CHAPTER XIV.TAKEN PRISONER.
The fortress of Azof, upon the sea of that name, was principally usedby the Turks and Tartars, who at this time occupied it, as a centrefor their plundering and marauding expeditions inland. Some sixty-fiveyears before this, in 1627, the city had been surprised and captured bythe enterprising Don Cossacks, who found that it lay too close to theirown hunting-grounds to be an altogether acceptable neighbour. Havingpossessed themselves of the city, the Don Cossacks offered it as a freegift to their liege lord, the then Tsar of Muscovy, Michael, Peter'sgrandfather.
The Tsar sent down officers and experts, before accepting the gift, toreport upon the place; but these announced that the fortress was rottenand indefensible, and not worth having. The Cossacks were thereforedirected to evacuate the city; which they did, but not before they hadrazed every building to the ground, so that not one stone stood uponanother.
But now, at the date of my story, the young Tsar Peter was full ofschemes for aggrandizement by land and sea; his mind was intent uponfleet-building as well as upon army-organizing. But the difficultywas, as one of his intimates pointed out to the Tsar, "What was theuse of building a large number of ships with no ports for them to goto?" for, besides Archangel--which was a terribly long way off--Russiahad at this time no windows looking out to the sea. The Baltic was inthe hands of Sweden, the Black Sea was held by the Turk, the Caspianby Persia. In one of these directions Russia must look for new outletsto the ocean highroads. Peter's reply was characteristic. He said, "Myships shall make ports for themselves"--a boast indeed, but, as eventsshowed, not an idle one.
But the question arose, which foreign power should be first attackedand made to disgorge that without which the development of Russia washampered and impracticable? The Caspian was, after all, but an inlandsea; that could wait. The Baltic was well enough, but Peter knew thathe was as yet quite unprepared to tackle Sweden, either by land orsea; that must wait also. There remained the Black Sea. And here Peterwould fulfil a double purpose in attacking the dominions of the Turk.He would secure a much-needed port to begin with--that was reasonsufficient in itself for the contemplated onslaught; but besides this,he would be dealing a blow for Christianity by smiting Islamism in itsstronghold, and chasing from their lair the enemies of Christ.
So Peter decided upon the siege of Azof as a first step towards greaterends. In 1694 he sent down from Moscow several regiments of his newtroops, the Preobrajensk, of which the Tsar was himself a member,having entered the regiment at the very lowest grade, and enjoyingat this time the rank of "bombardier;" Lefort's regiment of twelvethousand men, mostly foreigners; the Semenofski, and the Batusitski.Besides these were our old friends the Streltsi; and the entire army,numbering one hundred thousand men, was led by Golovnin, Schein,Gordon, and Lefort. Accompanying this force went, as we have seen,Boris, late bear-hunter, now captain in the Preobrajensk regiment.Though our friend had bidden farewell to the Tsar at Moscow, Peternevertheless changed his mind and followed the expedition in person,joining the troops beneath the walls of Azof, still as "BombardierPeter Alexeyevitch," which character he kept up throughout thesubsequent proceedings, being determined, as an example to his people,to pass through every grade of both the military and the naval services.
Boris greatly enjoyed the march southwards. He welcomed with allhis heart the change from the close, stuffy life in the Moscowdrawing-rooms and barracks to his beloved woods and moors and open airat night and day. He was the life of the regiment throughout the longmarch, entertaining the officers with exhibitions of his animal-callingtalent, and teaching them the arts of the forest at every opportunity.Big game naturally kept out of the way of the great host of men, andnever came within a mile of the road, though answering calls fromwolves might frequently be heard in the distance; but the officers'mess was indebted daily to Boris and his knowledge of woodcraft forconstant supplies of toothsome partridge, or delicious willow-grouse,with sometimes a fine blackcock, or even a lordly capercailzie.There was no more popular officer of the Preobrajensk than Boris,whose position was thus very different from that he had held inhis late Streltsi regiment, where every officer had been at heart arevolutionist, and therefore hated him for his known devotion to theperson of the Tsar.
