Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 (Bulgarian: Руско-турска освободителна война (1877—1878 г.), Russian: Русско-турецкая война (1877—1878 гг.), Ottoman:  ۹۳ Doksan Üç Harbi ('93 Harbi, "93 ,حربیWar"), Turkish: '93 Harbi or 1877–78 Osmanlı-Rus Savaşı) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox coalition led by the Russian Empire and composed of numerous Balkan countries. Fought in the Balkans and in the Caucasus, its origins lie in emerging nineteenth-century nationalism in the Balkan region. Additional factors include the Russian aspirations of recovering territorial losses it had suffered during the Crimean War, reestablishing itself in the Black Sea and supporting the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire.As a result of the war, Russia succeeded in claiming several provinces in the Caucasus, namely Kars and Batum. The principalities ofRomania (which was also forced by Russia to cede the Budjak region of the Danube delta, in spite of an existing treaty of alliance between the two countries), Serbia and Montenegro, each of which had had de facto sovereignty for some time, formally proclaimed independence from theOttoman Empire. After almost five centuries of Ottoman domination (1396–1878), the Bulgarian state was reestablished as the Principality of Bulgaria, covering the land between the Danube River and the Balkan Mountains (except Northern Dobrudja which was given to Romania) as well as the region of Sofia, which became the new state's capital. The Congress of Berlin also allowed Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Kingdom to take over Cyprus.

Plevna Monument near the walls of Kitai-gorod

Date April 24, 1877 – March 3, 1878Location Balkans, Caucasus

Result Russian victoryTreaty of San Stefano, Treaty of Berlin

Territorialchanges

Reestablishment of the Bulgarian state;Romania, Serbia and Montenegro from Ottoman Empire;a part of the Russian Empire

Belligerents

 Russian Empire Romania Serbia Montenegro Bulgarian

volunteers

 Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

 Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich

 Mikhail Skobelev

 Michael Nikolaevich

 Mikhail Loris-Melikov

 Joseph Gourko Ivan Lazarev Carol I of

Romania Kosta Protić

 Ahmed Pasha

 Osman Pasha

 Suleiman Pasha

 Mehmed Pasha

 Veisel Pasha

Strength

Russia — 737,355

500 cannonsRomania — 60,000190 cannonsBulgaria — 40,000Serbia — 81,500Montenegro — 25,000

Ottoman Empire — 281,000

Casualties and lossesRussia — 15,567 killed in battle,

6,824 died from wounds,81,363 died from disease,1,713 dead from other causes,3,500 missing,56,652 wounded,35,000 released from service as no longer fit for serviceRomania: 4,302 dead and missing, 3,316 wounded, 19,904 sick.[4]

Bulgaria — 15,000 dead and wounded[citation needed]

Serbia — 5,000 dead and wounded

Montenegro— 5,000 dead and

30,000 killed, 90,000 died from sickness

wounded

Russo-Turkish Warof 1877–1878

Contents  1   Conflict pre-history

o 1.1   Treatment of Christians in the Ottoman Empire 1.1.1   Crisis in Lebanon, 1860 1.1.2   The revolt in Crete, 1866–1869

o 1.2   Changing balance of power in Europe 1.2.1   The New European Concert 1.2.2   Changing balance of power in Europe 1.2.3   Situation in the Balkans

2   Balkan crisis of 1875–1876 o 2.1   The Bulgarians' 1876 April uprising o 2.2   International reaction to atrocities in Bulgaria o 2.3   Serbo-Turkish War and diplomatic maneuvering

3   Course of the war o 3.1   Opening manoeuvres o 3.2   Balkan theatre o 3.3   Caucasian theatre

4   Aftermath o 4.1   Intervention by the Great Powers o 4.2   Effects on Romania o 4.3   Effects on Bulgaria's Muslim and Christian population o 4.4   Effects on Bulgaria's Jewish population

