, Augustus’s injuries were not the only wounds inflicted on a commander. Menshikov, though less prone to throwing himself into the thick of combat, sought to rally the flagging cavalry when he was similarly hit. The captain of the Polish infantry battalion comes across the dying Menshikov under a tree, accompanied by his beleaguered aides-de-camp. Though the Polish captain hurriedly barks for his battalion’s surgeon to be brought, Menshikov is clearly beyond saving, and soon passes with a “gospodiy pomiloy” on his lips.

Casualties of the 2nd Battle of Moscow

Allies (7,000 casualties)
-3 Polish Infantry Brigades, shattered, reduced to 1 brigade and 1 battalion (3,750 casualties)
-1 Polish Cavalry Regiment destroyed (1,000 casualties)
-1 Ottoman Infantry Brigade shattered, reduced to 1 battalion (1,250 casualties)
-1 Romanian Infantry Battalion, shattered, merged with crimeans (500 casualties)
-1 Crimean Infantry battalion, shattered, merged with romanians (500 casualties)

Russia (11,250 casualties)
-4 Infantry brigades shattered, reduced to 2 (5,000 casualties)
-1 Infantry brigade (training) shattered, merged with mil inf brigade (1,250 casualties)
-1 militia infantry brigade shattered, merged with mil inf brigade (1,250 casualties)
-1 cavalry brigade shattered, reduced to regiment (1,250 casualties)
-1 militia cavalry brigade destroyed (2,500 casualties)

When Augustus regains consciousness two days later (and missing an arm) and learns of the death of Menshikov, he hurriedly calls for the most important Russian priest he can find to ensure that Menshikov is buried with full honors within the Kremlin. The Russian army, able to otherwise retreat due to the complete destruction of the Polish cavalry, retreats to the nearby city of Tver--intent on blocking any potential Polish advance. The forward elements of the Russian reinforcements from Kiev, the cavalry, arrive barely over a week from the battle to see the fresh signs of a large battle and the Polish banners still flying from the Kremlin. At this point the Cossack forces under Mazepa decide that they have no interest in chaining themselves to a corpse and declare that they will return to the south. The Russian cavalry return to the main host of the garrison from Kiev, commanded by Fyodor Apraksin, who decides that the best course of action is to regroup at Tver.

Meanwhile, the Polish army continues to swing into motion. Deeming Leszczynski’s rebellion to be sufficiently contained, the army raised to crush his rebellion is instead sent to relieve (and then, when they learn of the victory, reinforce) the King at Moscow. The army is able to reach Smolensk by the end of the season. Simultaneously, in an attempt to define the realities on the ground before re-engaging the Russians in negotiations, the infantry brigade at Windau is sent north to properly seize Reval from the Russians and is able to waltz into the city for the second time in a year.

Forces in theater, end of Summer

Poland

Moscow (under the command of Augustus)
-1 Infantry Brigade
-2 Infantry Battalions

Orsha
-2 Infantry Brigades
-1 Cavalry Brigade
-2 Saxon Infantry Brigades

Reval
-1 Infantry Brigade

Ottomans

Moscow
-1 Infantry Battalion
-1 Romanian/Crimean Battalion

Russia

Tver (under the command of Apraksin)
-2 Infantry brigades
-2 cavalry regiments
-1 infantry battalion
-2 Militia infantry brigade

[Lefty]

A second emissary is sent to Tver, asking for peace, same terms as before: Overturning of Andrusovo, including Smolensk and Kiev, cession of Estonia to Poland, and the terms of the Ottomans: 1 point a year for 6 years, de-fortified Kharkov area, and a 20 year peace between the Ottoman Empire, her vassals, and Russia. The Polish Crown also seeks a non-aggression pact.

[Reddawn]

A second emissary is sent to Tver, asking for peace, same terms as before: Overturning of Andrusovo, including Smolensk and Kiev, cession of Estonia to Poland, and the terms of the Ottomans: 1 point a year for 6 years, de-fortified Kharkov area, and a 20 year peace between the Ottoman Empire, her vassals, and Russia. The Polish Crown also seeks a non-aggression pact.

Having suffered another defeat, Tsar Peter is devastated by the reversals in Russia’s position in such a short time, from a promising rising power to a crippled and defeated nation, its capital occupied. Russia is now prostrate and friendless. With news of a second Polish force approaching, Peter accepts these terms, with a clarification that the nonaggression pact with Poland have an initial term of 20 years.

[Lefty]

Augustus accepts the terms, including the non-aggression pact, and notes he will bring the treaty to the Sejm for approval.

[Lefty]

As the snows begin to fall, an emissary is sent to Lviv asking the rebel armies led by Leszczynski to surrender, and cease his pointless campaign to overthrow the king.

[Ottoman]

With peace in effect, the Ottomans withdraw their forces from Russia and the Sultan returns to Kostantiniyye to celebrate the victory over the Russian barbarians.

[TLS]

As the snows begin to fall, an emissary is sent to Lviv asking the rebel armies led by Leszczynski to surrender, and cease his pointless campaign to overthrow the king.

Recognizing that the jig is up, Leszczynski sends an emissary to the Sejm offering to lay down his arms in return for the recognition of his right to have taken up arms under the ancient privilege of the Rokosz. The Sejm is eager to both bring an end to the conflict and deny the monarchy an opportunity to crush the rebellion by force of arms, and his offer is accepted. Leszczynski himself is placed under a ban from participating in the Sejm or from voting in the next royal election, but is otherwise allowed to return to his lands unaccosted.

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