But the long march was finished at last, and the entire force assembledbeneath the walls of Azof.
And now "Bombardier Peter Alexeyevitch" realized with sorrow thatwithout ships to support his land forces he was likely to have a toughstruggle to capture the city. When, seventy years before, the DonCossacks had surprised and taken it, Azof had been a very inferiorstronghold to this which now frowned upon him but a mile or less fromhis outposts. The new city now possessed a high wall, strongly built,and likely to defy awhile the assault of the heavy but feeble ordnanceof that time. Peter accordingly determined, in council with Lefortand the rest, that rather than lay siege to the place, it would beadvisable, in the absence of ships, to attempt its capture by assault.
Arrangements were made that the artillery fire should be concentratedupon that portion of the wall which appeared to be the weakest, andthat the instant a breach was made the Preobrajensk, supported by therest, should advance to the assault and carry the town _vi et armis_.The attack was fixed for the following morning.
During that evening an unfortunate quarrel took place between thegeneral Schein and the principal artillery officer, a German namedJansen, familiarly known to the Russian soldiers as "Yakooshka." Scheinfixed upon one portion of the wall as that to be attacked, while Jansenwas determined that another spot offered a more suitable mark for theRussian guns. Schein insisted, and Jansen, with blunt German obstinacy,insisted also. Schein lost his temper and abused Jansen, when Jansengrew angry also and said, no doubt, what was unbecoming in an inferiorto a superior officer. Then Schein lost control over himself, andcommanded the guard to arrest poor "Yakooshka," whereupon the latterwas led away and actually bastinadoed for insubordination.
That night Jansen escaped from his undignified captivity, and havingfirst made the round of the Russian guns and spiked them all, quietlyshook the dust from off his feet, turned his back upon the Russianlines, and went over to the enemy, being admitted into Azof by itsMussulman holders with joy and thanksgiving.
On the following morning, when the order was given to train the gunsupon the city walls and to open fire, the treachery of Jansen wasdiscovered. The Bombardier Peter Alexeyevitch, when this informationwas brought to him, was a terrible object to behold. Great spasms ofpassion shook him from head to foot, while his face--black as anystorm-cloud--worked in contortions and grimaces like the features ofone in a terrible fit. For a few moments he said no word. Then he tookhis note-book and wrote therein large and prominent the name _Jansen_.After which he gave orders for the assault of Azof, guns or no guns,and in a few moments the brave Preobrajensk were in full career towardsthe walls of the city.
The guns opened fire upon them so soon as the guard became consciousof the surprisingly rash intentions of the Russians; but the shot flewover their heads. Boris, mindful of the Tsar's words to him while stillin Moscow, that he should do his best to be the first man into Azof,led his company cheering and waving his sword. Russians have neverheld back when there was storming work to do, and the troops advancedquickly at the double, singing, as Russians love to do, one of theirstirring military songs.
The musketry fire opened from the top of the walls as they came toclose quarters, and though the shooting was very wild, still many widegaps were made in the ranks. In a moment the foot of the wall wasreached, and now came the difficult work of ascending. Scaling-ladderswere placed, and knocked ever from above, and placed again. Scoresof men endeavoured to climb the wall without the aid of ladders, butwere easily shot down or knocked on the head if they ever succeededin climbing within reach of the sharp swords and scimitars waving inreadiness above.
The din was deafening, the cries of Christian and Mussulman outvyingthe roar of musketry. Now and again a squad of Russians firingfrom bel
ow would clear the wall, and a ladder would be placed forhalf-a-dozen brave fellows to rush upwards and be cut down by newdefenders who came to fill the gaps of the fallen. Once a roar ofapplause was set up by the Russian hosts as a Russian officer, followedby half-a-dozen men, rushed up one of the ladders, and with a shoutof triumph stood upon the top of the wall, waving their swords, andshouting to their companions to follow. This triumph was short-lived.First one man fell, pierced through the heart by a bullet; thenanother and another was knocked on the head, while those who essayedto come to their rescue were shot down in their attempt to mount theladder. At length there remained alive the officer alone, he who hadfirst surmounted the wall. This officer was Boris, whose superioragility had once more stood him in good stead, and enabled him to climbwhere the rest had failed. That same activity appeared, however, tohave got him into a terrible fix. Alone he stood for a few moments,fighting bravely but hopelessly against a dozen swords, until atlength, to the consternation of his friends below, he was seen toreceive a blow which tumbled him off the wall upon the Azof side, andno more was seen of him.
