First Turkish War (Think Before You Act)

Causes
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Balkan Theatere
On April 22nd, 1820, Russian General Pyotr Bagration led 100,000 troops into Tiraspol, where they clashed with a 110,00 Ottoman force there. The battle went on for two days before the Ottomans were forced to retreat due to having heavier casualties than the newly improved Russian army. The Ottomans were forced to fortify Wallachia, Translyvania, and Western Moldavia from the Russian invasion, yet this was difficult due to the pro-Russian and pro-independene riots.



On May 9th, the Russians clashed with the Turks at the heavily fortified city of Cimislia. Howeber, the battle was much harder than what the Russians have anticipated. In fact, Turkish spies discovered the battle plans and helped got the town ready for war. Because of this, the Russians were stratigically disadvantaged, forcing constant reinforcements and supplies. Despite Turkish raids on supply routes, Pyotr stubbornly forced his men to fight on for five more days until the Turks retreated.



 To counter the Russian invasion of Romania, the Turks struck at Odessa on May 11th, eventually capturing the city. The Russians responded by sending a force to take back the city. During the Siege of Odessa, at least 60,000 died, mostly Turks. Eventually, the Russians captured the city on May 26th.

On May 21st, the Russians manage to strike the Ottomans at Botosani. Inspired by the Russians, the local populance began to rebel for independence, allowing the Russians to easily take the city and slaughter most of the Turkish army. On April 8th, Piatra Neamt was invaded by Russian forces, who manage to easily oust the Turks from the town. By the request of Pyotr, the Russian government began to fund Roman separatists in the region, causing constant pain to the Turkish military.

On April 7th, the Turks fortified Romanian town Miercurea Ciuc against a possible Russian invasion. 7 days later, that came true. Until April 14th, the Russians constantly battered the Turkish defenses until the Turkish general there surrendered. However, the Turks struck at Bacau on April 16th, eventually capturing it the day after. The Russians returned on May 2nd, and eventually captured the city on May 5th.

At the Illyrian Provinces, 70,000 French troops led by Michel Ney marched to Belgrade on April 23rd. They joined with Christian Serbs and Croats in the rebellion against the Ottomans. The overwhelming force of the French forced the outnumbered Turks to flee. On April 27th, the Russians at Cimislia were suprised by the Ottomans. They managed to cease

However, Selim III ordered the raids of Russian trade routes and communication lines and the burning of the countryside (to prevent the Russians from obtaining any resources), causing the Russians to suffer two defeats at Tulcea on May 29th and Galati on April 6th, forcing the Russians to recover until April 13th, when they struck the Turks back at Tulcea and eventually defeated them. Later, they once again captured Galati on April 20th.

On June 8th, the Russians struck at Sfantu Gheorghegainst the Turks, eventually defeating them the day after. On June 11th, the Turks manage to suprise attack the Russians while holding Galati, yet were repulsed after 10 days. On June 23rd, the Russians scored another easy victory at Ploiesti. The path was now clear to Bucharest. Capturing it would give the Russians control of Romania.

Meanwhile, the Turks began fortifying Bucharest and fought off the rebellions in the city. On July 4th, the Russians arrived, fighting the Turks in the Siege of Bucharest. One month later, the Russians broke into the city, officially forcing the Turks to retreat from Romania, allowing the Russians to advancde through Bulgaria.

Pyotr marched to Pleven with 150,000 soldiers (with 35,000 Romanian recruits) on July 9th. The goal was to march to Sofia and capture the city. However, the Turks fough valiently to ensure the Russians did not capture it. However, eventually, the Russians took control on July 12th. On July 17th, the Russians marched to Lovech, however, supply lines were constantly harrassed by Turkish raiders. Because of this, the Turks forced the Russians off, who turned to Vrasta on July 23rd. However, Turkish soldiers constantly burned the countryside to prevent them from obtaining the resources, yet Bulgarian resistence groups secretly took as much as they can and shared them with the Russian army. At Vrasta, the Russians manage to capture the town thanks to the pro-Russian rebellion on July 24th.

Finally, the Russians marched to Sofia on August 7th. The city was greatly fortified by the Turks, who manage to squash a rebellion there and forced the inhabitants to flee. For three months, the Turks and Russians fought to take control of the city. Eventually, the Turks fell on November 10th, giving the Russians a foothold of northwestern Bulgaria.