5   Lasting impact o 5.1   International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

6   Gallery 7   See also 8   References 9   Further reading

10   External links o 10.1   Video links

Conflict pre-history

Treatment of Christians in the Ottoman EmpireArticle 9 of the 1856 Paris Peace Treaty, concluded at the end of the Crimean War, obliged the Ottoman Empire to grant Christians equal rights with Muslims. An edict, Hatt-ı Hümayun, was issued that proclaimed the principle of the equality of Muslims and non-Muslims, and produced some specific reforms to this end. For example, the jizya tax was abolished and non-Muslims were allowed to join the army. However, some key aspects of Dhimmi status were retained; for example, the testimony of Christians against Muslims was not accepted in courts, which granted Muslims effective immunity for offenses conducted against Christians. Although on a local level, relations between communities were often good, this practice encouraged the worst elements of Muslim society to exploit the situation. The abuses were at their worst in regions with a predominantly Christian population, mainly located in the European part of the empire, where local authorities often openly supported them as a means to keep Christians subjugated. The financial strain on the treasury caused by the Crimean War forced the Ottoman government to take a series of foreign loans at such steep interest rates that, despite all the fiscal reforms that followed, pushed it into unpayable debts and economic difficulties. This was further aggravated by the need to accommodate more than 600,000 Muslim Circassians, expelled by the Russians from the Caucasus, to the Black Sea ports of north Anatolia and the Balkan ports of Constanţa and Varna, which cost a great deal in money and in civil disorder to the Ottoman authorities.

Crisis in Lebanon, 1860In 1858 the Maronite peasants, stirred by the clergy, revolted against their Maronite feudal overlords and established a peasant republic. In southern Lebanon, where Maronite peasants worked for Druze overlords, Druze peasants sided with their overlords against the Maronites, transforming the conflict into a civil war. Although both sides suffered, about 10,000 Maronites were massacred at the hands of the Druzes.

In Syria, events in Lebanon stirred the Muslim population of Damascus to attack the Christian minority with between 5,000 to over 25,000 of the latter being killed, including the American and Dutch consuls, giving the event an international dimension.Under the threat of European intervention, Ottoman authorities restored order. Nevertheless, French and British intervention followed. Under further European pressure, the Sultan agreed to appoint a Christian governor in Lebanon, whose candidacy was to be submitted by the Sultan and approved by the European powers. The revolt in Crete, 1866–1869

The Cretan revolt of the period was the result of two things: the failure of the Ottoman Empire to apply reforms for improving the life of the population and the Cretans' desire for Enosis — union with Greece. The insurgents gained control over the whole island, except for five cities where the Muslims were fortified. The Greek press claimed that Muslims had massacred Greeks and the word was spread throughout Europe. Thousands of Greek volunteers were mobilized and sent to the island.By early 1869 the insurrection was suppressed, but the Porte offered some concessions, introducing island self-rule and increased Christian rights on the island. The siege of Moni Arkadiou monastery, when about 150 predominantly male, Cretan Greek combatants accompanied by about 600 women and children were besieged by about 23,000 mainly Cretan Muslims aided by Ottoman troops, became widely known in Europe. After a bloody battle with a large number of casualties on both sides, the Cretan Greeks finally surrendered when their ammunition ran out but were killed upon surrender. An important effect of the Cretan insurrection, and especially the brutality with which it was suppressed by the Ottomans, was the growth of public attention in Europe, and in Great Britain in particular, to the issue of the oppressed state of the Christians in the Ottoman Empire.

"Small as the amount of attention is which can be given by the people of England to the affairs of Turkey … enough was transpiring from time to time to produce a vague but a settled and general impression that the Sultans were not fulfilling the “solemn promises” they had made to Europe; that the vices of the Turkish government were ineradicable; and that whenever another crisis might

arise affecting the “independence” of the Ottoman Empire, it would be wholly impossible to afford to it again the support we had afforded in the Crimean war." The crisis came to an end, with the Ottomans more victorious than they had been or would be in almost any other diplomatic confrontation during the century.

Changing balance of power in EuropeThe New European ConcertThe concert of Europe established in 1856 was shaken in 1859 when France and Austria fought over Italy. It came apart completely as a result of Bismarck's wars to create a united Germany, withPrussia defeating Austria in 1866 and France in 1870, thus establishing itself in place of Austria-Hungary as the dominant power in Central Europe. Britain, worn out by its participation in the Crimean War and diverted by the Irish question and the whole complex of problems created by the Industrial Revolution, chose not to intervene again to restore the European balance. Bismarck did not wish the breakup of the Ottoman Empire to create rivalries that might lead to war. So he took up the Tsar's earlier suggestion that arrangements be made in case the Ottoman Empire fell apart, creating theThree Emperors' League with Austria and Russia to keep France isolated on the continent. France responded by supporting self-determination movements, particularly if they concerned the three emperors and the Sultan. Thus revolts in Poland against Russia and national aspirations in the Balkans were encouraged by France. Russia worked to regain its right to maintain a fleet on the Black Sea and vied with the French in gaining influence in the Balkans by using the new Pan-Slavic idea that all Slavs should be united under Russian leadership. This could be done only by destroying the two

