The Chyhyryn campaign or Chigirin campaign was an unsuccessful siege conducted by the Russian-Cossack forces in order to oust Petro Doroshenko from power, along with Ottoman–

Crimean Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

forces on his side.

Prelude

On June 9, Doroshenko attempted to ambush the Cossack-Russian forces during their campaign. However, Doroshenko's Cossack–Tatar detachment was defeated and he fled to

Chyhyryn Chyhyryn ( ; ) is a city in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located on Tiasmyn river not far where it enters Dnieper. From 1648 to 1669, the city served as the residence of the hetman of the Zaporizhian Host. After a f ...

. Doroshenko was now at risk of being decisively defeated and captured in his fortress, so he had to ask

Mehmed IV Mehmed IV (; ; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693), nicknamed as Mehmed the Hunter (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of six after his father was overthrown in a coup. Mehmed went on to b ...

for military support, but Ottoman army could only arrive later. On July 20, Russian-Cossack forces crossed the Dnieper and headed for Chyhyryn. Sultan was informed of this and forced to divert his forces from operations in Poland to assist Doroshenko.

Campaign

On July 23, Russian–Cossack forces besieged Chyhyryn. Doroshenko attempted counterattack, which was unsuccessful. However, the Russian army was in poor shape, only 11,463 Russian troops were combat-ready. There were 15,000-20,000 left-bank Cossacks.В. С. Великанов (2021). p. 39. On July 26, Russian troops shelled Chyhyryn. However, there was a lack of large-caliber artillery so it wasn't possible to demolish the fortress. Grigory Romodanovsky chose to blockade the fortress as an alternative. On July 28, Doroshenko was sent an offer to capitulate, which he rejected. On July 29-30, Ottoman army headed to

Uman Uman (, , ) is a city in Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the east of the historical region of Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River. Uman serves as the administrative c ...

. During August 7-9, Ottoman forces fought with Ladyzhyn garrison, which eventually came under Ottoman control and the settlement was sacked. Russian-Cossack forces learnt about the approach of main Ottoman army, so they were forced to abandon their plans and retreat.

Aftermath

The Ottoman-led army forced the Russian–Cossack forces to lift the siege of

with their actions. On August 12, main Cossack-Russian forces retreated to

Cherkasy Cherkasy (, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy serves as the administrative centre of Cherkasy Oblast as well as Cherkasy Raion within the oblast. The city has a population of Cherkasy is the cultural, educational and industrial centre ...

. On August 14, Cossack–Tatar forces pursued them there, but didn't make large-scale assaults and withdrew the same day. On August 25, Ottoman-Crimean army captured Uman. However, on August 29, Ottoman-Crimean forces made a decision not to make further advances. Ottoman-Crimean army ravaged settlements on the way back.В. С. Великанов (2021). p. 44.

Notes

References

{{reflist 1674 in Europe Conflicts in 1674 Sieges involving the Tsardom of Russia Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire Battles involving the Crimean Khanate Military history of Zaporizhzhia Military history of Ukraine Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681)