With the declaration of war the belligerent states confronted each other along  front lines that totaled  several thousand kilometers wide.  The Black Sea and the peripheral areas were of decisive significance as to the course of the war. The staff officers on both sides had charted out their plans accordingly.

            The Ottoman forts along the Caucasian Black Sea coast were far from being adequately guarded. The local leaders were perturbed to find out that no reinforcement had arrived, notwithstanding the fact that the war had already been started.  A Caucasian delegation headed by Zanıko Mehmet Bey visited Istanbul to make necessary representation to the Ottoman Government.

            Mehmet Bey was the chief of a wealthy family.  He was in his fifties.  He had fought in the earlier Ottoman-Russian War. Following the war he had been in Istanbul, where he had warned the Ottoman Prime Minister and other leading statesman of the time that  the Russian empire, having had the upper hand in the aftermath of the war, would prove a great menace in the future in Caucasia  It was as a result of his plea that Ferah Ali Paşa was assigned as the Imperial Guardian of Fort Soğucak.

            Zanıko Mehmet was a man of great experience and vision; conversant in Turkish language, and well aware of the dimensions and objectives of Russian presence in Caucasia.

            As a result of his representations the Ottoman Government dispatched a several thousand strong reinforcement to Anapa under the command of I paklizade Mustafa Pa?a, who was then the Governor of Trabzon.

            The Russians had taken far more effective measures at the Caucasian front.Forty-thousand of  the two-hundred-and -fifty-thousand new conscripts were deployed in the Caucasian front.

            At the outbreak of the war the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian forces in Caucasia was Pavel Potemkin.  He was transferred to the Balkan Front, a more important theater of the war for the Russians at that time.  He was replaced by General Tokeli.

            General Tokeli, as a young officer of the Russian Army in 1775, had knocked out the rebel Zaporaj Cossacks on the Seç Island, destroying the notorious hotbed of the pirates in the area.  It was received as a surprising feat; for no one until then had ventured to land on the Island situated in the middle of the River Dnepr.

            Now the Russian high-command expected him to show a similar performance. All his superiors, particularly Potemkin, had assigned Fort Anapa as his principal target.

            The fortification of Fort Anapa had been designed by Turkish and French engineers.  It was virtually invincible if defended by a strong garrison; for it was accessible for  reinforcement through the sea.

            Tokeli, having completed his preparations, moved in late in 1788.  His forces, however, were halted in the Hatkoy and Natuhay villages.  He was engaged for a bout a month with the local tribal people who put up resistance in the form of hit-and-run strikes by smaller groups. The Russian army had been exhausted and worn out by the time it approached Fort Anapa.

            Tokeli could not launch a surprise attack against the fort contrary to his plans.  The one month delay on his way had worked to the advantage of the defenders of the fort Anapa. In the meantime the districts and the  bazaars  outside the fort had been  evacuated,  civilians had moved out to the hinterland.  As a result economically valuable assets could be saved from being pillaged by the invaders.

            Imam Mansur and his followers had their headquarters at a distance of about twenty kilometers inland to south of  Anapa.  The area was covered with a dense forest. The place was secure in that it was both out of sight and easy to defend.  They had constructed shelters and a medium sized mosque using timber  the forest provided in plenty.  The construction effort formed the Imam’s main preoccupation.

            Mansur, considering that the leadership in the coastal area was too much divided, had retired to seclusion.  He refused to meeting any one of the local nobility who came to see him. He, however continued with his sermons.

            As soon as he heard about Russian siege of Fort Anapa, the Imam went into action.

            Bastiko Lasmar, with his remaining ten men, had been in the company of Imam Mansur, though keeping some distance from him, for he was not conversant in the Çeçen language.  Therefore, notwithstanding his devotion to Imam Mansur, Lasmar  could not enter his inner circle.

            General Tokali had not any chance to use his guns he had brought to  pound the fort.   He had thought that there would be before him a fort-city ready to be placed under siege, and to be bombarded.  He had not at all taken into account the disciples of Imam, let alone the Adiğe riders.

            At the end of a brief but fierce encounter the Russian troops were routed. The Russians retreated to the north,  leaving behind them their heavy equipment. They were mercilessly chased.  Tokeli and his staff could hardly save their necks.

            General Tokali, originally a Serb, returned to Taman in such a dilapidated and disgraced condition that he had to admit his miscalculation, and resigned from the command.

            General Baron Ivan Petrovich Saltikov was appointed to replaced Tokali.

            There were too many Russian officers in Caucasia, who had lust for quick victory and easy earned reputation. They imagined Caucasia was an easy prey; for there were local independent regions rather than a central government. Corps Commander Georgi Bagdanovich Bibikov was one of such officers.

            Bibikov, taking advantage of the vacancy in the General Command, arbitrarily organized an expedition on to Fort Anapa, without seeking the approval of any of his superiors.  So to say; he was going to avenge the humiliation of General Tokali, to salvage Russian dignity.

            He appended to his regular force soldiers of fortune of the Cossack Cavalry Regiments and the Peasants’ Militia.  He set out for Anapa in late January of 1789.

            Tokeli, though arrogant, was a earnest soldier.  In contrast Bibikov was a though nonsense.  He was notorious for his irresponsible behavior and brinkmanship. He lived in the world of imaginations.

            Bibikov had with him light artillery batteries.  He carried no heavier weapons. His food supplies were good for twenty days.

            He intended to move on to Anapa with a lightening speed and  deal a sudden blow, at a moment that no one could have expected.  He had detailed his so-called select troops accordingly.  He bragged,

            -  It is going to be a suicide operation!  We shall either triumph or vanish!

            Like Tokeli, Bibikov also was entangled with the villages on his way.

            The local Natuhays and the Hatkoys from the Taman region,  who had taken shelter in the area, were ready to receive the Russian onslaught.  They had vacated their villages, and had concealed their women and children in the secluded corners of the forest.  engaged as they were in defending their own homeland, they could be more daring and ruthless fighters.

            Bibikov pillaged the vacated villages and set them on fire.  He could not, however, advance as fast as he had planned.  He could pass through any village on his way at least in one week.

            There was a very fierce resistance.  His trusted Cossack Cavalry Regiment  gradually melted away before the Adige Cavalry.

