Key Facts
- Dates
- 2 July – 19 September 1788
- Duration
- Approximately 2.5 months
- Austrian force size
- 18,000 men
- Surrender terms
- Ottoman garrison marched out with flags flying
- Post-siege occupation
- Russians held fortress until 1792
Strategic Narrative Overview
An Austrian army of 18,000 men under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld advanced from Bukovina and invested the fortress, soon joined by an Imperial Russian force commanded by Ivan Saltykov. The combined Austro-Russian besieging army encircled the Ottoman garrison commanded by the Pasha of Khotyn, who mounted a defense lasting more than two months before the pressure of the siege became untenable.
01 / The Origins
The Siege of Khotyn was part of both the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) and the concurrent Russo-Turkish War, in which the Habsburg and Russian empires jointly opposed Ottoman power in southeastern Europe. The Ottoman-held fortress of Khotyn, situated in modern-day Ukraine near Bukovina, was a strategically important stronghold along the contested frontier between the Ottoman Empire and its northern rivals.
03 / The Outcome
The Ottoman garrison capitulated on 19 September 1788. Surrender terms, negotiated by Austrian generals, permitted the Turks to depart with honors, civilians who wished to leave were provided food and 3,000 carts, and the agreement was widely criticized across Europe as excessively lenient. The Russians subsequently occupied the fortress and held it until the end of the Russo-Turkish War in 1792.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Ivan Saltykov.
Side B
1 belligerent
Pasha of Khotyn.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.