The siege of Samarkand, or siege of the Samarkand Citadel, was a military engagement fought in the city of Samarkand (in modern-day Uzbekistan) in June 1868. In the engagement, a small garrison of Russian Imperial soldiers was besieged by a combined army of Bukharan soldiers and their allies - including the Kokand Khanate and tributary Turkmen-Uzbek tribes. The siege played an important role in the 1868 campaign of Russian conquest of Bukhara.
The Russian army commanded by Konstantin Kaufmann took Samarkand on May 2, 1868, after a brief battle on the heights of Chupan-Ata - a height on the outskirts of the city. The city itself surrendered without a fight.
The Russian army made the city's citadel as their headquarters while the campaign against the Emir of Bukhara was ongoing. In late May, as Kaufmann left the city to fight against the Emir, he left a small garrison consisting of infantry and sappers to repair the citadel and to guard the city.
While the main Russian army was away from the city, the small garrison would be unexpectedly besieged by a large army of combined tribes. In addition to the great besieging army, the city's inhabitants rose up against the Russians.
Instead of defending the entire city, the outnumbered Russian garrison resorted to defending in the citadel.
Over the course of six days, the Russian garrison repelled multiple attempts by the besieging allied army to storm the citadel. In some instances, the garrison was close to being annihilated. Despite suffering heavy casualties, the garrison held out until the main army returned to lift the siege.
The successful defence of the citadel had effectively prevented Bukhara from retaking the city of Samarkand.
The successful defence of the city, combined with the Russian victory at Zerabulak, had effectively defeated the armies of the Emir. The Emir no longer had any means to fight the Russian army and sued for peace.
As a result of the 1868 campaign, the Emirate of Bukhara became a dependent protectorate of the Russian Empire.
The Russian victory solidified imperial control over the new state of Russian Turkestan, and caused the partial collapse of the Bukharan Emirate.
Background
Russia's interest in Central Asia and early campaigns
Some Russian attempts to establish a connection with the region date as far as the 16th century. However, those attempts would not provide much gain due to the large distance between the two regions and due to the poor logistics of the time.
When Peter the Great became Tsar, he fought a series of wars in order to expand Russia's territories and to establish the Russian Empire and organized the first Russian military expedition into Central Asia. He believed that expanding into Central Asia would open a path towards India.
But a Russian expeditionary army was annihilated in the Khivan disaster. Thus, the Russian Empire lost interest to the region. The Russian Empire would not undertake campaigns against Central Asia for the next one hundred years.
Russia's 19th century campaigns
After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Russian Empire engaged against the British Empire in a rivavlry known as the Great Game. In that rivalvry, both empires attempted to establish and to secure territories in Central Asia and South Asia. Both of those regions had economic and strategic importance for the two empires.
The Russian Empire made its first major conquests in the first half of the 19th century.
The early conquests included:
- Kenesary's Rebellion 1837-1847
- Khivan campaign of 1839–1840
- Uprising of Eset Batyr 1847-1858
- Siege of Ak-Mechet 1853
Following Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, the Russian Empire adopted a new foreign policy. During the reign of Alexander II, the Russian Empire launched several campaigns into Central Asia. Those campaigns helped Russia to conquer a lot of territory and to consolidate its control in the region.
The events that took place before 1868 include the following:
- Battle of Ican 1864
- Siege of Tashkent 1865
- Siege of Khujand 1866
- Battle of Irjar 1866
In the mid-19th century, Russian military campaigns in Central Asia strove to suppress Muslim nations and to expand the Russian Empire.
Russia defeated the Kokand Khanate and Bukhara and by 1867 both Kokand and Bukhara ceded territory to the Russian Empire; these ceded territories were then incorporated into the Russian province of Turkestan, which was put under the governance of General Konstantin von Kaufmann.