            The Natuhays and the Hatkoys made the Cossack Cavalry-men to chase them into the depths of the dense forest, divide them into smaller groups, and then destroyed them.

            Bibikov came to know the hard way that the Adiğes, whom he had reckoned as “robbers!, barbarians!”,  were not that naive as he had thought them to be. According to the orders  he issued subsequently all kinds of enemy chase was to be stopped, the army was not to flanked out,  it had to stay compact.  His future hinged on his conquest of Fort Anapa, he declared.

            Contrary to his plans he managed to come to the approached of Anapa in two months time. The first warmth of spring thawed the snow, and the early spring rains started falling.  Everywhere was drenched with water and turned muddy.

            Bibikov’s army reached the ramparts of Fort Anapa on Saturday, 24th of March, and launched attack at the fort on Sunday.

            The adventure addict enemy commander was baffled at the ferocity of the defense., His men could not even cross the trenches around the citadel, what to speak of capturing the fort.  He was forced to withdraw.

            In the meantime the support forces raised by local inhabitants, and those of Imam Mansur reached the spot to provide relief.  A horrible chase and hunt ensued.

            The rifled troops of Bibikov were encircled here and there, and destroyed.  On a narrow track leading to the north more than five-thousand Russian soldiers was killed.

            Basti Lasmar had grown beard after Imam Mansur’s fashion.  It had lent him a imposing appearance. He concealed his disabled arm inside his overcoat.  He performed every sort action using his right arm.

            He had heard about how the Cossacks had burnt and destroyed Adiğe villages. It had made him mad.  He did not concern himself with the Russian infantry-men blocked in the narrow trail.  Instead  he rushed after the Cossacks running for their life on horse back.

            Lasmar and his small group of fighters block the escape route of the Cossacks, sworded down hundreds of them.

            Miraculously his left arm seemed to have been enlivened.  He could hold the harness or move with it his coat to shield against enemy strike.  His right had dropped an enemy each time as it went up and down.

            The Commander-in-Chief of the western front, Baron Roze, had been informed of Bibikov’s departure for Anapa quite some time later, and had followed him as far as the  frontier, where he camped, only as matter of precaution. Had he been  able to catch up with Bibikov, the entire Russian army could have been destroyed.

            The surviving Russian soldiers were no more than a few  hundred.  They had abandoned their weapons.Their uniforms and boots had been drenched in mu, and were in pieces.

            The Baron was shocked at the miserable condition of the Russian soldiers.  He was frank enough in describing his feeling in the  report he sent to the Russian High Command.  “Bibikov and his men were so miserable that at their sight I could not hold back my tears,” he wrote.

            Bibikov was court martialed by the new Commander-in-Chief.  His rank was forfeited.

            Queen Catherine was very much impressed when  informed about the details of the Bibikov affair.  She ordered the Russian General Command in  Caucasia to restore Bibikov’s rank. She praised the soldiers involved in the expedition, and awarded each of them with Silver Medal in recognition of their loyalty.

            Caucasia was a land of adventures to the Queen of Russia, to its generals, officers and the ordinary soldier.  Any act designed to destroy the Caucasian was a sacred  act to be publicly praised and upheld in Russia.

O0O

            At the time when Imam Mansur  took up the flag for defense of his homeland, he was little informed about international political situation.  Since 1785 he confronted the Russians on several occasions, and in the process he gained experience relevant to the techniques of warfare.  While enlightening his audience, he himself also learned much from them.

            The key area for the Caucasian struggle for independence was the west, that is, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasian land mass.  It was where Caucasia had an outlet to international waters. All vital commercial contacts of Caucasia were maintained through the same area. It was through the harbors on this coast that the Caucasians could have any chance of communication with the Ottoman Sultan, the Caliph  of Islam.

            Imam Mansur had discovered this fact right at the beginning.  His move to the west had been prompted by the consideration of utilizing the same advantages.

            Nevertheless he was disillusioned.  He did not receive the sort of reception he had anticipated.  He could not find what he had expected in western Caucasia.

            In fact it was not the people in general that had disappointed Imam Mansur.  Rather it was the ruling class there, including the exponents of the Ottoman administration and the local leaders that had adopted a negative stance in relation to him.

            The Ottoman statesmen had misgivings about Imam Mansur since the out-set. They had been alarmed by his claim: “I am assigned to awaken and unite the peoples of Caucasia!” To them his message connoted insurrection against the authority of the Ottoman Empire.  As a cumulative effect of this and similar other negative presumption led the Ottoman authorities to under-rate Imam Mansur and his mission.

            The Caucasian leaders too had judged him roughly along similar lines. They championed the way of life formed and developed within the framework of traditions, and were not prepared to share authority with any one else.

            The local leaders in the coast, nevertheless, appreciated Imam Mansur, who fought against the Russians, shoulder to shoulder with them on their own side. On the question of the need for a unified leadership, however, they were non-committal, and uncooperative.    They behaved so obviously because there perception of social order had its roots in their centuries old history.  To scrap it, and to replace it with something new, for example with a unified leadership,  was too a difficult job to accomplish.

            Imam Mansur had started working  in the east.  He moved on to the west step by step, combing all the areas on his way before he reached the coast.  He had observed the same bare fact all over northern Caucasia.

            However, he had certain positive expectations.  He had hoped that perception of the great menace that threatened  Caucasia  from so close a distance would at least alarm the sensible persons.

            The early years of his campaign  had earned him great reputation. He was received with great interest in the outskirts of  Anapa.  He was visited by representatives of all the leading families in the coast, including the Zanıkos, Çipakos, Bezrikos, Boletokos, Kalubatukos and Koseyikos.

            Zanıko Mehmet Bey had manifested a special regard for Imam Mansur. He had hosted the Imam at his farm for some time, and had assured him that he would always be at his service in procuring his needs.

 The ring of affection built up around him, however,  did not lost for long.

            The Ottoman authorities in Caucasian had kept Imam Mansur under surveillance.  Mustafa Paşa had received orders from Istanbul to be on guard against any  unrest that might be caused by Imam Mansur.

            The position taken by the Istanbul Government had troubled both Mustafa Pa?a and the local leaders.  They, therefore, obviously developed misgivings about him.  In due course, however, a new approach with respect to Imam Mansur gained weight.  He was treated simply as a poor dervish, who had devoted himself in the service of religion and the homeland.  A superficial judgment of this kind on the part of an influential sector in the coast dampened popular interest in Imam Mansur, and compelled him to go into solitude.

