Azov Campaigns

Timeline

1. 1695Azov fortress · AzovPeter assigned Gordon, Golovin, and Lefort to command the new-style regiments and streltsy besieging Azov, while Sheremetev led cavalry to distract the lower Dnieper. Two assaults from July were repulsed; the Ottoman garrison of some seven thousand could be resupplied by sea. Without a fleet the siege could not be closed, and Peter withdrew in autumn, learning firsthand that 'without a fleet one cannot take a sea gate.'
2. 1695–1696Voronezh · VoronezhPeter conscripted carpenters, blacksmiths, and serf labor to build transports at the Voronezh shipyards and assemble galleys shipped from Moscow, laying down gunships such as the Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul. Lefort was given command of the navy and Shein of the army. Within months Russia's first river-coastal fleet capable of blockading a sea mouth was assembled.
3. 1696Azov fortress · AzovLefort's fleet blockaded the Don's mouth, forcing Ottoman relief ships to withdraw. After artillery bombardment and the Cossack seizure of the outer works, the garrison raised a white flag on July 18 and surrendered on July 19, allowed to withdraw with personal belongings. Peter gained his sea outlet, immediately developed Taganrog, and began planning the Grand Embassy to study Western European shipbuilding and seek alliances.