For an hour or more the Russians fought bravely on, endeavouring toobtain a foothold upon those grim walls, but all in vain. The Tartarwomen brought boiling water and threw it down upon the "Christiandogs," together with every sort of filth, and large stones. Everyinhabitant of the city appeared to have come out upon the walls inorder to assist in beating off the infidel; and though many fellpierced by Russian bullets, they were entirely successful in theirpatriotic endeavours, for, with the exception of the half-dozen menwho followed Boris upon the walls, no single Russian succeeded inmounting the ladders, or in any other way effecting a footing withinthe Mussulman stronghold.
Meanwhile the guns of the town, probably aimed by the treacherousthough much provoked Jansen, rained fire and hail upon the main bodyof the besiegers, who, with spiked guns, were unable to retaliate.Peter the Bombardier was gloomy and black. He strode among hisguns, superintending the efforts of his smiths to get them intoworking order; he swore at his generals right and left, in a mannerill-befitting a humble bombardier; he swore with yet more deadly wrathat Jansen, and with greater justice. But in spite of all his ferocityand fury he did not lose his discretion; and finding that his troopswere doing and could do no good under present circumstances, the Tsargave orders that the assaulting columns should retire. Thus the day,the first of many, passed without result.
As time went on, and Peter found that his attacks upon Azof made noprogress, but that he lost daily large numbers of his best soldiersto no purpose, he decided reluctantly that until he should becomepossessed of a fleet which could blockade the city by sea, while heattacked it at the same time, and in force, by land, he must abandonall hope of capturing the place. At present, as he had now realized tohis loss, the city could be reinforced and revictualled at any moment.Besides this, his mainstay in the science of artillery attack, Jansen,had basely failed him; he had no one competent to take his place. Suchan officer, together with clever engineers, must be invited to enterhis service as quickly as might be--an Englishman, a Frenchman, evena German again, but not a touchy and quarrelsome and treacherous one,such as Yakooshka had proved himself.
So Peter wisely, but sorrowfully, abandoned the siege of Azof for thatseason, promising himself a speedy return in the following summer, whenhe was fully determined he would possess a fleet capable of blockadingthe city from the sea side, as well as capable and experienced foreignofficers, who should lead his brave fellows to that victory which hadbeen snatched from them this season through no fault of their own.
Peter had still much to learn in the art of war; but, like a manof sense, he accepted defeat on this and on future occasions asobject-lessons for the benefit of his own inexperience. The great Tsarhad his own patient way of attaining his ends through many defeatsand much discouragement. He learned from his enemies at each repulse,assimilating the experience thus gained until he was in a position, inhis turn, to teach. How thorough was his method of impressing a lessonupon those who had once been his teachers, let Pultowa and Nystadtestify.
Nevertheless, Peter's rebuff at Azof in 1695 was to him an exceedinglyserious matter in the peculiar condition of affairs in the Russia ofthat day; for it gave to his enemies, and the enemies of progress, theopportunity to point the finger of scorn at his foreign soldiers andhis un-Russian policy generally, and smile and say, "Ha, we told youso! these foreigners will be the ruin of Russia. The priests are right,and we shall yet see this young man, the Tsar, acknowledge the errorof his ways, and turn his great energies to clearing the land of theforeigner, with his alien manners and civilization."
But these men imagined a vain thing; and the young Tsar, like a younglion, did but shake his mane and lick his wounded paw, and sally forthonce again to encounter and slay the enemy who had wounded him.
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