            Imam Mansur had not turned his back to his people and their cause. The government and the local leaders had disappointed him.  He had amply manifested his own psychic condition during the last battle of Anapa.  He demonstrated to everyone that he was not a simple hermit, but was an active patriot.
 
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 
 

            Imam Mansur had deliberately selected the location of his last headquarters on the way to Soğ     ucak (Tsemez). The land did not belong to any person, and was situated very close to the shortest track between Anapa and Soğucak.

            The area was rich in wild life.  The base of the valley was full of  trees that bore chestnut, walnut, hazelnut and similar other fruit.  Mushroom and other edible vegetation were available in abundance.  Also there were wild animals fit for hunting either for their meat or for economic utility, including pheasant and  the jungle fowl.  Deer, roebuck and wild goat came down to the valley to graze and water.

            The area, rich in natural resources, provided the Imam’s disciples with sufficient food.  Part of them cultivated maze and part of them hunted in the forests, and practiced shooting.

            Basti Lasmar and his men were already experienced in hunting.  They never returned from hunting empty handed.

            Lasmar, though his left are did not work, did never miss a flying or running target.  The Imam’s disciples admired Lasmar’s extraordinary shooting ability.

            Prince Gazi Geray was in charge of organizing Imam Mansur’s contacts with the environment. Also he provided certain items required in the camps.

            Some times he prepared excursion plans for the Imam, and accompanied him to the neighboring valleys and villages; thereby  providing Imam Mansur with opportunity to address the people.

            That was what Mansur need most. He cherished to contribute to the enlightenment of the common man, and in improving his own awareness.  He derived morale satisfaction in  sharing his own feelings with the masses.

            He had simplified his wordings so that the common man understood.  He explained the basic principles of Islam in short and clear sentences.  Invariably in each of his sermons he discussed the issue of defense of the homeland.  He emphasized that the faithful had  to be free and independent.

            He was aware that Islam was not properly understood in the coast; and that the people were not generally fully adapted to the new faith..  Therefore he took care not to offend his audience.  He mainly dwelt on common values and virtues like patriotism, dignity and chastity.  He expertly used the notions upheld  by community.

            He was frustrated in view of the lack of interest in him on the part of the Ottoman authorities and the local leaders.  He once considered returning to the east.  He meditated for a long time on that point, and sought a divine inspiration to decide whether to give up or persist. The rather lengthy period of  his indecision came to an end.  He decided to stay on and persist against all odds.

            There were many able religious teachers in the east, in Daghistan and in the Çeçen Region, who could devote in preaching the religion; while the west was a virgin-land in that respect.  Though work for propagation of Islam had made considerable progress during the tenure of Ferah Ali Pa? a as Ottman Commander in the Caucasian coast; but it was far from being adequate. Islam had not taken firm root with all its institutions in the area  as yet.   Maintenance of law and order, and all other executive functions were conducted in accordance with the dictates of old customs and traditions.  There existed an imperative need to supplement  popular sentiment for freedom and independence by spiritual values.

            Those were the considerations that made Imam Mansur to keep on staying in the coast.

            When he first came to the coast he had a large group of companions with him.  By now most of them have returned home.  Most of the remaining companions were his devoted disciples who have been with him since the beginning.  They belonged to the Imam’s hearth, that is the inner circle of devotees, in accordance with the principles of the Nak?ibendi Order.

            The Adiğes of various tribal affiliations, and the Tatars and Nogays, who had joined forces with Imam Mansur, were not familiar with the Principles of the Nakşibendi Order; for it required a certain amount of training to understand them.  They remained at the headquarters of Imam Mansur because of their religious fervor.

            Lasmar and his colleagues were laymen, who had no particular training in terms of the religion. What to speak of understanding the Principles of the Nak?ibendi Order, they had only a rudimentary knowledge of  Islam, the faith they professed. As such they were not to be expected to experience ecstasy. Therefore, it was highly difficult to explain the impulse which kept them attached to Imam Mansur.

            Who knows may be the grand Basti wanted to follow the example of his late cousin, Bastiko Genar, by representing his family in this tumultuous region of Caucasia; and the others were there out of allegiance to him.

            This being the picture of the spiritual aspect of Imam Mansur’s camp, there were certain common criteria that cemented together all the members of the camp:  They all were patriots, dedicated for defense of the homeland.

            They had formed a unique brotherhood.  Notwithstanding the linguistic barrier and the disparity in their level of spiritual awareness, they maintained a superb degree of understanding.  Non of them had any private belonging, except their weapons and their garments.  Whatever else the community possessed were common to all.

            They had about five hundred  beehives, which yielded them honey and wax.  They processed the skins and the horns of the animals they hunted. They traded the products at the bazaars of Anapa and Tsemez against the materials they consumed.  In other words they were economically self-sufficient, independent of the people in the coast.

            Lasmar, though his left arm was disabled, was an indispensable member of the camp. Ignorant and a loafer in his youth, now Lasmar was a mature person and a dedicated  idealist.  He had his wife and children waiting for him back at home. His dedication for the sake of the homeland bared him returning to his family.

            Occasionally he did miss his wife and children.  The awareness that his household was under the care of his relatives dispelled his worries. Besides, his wife Goşemıd was capable of solving any problem that might came up.  So he was comforted and could rest assured.

            PşılıZavur, Lasmar’s groom, was not as tolerant as his master was. He missed the Psıfabe Valley and Çemko very much. Frequently he lost sleep. Nevertheless he never confided his mental situation to anyone.
 
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 

            The Russians attacked Fort Anapa time and again.  It caused serious concern. The Commanding officer of the fort as well as the local leaders were greatly perturbed.

            The fort was inadequately manned.  The civilian volunteers formed the backbone of the defense of the fort.  Most of the guns were out of date, their range being too short.  They worried Mustafa Pa?a.

            Mustafa Pa?a invited the local leaders for a meeting, and discussed with them the problems and the measures to be taken.

            The leaders were not as pessimistic as the Pa?a was.  According to their point of view Russia had deployed a major part of its forces in the Balkans. Therefore, presently their positions were not as strongly defended as were assumed to be.  They assessed the Russian attacks on Fort Anapa were harassment actions intended as show of force. They proposed an immediate counter-attack rather than waiting for the Russians to attack them.