empires where most of the non-Russian Slavs lived, the Habsburg and the Ottoman. The ambitions and the rivalries of the Russians and French in the Balkans surfaced in Serbia, which was experiencing its own national revival and had ambitions that partly conflicted with those of the great powers.

Changing balance of power in EuropeRussia ended the Crimean War with minimal territorial losses, but was forced to destroy its Black Sea Fleet and Sevastopol fortifications. Russian international prestige was damaged, and for many years revenge for the Crimean war became the main goal of Russian foreign policy.This was not easy however — the Paris Peace Treaty included guarantees of Ottoman territorial integrity by Great Britain, France and Austria; only Prussiaremained friendly to Russia.It was on alliance with Prussia and its chancellor Bismarck that the newly appointed Russian chancellor, Alexander Gorchakov, depended. Russia consistently supported Prussia in her wars with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870). In March 1871, using the crushing French defeat and the support of a grateful Germany, Russia achieved international recognition of its earlier denouncement of Article XI of the Paris Peace Treaty, thus enabling it to revive the Black Sea Fleet.Other clauses of the Paris Peace Treaty, however, remained in force, specifically Article 8 with guarantees of Ottoman territorial integrity by Great Britain, France and Austria. This made Russia use extreme caution in its relations with the Ottoman empire and coordinate all its actions with other European powers. A Russian war with Turkey would require at least the tacit support of all other Great Powers, and Russian diplomacy was waiting for a convenient moment.

Alexander GorchakovSituation in the BalkansThe balance of power in Europe directly reflected the situation on the Balkan peninsula. The state of Ottoman administration continued to deteriorate throughout the course of 19th century, with the central government occasionally losing actual control over whole provinces. Reforms imposed by European powers did little to improve the conditions of the Christian population, while managing to dissatisfy a sizable portion of the Muslim population. Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered at least two waves of rebellion by the local Muslim population, the most recent in 1850. Austria consolidated after the turmoil of the first half of the century and sought to reinvigorate its longstanding policy of expansion at the expense of the Ottoman empire. The nominally autonomous, de facto independent principalities of Serbia and Montenegro sought the opportunity to expand into regions inhabited by their Serbian compatriots. The situation in Serbia was especially complicated. The principality made expansion to neighboring Serbian inhabited areas, south Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia its priority. The ruling House of Obrenović enjoyed good connections with Vienna, and was at first reluctant to risk a military adventure against the Ottoman empire. However public opinion was heavily pro war, encouraged by the diplomatic victory of 1862 and the expulsion of Ottoman troops from their last garrisons on the territory of the principality. The presence of Russian agents was also very strong.Montenegro, ruled by the ambitious Prince Nikola, was in a position to advocate a much more adventurous policy. When an uprising of orthodox Christians erupted in Herzegovina in 1875, Montenegrins promptly intervened to help their fellow tribesmen, declaring war on the Ottoman empire. Soon an uprising in

Bulgaria erupted. Compelled by these events and by overwhelming pressure from the public, prince Milan Obrenović declared war on the Ottoman empire in 1876.

Otto von BismarckBalkan crisis of 1875–1876

From 1873 onward the Ottoman government was faced with a period of drought and famine in Anatolia, leading to widespread misery and discontent. Agricultural shortages became such as to preclude the collection of necessary taxes. This reached the point at which the Imperial Treasury was left without adequate funds for the business of government. The result was a major financial collapse which forced the Ottoman government to declare bankruptcy in October, 1875.

An anti-Ottoman uprising occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 1875. The main reason for this revolt was the heavy tax burden imposed by the cash-starved Ottoman administration. Both Montenegro and Serbia intervened with armed bands. Despite some relaxation of taxes, the uprising continued well after the end of 1875 and eventually triggered the Bulgarian April uprising of 1876.

