Siege of Plevna

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Siege of Pleven
Part of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
The capture of the Grivitsa redoubt, by Henryk Dembitzky
Date 20 July – 10 December 1877 (145 days) Full dates 20 Jul. – 1st Rus. assault[1] 30 Jul. – 2nd Rus. assault[1] 30 Aug. – Turkish sortie[1] 11–12 Sep. – Great Assault[1] 9–10 Dec. – Breakout attempt[1] Location Plevnа, Ottoman Empire (now Pleven, Bulgaria) 43°25′N 24°37′E / 43.417°N 24.617°E / 43.417; 24.617 Result Russian coalition victory[2] Full results Ottoman victory – 1st Rus. assault[1] Ottoman victory – 2nd Rus. assault[1] Russian coalition victory – Turkish sortie[1] Russian coalition victory – Battle of Lovcha[1] Ottoman victory – Great Assault[1] Russian coalition victory – Battle of Gorni Dubnik[1] Russian coalition victory – Breakout attempt[1] Russian offensive into Balkans delayed, preventing the fall of Constantinople[3]
Belligerents
Russian Empire Kingdom of Romania Bulgarian Volunteers	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Tsar Alexander II[4] Yuri Schilder-Schuldner (1st Rus. assault)[5] Nikolay Kridener (2nd Rus. assault)[5] Pavel Zotov (Great Assault)[a][5] Grand Duke Nicholas (Great Assault)[b][5] Mikhail Skobelev (Great Assault)[5] Eduard Totleben (Breakout attempt)[5] Iosif Gurko (Breakout attempt)[5] King Carol I of Romania (Great Assault)[c][5] Mihail Cerchez	Osman Nuri Pasha  Edhem Pasha  Sefë Kosharja Abdullah Pashë Dreni
Strength
130,000[2] 6,500 – 1st Rus. assault[1] 30,000 – 2nd Rus. assault[1] 95,000 – Great Assault[1]	67,000[2] 5,000 – 1st Rus. assault[1] 20,000 – 2nd Rus. assault[1] 30,000 – Great Assault[1]
Casualties and losses
50,000 killed, wounded and missing[1] 3,000 – 1st Rus. assault[1] 7,305 killed, wounded or missing – 2nd Rus. assault[1] 20,600 killed, wounded or captured – Great Assault[1] 2,000 – Breakout attempt[1]	25,000 killed or wounded[1] 43,340 surrendered (including non-combatants)[1] Total: 68,340 2,000 – 1st Rus. assault[1] 2,000 killed or wounded – 2nd Rus. assault[1] 5,000 – Great Assault[1] 5,000 – Breakout attempt[1]

The siege of Plevna or Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint army of Russian Empire and Kingdom of Romania against the Ottoman Empire.^[6] 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 on the help of his Romanian ally King Carol I. King Carol I crossed the Danube with the 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 Grivitsa 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 received the delegation led by General 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.

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