Seven Months' War

The Seven Months' War (, ); also known as the Prince-Noble War (, ) or the Qurey War () was a stage on the eastern theater of the Russo-Circassian War (1763-1864) in 1779 between the Russian Empire and the Grand Principality of Kabardia. It was the largest conflict in the war up to that time. The Circassians referred to it as the "Seven Months' War" because they considered the war to have lasted from its beginning in March until the final major battle in September.

Background

The foundation of Mozdok Fortress in 1763 marked the beginning of Russia's conquest of the Caucasus. The free use of migration routes was crucial for the Kabardians, Abazins, Ossetians and Balkars, who mainly made their living from animal husbandry. However, Russia’s expansionism that started with Mozdok Fortress was cutting off these vital routes, causing the Kabardian economy to collapse, leaving the people impoverished and under harsh living conditions. Two aristocratic factions of Kabardia, Baksan and Kashkhatau, united against the Russian threat. In 1774, Russia pursued to take over the northern lands of Kabardia and continued to build the Kizlyar-Mozdok Line, citing the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca as the reason. Although the Kabardian independence had earlier been recognized by the two states, the Ottoman Empire under the Russian pressure agreed to cede Kabardia which had never been subject to it. Thus, the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca allowed Russia to strengthen its claims over Kabardia's territory by political means. This occupation worsened the socio-economic situation of the Kabardian people. All diplomatic efforts to stop the invasion were unsuccessful.

On May 21, 1777, Russian General was appointed as the commander of the Caucasus Corps, replacing General . In the same year, Russia started to build ten fortresses along the new line from Mozdok to Azov in a distance of 500+ kilometers with the order of President of the College of War, Grigory Potemkin. In a letter written by the Kabardian leaders to Catherine II in 1782, the main reason for all their disaffections and clashes was cited as the Russian fortifications along the Azov-Mozdok Line.

Along with the fortresses; outposts, forts, redoubts and stanitsas were also established. Cossacks were resettled on the line including the Volga and Khopyor Cossacks who participated in the Pugachev's Rebellion and exiled there. Russia continued to invade the northern Kabardian lands. This line deprived the Kabardians of their northern territories, which not only served as prime wintering grounds for their horse and cattle herds but also contained valuable arable land. As a result, the lack of sufficient pastureland at certain times caused widespread unrest among the majority of the population. The most significant lost grazing areas was the Qurey Plain ().

The Kabardians attempted to several attacks to prevent the construction of the fortresses. By the order of Yakobi, the Khopyor and Volga Cossack regiments were established, which were tasked with permanently guarding the line. was built by Russian and Cossack troops, with the involvement of subjects loyal to the Russians. Durable and expensive materials were used in the construction of the fortresses. To accelerate the construction, serfs faced increased pressure. The Azov-Mozdok Line's functions and objectives were as follows:

* Protection of the southern provinces from attacks by the North Caucasian groups, including the protection of the territories of the North Caucasus.
* Subjugating the North Caucasians and repelling any enemy force including the Ottoman forces.
* Ensuring connection with South Caucasus (protection of the Georgian Military Road).
* Deploying reserve and outpost units to the south of Russia.

Potemkin also stated that the new line would benefit groups under Russian protection, while isolating the Circassian and Abaza tribes from their usual trade routes and grazing lands. He included saying that these lands should be used by Russians and their subjects instead. He described the region as economically valuable, suitable for farming, livestock, and other production. The line was also meant to reduce smuggling, improve tax collection, strengthen military security, and shorten transport routes between key areas of Caucasus.

By 1779, the fortresses built along the Azov-Mozdok Line on Circassian territory were: Yekaterinograd, Pavlovsk, , Georgiyevsk, Alexeyevsky, Alexandrovsky (Andreyevsky), and Stavropol. Pavlovsk also served as General Yakobi's main headquarters. After the fortresses were built, Cossack stanitsas were established in the new Russian territories. Stanitsas bearing the same names as the fortresses were also established in their vicinity. The Russian government frequently used the Cossacks to colonize Circassia and consistently ignored the acts of plunder and massacre the Cossacks committed against the local population throughout the century-long Russo-Circassian War. The main and the most guarded fortress of the line was the Marinskaya Fortress (near the present-day Fazannyi village). The Marinskaya, Georgiyevsk, and Pavlovsk Fortresses were built in the main Kabardian regions, restricting their movement with herds to the Setey and Qurey Plains, and the Kabardians, particularly sought to destroy these fortresses. In 1779, the Moskovskaya and Donskaya Fortresses were built to strengthen the western part of the line. The Kabardian princes were secretly forming an alliance with the neighboring tribes.

