On January 23, 1810, Russian troops under the command of Major General Mengli-Giray began a campaign across the Kuban River. After the deployment in the Maykop area, on February 9, the battle on the Maykop Heights took place. There were heavy losses, including the destruction of a detachment of under the command of Major Bakunin.
| Battle of Maikop | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Russian-Circassian war | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Circassia |
 Russian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Jankhot Qushuq |
S. A. Bulgakov Mengli-Giray | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 900 | 18,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 18,000 killed | ||||||
Background
editTo protect the Russian settlements from the Transcuban highlanders, Bulgakov fielded two detachments, but the raids continued. In 1810, he undertook a campaign for the Kuban, despite the resistance of Tormasov. Bulgakov burned and destroyed many villages, but the results were negligible.[1]
History
editOn January 23, 1810, three large detachments of Russian troops, consisting of the 19th Infantry Division, as well as numerous Cossack regiments, dragoons and Nogai cavalry, led by Major General Mengli-Giray, moved "on a foreign campaign across the Kuban River". The detachments entered from a Strong Trench, the Grigoripolis redoubt and the Ust-Labinsk fortress under the general command of Infantry General S. A. Bulgakov. On February 8, a combined detachment under the command of Bulgakov reached and camped on the banks of the Belaya River, in the area of present-day Maykop. And the very next day, on February 9th, 1810, a bloody battle took place on the "Maykop heights". General Bulgakov writes that the troops stormed the rubble built by the highlanders on the Maykop heights and the battle was very difficult. The true losses of Russian troops in this battle, as in the entire expedition, are unknown, but information remains in the Military Archive that only during one local battle during this expedition, in the Maikop Gorge, a detachment of rangers under the command of Major Bakunin, numbering 900 people, was surrounded and completely destroyed by Circassians.[2]
No sooner had the troops arrived at their destination than the news was received that the Abaza, using military tactics, and having lured 18,000 Moskof soldiers into one gorge, subjected them to a strong attack and hacked them all down. Since it was believed that this news was an unconfirmed rumor, it was not reported to the palace and was kept secret. Now, according to information obtained by a warrior who is under my command as the head of the guard, it has been found out that it was not the Abaza who won, destroying the Russians, but the Circassians. This information is close to the truth. A memo on the number of Russian soldiers who arrived, the dead and wounded, as well as the specifics of the battles has been sent. Allah will grant, this clear success, I think, will serve as a reason for the victory of the troops on the other side, the assistants of the Padishah and all Muslims and will lead to the collapse of the enemies of the faith. We present to your attention.[3]