PLEVNE DEFENSE

The Siege of Plevna, or Siege of Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint
army of Russia and Romania against the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian army crossed the Danube at Svishtov, it began
advancing towards the centre of modern Bulgaria, with the aim of crossing the Balkan Mountains to Constantinople,
avoiding the fortified Turkish fortresses on the Black Sea coast. The Ottoman army led by Osman Pasha, returning
from Serbia after a conflict with that country, was massed in the fortified city of Pleven, a city surrounded by numerous
redoubts, located at an important road intersection.
After two unsuccessful assaults, in which he lost valuable troops, the commander of the Russian troops on the Balkan front,
Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia insisted by telegram the help of his Romanian ally King Carol I. King Carol I crossed the
Danube with a Romanian army and was placed in command of the Russian-Romanian troops. He decided not to make any
more assaults, but to besiege the city, cutting off the food and ammunition supply routes.
At the beginning of the siege, the Russian-Romanian army managed to conquer several redoubts around Pleven, keeping in
the long run only the Grivița redoubt. The siege, which began in July 1877, did not end until December of the same year,
when Osman Pasha tried unsuccessfully to force the siege to break and was wounded. Finally, Osman Pasha has received
the delegation led by Mihail Cerchez and accepted the conditions of capitulation offered by him. The Turkish general,
Osman Pasha, when he capitulated and declared himself a prisoner during the Russo-Turkish War, handed over his sword to
the Romanian general Mihail Cerchez, commander of the Romanian troops in Pleven. It was housed in the Museum of the
Iron Gates Region, but was stolen in 1992.
The Russian–Romanian victory on 10 December 1877 was decisive for the outcome of the war and the Liberation of
Bulgaria. Following the battle, the Russian armies were able to advance and forcefully attack the Shipka Pass, succeeding in
defeating the Ottoman defense and opening their way to Constantinople.

BACKGROUND
In July 1877, the Russian Army, under the command of Grand Duke Nicholas, moved toward the Danube River virtually
unopposed, as the Ottomans had no sizable force in the area. The Ottoman high command sent an army under the command
of Osman Nuri Pasha to reinforce Nikopol, but the city fell to the Russian vanguard in the Battle of Nikopol (16 July 1877)
before Osman reached it. He settled on Plevna, a town among vineyards in a deep rocky valley some twenty miles to the
south of Nikopol, as a defensive position. The Ottomans quickly created a strong fortress, raising earthworks with redoubts,
digging trenches, and quarrying out gun emplacements. From Plevna Osman's army controlled the main strategic routes to
the Balkan Mountains. As the Turks hurried to complete their defenses, Russian forces began to arrive.

First BATTLE
General Yuri Schilder-Schuldner, commanding the Russian 5th Division, IX Corps, received orders to occupy Plevna.
Schilder-Schuldner arrived outside the town on 19 July and began bombarding the Ottoman defenses. The next day his
troops attacked and succeeded in driving Ottoman forces from some of the outer defenses; however, Osman Pasha brought
up reinforcements and launched a series of counterattacks, which drove the Russians from the captured trenches, inflicting
3,000 casualties at a cost of 2,000 of his own men.

Second BATTLE
Osman Pasha strengthened his defences and built more redoubts, his force growing to 22,000 men and 58 guns while
the Russians obtained reinforcements from the army of Prince Carol of Romania (later king Carol I of Romania), who
received the command of the joint besieging force. General Nikolai Kridener also arrived with the Russian IX Corps. The
overall number of Russian troops increased to 35,000 and 176 guns. On 31 July Russian headquarters ordered Kridener to
assault the town, attacking from three sides, with every expectation of a Russo-Romanian triumph. General Alexey
Schakhovskoy's cavalry attacked the eastern redoubts, while an infantry division under General Mikhail Skobelev assailed
the Grivitsa redoubt to the north. Schakhovskoy managed to take two redoubts, but by the end of the day the Ottoman forces
succeeded in repulsing all the attacks and retaking lost ground. Russian losses amounted to 7,300, and the Ottomans' to
more than 2,000.