Early Clashes

Signs of unrest in response to the growing Russian presence began to surface in October 1777. Shortly after the construction of the line had begun, General Yakobi received reports that the Besleney and Chemguy Circassians had gathered near Beshtau. Unidentified Circassian groups were also reported to have attacked Cossacks near Madzhar. According to Colonel Dmitry Tuganov, 800 Besleney, Chemguy, and Abaza warriors under the command of Kaziy Giray Sultan joined forces with approximately 4,000 Kabardians with the intent of launching attacks on Russian positions along the line.

The Russians intercepted a letter from the Kuban Nogai princes of Taganov and Akhlov to Prince Misost Bematiqo, falsely claiming the fortifications were built against the Czarina's will and urging their destruction.

Diplomatic efforts yielding no results with the Russians, in 1778, the Kabardians and their allies started their attacks on the line to stop the Russian expansion. In January, 3,000 Kabardians were going to attack the Petrovsk Fort, but the garrison abandoned the fort when they received the possible Kabardian attack and the Kabardians captured the fort without fighting. Kabardian forces, consisting of 4,000 cavalry commanded by Prince Dulak (or Chulak Sultan) attacked the Pavlovsk Fortress in June but was repelled by Colonel Baron Wilhelm von Asheraden, Russians lost 40 men. After this attack, the units on the fortification line were reinforced. On June 4, Kabardians launched an assault on Stavropol Fortress but repelled. On September 23, under the command of Dulak Sultan, they attacked the Arkhangelsk Redoubt. In December, the Kabardians looted a Russian fortress. At the end of 1778, Kabardians tried diplomatic solutions again, but they were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile in Kuban, General Suvorov's army frequently clashed with local Circassian tribes. In April 1778, Suvorov’s successor noted that the region was becoming increasingly dangerous and requested reinforcements from Yakobi.

The National Congress

On March 29, 1779, the Kabardian nobles and princes held a nationwide congress with the participation of Chemguy and Besleney princes. Prince Hamirza Qeytuqo, one of the main organizers of the war against the Russians, rallied the Kabardians, and other Circassian groups, while part of his own lands had also fallen into Russian hands.

The leader of the anti-Russian Kabardian aristocrats was Prince Misost Bematiqo. Grand Prince Tatarkhan Jankhot took an anti-war stance and stated that the Kabardians could not confront Russia. Tatarkhan acknowledges his status as a vassal under political pressure and acts in alignment with Russian authority. However the most of the aristocrats were determined to fight until the lost territories were regained. Details of the congress were conveyed to the Russian authorities by the agent Murtaza Abregov.

In accordance with a decision made by the congress, an old tradition was reinstated: those who refused to take part in the war would be punished by being wrapped in wet black felt. According to Circassian oral sources, which are mentioned in the folkloric Night Assault song created by the chief bard of the Qeytuqo princely family, Tawqo Tlepshiqo, the Grand Prince's words during the congress were as follows:

The Kabardians responded as follows:

During the congress, a letter was written in Tatar—the lingua franca of the region—to the commander of the Mozdok Fortress Dmitry Tuganov, signed by prominent Kabardian princes:

The names of the prominent princes who signed the letter were: Aliy, Misost Bematiqo, Temryqo Haji Qilishoqo, Kartul (son of Islam), Beslan, Kurgoqo (son of Karamirza), Qanemet Yelbezdiqo Qeytuqo (son of Qanemet Qeytuqo), and Karamirza Misost (son of Islam Misost). During the congress, the Circassians swore an oath that they were ready to fight and die if the Russian fortifications were not removed. The Lesser and Greater Kabardians crossed the Malka River and settled 7 kilometers away from Marinskaya Fortress with other Circassians and demanded the destruction of all the fortresses in sight, but the Russians rejected.

On April 28 the letter was translated into Russian. Then on May 1, Russian Lieutenant Colonel Yakim Chornin who was the adjudant to Dmitry Tuganov met with the Kabardians because Tuganov was afraid that the Kabardians may capture him. The Kabardians declared that any correspondence or letters from the Russians would not be acknowledged buildings. All diplomatic relations had been severed. They expressed that they don't want to see anyone from the Russians.

War preparations

In the spring of 1779, the Kabardians settled in ''Qeytuqo Tuasha'' ()—at the present-day —in the Qurey Plain between the Malka and Qeytuqo rivers, where all the war preparations were made in this forest; they began producing equipment and weapons, as well as constructing small defensive structures. The Kabardians were joined by their allies from neighboring regions. Circassians had a total of 15,000 cavalry (10,000 in other sources, including the at least 3,000 from other Circassian tribes) in the Russian sources. Contrary to common writing, the commoners participated in the war too, typically served as infantry, as indicated in oral sources.