            Mustafa Pa?a was convinced.  The existing strength of the Fort Guards was not sufficient to under take the task. Fresh reinforcement, including light guns, was needed.

            The Pa?a had repeatedly requested Istanbul for reinforcement. The Government had advised him to manage with what presently was available. He did not believe that a renewed representation would be useful.

            The Pa?a concluded that the best recourse would be for the Caucasian of approach Istanbul for help.  Finally Mustafa Paşa’s proposal was adopted, and it was agreed to dispatch a delegation headed by Zanıko Mehmet Bey.  A light vessel was allocated for the purpose.

            By the time Zanıko Mehmet Bey arrived in Istanbul, Sultan Abulhamid the Second had expired.  The Sultanate of Selim the Third had been inaugurated.  Koca Yusuf Pa?a had been assigned at Sadrazam, i.e., the Prime Minister.

            In Istanbul the Otoman statesmen advised Mehmet Bey that he should see the Sadrazam rather than the new  Ottoman monarch.  The Sadrazam was better aware of the course of the war and the resources at the disposal of the Government, they pointed out to him.

            Mehmet Bey called on the Sadrazam at the Ottoman Army Headquarters in the Balkans, and briefed him about the situation in Caucasia. He informed him that the Russians positions in Caucasia was precarious, and it was opportune to start an offensive there.

            The Eastern Front Command was the closest to Caucasia.  The Sadrazam signed  an order addressed to Battal Hüseyin Pa?a, the Commander of the Communication Zone in the Canik Region.  Mehmet Bey, accompanied by escorts,  was to deliver him the order personally.  So it was agreed.

            Pursuant to the instructions contained in the Sadrazam’s memorandum Battal Hüseyin Pa?a was required to immediately set out for Caucasia with a ten thousand strong force.

            Zanıko Mehmet Bey hopefully traversed a distance of two thousand kilometers on horse back to reach the headquarters of Battal Hüseyin Pa?a.

            The Paşa, however, was not happy with the instruction he  received.  He believed that the chances for a victory in Caucasia were too slim. He was nervous.  He insulted Mehmet Bey for having persuaded the Sadrazam to issue such an order, and dismissed him from his office.  He angrily said,

            -  Go home!  Stop begging.  Defend your homeland like decent men would!  It is impossible for me leave my command post!

            Zanıko Mehmet Bey was helpless.  He returned home.  Back in Caucasia he said not a single word about the insult he had to endure  or about the weakness of the Ottoman State.  Instead he imparted positive publicity to boost up the moral of his people.  He told the Caucasians that Battal Hüseyin Paşa was soon to land on the  Caucasian coasts with a strong army.

            A long time passed since; and there was no sign of Battal Hüseyin Pa?a’s movement towards Caucasia.  As time went by the people in Anapa were increasingly concerned.

            Fort Anapa had been besieged twice in the last one year. Its defensive capability was gradually depleting. The districts ousted the fort had been destroyed, commercial and social life had ceased,  the local population had withdrawn to their farms and  villages, and a horrible silence prevailed in the area.  Beside material degradation, the moral of the residents of the fort was dwindling. Under the circumstances it could be difficult to brace an other Russian assault.

            Mustafa Paşa, the Guardian General of Fort Anapa,  once again sent Zanıko Mehmet Bey at the head of yet another delegation to Istanbul.

            Zanıko this time met Sultan Selim the Third.  He narrated to the Ottoman Monarch the military and social aggrandizement of Russia in Caucasia at the expense of the Ottoman empire.  He underlined the significance of the military road to Georgia the Russians had established through the territories of the Kabardey; and assured him that  if the Ottoman forces and their Caucasian allies were  to cut off the road, Russian advance in the Caucasus was bound to collapse.

            The Sultan was persuaded.  A Ferman¹  was dispatched to Battal Hüseyin Paşa.  He was ordered to cut off the Military Road to Georgia at any cost.

            Battal Hüseyin Paşa was not at all prepared to undertake the operation;  he had no heart to go to Caucasia.  Pusuant to the new order he was was obliged to be in Anapa before the winter season had set in.  He, therefore, reluctantly set out with a few thousand troops then available at his disposal.

            Morals boosted up as Hüseyin Paşa landed at Anapa.  Though meager the strength of the Paşa’s army was, it was publicized that he had arrived with “a huge army”.  The Caucasian leaders let it be known at the Russian military positions all over Caucasian front line that “the Turkish  Commander had settled in Fort Anapa with a force of forty-thousand strong.”

            In the aftermath of Bibikov’s rout at the approaches of Fort Anapa the Russians had effected certain reorganization of their forces.  Brigadier General Ivan Ivanovich and Von Ferzen  were assigned to command the Russian Army Corps in Caucasian.  Count de Balmen was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian theater of war.

            Count de Balmen, having been informed about the arrival at Fort Anapa of Battal Hüseyin Pa?a in command of a huge army, alerted all the Russian units along the battle lines, and ordered additional defensive measures be taken at all the forts.

            The Count was a sick old man.  For days he waited with his fingers on the trigger anticipating an immediate offensive by Battal Hüseyin Paşa.  He sent out spies to find out what were going on around.  The quiescence at Fort Anapa made him all the more nervous.

            The actual situation was not as the Count had presumed to be. Notwithstanding the strong representation on the part of the local leaders to launch an immediate offensive, Hüseyin Paşa would not budge out of the Fort.  He ought to have moved and cut off the road to Georgia during the summer months, when the waters were low.  He was furious at Zaniko Mehmet Paşa, who reminded him of the urgency of the matter.

            Rumors about an impending large scale offensive of the Ottoman army supported by the Caucasian volunteer forces has been in circulation  throughout Caucasia.  Kabardey was boiling inside.  The Princes awaited the signal.  The disciples of Imam Mansur was ready long ago.

            Sultan Selim, informed as he had been of Battal Hüseyin Paşa’s reluctance in going to Caucasia, had developed misgivings about the Paşa’s performance.  The Sultan dispatched Mahmut Haseki to Anapa to find out what the Paşa had been doing there.

            Hüseyin Paşa, having discovered that he was being watched, was scared.  He readied his forces in a matter of few days, and marched out of Fort Anapa with thirty one guns and necessary amount of ammunition.