The Bulgarians' 1876 April uprising

Since autumn of 1875, the Ottoman authorities were aware that a revolt was being considered. They had, therefore, increased their patrols on the Danube and sent more spies and agent provocateurs into Bulgarian areas, where they did considerable damage to the revolutionaries' infrastructure. They sought swift and complete independence through armed rebellion modeled after the uprising of the Serbs and Greeks, and they looked to Orthodox Russia and Serbia for support. The revolt of Bosnia and Herzegovina spurred the Bucharest-based Bulgarian revolutionaries into action. A Bulgarian uprising was hastily prepared to take advantage of Ottoman preoccupation, but it fizzled before it started. In the spring of 1876 another uprising erupted in the south-central Bulgarian lands. That event was even more haphazardly planned than the previous one. The rebels were ill-armed and disorganized. According to Dennis Hupchick "The ill-

armed and disorganized rebels did little more than publicly rally, sing newly written patriotic songs, and butcher their mostly pacific Muslim neighbors." However, according to a report submitted to the British foreign office in 1877, "not one single Turkish woman or child" and only 46 "Turkish men" (who were "always armed") were reported killed by insurgents.The Ottomans, lacking adequate regular troops because of the problems in the northwest, were compelled to use irregular Bashi-bazouks to quell the Bulgarians. (May 11-June 9, 1876) Those irregulars mostly were drawn from Muslim inhabitants of the Bulgarian regions, many of whom were Circassianrefugees expelled from the Caucasus or Crimean Tatar refugees expelled during the Crimean War. Making little distinction between rebels and passive peasants, bashi-bazouks, true to their reputation, brutally suppressed the revolt, massacring up to 15,000 people in the process. Between a thousand and twelve hundred people, mostly women and children, took refuge in a church at Batak and were then burnt alive. Five thousand out of the seven thousand villagers of Batak "were put to death"  According to some sources, both Batak and Perushtitsa, where the majority of the population was also massacred, had not participated in the rebellion. Many of the perpetrators of those massacres were latter decorated by the Ottoman high command.News of the massacres of Bulgarians filtered into Britain from missionaries, journalists, and diplomatic agents in the Balkans. The British press trumpeted the charge of "Bulgarian Horrors" reporting that thousands of defenceless Christian villagers had been slaughtered by fanatical Muslims. American missionaries estimated that as many as 15,000 Christians had been killed, and Bulgarian historians give estimates from 30,000 to 100,000.

Konstantin Makovsky. The Bulgarian martyresses, a painting depicting the atrocities of bashibazouks in Bulgaria.International reaction to atrocities in BulgariaWord of the bashi-bazouks' atrocities filtered to the outside world by way of American-run Robert College located in Constantinople. The majority of the students were Bulgarian, and many received news of the events from their families back home. Soon the Western diplomatic community in Constantinoplewas abuzz with rumours, which eventually found their way into newspapers in the West. News stories about Ottoman Muslim atrocities against Christians that ignored the sufferings of the Muslims were particularly unwelcome in Britain, where Disraeli's government was committed to supporting the Ottomans in a situation already tense because of the ongoing Balkan crisis. An American journalist from Ohio, Januarius A. MacGahan, who happened to be in London at the time, was hired by the Liberal opposition's newspaper Daily News to report on the massacre stories firsthand.MacGahan toured the stricken regions of the Bulgarian uprising, accompanied unofficially by Eugene Schuyler, a member of the American legation inConstantinople, and officially by Walter Baring of the British legation, who was sent along by his superiors to whitewash any unpleasantness that might be uncovered. While the reports of both Americans confirmed the savagery of the Ottoman retribution, MacGahan's report, splashed across the Daily News's front pages, galvanized British public opinion against Disraeli's pro-Ottoman policy. Most public support for the Ottomans melted when in early September the

opposition leader, Gladstone published hisBulgarian Horror and the Question of the East calling upon Britain to withdraw its support for Turkey.[27] Hands tied by public pressure, Disraeli was forced to stand aside when Russia (where MacGahan's report had been circulated in translation) declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1877 with the publicly avowed goal of winning independence for the Bulgarians. When the details became known in Europe, many dignitaries, including Charles Darwin, Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo and Giuseppe Garibaldi publicly condemned the Ottoman abuses in Bulgaria. In Britain, William Gladstone denounced the Turkish race as "the one great anti-human specimen of humanity" [30] and proposed that Europe demand "the total withdrawal of the administrative rule of the Turk from Bulgaria, as well as, and even more than, from Herzegovina and from Bosnia."[31]

