1853 engagement of the Russo-Kokand War
The siege of Ak-Mechet (2–28 July 1853) was one of the first major engagements of the Russo-Kokand war, fought between the Russian Empire and the Khanate of Kokand. The city was an important northern base for the Kokand Khanate, and was placed next to the defensible Syr Darya river. Its capture or destruction became a priority for the Russian regional governors, with governor Vasily Perovsky ordering an expedition that culminated in a failed attempt to capture the city. Perovsky would gain permission to expand Russia's fortress line up to Ak-Mechet, effectivly giving him permission to attack the city. After several months of preperation, he would attack the city with a force of over 2,000 men compared to the 300 Kokandi defenders. Despite the numerical disparity, the siege would last for several weeks, leading to boredom within Russian ranks. On July 28 a final assault would begin after a prolonged bombardment of the city, and it was rapidly captured. The capture of the fort greatly destabilized the Kokand Khanate, who would continue to send raiding and siege parties for over a decade. The cities capture represented the first enemy fort Russia took during their conquest of Central Asia, and a seminal point in the Russification of the region
Background.
Initially built in 1820, Ak-Mechet was the Kokand Khanate's most influential and critical northern stronghold. The fort was used by Kokand to control Russian trade routes with themselves, the Khanate of Bukhara, and the Khanate of Khiva, as well as center to collect zakat from Kazakh tribes.
An early proposal to attack the fort was raised in a letter dated March 17, 1851 by Governor-General of Orenburg Vladimir Obruchev as part of a larger plan to counter British advances into Afghanistan. His proposal was strongly rejected by Tsar Nicholas I, and he was subsequently removed from office, replaced by Vasily Perovsky.
By 1852 the Russian Empire began to prioritize the suppression of Kokandi influence on the Kazakh Steppe, as frequent attacks by Kokandi and Kokandi allied Kazakh forces against Russians and Russian allied Kazakh forces was interfering with Russia's goal of taking Khiva. The capture or destruction of Ak-Mechet was seen by Russia as a critical step to ending these attacks.
First attack.
In July 1852, Orenburg's new Governor-General Vasily Perovsky ordered Colonel Ivan Blaramberg to survey the land from Fort Raim to Ak-Mechet with 125 infantry and 200 Cossacks, and possibly to attack and destroy the fort under certain circumstances. Upon arrival to Ak-Mechet in July, Blaramberg discovered that the fort's commander Yakub Beg was absent, and subsequently ordered an attack. The siege was largely unsuccessful due to a lack of equipment, including siege ladders and siege artillery, and the expedition was forced to retreat to Fort Raim at a loss of 10 dead and 40 wounded. Blaramberg's forces only managed to burn the fort's outer defenses and destroy three minor forts during the retreat to Fort Raim.
After the failure, Vasily Perovsky began to organize a second expedition in hopes of successfully capturing the fort, and avoid a loss in prestige. Preparing for another attack, Kokandi forces began to rebuild and strengthen the fortress. The outer ramparts and buildings were torn down, leaving a square fortress approximately 750 by 750 feet large. Towers were built in the center and corners of the wall, and the two moats were merged into one 12 foot wide ditch.
Preperation.
In January 1853, Perovsky proposed a plan to war minister Vasily Andreyevich Dolgorukov to build four fortresses at high expense on the right bank of the Syr-Darya, one of which would be constructed over Ak-Mechet. Perovsky claimed that this could bring fiscal and strategic benefits, though the former was unlikely and possibly mentioned to play down the high costs of the construction and expedition. Tsar Nicholas strongly endorsed the plan, due in part to his positive relations with Perovsky, and it was approved by Dolgorukov.
Perovsky spent spring preparing for the expedition in Fort Raim, hoping to avoid the logistical errors that had caused the failures of the Khivan campaign of 1839 and Blaramburg's attack. To accomplish this, he organized a significantly smaller force of stronger soldiers. Soldiers were gathered from forts across the region, including Orenburg, Orsk, Uralsk, and Aralsk, before rendezvousing at Karabutak. Those who fell ill or became tired during the march to Karabutak were left at the next fort to increase the average fighting strength of the army, and reduce logistical drain. The expedition left Karabutak for Ak-Mechet on May 23 with a total count of 2,168 men, including 550 Ural Cossack cavalry, 500 Bashkir-Meshcheryak cavalry, a sapper battalion, mortar battalion, and 12 artillery pieces. This force was additionally accompanied by 150 volunteer Kirghiz auxiliaries.
A flotilla was used to transport supplies and troops along the Syr-Darya, including the steamships Perovsky and Obruchev provided by Grigory Butakov. Remaining equipment was carried by a camel caravan provided by native Kazakhs. Khazaks also provided crucial service as reconnaissance and guides. The march to Ak-Mechet was difficult, comprising primarily barren terrain with large swarms of mosquitos and horse-flies, and heat reaching . Despite this, the expedition suffered no significant losses.
Siege.
On July 2, Perovsky's detachment reached Ak-Mechet, and established a camp from the fort. He accepted an invitation from fort commander Abd al-Wali to negotiate a peace, and departed with several members of his retinue. Upon Perovsky's arrival at the fort, Abd al-Wali ordered marksmen on the walls to "Fire in volleys!" at Perovsky. Perovsky and his retinue would survive the assassination attempt, though two of his horses were wounded. Nervous of a Kokandi attack, Perovsky ordered a forced march of the remaining troops, who arrived between July 3 and July 5.