            All the Caucasian provinces, including Kabardey, had been alerted.  An Adiğe force, roughly fifteen-thousand strong, served as the advance guard. Imam Mansur’s disciples formed a separate detachment.

            It was middle of July 1790 when the Army had its first camp  at the bank of the Adgum Stream, a tributary of Kuban.  Hüseyin Paşa stayed there for more than one week to “polish up” the Army.

            There came to the Army headquarters the Representatives of Kabardey too. They, together with the representatives of the Natuhay, Şapsığ and Bjeduğ tribes, extensively briefed the Paşa. They advised him to attack without further delay; because the Russian lines were very weak at the time.

            Hüseyin Paşa nodded his head in affirmative; but did not budge from what he had in mind.  He moved on very slow because apprarently he wanted to excercise caution.  At each camp he sent out scout teams far away in every direction, and waited for days for their return.

            In two months they reached the northern bank of the River Kuban.  Hüseyin Paşa ordered to camp there in the open.  There were Russian fortresses both in the front and in the rear of the encampment.  The Paşa’s decision was incredible.

            In the meantime a Russian cavalry force commanded by General Orberliani of Georgian extraction and General Harman began following the Ottoman Army from some distance.  Imam Mansur’s disciples and the Caucasian Cavalry Units clashed with the advance guards of the Russian forces. at a number of places.

            The Ottoman Army had alredy crossed the waters which hindered transportation of their guns.  Now they were on the steppes, where they could advance at a  greater speed.  They had approached very close to the Kabardey Region.  Nevertheless  Battal Hüseyin Paşa seemed to be there not for fighting but for excursion.

            He did not intend to fight.  He sought an environment which provided only for his personal security.  He meant to seek asylum with the Russians.

            No doubt there were certain causes that led him to an ominous recourse of such a magnitude.

            Some times ago he was removed from Governorship of Trabzon, to be replaced by Sarı Abdullah Paşa, a protege of his father.  He was offended due to the incident.  Besides, the blunders he had committed recently were grave enough to make him worry about his possibly perilous future.

            Battal Hüseyin Paşa disillusioned everyone who had trusted him.  One night he and a few of his confidants defected to the Russians.  He also carried with himself  the treasury of the Arm, which amounted to eight-hundred sacks of gold coins.

            The Army was thus left without a head.  The Unit Commanding Officers did not dare to advance any further.  With the help of the efforts of the indigenous volunteer forces the Army managed to return to Anapa, with the guns and the ammunition intact, and without any causality.
 
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 

            The defection of Battal Hüseyin Paşa both encouraged and scared the Russians at the same time.  The act of treason committed by the Turkish Commander had earned them precious time.  However, the Turkish Army was back at its base intact; and the presence of such strong force in Caucasia could prove dangerous at any time.  These were the points underlined in the reports of the Russian commanding officers to their High-Command.

            The Generals assigned  to Caucasia one after the other to replace Prince Potemkin as the theater Commander of Russian Forces, proved of no use. Queen Catherina finally appointed Ivan Vasilyevich  Gudovich as her Commander-in-Chief at the Caucasian Front.

            General Gudovich was at the Balkan Front when he received his order of transfer.  He had gained great experience there as a member of the staff of General Suvarov, who had been in command of the Russian forces,  which had  laid seige on Fort Ismail.

            He set out immediately upon receiving the Queen’s order.  He reached Fort Georgiyevski in January 1791.  As a first step he call his war council for a meeting.

            General Gudovich happened to know the Turks in the European theater. He was aware that the Ottoman State would give priority to the defense of the Balkans over that of Caucasia.  He concluded that the operations undertaken by Battal Hüseyin Paşa  was no more than a scare-crow.

            In fact on the Caucasian coast there existed no Ottoman military presence of substantial significance.  Therefore the opportunity ought to be cashed. So the Russian Commander-in-Chief assessed.

            Though hopeful as he was, General Gudovich averted the mistakes committed by his predecessors.  Instead of attacking headlong, he opted to prepare and to collect intelligence.  He sent out surveillance teams and agents to the southern bank of Kuban.  Studied the resources and capabilities of Fort Anapa.

            Anapa formed the center of north-western Caucasia in terms of military and administration. The sea side was accessible for delivery of support against invasion. It could be attacked overland. The local forces, however, wouldn’t let the fort be surround ; for the rear of the forces was liable to be assaulted by the indigenous forces.

            Should Fort Anapa capitulate to the Russians in any event, it would end Ottoman presence in Caucasia, and would terminate supply of commercial goods  and military equipment from the Ottoman State. The coastal strip could be effectively blockaded.

            Bearing these facts  in mind; Gudavich completed his preparations to start an invasion. His forces, comprising of fifteen infantry battalions, and artillery and cavalry regiments crossed the river Kuban; and on sixteenth of  June he reached the approaches of Fort Anapa.

            The Russian Navy also sailed out of its base in the Strait of Kerç.

            The operations were conducted in complete secrecy.  The Guardians of the Fort as well as the Caucasians were caught unawares.

            I peklizade Mustafa Paşa, looking from the rampart, was a little demoralized at the sight of the Russian army. The invaders this time seemed different from the previous ones.  He ordered a light-sail-boat to depart for Istanbul to call for support, and swiftly engaged in preparations for defense.

            Including women and children, there were about fifteen thousand people in fort. He immediately held a War Council meeting, and discussed the measures to be taken.  The guns were moved on to the embrasures.

            Zanıko Mehmet Bey and the other local leaders held an emergency meeting and resolved to hit the enemy from behind.  About one hundred messengers were sent out to the hinterland to gather a militia force.

            By the time the news was delivered at Imam Mansur’s camp, the Russians artillery had already begun pounding the rampart of Fort Anapa.

            Within a few days a confusing sensation overwhelmed all over Caucasia.  Villages close to Anapa were vacated, the domestic animals were moved further inland.

            Basti Bram was ill; bed ridden and exhausted.  He was all the more shaken when told that a large Russian army had invaded Fort Anapa.  He gazed perplexed for a while at  those sitting around him.  With a trembling voice he said: “Let everyone be informed”.