The strongest reaction came from Russia. Widespread sympathy for the Bulgarian cause led to a nationwide surge in patriotism on a scale comparable with the one during the Patriotic War of 1812. From autumn 1875, the movement to support the Bulgarian uprising involved all classes of Russian society. This was accompanied by sharp public discussions about Russian goals in this conflict:Slavophiles, led by Dostoevsky, saw in the impending war the chance to unite all Orthodox nations under Russia's helm, thus fulfilling what they believed was the historic mission of Russia, while their opponents, westerners, led by Turgenev, denied the importance of religion and believed that Russian goals should not be defense of Orthodoxy but liberation of Bulgaria. A number of works by Russian painters and writers were dedicated to the Bulgarian uprising:

A painting by Konstantin Makovsky, 'The Bulgarian martyresses', depicted a scene of mass rape of Bulgarian women by Bashi-bazouks inside the desecrated Orthodox church.

Turgenev in his poem 'Croquet at Windsor' accused Queen Victoria of tolerating Ottoman atrocities in Bulgaria;

Polonsky's verse Bulgarian woman depicted the humiliation of a Bulgarian woman whose whole family was killed and who was taken into a harem, only to be further harassed by other concubines.

Serbo-Turkish War and diplomatic maneuvering

On June 30, 1876, Serbia, followed by Montenegro, declared war on the Ottoman empire.

On July 8 Russia's Alexander II and Prince Gorchakov met Austria-Hungary's Franz Joseph I and Count Andrássy in the Reichstadt castle in Bohemia. No written agreement was made, but during the discussions, Russia agreed to support Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Austria-Hungary, in exchange, agreed to the return of Southern Bessarabia lost by Russia during the Crimean War, and Russian annexation of the port of Batumi on the east coast of the Black Sea. Bulgaria was to become autonomous (independent, according to the Russian records).

In July–August, the ill-prepared and poorly equipped Serbian army helped by Russian volunteers failed to achieve offensive objectives but did manage to repulse the Ottoman offensive into Serbia, and on August 26, Serbia pleaded European powers to mediate in ending the war. A joint ultimatum by the European powers forced the Porte to give Serbia a one month truce and start peace negotiations. Turkish peace conditions however were refused by European powers as too harsh.

In early October, after the truce expired, the Turkish army resumed its offensive and the Serbian position quickly became desperate. As a result, on October 31, 1876 Russia issued an ultimatum requiring the Ottoman Empire to stop the hostilities and sign a new truce with Serbia within 48 hours. This was supported by the partial mobilization of the Russian army (up to 20 divisions). The Sultan accepted the conditions of the ultimatum.

To resolve the crisis, on December 11, 1876, the Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers was opened in Constantinople (to which the Turks were not invited). A compromise solution was negotiated, granting autonomy to Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina under the joint control of European powers. Turks, however, found a way to discredit the conference by announcing on December 23, the day the conference was closed, that a constitution was adopted that declared equal rights for religious minorities within the empire, based on which the Ottoman Empire announced its decision to disregard the results of the conference.

On January 15, 1877, Russia and Austria-Hungary signed a written agreement confirming the results of an earlier oral agreement made at Reichstadt in July 1876. This assured Russia of the benevolent neutrality of Austria-Hungary in the impending war. These terms meant that in case of war Russia would do the fighting and Austria would derive most of the advantage. Russia therefore made a final effort for a peaceful settlement.

On March 31, 1877, Russia persuaded the powers to sign the London Convention, which merely asked the Ottoman Empire to introduce those

reforms which it had already proposed. The powers were to watch the operation of the reforms, and if conditions remained unsatisfactory they reserved the right "to declare that such a state of things would be incompatible with their interests and those of Europe in general". But the Turks felt themselves in a strong position and rejected the proposal on the grounds that it violated the Treaty of Paris.

