Battle of Kars (1745)

On 9 August the Ottomans began deploying 40,000 Janissary Infantry and 100,000 Sipahi Cavalry in the "European manner" with columns of infantry in the centre, artillery batteries interspersed between these columns and the cavalry in two bodies each on either flank.[7] Nader ordered his Jazāyerchi to advance against the centre and after firing a single massed volley, draw their shamshirs and charge. The battle raged with either side feeding in a steady stream of reinforcements into the centre.

The Ottoman cavalry held back due to their inferiority to their Persian counterparts.[8] Unlike in many other battles Nader fought in his career, he commanded the battle of Kars from his camp with messengers sending out his orders and returning with reports from the battlefield. By afternoon, Nader's retainers brought back reports from the battlefield which indicated there would be no decisive conclusion either way. Nader decided to don his armour and mount his horse.[5]

Nader led a force of 40,000 elite cavalry from the Savaran-e Sepah-e Khorasan (translated as the "Riders of the Army of Khorasan") he had held in reserve against the flank of the Ottoman army in a huge attack. The ferocity of the fighting was such that two horses were shot from under Nader, but the Ottoman army could not sustain the impact of the charge and broke up. A contingent of Anatolian troops from Asia minor (15,000 men in all) fled, leaving the rest of the Ottoman army to retreat in utter chaos and confusion. The Persian army engaged in a pursuit until dusk and subsequently returned to their camp.

On the next day Nader sent forth a fowj (a unit approximately the equivalent of a regiment) to cut the logistical line of the Ottoman army back to Kars. The Persian army began surrounding the Ottoman camp. A few skirmishes ensued but all attempts by the Ottomans to break the encirclement failed. Yegen Pasha attempted to remedy this by deploying his guns. The Persian artillery batteries were deployed and a counter-battery fire was commenced in which the Ottoman artillery was outclassed in both accuracy and rate of fire. Many of Yegen Pasha's artillery pieces were destroyed, their components scattered across the field. This demoralising event brought the Ottomans trapped inside the camp's walls to the brink of mutiny. A stream of deserters came to the Persian camp bringing news of the ongoing turmoil in the Ottoman battlements. In the dark of night the Ottoman army silently abandoned their fortifications and marched west, but the Persian army immediately set out, hot on their heels, caught up and encircled them once more.[5]

On 19 August a letter was brought to Nader bearing news of the outcome of the battle of Mosul. Nassrollah Mirza had crushed the Ottoman army sent to the Mosul Eyalet and was requesting the Shah's permission to advance deeper into Ottoman Mesopotamia. Nader Shah ordered this letter to be taken to Yegen Pasha in a bid to convince him of the futility of further resistance. However, as the Persian emissaries entered the encampment they found the Ottoman troops had risen in mutiny. It is unclear as to whether they rose in mutiny after hearing of Yegen Pashah's suicide or in fact, had killed Yegen Pasha in an act of mutiny. Fowj after fowj of the Ottomans broke away from the camp and fled desperately. The Ottoman soldiers screamed "oh people of Mohammad, flee, flee!" as they were ruthlessly pursued and cut down by the Persian cavalry.[5]

Kars Citadel. Nader allowed all the captured wounded soldiers of the Ottoman army return to Kars to seek help.[5]

The terrible fate of the Ottoman army ended all hope of a military victory for Istanbul. The large numbers of killed and wounded on both sides indicated the harshness of the struggle as well as the courage and quality of the Ottoman soldiers. The 8,000 casualties suffered by the Persian army in the first day of battle was a testament to the severity of the fighting, although the Persians suffered hardly any casualties after that whilst the Ottoman casualties continued to mount exponentially.

Estimates range from 28,000 all the way to 50,000 men in total. The most plausible gives 12,000 killed, 18,000 wounded and 5,000 captured bringing the sum of men hors de combat to 35,000. Nader allowed all the wounded soldiers which had been captured return to Kars so that they may find succour for their wounds.