            In the evening of the same day, supported by his nephew Aslan, went to the guest-house.  He met with the village elders, who had gathered there.  They agreed to immediately contact with the leading personalities elsewhere in the Psıfabe Valley to raise a collective force to be sent to Anapa.

            In two days time several hundred riders assembled at the large meadow near the Psıkuy Village.

            Biyenko Fetgari and Bastiko Aslan selected from among the crowd two-hundred and fifty volunteers; and suggested that the remaining volunteers stay in the valley  ready to handle any possible emergency.  The party immediately  set out for Anapa.

            The news of war had infused into him fresh vigor.   Notwithstanding his illness, everyday he dress up,  strolled out to the courtyard, and sat there under the sun for several hours, his eyes fixed to the west.   The heat of the sun-shine, which permeated deep to his bones, accelerated his blood circulation.  The thoughts boiling in his brain kicked  his heart.

            The Russian artillery had been bombarding the ramparts of Fort Anpa for ten days in vain; not a single crack was in sight. Local forces had begun to assemble in the forests at the rear of the Russian forces. The groups of cavalry volunteers from the provinces of Şapsığ, Jane and Bjeduğ were awaiting  their leaders to decide when to attack.

            Imam Mansur and his followers also joined the local forces.

            A few days later the Adiğe forces moved into action.  Their hit and run tactic worked well.  The Russian troops had been increasingly demoralized.

            Gudovich anticipated the development.  He organized an other battle line to safeguard the rear of his army.  Pointed some of the guns to the east, and ordered General Zapryajski’s Cossack Cavalry  to mount a counter-attack.

            The Russian commander was particular to keep his troops together, not to chase the Adiğe cavalry into the forests, and to target only of the gates of the fort.  He used his guns to bombard a restricted target area.

            The Caucasian leaders were helpless against the guns.  The Adiğe troops had a few shot guns.  Most of them were armed with swords only. Some carried the traditional bow-and-arrow.

Considering the risk involved in a prolonged siege, Gudavich  decided to employ a decisive tactic.  In the evening of nineteenth of June ordered an affected withdrawal, to give the false impression that he had terminated the siege.  He removed the artillery batteries leaving the fort out of range.

            The walls of Fort Anapa had collapsed here and there.  He meant to penetrate through those points.

            In the early hours of the next morning he set his plan into action.  He moved his rifled troops towards and ditches around the fort.

            By day light the two side were engaged in a hand to hand fight.

            There was a very fierce fighting.  The Russian Army Corps commanded by Sits, though once repulsed, regrouped and stood fast.

            About ten-thousand Kabardey volunteers, including the Psıfabe Unit, greatly harassed Genera Zapryovski’s Cossacks.

            The battle became so fierce that the belligerents stopped being cautious.  Imam Mansur could not restrain at the sight of the Russians climbing the walls of the fortress.  He initiated a suicidal assault.  He led his disciples through the Russian line on to the rampart.

            Mustafa Paşa was watching the bloody battle being faught very close to fort.  He mistook Imam Mansur’s approach  so close to the fort as a sign of decisive defeat of the Russians.  Therefore he ordered the gate on that sector be opened, and the infantry should start a counter-attack.  This move proved to be the beginning of a great misfortune.

            Gudovich immediately took advantage of the opportunity offered. He brought in all his reserves, including the cavalry, in to the battle.

            The troops that came out of the fort in a confused manner and Imam Mansur’s forces put together could not overpower the Russian onslaught.  In a confused hand to hand fighting, both sides entered the fort at the same time.

            The horrible close fighting went on for several hours.

            Imam Mansur was wounded.  Lasmar was one among those who tried to guard him.  The old Basti murmured a prayer out of his dried lips, and at the same time cut down a Russian at each stroke of his sword.

            His cape was gone. His eyes was reddened.  Each time when he waved his sword in his right had, his paralyzed left hand freely move in the space. So his giant physique presented a haunting image.

           Gudovich had ordered his troops to capture Imam Mansur alive.  He planned to submit him to Queen Catherina in good shape, and thereby  earn an added fame.

            What excited the Russian commander most was the message expounded by the Imam. He intended to destroy it.  He wanted to prove that “the mythical person who called for Caucasian unity was of no real value” .

            A few fighters were left with Imam Mansur.  The group  shifted towards the western side of the fort while fighting.

            The resistance was gradually losing force.  The Russian commander on the sector where the Imam stood firm,  had no difficulty to identify the Imam and his men.  He halted his soldiers and ordered  to load their rifles; and then shouted: “Surrender!”

            Imam Mansur realized that the situation was hopeless.  He told his men it was of no use to go on fighting; for he did not want them to die in vain.

            About ten Çeçen, however, refused to surrender, an unacceptable humiliation.  Calling “Ya Allah!”  they charged at the Russians, waving their swords in the air.  Bastiko Lasmar followed them.

            The Russian infantry unit emptied their rifles on this small detachment.  Three of the Çeçens were fatally wounded, immediately fell down.  Lasmar and the surviving Çeçens dived amidst the Russians.  Though most of them wounded, turned the battle ground to a pool of blood; and were martyred one by one only after the had killed ten to twenty enemy each.

            Imam Mansur was taken to Gudovish, blood dropping from the skirt of his garment.  Fearing any mishap, he was immediately taken away, escorted by Cossack cavalry men, to Fort Georgievski.

            Two days after of the fall of Fort Anapa Ottoman Fleet appeared on the horizon.  There was nothing left  that could be done, however. A Russian flag flapped on top of the highest point in the fort.

            The Ottoman Fleet bombarded the fort for a while as if protesting its occupation of the fort; and later moved out of sight.

            Gudavich soon concluded that he could not hold on in Anapa for long; for the Caucasians sustained their fierce resistance.  Nightly raids by the Adiğes inflicted incessant losses to the Russians. There was no chance to suppress them, least to destroy them.  Under the approaching winter conditions the situation seemed to worsen further.

            The Russians excavated ditches under the walls of the fort at several points, wherein they buried barrels of gun-powder.   All of the timber structures in the inner and the exterior chambers of the fort were set on fire. The entire amount of available explosives were used to destroy the fort and the town until it turned to a total ruin.

            Gudavich, convinced that Fort Anapa could be no longer of any use, ordered  his forces to withdraw.