Russia preparing to release the Balkan dogs of war, while Britain warns him to take care. Punch cartoon from June 17, 1876Course of the war

Opening manoeuvresRussia declared war on the Ottomans on 24 April 1877 and its troops entered Romania through the newly built Eiffel Bridge near Ungheni, on The Prut river. The Prussian king Frederick II had sarcastically remarked a century earlier that a war between the Ottoman Empire and Russia would be "a war between the one-eyed and the blind".On April 12, 1877, Romania gave permission to the Russian troops to pass through its territory to attack the Turks, resulting in Turkish bombardments of Romanian towns on the Danube. On May 10, 1877, the Principality of Romania, which was under formal Turkish rule, declared its independence. At the beginning of the war, the outcome was far from obvious. The Russians could send a larger army into the Balkans: about 300,000 troops were within reach. The Ottomans had about 200,000 troops on the Balkan peninsula, of

which about 100,000 were assigned to fortified garrisons, leaving about 100,000 for the army of operation. The Ottomans had the advantage of being fortified, complete command of the Black Sea, and patrol boats along the Danube river. They also possessed superior arms, including new British and American-made rifles and German-made artillery.In the event, however, the Ottomans usually resorted to passive defense, leaving the strategic initiative to the Russians who, after making some mistakes, found a winning strategy for the war.The Ottoman military command in Constantinople made poor assumptions of Russian intentions. They decided that Russians would be too lazy to march along the Danube and cross it away from the delta, and would prefer the short way along the Black Sea coast. This would be ignoring the fact that the coast had the strongest, best supplied and garrisoned Turkish fortresses. There was only one well manned fortress along the inner part of the river Danube, Vidin. It was garrisoned only because the troops, led by Osman Pasha, had just taken part in defeating the Serbs in their recent war against the Ottoman Empire.The Russian campaign was better planned, but it relied heavily on Turkish passivity. A crucial Russian mistake was sending too few troops initially; the Danube was crossed in June by an expeditionary force of about 185,000, which was slightly less than the combined Turkish forces in the Balkans (about 200,000). After setbacks in July (at Pleven and Stara Zagora), the Russian military command realized it did not have the reserves to keep the offensive going and switched to a defensive posture. The Russians did not even have enough forces to blockade Pleven properly until late August, which effectively delayed the whole campaign for about two months.

Russian crossing of the Danube, Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, 1883Balkan theatreAt the start of the war, Russia and Romania destroyed all vessels along the Danube and mined the river, thus ensuring that Russian forces could cross the Danube at any point without resistance from the Ottoman navy. The Ottoman command did not appreciate the significance of the Russians' actions. In June, a small Russian unit crossed the Danube close to the delta, at Galaţi, and

marched towards Ruschuk (today Ruse). This made the Ottomans even more confident that the big Russian force would come right through the middle of the Ottoman stronghold.Under the direct command of Major-General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov, on the night of 27/28 June 1877 (N.S.) the Russians constructed a pontoon bridge across the Danube at Svishtov. After a short battle in which the Russians suffered 812 killed and wounded, the Russian secured the opposing bank and drove off the Ottoman infantry brigade defending Svishtov. At this point the Russian force was divided into three parts: the Eastern Detachment under the command of Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Tsar Alexander III of Russia, assigned to capture the fortress of Ruschuk and cover the army's eastern flank; the Western Detachment, to capture the fortress of Nikopol, Bulgaria and cover the army's western flank; and the Advance Detachment under Count Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko, which was assigned to quickly move via Veliko Tarnovo and penetrate the Balkan Mountains, the most significant barrier between the Danube and Constantinople.

Russian, Romanian and Ottoman troop movements at Plevna.

Fighting near Ivanovo-Chiflik

Responding to the successful Russian crossing of the Danube, the Ottoman high command in Constantinople ordered Osman Nuri Paşa to advance east from Vidin occupy the fortress of Nikopol, just west of the Russian crossing. On his way to Nikopol, Osman Pasha learned that the Russians had already captured the fortress and so moved to the crossroads town of Plevna (now known as Pleven), which he occupied with a force of approximately 15,000 on 19 July (N.S.). The Russians, approximately 9,000 under the command of General Schilder-Schuldner, reached Plevna early in the morning. Thus began the Siege of Plevna.