Despite the end of the Russo-Bukharan War and the signing of a peace treaty, fighting continued in parts of the new Russian province. Seeking to crush these forces, Kaufmann organized an army and marched on the Bukharan-controlled city of Samarkand, which he captured in 1868. However, the capture of the city did not cause the end of the fighting, and so Kaufmann chose to pursue a force of retreating Bukharans to the city of Bukhara, leaving a small garrison of 685 men to hold Samarkand. This garrison force was not entirely combat-ready, and many of the men Kaufmann left behind were either wounded or non-combatants.
Russian army captures Samarkand
After the Russian victory over the Bukharan army at the Battle of Irjar in 1866, Kaufmann proposed peace to Emir Muzaffar. The peace terms required the Emir to approve a new draft of borders that had been changed in Russia's favour. The refusal of the Bukharan side to surrender in spring of 1868 led to the resumption of military actions. Therefore, starting the 1868 campaign.
Kaufmann assembled an army of approximately four thousand soldiers. His army included infantry, sappers, artillerists, and cossack detachments. The army was also accompanied by several Russian merchants and by a twenty-five year old Vasily Vereshchagin - who held the rank of a State Councillor. In late spring, Kaufmann commenced the Zarafshon campaign. The Zarafshon river, in the Zarafshon valley, was a strategically important river because it was the region's main source of water.
When the campaign commenced, Kaufmann decided to capture Samarkand for several reasons. Not only was Samarkand the emirate's largest city, it was also on the upper part of the Zarafshon river. By capturing Samarkand, the Russian army would have a foothold of the region's water resources.
As the Russian army marched towards Samarkand, the Emir prepared for a pitched battle by holding defensive positions at the heights of Chupan-Ata. Chupan-Ata are a set of hills on the northeastern outskirts of Samarkand.
The Battle of Chupan-Ata took place on May 1, 1868. The Russian army attacked the hills from the northeast side. The Russian infantry crossed the river at the foot of the hills and climbed up the Chupan-Ata heights. The Emir's army was forced to retreat.
On May 2, 1868, envoys from Samarkand approached Kaufmann with an official capitulation. The city surrendered without a fight. The same day, the Russian army entered Samarkand and the city became a part of the Russian Empire.
Prelude to the siege
Because Samarkand capitulated without resisting, the city was able to surrender on favourable terms. The city's inhabitants and their property were left untouched. The city's population was allowed to attend mass gatherings, to visit mosques, and to continue their daily lives without serious intervention. In return, the city was to recognize the Russian Tsar as their new ruler, to engage in friendly relationships with the Russian army, and to allow Russian merchants to trade in the city's marketplace.
Kaufmann selected the city's citadel to serve as the army's headquarters and base of operations. The citadel was in a neglected state and poorly prepared in case of combat. Many places of the citadel required repairs and maintenance including the citadel's wall, buildings, wells, ponds, and aryks. Kaufmann, and other Russian commanders, received a proposal from military engineers to prepare the citadel for battle. The proposed plan required the demolition of all buildings adjoined to the citadel's wall - an act that would demolish part of the city. That proposal was rejected and citadel's preparation for combat was never prioritised. The citadel's repair jobs would start only after Kaufmann left the city with the main army.
Kaufmann, and other Russian commanders believed that there was nothing that could threaten their presence in the city. They also believed in the obedience of the city's inhabitants. Therefore, they never considered an uprising in the city as a possible scenario.
The Russian army would spend the entirety of May marching towards different cities and fortresses in an attempt to find and to decisively defeat the remainder of the Emir's army. None of those attempts brought the desired outcome and it left many Russian soldiers and officers frustrated. On May 30, 1868, Kaufmann marched out of Samarkand with the bulk of the Russian army, seeking to defeat the Emir in an open battle.
Only a small garrison was remained in Samarkand. That garrison included four companies of infantry, one company of sappers, a small cossack detachment, and a small artillerist platoon with two cannons and two mortars. All sick and wounded soldiers were also left behind in Samarkand. Several Russian merchants remained in the city and Vasily Vereshchagin too decided to remain in the city. 650—660 soldiers remained stationed in the citadel. The small garrison was under the command of Major Friedrich Karlovich Stempel. That garrison was left behind to guard the city, to maintain order, and to start repairing the citadel.