Evaluating that the 24 foot thick walls would be unbreachable with his artillery, Perovsky ordered the construction of a mine into Ak-Mechet, the construction of zigzag trenches, and a bombardment of the fortress. From July 5 to July 8, Lieutenant General Stepan Khrulev directed the construction and movement of 5 batteries in a perimeter around the fort. Captain Alexey Maksheev noted that Khrulev's placement of the batteries meant they more often hit each other, rather than the fortress. He thusly believed that they contributed little to the fortresses capture.
On July 18, Perovsky sent a letter to Abd al-Wali, demanding surrender and stating:
Ak-Mechet is already taken, although you are inside it, and you cannot fail to perceive that without losing any of my men, I am in a position to destroy every one of you.
The Russians have come hither not for a day, nor yet a year, but for ever. They will not retire.
If you wish to live, ask for mercy; should you prefer to die in Ak-Mechet, you can do so; I am not pressed for time, and do not intend to hurry you. I here repeat that I do not come to offer you combat, but to thrash you until you open your gates.
A ceasefire was declared until evening, when the Kokandi garrison returned its response. The Kokandis criticized Russia's demand to surrender on the grounds that the Russian Empire had not declared war or attempted diplomacy, but accepted if the Russians retreated and gave the Kokandis 15 days to escape. Perovsky would reject these conditions, and restart construction of siegeworks the following day.
Perovsky maintained a slow and cautious pace during the siege, treating Ak-Mechet like a strong European fortress. By July 15, this had led to impatience among Russian troops, who had not expected the siege to be prolonged. During the siege, rumors began spreading among Kyrgyz tribesmen responsible for transporting cattle to the Russian lines that Perovsky intended to simply destroy the fort and retreat, leaving the tribesmen open to revenge from Kokand. The tribesmen subsequently stopped transporting cattle, leading to a meat shortage among Russian forces. These rumors ended after Perovsky ordered materiel be prepared to garrison the fort, and cattle transports resumed. Approximately 150 Kyrgyz began to assist in the construction of earthworks.
Due to the slow pace of the siege, a lax attitude to safety developed as soldiers became bored. Soldiers would often venture into the fortresses shady moat to relax, covered from bullet fire by the glacis. Kalmyks in the expedition took to openly walking in between trenches while in the Kokandi line of fire, and stealing watermelons from the gardens outside the fortress walls. The Kalmyks showed Russian forces how to use shovels as makeshift shields by holding wooden shovels flat and iron shovels to the side to minimize damage to the tool.
Kokandi defenders would occasionally scale down the fortress walls and skirmish with Russian forces. The first of these attacks took place on the afternoon of July 19, when 20 Kokandi soldiers bearing swords charged into the nearest trench and captured two Russian soldiers. The soldiers were then reportedly taken into Ak-Mechet and flayed. A similar attack began on July 22, but the Kokandis were spotted descending the fortress wall and shot at until they retreated. Kokandi soldiers also began to construct makeshift grenades by filling leather pouches with gunpowder, inserting a wick, and dousing the grenade in tar.
On July 21, Perovsky dispatched a small force of 200 Cossacks and 50 Bashkirs to search the road to Tashkent for a rumored Kokandi reinforcement coming from the city. On July 23 the force approached fort Dzhulek, and dispatched a message ordering it to surrender. The garrison of 40 Kokandi soldiers fled, and the fort was looted for materiel. The walls were also blown up to determine a safe distance to stand away when mine at Ak-Mechet was sprung. The detachment would return on July 27, the same day the Russian mines were completed.
At 10:00 p.m. on July 27 the final Russian mortar and artillery bombardment began, continuing until 3:00 a.m. the following morning. Russian commanders raised multiple false alarms for the assault to tire the Kokandi defenders and lower their guard. At 3:30 a.m. the mine was sprung, blowing a 240-foot-wide hole in the wall. Russian forces, who had been withdrawn from the fort for safety, were not able to rush the breach before Kokandi soldiers filled the gap. Two batteries fired into the breach with grapeshot, and two companies assisted by 50 Cossacks assaulted the gap. Their first two attacks were repulsed, but the third was successful due to the assistance of a third company. Multiple instances of friendly fire took place during the assault between Russian forces. After the 1st company took the wall, they began firing upon the 2nd company who were pursuing a fleeing Kokandi detachment. The 2nd company then mounted the walls, and mistakenly fired upon the 8th company. At 4:30 a.m., Lieutenant General Khrulev raised his handkerchief over the southern tower in lieu of a Russian flag.
Aftermath.
By the end of the battle, 34 Russian soldiers had been killed, 130 had been wounded and one had gone missing. Of the Kokandi garrison, 226 soldiers had been killed, including Abd al-Wali, and 35 had been wounded. Among the Kokandi survivors were 83 women and 67 children, who accounted for most of those who remained. Stories of the defenders being martyred quickly spread through Turkestan, building anti-Russian sentiment. Kokandi historian Mullah Yunus Tashkandi claimed that the women were repatriated to Kokand and the wounded were cared for, though he was likely biased due to his opposition to the Khan of Kokand Khudayar Khan.
Khudayar Khan, who had only recently regained power after a coup, lost much of his legitimacy because of the defeat. He would send two expeditions to recapture the fort soon after, both of which were strongly repulsed. The first consisted of 7,000 soldiers, who were intercepted and repulsed 25 miles outside of Ak-Mechet. The second occurred in December 1853 and successfully reached the fortress, initiating a three-day-long siege. The siege was broken after the defenders encircled and routed the Kokandi forces. Kokand would continue to launch small attacks and raids well into the 1860s.
Kokand maintained influence over the southern Khazakh territories, even without Ak-Mechet.
Ak-Mechet was the first enemy fort Russia captured during their conquest of Central Asia, and the first Central Asian settlement to have its name russified, being renamed to Fort Perovsk in honor of Vasily Perovsky.
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