            The Russians having removed Imam Mansur from Anapa under arrst, they deported surviving population of Anapa en mass.  All of them, including women, children and the aged, were treated as prisoners of war.  The people were driven to Crimea under horrible distressing condition.

            The arrogant Russian commander rode upright on his horse, in front of the columns of his troops.  By no means it was not an  easy won victory.  About a hundred of his officers, and half of his troops  had parished.  Most of the survivors had been wounded.  The prize against such a heavy causality was  a  ruined fort left behind.

            Gudavich was plotting in his mind the report, which he would be submitting to Queen Catherina, as he approached Fort Georgievski. “I have thrown the Turks out of Caucasia.  Most important of all, I have captured Imam Mansur, the mythical Man of Caucasia.  Here I am presenting  him to Your Majesty.”  That was what he contemplated to put in his report ².

            Following the withdrawal of the Russian forces from the ruined Anapa, the Adiğ     e forces, which had been gathered  from  various places of western Caucasia, were demobilized.

            The bad news reached the Psıfabe Valley earlier than the return of Pasıfabe Unit.

            Gigi, the eldest of the Basti women, had passed away late in June of the same year.  She had been the symbol of the Basti Family in that she held the family together by virtue of her authoritative, albeit unifying and compromising temperament.  The whole of the Basti quarter had been overwhelmed with sorrow on her demise.

            Hardly one week had passed since the death of Gigi, when the news about the fall of Anapa, the destruction of the city and the massacre of it people, reached Çığızaç.

            The advance party of the Psıfabe Volunteers,  without going in to details simply informed that Fort Anapa had been totally destroyed, that the inhabitants had been deported, and that Imam Mansur and his companions had been sworded.

            The women-folk were  as patient as the men.  They cried for days in heart rendering lamentation.  Lasmar’s wife was not much vociferous in compliance with the requirement of Adiğe traditions.  She was not to be seen around either.

            The male members of family stayed most of the time in the guest houses.  Basti Bram, notwithstanding his ill heath, was restless.  He was unable to stay long at one place. He has been moving from one courtyard to the other, going round the whole of the Basti quarters, with his knees shacking.  When exhausted, he would rest on the mounting-stone³ ,   his eyes fixed to the west.  He had been waiting for the reliable news Basti Aslan would bring him from the western front.

            The volunteers in the Psıfabe Unit, though had fought against the Cossacks of General Zapryojski, had not suffered any significant causality.  They had employed  hit and run tactic, and had managed to protect themselves.
The Psıfabe Valley Contingent of volunteers, headed by Biyenko Fetgari and Bastik

             Aslan, returned to the valley late in July.

            Bram took a deep breath at the sight of Basti Aslan back home in good shape.  He narrated to him all that he knew about the battle of Anapa in minute details.

            Aslan and his company had stayed out side the  Russian line of encirclement.  He had not, therefore, witnessed the battle inside the fort.  He kept on avoiding reference to Lasmar.

            Finally, however, he could not help letting the bitter fact be known.

            -  Imam Mansur and his companions broke through the Russian line, and entered the fort.  The enemy troops followed them inside the fort.  I think there was a very fierce fighting there.  Most probably no fighting man survived.

            Aslan coughed as if his wind-pipe had blocked.  He could hardly avoid crying.  Aslan went on,

            -  From a distance we watched the miserable captives being taken from the fort away towards the north. They were mostly women and children. I don’t know whether Lasmar was among them.

            Bast Bram took it for granted that Lasmar was killed.  He kept the conclusion to himself.  He conducted cautiously as if playing for time.  “Lasmar was disabled man anyway.  I don’t think the Russians did him any harm,”  he remarked, rubbing his hands.  He gazed around, as if he wanted to measure the impact of his remark. In the meantime he took care not to come eye to eye with Lasmar’s father ?orkan.

            The sorrowful summer days passed away.  Time, they say, is the best cure.  The  embers of pain were covered by the ashes of time. In due course of time the bloody incidents gradually went into oblivion.

            Go?emıd did not ever again go to Çemko. She stayed in Çığızaç. For a long time she hoped  her husband would return home.  She fancied of being together with him.  In due course of time she yielded to the bitter reality.  She devoted all her time to her children in bringing them up in a best possible manner.

            Pşımef  had lived through his childhood and youth, inspired by a virile man as Lasmar, and a resolute mother as Goşemıd. As the sorrow, which had  overwhelmed the family upon the death of his father, was overcome;  he appeared again in the courtyards of the Basti quarters with a renewed vigor.  He grew to be a popular young man in the eyes of the members of the family and that of the people of Çığızaç. His sister Nefıj too followed his suit.  She grew to be one of the most beautiful girls in the whole of the Valley.
 
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 

            The Zaporoj Cossacks driven out of the Seç Island by General Tokel, had been tragically suppressed and scattered.  Some of them had taken  asylum in the territories of the Ottoman Empire, and some had settled down,in groups, in the border provinces.  Their chieftain or  the Ataman named Kolnisheviski and his deputy named Globa, too much distress over what had befallen upon their community, had shaved off their hair and had taken refuge in a monastery, in protest against Queen Catherina.

            Catherina and her generals later admitted having treated them unjustly, and helped them to re-unite.  They were settled somewhere between the rivers Buğ and Dnestr.  The Cossack refugees in the Ottoman territories also were invited to repatriate.

            The Zaporoj Cossacks played a significant part in the last war. The Ottoman Navy  heavily suffered in their hand at the mouth of the river Dnestr. They also demonstrated extraordinary courage during the siege of Forts Oçakov and Ismail.

            The Cossack community had always been in flux.  At peace time they were problematic. In the aftermath of the war they caused a serious commotion on the Black Sea coast.

            The Russian Queen was outraged due to the incident.  She issued firm orders that the Zaporoj Cossacks be dissolved within the cavalry units of the army, and be dispersed througout her empire.

            The chieftains of the present generation of the Zaporoj Cossacks were not ignorant as their predecessors had been.  Ataman Harko Zakhar Çepege and his deputy Anton Golovotiy were experienced men of vision.  The latter  had received a good education.  He was a graduate of the Academy of Theology in Kiev.

            Golovotiy went to Petersburg, where he was admitted to the Queen’s audience.  He presented her with a background of his people during the past centuries, including incredible stories of their  adventures in Crimea and Poland.  He also told her how they had sailed to the Back Sea in small boats they called ?ayka, and sacked the  Strait of Istanbul.