The departure of the main body of Kaufmann's army left Samarkand vulnerable. Seizing upon this weakness, nearby holdouts of Kokandi, Bukharan soldiers, and anti-Russian tribes consolidated their forces and marched on the lightly defended city. Within days, crowds of tribes started gathering on the outskirts of the city. In addition to the exterior army, the city's citizenry also displayed hostility towards the Russians. Crowds of residents gathered in the marketplace, much to the garrison's suspicion, and hurled stones at the Russians. Additionally, the city's residents started lying to the Russians and some residents were fleeing the city - a preliminary sign of incoming danger.
The citadel was atop a hillock and the heights of Chupan-Ata were visible from the citadel. Commandant Stempel, and other Russian officers, observed masses of tribesmen assembling atop of Chupan-Ata. The garrison would hastily try to finish the citadel's fortification.
Siege
The garrison besieged
On June 2 - June 14 Gregorian style - the same day the Battle of Zerabulak took place, Major Stempel received a request from the city's ambassadors to deal with the large crowds of tribesmen outside of Samarkand. Although suspicious of the ambassadors' intents, Stempel agreed to resolve the issue. In part, Stempel agreed to resolve the request because the garrison was obligated to protect the city.
With two companies of soldiers and one cannon, Stempel moved out to the outskirts of the city where he engaged in a brief skirmish with the besieging army. However, Stempel quickly realized that an uprising was starting in the city. Stempel (Russian: Shtempel), understood that the garrison was greatly outnumbered so he abandoned any attempts of defending the entire city. Instead, he quickly retreated into the citadel.
As Stempel retreated to the citadel, the besieging army invaded the city from every direction. At that moment, the small garrison was besieged by a 55,000-65,000-man army.
According to Terentyev, the besieging army consisted of the following:
- 25,000 Shahrisabzi tribesmen
- 15,000 of mixed tribes including Sarts and Kipchaks
- 15,000-25,000 citizens of Samarkand who rebelled against the Russians.
Total: 55,000-65,000.
As the siege progressed, the besieging army would suffer heavy casualties. Some tribes would later abandon the siege and retreat away from Samarkand. Therefore, the besieging army would become smaller as the siege progressed.
State of the citadel and Russian defence plan
The garrison did not have enough time to prepare the citadel for the upcoming siege. Few repairs and fortifications were complete before the siege started. Although the citadel was highly defensible, the lack of proper fortification contributed to the heavy casualties suffered by the Russian garrison.
The garrison had a supply of 200,000 rounds of ammunition, excluding soldiers' personal supplies. The garrison's supply of gunpowder amounted to 90 poods - about 1475 kg. There were also 95 rockets and 150 half-pood hand grenades.
The supply of provisions varied within different categories of food. There was enough flour and groat to feed the entire garrison for two months. There was a small supply of meat and salt that would be expended within the first days of the siege. The garrison lacked the necessary supply of fodder to feed their horses. The garrison also failed to secure or to prepare a supply of fresh water. When the siege started, the citadel's water supply was severed.
The Samarkand gate in the east side and the Bukhara gate in the south side were considered the citadel's weakest spots. Two companies of soldiers would be stationed at each of the two gates. Every single breach along the citadel's wall would be guarded by groups of 10-15 soldiers.
The garrison was supplemented by Jewish and Iranian residents, most of whom opposed the return of the Bukharan government and feared reprisal if the city was retaken. The allied army opposing the Russians was made up of Bukharans, Kokandi, several pro-Bukharan tribes, and many townspeople from Samarkand. Besides the 650 to 660 soldiers who were defending the citadel, the citadel also housed an additional 450 non-combatants who did not participate in the defence. Those included sick and wounded soldiers, and twenty detained prisoners.