According to tradition, the Grand Prince of Kabardia would be the commander-in-chief during wartime. However, since Tatarkhan Jankhot did not participate in the war, Prince Misost Bematiqo, known for his military skills and anti-Russian stance, was elected as the commander-in-chief during the congress. He participated in numerous battles and was highly esteemed by the people. His grandfather, Kurgoqo Atajuq, was the former Grand Prince.

The Kabardians were divided into three main armies: Misost Bematiqo (from the Hatokhshoqo dynasty) directly commanded one, Prince Hamirza Qeytuqo which was the son of Aslanbek Qeytuqo (from the Jembulat dynasty) led the second, and Prince Karamirza Misost (from the Misost dynasty) commanded the third army. Prince Qanemet Yelbezduqo (cousin of Hamirza Qeytuqo) was responsible for intelligence affairs.

The war

On March, Circassian cavalries—numbered 6–7,000—led by Prince Sultan Dulak launched a nighttime attack on Marinskaya with Nogais, Besleneys and Chemguys, they cut off the reinforcement line of the fortresses. They managed to take back 5,000 cattle from the Cossacks that had been taken from the Kabardians and killed 85 Cossacks. They also inflicted extensive damage on the fortress. Russian reinforcement units were sent to the fortresses along the line.

In the new orders sent by Catherine II through Grigory Potemkin to General Yakobi, it was instructed that the forces should not launch a general attack until September 15 and remain on the defensive. At that time General Yakobi, stationed in Pavlovsk Fortress with a force of 2,000 soldiers and awaiting reinforcements, he ordered that all Kabardians in Kizlyar be imprisoned and subjected to hard labor. The adult hostages, who were "peaceful" Circassians, were chained, and all the hostages were sent to Astrakhan. In the following years, requests for the return of the hostages were denied. Yakobi used this situation to threaten the Kabardians.

Prince Yelbezduqo bribed Artemy Voskanyan for 500 silver rubles, an Armenian from Crimea near Mozdok. With the support of regiment translators Nikolai Bezborodov and Peter Sergeyev, Voskanyan reported on the weak points of the Alexandrovsky Fortress, as well as the condition of the fortress and its garrison.

On April 23 O.S. May 12">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. May 12 Voskanyan sneaked into Alexandrovsky Fortress, where Saint George's Day was being celebrated, and set fire to the dining hall near the church by burning hay. The smoke from the fire signaled the Kabardian army to attack, and they began their assault. They captured herds, prisoners, and goods during the attack. While the Russians gathering reinforcements, the Kabardians continued their attacks.

In mid-May, the Circassians began launching widespread coordinated attacks on the Azov-Mozdok Line. 1,500 Chemguy and Besleney Circassians, led by Dulak Sultan, attacked Stavropol Fortress, killed 20 Cossacks, captured food supplies and 240 horses. On May 30, 500 Circassians led by Sultan Dulak attacked Alexandrovsky Fortress. They managed to seize the horses of the Ustinov regiment but failed to capture the fortress due to heavy fire and retrated with more than 90 casualties. Grigory Potemkin ordered the formation of several Don Cossack regiments.

On June 4, Kabardian forces led by Sultan Dulak, attempted to seize Stavropol Fortress but failed. In the same month, the Circassians attacked Alexeyevsky Fort but retreated after the clashes while a separate contingent of Circassians attacked a Cossack unit there and defeated them.

Chechens attacked the Kalinovsky stanitsa of the Mozdok Cossack Regiment around the Mozdok Fortress. Clashes also occurred near Pyatigorsk. Andreyevsky and Marinskaya fortresses were taken by the Kabardian forces. Despite the initial gains of the Kabardians, rapid Russian reinforcements forced a withdrawal from the captured positions.

Circassians led by Dulak attacked Alexandrovsky Fortress on June but repelled. In the same month, near Stavropol Fortress, a Cossack detachment under the command of Colonel Yefim Dmitrievich attacked a Circassian detachment and defeated them. Soldiers in Yakobi's army were required to keep their uniforms on at night and sleep at the front with their rifles throughout the war.

During the war, Ottomans reinforced their fortresses on Circassian coast. Ottoman spies disseminated rumors among the Kabardian people that the Ottomans would extend assistance; however, no help was provided.

Battle of the Night Assault

On June 5, a 5–6,000-strong Kabardian army—led by Prince Hamirza Qeytuqo—was divided into 3 detachments. The first detachment attacked the Cossacks and Kalmyks who were attempting to join General Yakobi's army as reinforcements. The second detachment attacked Yakobi's camp and the last detachment made its way to attack Pavlovsk Fortress. Kabardians lost 120 men and withdrew.