            The Cossack Ataman impressed Catherina by his colorful stories. He was aware of her weak side.  He went on with his discourse before uttering what actually he had in mind. He said.

            -  Your Majesty! We would have greater chance for victory if the Zaporoj Cossacks were settled in the areas close to the Circassians.

            So the Queen was convinced on the advantages of settling the Zaporoj Cossacks in the Kuban Basin.

            In October 1792 Zaporoj Cossacks set out for Caucasia, and before the winter had set in they had been settled in their temporary camps at the mouth of the river Kuban.

            General Gudavich also had a similar plan in mind. With the concent of the Queen he forced the Cossacks of the Don Basin to migrate to the confluence of the rivers Kuban and Laba.

            Within one year the Don Cossacks built for themselves four settlements in the area, which the named as Grigoriopolis, Prochnokop, Temnoles and Vorovskoles.

            The Zaporoj Cossacks in compliance with the guidance of Golovonti, their Ataman, engaged in cultivation and soon became productive.

            A pious leader as he had been, Ataman Golovotiy tried to teach his people that it was not essential to fight and pillage in order to sustain their existence.  He advised them to reconcile and be friendly with  the Caucasians rather than fighting against them. His advice worked.

            The Şapsığs, Bjeduğs and Janes watched the strangers that had suddenly appeared in the neighborhood with intense curiosity for some  time.  The Caucasian tribal people found them rather different from the Russians, and somewhat akin to themselves.

            The Zaporaj Cossacks had a specific appearance. With their warm and unpretentious temperament, supplemented by their colorful costume, they appeared fascinating.  Their daily life resambled a carnival.

            The male put on a red robe, very loose trousers, adecorated belt, long socks, and red long boots touching the knees. His conic headgear, with a red pompon on top of it, was made of soft lamb skin.  He carried a double barreled pistol and a silver studded dagger attached on to his belt.  When leaving the camp he invariably carried on him a rifle and a heavy sword.

            The Adiğes and the Cossacks were equally curious about one another.  The Cossacks were particularly fascinated by the light-weight ponies of the Şapsığ, Bjeduğand Janes, which were extraordinarily enduring.

            In compliance with Ataman Golovotiy’s advice the Cossacks suppressed their lust for savagery.  For the first time in their life they chose to purchase stallions, rather than stealing them.

            The Bjeduğs received positively the Cossack request for stallions to be sold to them.  It formed the first step towards better understanding.

            The Bjeduğs once lived in the territories to the north of the river Kuban.  They had migrated to the south in the aftermath of occupation of the northern Kuban Basin by the Russians. Presently the Bjeduğs were partly engaged in the art of processing  of silver, and partly in commerce. Majority of them, however, earned their livelihood by means of animal husbandry.

            The Bjeduğs had serious problems in livestock business.  There was often quarrel between the Bjeduğs and the Şapsığ over the use of pastures.  The friction between the shepherds, in due course of time, turned to confrontation between the Beys of the tribal chieftains.  Tension in the pastures between the river Kuban and the Adgum Stream assumed  dangerous dimensions.

            Some of the prominent Şapsığ families in the area called the Abzehs for help.  The Bjeduğ s retaliated the move by calling the Zaporoj Cossacks for assistance.

            The two rivals sides confronted at the Bziyk Meadows. There was a fierce fight.  The Şapsığs had not taken the Zaporojes into account, and therefore, had underrated the Bjeduğside. The Şapsığ -Abzeh alliance was eventually beaten back.

            The incident was received with much regret in  western Caucasia.

            The Bjeduğs, who had invited the Cossacks to the south of Kuban were severely castigated. The Şapsığ Beys, who were involved in the incident, also were condemned.  A reconciliation meeting was held, and friendship between the Bjeduğs and the Şapsığs was restored.

            The Şapsığs in the  west never vindicared the Zaporoj Cossacks. They raided their settlements; took away hundreds of them, including women and children, as prisoners; and sold them off at the markets of Anapa and Tsemez as slaves.

            The Battle of Bziyk echoed in the Psıfabe Valley as well.  Collaboration of a Caucasian tribe with the Cossacks was received as abhorrence by everyone.

            Basti Bram, in particular was horrified when he first heard about the incident.  “It is incredible”, he groaned, tormented.  The numbness of his tongue spread all over his body.  He was paralyzed.  He was speechless, his eyes fixed on to abyss.  He was bed ridden in the same condition for a long time.  He could not recover. He eventually passed away.

            Basti Bram had been worried over the arrival of the Russians on to  the banks of the river Kuban; but it had not frightened him. Collaboration of a Caucasian tribe with the Cossacks, however, killed him, what to speak of frightening him.

            Bram was a distinguished leader esteemed by not only the residents of Çığızaç but also by the people of the entire Psıfabe Valley. There was no person in that isolated corner of Caucasia that equaled him in  thoughtfulness and vision.

            In his youth he had been in Crimea.  He had witnessed the Russian invasion of that neighboring land.  He had inferred conclusions from that tragedy for the safety of his own people. In the later years he had visited the Caucasian coastal strip as a businessmen. He had been to the Strait of Kerç, where he had made friendship with many persons of various nationalities.

            All the Bastis and the people of the Valley were overwhelmed with sorrow  on his demise.  Several hundred people rushed to Çığızaç to offer condolence and to attend his funeral from all over the country.  The Basti quarters were full of visitors offering condolence to the bereaved Bastis.

            It was too difficult a job for Imam Kobli to lead the funeral prayer for Bram; for he was shocked.  It was Bram that had induced him to come over to Çığızaç. Bram had not spared friendship and cooperation all along his stay in Çığızaç.

            After having buried Bram, Kobly stayed by the side of his grave for a long while.  He seemed not praying, but talking to him.

            Ever since the death of Bram, the Bastis were all but silent and numb; as if they were in darkness, and the beacon that illuminated their path had gone off.

            There did exist people, albeit very few, who envied the Bastis. They speculated to the effect that  the Bastis were finished. “The reign of the Bastis is over,!”, they said.

            In deed the speculation was not entirely devoid of truth.  The Bastis did not seem to be able  to bring up such qualified leaders as Dadu and his son Bram in any foreseeable future.  So was the general contention of the people of the Psıfabe Valley.