Features of the Caucasian War in the Period 1817–1844 in the Reports of the Highest Military Leaders of the Separate Caucasian Corps

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the specific features of the Caucasian War, reflected in official reports, reports and orders of the senior command staff of the Separate Caucasian Corps. The purpose of the study is to identify, analyze and systematize the key features of the conduct of hostilities, the organization of territorial management, interaction with the local population, as well as the perception of the enemy and the course of the war as a whole. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the comprehensive analysis of the corps of reports from the highest level of command (Corps commanders, chiefs of staff, commanders of large formations), as a single specific source. The novelty also consists in an attempt to reveal not only the factual outline of events, but also the subjective assessments, stereotypes and priorities inherent in the top military leadership in the Caucasus during the period under review. The paper analyzes the ideas of military leaders about the nature of the theater of military operations, its influence on tactics and strategy. The approaches to assessing the forces and tactics of the enemy (Highlanders), fixing the problems of resource support for the army (logistics, recruitment, armament) are being studied. Special attention is paid to the reflection in the documents of the issues of the administrative structure of the conquered territories, policies towards loyal and hostile mountain societies. The study revealed that the command was constantly faced with problems adapting European military tactics to the conditions of mountain warfare and the guerrilla actions of the highlanders. The documents show significant difficulties in logistics and supply, which directly affected the planning and conduct of operations. The analysis made it possible to trace the evolution of views on the methods of “pacification” of the Caucasus, from exclusively forceful to attempts at administrative and economic development and attracting part of the local elite to their side.