On June 8, the Kabardians launched another attack on Pavlovsk Fortress but were forced back by heavy fire. They moved toward Marinskaya Fortress and set up near this fortress, 12.8 kilometers away from Pavlovsk, then started to siege the fortress. The Cossack garrison struggled to lock the fortress gates. The Kabardians received strong reinforcements from the Chechens, other Circassians and other neighbors, bringing their numbers up to 15,000, however this number may be heavily exaggerated by the Russian sources as it does not tally with the length of the single row line that the Circassian forces would later establish. Throughout the Caucasian War, the enemy's numbers were significantly inflated beyond their actual strength in Russian military reports. Additionally, Russian forces and casualties were reported as lower than they actually were, to exaggerate and highlight the value of victory.

On the night of June 9, the Kabardians besieging Marinskaya Fortress began digging trenches on both sides and extending them toward the fortress trenches. From the Circassian side, one group carried out trench-digging operations, while the others provided cover by rifle fire, ensuring that shots from the fortress caused minimal damage. The Circassians in the trenches and the Russians in the fortress were exchanging heavy fire. Other Circassian units took advantage of the darkness to reach almost up to the fortress moat.

On the evening of June 10, General Yakobi left Pavlovsk Fortress with his army and set towards Marinskaya to lift the siege and the critical condition, dividing his forces into three infantry squares and cavalries between the squares for the battle, this battle would later be known as the Kabardian Night Assault. The Kabardians left a total of 500 men in both trenches and positioned themselves on the closest ridge near Marinskaya Fortress from the direction of Pavlovsk, then forming a single row over 4 kilometers long parallel to the Russian army to frighten the enemy and take battle positions according to the enemy's position. General Yakobi approached and the Kabardians, in three groups, planned to attack on the Russian army from three squares.

As the Kabardians approached in range, Russians suddenly opened heavy fire. The Kabardians continued to advance to the front despite the intense fire, concentrating their attack on the center, where General Yakobi was located. The Russian infantry managed to broke up the Kabardian charge with volley fire. After that, they charged the Cossacks on the right flank of the Russian army, engaging in intense combat for 2 hours. Some of the Kabardians tried to slip behind the Russian army, but they were met with heavy fire.

The Kabardians then retreated, formed a loose semicircle in front of the Russian army and opened fire with rifles while reorganizing. However, as both sides were out of their rifle range, the Kabardians were engaging in hit-and-run tactics, getting close to shoot and then pulling back. After reorganizing, they attacked the left flank of the Russian army but the left flank of the Russians turned out to be stronger than the Kabardians had expected and had to retreat. Thus, General Yakobi forced the Kabardians to lift the siege in the 6-hour long battle in front of the walls of the Marinskaya Fortress, preventing the fortress from being taken. Записки Густава фон Штрандмана Archived fro
the original
/ref> The commander of Marinskaya Fortress, Captain Bas Y. seized the opportunity, left his fortress and launched an attack on the Kabardians positioned in the trench resulting in the deaths of 97 Kabardians.

The Kabardians suffered 550 casualties; 50 nobles and princes and 500 commoners in the battle according to the Russian sources. Leader of this Kabardian army, Prince Hamirza Qeytuqo, his son Ismel (Ismail) Qeytuqo and Ismel's son Azhdzheriy were killed during the battle. In the oral sources, it is frequently mentioned that Ismel Qeytuqo dismounted and rescued his comrade Tambiyiqo's body after repelling the Russians.

A Night Assault song mentions Prince Hamirza Qeytuqo, who was 74 when he was killed:

After the Kabardian defeat in the Night Assault, they had to reduce their attacks and reorganize for a month. After this relatively calm month, the Kabardians demanded the destruction of Pavlovsk, Marinskaya, and Georgiyevsk fortresses in exchange for handing over all the captives and paying double the compensation for the damage caused; the occupation of this area forced the Kabardians to keep their herds in cramped conditions, as although they had a lot of unused land on the Kuban side, the mountainous terrain made it impossible to graze cattle especially in winter, and they did not prepare hay for the season. All their demands were rejected and the war continued.

The Russians refer to this battle as the Battle of Marinskaya (). The term Night Assault (, ), for this battle was used by the Circassians. The Circassians also used "The Great Kabardian Night Assault" (). In the Circassian languages, the word for night assault also means nightmare or "the evil spirit that causes sleep paralysis," but in a military context, it refers to an army launching a nighttime attack on an enemy force.

