AT 1790 year Russian troops under the command of General-in-Chief Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov besieged the Turkish fortress Izmail. Now this town is known not as a formidable Ottoman fortress, but as a small regional center about 200 kilometers from Odessa.
The siege of Ishmael ended with a successful assault, which happened in one day - 22 December on the Gregorian calendar. This event became a key moment of the Russian-Turkish war., which started in 1787 year and ended in 1791. The fall of the fortress led to the loss by the Ottomans of the entire Northern Black Sea region from the mouth of the Danube to the Kuban.
The very fact of a quick capture with minimal losses of fortress was equated by many with a miracle.. To a large extent, this happened thanks to the military leadership talent of Suvorov., why is he honored, praise and our deep bow. This event became one of the most glorious pages in the history of our country..
The Turkish fortress Izmail was surrounded on three sides by powerful fortifications, and on the fourth side flowed the Danube. The besiegers were not allowed to enter the citadel by an earthen rampart with a height of 6 to 8 m, wide moat 12 meters and a depth 6-10 meters and 35 thousandth garrison. The last assault on the fortress was not the only one, it was preceded by several unsuccessful attempts. The Izmail garrison was commanded by an experienced Turkish military leader Mehmet Pasha, known for his response to Suvorov's ultimatum demanding the surrender of the fortress:
Rather, the Danube will flow backwards and the sky will fall to the ground, than surrender Ishmael.
later it turned out, that the garrison commander was deeply mistaken.
There were fewer assaults, than defenders, but they had an advantage in artillery, who bombarded the fortress for 24 hours on the eve of the assault. Starting to storm Izmail in the early morning, Russian troops captured it by 16 sometimes, losing at the same time about two thousand killed and three thousand wounded. During the assault, died 26 thousand Turkish defenders of the fortress, and the rest 9 thousands taken prisoner.
In modern Russia, the date of the capture of Izmail by the Russian army is considered the Day of Military Glory, officially established by the relevant Federal Law 13 Martha 1995 of the year. According to the old Julian calendar, it happened 11 December. But since the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars was in the 18th century 11 days, and in the 20th - 13 days, then the date of the assault on the new style to the last century has shifted from 22 on 24 December.
Therefore, in the Russian Federation, the Day of Military Glory in honor of the capture of the Turkish fortress of Izmail by Russian troops under the command of Suvorov is celebrated 24 December.
Today, the editorial board of Voennoye Obozreniye calls on readers to remember this glorious day in our history., brought unfading glory to Russian weapons.
used photos:https://ru.wikipedia.org/, S. Schiflyar, State Historical Museum, Grevedon
