Battle of Kars (1745)

Battle of Kars
Part of the Ottoman–Persian War (1743–46) and the Campaigns of Nader Shah
A diagram of the battle of Kars, illustrating the devastating flanking manoeuvre by Nader's cavalry reserve
Date 9–19 August 1745 Location Kars Result Persian victory[1]
Belligerents
Persian Empire	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Nader Shah	Mehmet Yegen Pasha † Abdollah Pasha Jebhechi
Strength
80,000[2][3] 40,000 Savaran-e Sepah-e Khorasan	140,000[4] 100,000 Sipahi Cavalry 40,000 Janissary Infantry
Casualties and losses
~8,000[5]	35,000[5] 12,000 killed 18,000 wounded 5,000 captured

The Battle of Kars (19 August 1745) was the last major engagement of the Ottoman-Persian War. The battle resulted in the complete and utter destruction of the Ottoman army. It was also the last of the great military triumphs of Nader Shah. The battle was in fact fought over a period of ten days in which the first day saw the Ottomans routed from the field, followed by a series of subsequent blockades and pursuits until the final destruction of the Ottoman army. The severity of the defeat, in conjunction with another defeat near Mosul, ended any hopes of Ottoman victory and forced them to enter into negotiations with a significantly weaker position than they would otherwise have occupied.^[6]