Aftermath clashes of the Night Assault

In June, Grigory Potemkin ordered Major General Fabritsian, who was in Ukraine, to advance quickly to the line, and then moved his cousin Major General Pavel Potemkin's troops in Poland to the Don River. In July, considering the situation in Kabardia to be very serious, Catherine II issued a secret decree allowing Russian armies to take whatever actions they deemed necessary in Kabardia including a punishment campaign against the Kabardians. General Yakobi stated in his general report dated June 18: "I defeated them decisively; they left behind 3,000 casualties, both wounded and killed."

The Circassians adhered to tactics of cutting off communication between the fortresses, devastating and burning fields. On July 17, a detachment of 5,000 Kabardians attacked the Georgiyevsk Fortress, burned all the grain, destroyed the hayfields, killed Cossacks, drove off the cattle and left, losing 27 men. Kabardians continued to attack the Georgiyevsk Fortress in August and September. In August, General Yakobi's army received new reinforcements. The Kabardians were constantly harassing Yakobi's forces, destroying their sentinels and stealing their herds.

At the end of August, a 1,000-strong Kabardian army attacked an 80-man Russian unit under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Lvovich near Georgiyevsk while they were transporting supplies to Marinskaya Fortress. However, the Kabardian army was fired upon by snipers who had taken up positions at a distance, causing them to retreat with more than 100 casualties. On September 27, a new reinforcement army consisting of 8,000 troops under the command of Major General Fedor Fabritsian arrived at the Pavlovsk Fortress and set up camp near the Kuma River. On the same day, the Kabardians attacked a Russian unit consisting of 80 soldier, which was transporting supply, near Yekaterinograd, killing 41 Russians, including an officer, and capturing prisoners, gunpowders and one cannon.

Battle of Qeytuqo Tuasha

Fabritsian proposed a sudden attack on the main headquarters of the Kabardians, and the proposal was accepted. It is likely that someone informed Russians of the exact location of the Kabardian camp. On September 28, the armies of Fabritsian and Yakobi advanced toward the Kabardian headquarters in the evening while the Kabardian nobles and princes were making an attack plan in the camp. The Kabardian camp was located on the south bank of the Malka River which is the exact camp where all the war preparations were made.

Fabritsian crossed the Malka River from the east in the early hours of September 29 N.S. 10 October">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S. 10 Octoberwith 1,000 Cossacks, 1,000 Kalmyks, the Tomsk Infantry Regiment, the Kabardinsky Regiment, the Gorsky and Kabardinsky Jaeger battalions, two companies from the Mozdok Field Battalion and the Mozdok Cossack Regiment, and positioned themselves 3 kilometers south of the Kabardian headquarters. After that, Fabritsian sent the Cossack and Kalmyk cavalries toward the herd where the Kabardians kept their horses, driving off the horses of 2,000 warriors.

The Kabardians consisted of approximately 250–350 nobles, 50 princes and a cannon (the cannon captured near Yekaterinograd). At dawn, Fabritsian's army took position from three sides of the Kabardian headquarters and issued a call for surrender but the Kabardians responded to the surrender call with rifle fire. Fabritsian attacked the Kabardians at 7 AM and started the battle.

After crossing the Podkumok River, General Yakobi formed three squares with two battalions of the Tomsk Infantry Regiment and one from the Kabardinsky Infantry Regiment. On the flanks was the Vladimir Dragoon Regiment and ten companies from the Mozdok Cossack Regiment.

Upon seeing General Yakobi’s army approaching from the north, across the Malka River, the Kabardians broke through the encirclement from the west and began fleeing southward. General Yakobi’s Mozdok Cossack Regiment, positioned on the western flank across the river and opened artillery fire on the Kabardians. Additionally, two cavalry squadrons were sent across the Malka River and managed to reach the Kabardians who were lacking horses and fleeing on foot. The Cossack cavalry inflicted heavy losses and forced the survivors to retreat back to their camp.

While Fabritsian's army surrounded the camp from three sides, Yakobi surrounded it from the river side, where most of the distinguished Kabardians would be killed.

The battle started at 7 AM and ended at 12 PM with the complete annihilation of the Kabardian forces and the destruction of their headquarters, overwhelmed by the strategically, technologically, and numerically superior Russian troops.

Towards the end, Fabritsian sent his infantry army deep into the camp to completely destroy the remaining Kabardians with close combat. Very few Kabardians managed to escape according to the Russian report. Fabritsian's army suffered 16 deaths and 34 wounded while Yakobi's forces suffered 20 deaths and 80 wounded during the battle. The remaining Kabardian forces outside of the camp retreated to the Baksan (river)">Baksan River