Russian Campaigns in Central Asia

Russian Campaigns in Central Asia reprints two rare translations of Russian-language works covering the 1839 and 1873 campaigns in what is now Uzbekistan, originally issued in Calcutta by the government in India. The two accounts cover the campaigns, logistics and the forces involved.

The first Russian attempt to subjugate Khiva occurred in 1717. Unsuccessful, this was followed up in 1839 by a Russian army led by Count Perovsky. Again, this attempt would fail before the task was successfully undertaken in 1873. The 1839 campaign is narrated by its commander, Perovsky. After a full discussion of the preliminaries, the campaign itself is described in detail, including notes on the preparations for the invasion, the nature of the march and organization of detachments, and a significant focus on the logistics of the campaign, which dominated the outcome, and ultimately hindered Russian attempts to bring it to a successful conclusion.

A second attempt in 1873 saw the Russians succeed, partly down to their achievements on the battlefield and partly due to some luck with logistics. The narrative is detailed, including much on the organization of the Russian forces and their actions, as well as notes on the medium and long-term results of the expedition.

Taken together, the two narratives within this book present detailed accounts of neglected aspects of imperial expansion during the nineteenth century and provide much information on the challenging factors involved in logistics related to such campaigning.