Third BATTLE
After repulsing the Russian attacks, Osman failed to press his advantage and possibly drive off the besiegers; he did,
however, make a cavalry sortie on 31 August that cost the Russian 1,300 men, and the Ottomans 1,000. The Russians
continued to send reinforcements to Plevna, and their army, now personally led by the Grand Duke swelled to 100,000 men.
On 3 September Skobelev reduced the Turkish garrison guarding the Ottoman supply lines at Lovech before Osman could
move out to relieve it. The Ottoman army organized the survivors of Lovech into 3 battalions for the Plevna defenses. Osman
also received a reinforcement of 13 battalions, bringing his total strength to 30,000 men-the highest it would reach during
the siege.
In August, Romanian troops led by General Alexandru Cernat crossed the Danube and entered the battle with 43,414 men.
On 11 September the Russians and Romanians mounted a large-scale assault on Plevna. The Ottoman forces were dug in
and equipped with German Krupp-manufactured steel breech-loading artillery and American-manufactured Winchester
repeaters and Peabody-Martini rifles. For three hours they pushed back the waves of advancing Russians with superior
firepower. Czar Alexander II and his brother Grand Duke Nicolas watched from a pavilion built on a hillside out of the line
of fire. Skobelev took two southern redoubts. The Romanian 4th division led by General George Manu took
the Grivitsa redoubt after four bloody assaults, personally assisted by Prince Carol. The next day, the Turks retook the
southern redoubts, but could not dislodge the Romanians, who repelled three counterattacks. From the beginning of
September, Russian losses had amounted to roughly 20,000, while the Ottomans lost 5,000–6,000.
Fourth BATTLE
Growing Russian and Romanian casualties put a halt to frontal assaults. General Eduard Ivanovich Todleben arrived
to oversee the conduct of the siege as the army chief of staff. Todleben had proven command experience in siege warfare,
having gained renown for his defense of Sevastopol (1854–1855) during the Crimean War. He decided on a complete
encirclement of the city and its defenders. Osman requested permission from his superiors to abandon Plevna and retreat,
but the Ottoman high command would not allow him to do so. By 24 October the Russians and Romanians had closed the
ring. Supplies began to run low in the city, and Osman finally made an attempt to break the Russian siege north-west, in the
direction of Opanets. On 9 December the Ottoman forces silently emerged in the dead of night, threw bridges over and
crossed the Vit River, attacked on a two-mile front, and broke through the first line of Russian trenches. Here they fought
hand to hand and bayonet to bayonet, with, at first, little advantage to either side; however, outnumbering the Ottoman
forces almost 5 to 1, the Russians and Romanians eventually drove them back across the Vit, wounding Osman in the process
(he was hit in the leg by a stray bullet, which killed his horse beneath him). Rumours of his death created panic. After making
a brief stand, the Ottoman forces found themselves driven back into the city, losing 5,000 men to the Russians' 2,000. The
next day Osman surrendered the city, the garrison and his sword to Romanian Col. Mihail Cerchez. He was treated
honorably, but his troops perished in the snow by the thousands as they straggled off into captivity.

Sides
Ottoman Empire Russian Empire
Romanian Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

Osman Pasha Grand duke Nikolay Nikolayeviç
Ethem Pasha Nikolay Krudener
Kâzım Pasha
Romanian Dominator I. Carol

Forces
First Battle 12.000 First Battle 25.000 Russian
Second Battle 20.000 Second Battle 60.000 Russian
Third Battle 40.000 Third Battle 130.000 Russian and 43.000
Fourth Battle 20.000 Rumanians
Fourth Battle More than 200,000 Russians
and Romanians

Casualties
5,000 dead and 15,000 injured Russian Army 60,000+ dead and wounded,
40,000 prisoners (Not all combatants) Romanian Army 10,000+ dead and wounded

HAZIRLAYANLAR;

EMİRHAN ELSÖZ 4162

LLAZAR HABİLAJ 4180

ABEDALQADER MAHMUD SALMAN ABUNAMOOS 4181