Osman Pasha organized a defense and repelled two Russian attacks with huge casualties on the Russian side. At that point, the sides were almost equal in numbers and the Russian army was very discouraged. Most analysts agree that a counter-attack would have allowed the Ottomans to gain control of, and destroy, the Russians' bridge. However, Osman Pasha had orders to stay fortified in Plevna, and so he did not leave that fortress.

Map of the War Gazi Osman Pasha

Russia had no more troops to throw against Plevna, so the Russians besieged it, and subsequently asked[41] the Romanians to provide extra troops.On August 9 Suleiman Pasha made an attempt to help Osman Pasha with 30.000 trops, but he was stopped by Bulgarians at the mountain pass Shipka. After three days of fighting the volunteers, who were outnumbered more than 6:1, had no munitions left. They started throwing every rock and every tree on the invaders with the hope, that Russian reinforce will come. But the Turks reached the peak. Still hopping that the Russians will arrive, the volunteers kept fighting. There was a brutal hand to hand combat. At this critical moment, finally, a Russian force let by general Radezky arrived. The Turks panicly redrawn. At Shipka the fate of the Ottoman empire was sealed. Soon afterwards, Romanian forces crossed the Danube and joined the siege. On August 16, at Gorni-Studen, the armies (West Army group) around Plevna were placed under the command of the Romanian Prince Carol, aided by the Russian general Pavel Dmitrievich Zotov and the Romanian general Alexandru Cernat.The Russians and the Romanians fought bravely to capture the redoubts around Pleven. The Romanian 4th Division led by General George Manu took the Grivitsa redoubt after four bloody aassaults and managed to keep it until the very end of the siege. The siege of Plevna (July–December 1877) turned to victory only after Russian and Romanian forces cut off all supply routes to the fortified Ottomans. With supplies running low, Osman Pasha made an attempt to break the Russian siege in the direction of Opanets. On December 9, the Ottomans silently emerged, in the dead of the night, threw bridges over the Vit

River and crossed it, attacked on a 2-mile (3.2 km) front and broke through the first line of Russian trenches. Here they fought hand to hand and bayonet to bayonet, with little advantage to either side. Outnumbering the Ottomans almost 5 to 1, the Russians drove the Ottomans back across the Vit. Osman Pasha was wounded in the leg by a stray bullet, which killed his horse beneath him. Rumours of his death created panic. Making a brief stand, the Ottomans eventually 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 the Romanian colonel Mihail Cerchez. He was treated honorably, but his troops perished in the snows by the thousand as they straggled off into captivity. The more seriously wounded were left behind in their camp hospitals, only to be murdered by the Bulgarians.

At this point Serbia, having finally secured monetary aid from Russia, declared war on the Ottoman Empire again. This time there were far fewer Russian officers in the Serbian army but this was more than offset by the experience gained from the 1876–1877 war. Under nominal command of prince Milan Obrenović (effective command was in hands of general Kosta Protić, the army chief of staff), the Serbian army went on offensive in what is now eastern south Serbia. A planned offensive into the Ottoman Sanjak of Novi Pazar was called off due to strong diplomatic pressure from Austria-Hungary, which wanted to prevent Serbia and Montenegro from coming into contact, and which had designs to spread Austria-Hungary's influence through the area. The Ottomans, outnumbered unlike two years before, mostly confined themselves to passive defence of fortified positions. By the end of hostilities the Serbs had liberated Ak-Palanka (today Bela Palanka), Pirot, Niš and Vranje.

Russians under Field Marshal Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko succeeded in capturing the passes at the Stara Planina mountain, which were crucial for maneuvering. Next, both sides fought a series of battles for Shipka Pass. Gourko made several attacks on the Pass and eventually secured it. Ottoman troops spent much effort to recapture this important route, to use it to reinforce Osman Pasha in Pleven, but failed. Eventually Gourko led a final offensive that crushed the Ottomans around Shipka Pass. The Ottoman offensive against Shipka Pass is considered one of the major mistakes of the war, as other

passes were virtually unguarded. At this time a huge number of Ottoman troops stayed fortified along the Black Sea coast and engaged in very few operations.Besides the Romanian Army (which mobilized 130,000 men, losing 10,000 of them to this war), a strong Finnish contingent and more than 12,000 volunteer Bulgarian troops (Opalchenie) from the local Bulgarian population as well as many hajduk detachments fought in the war on the side of the Russians. To express his gratitude to the Finnish battalion, the Tsar elevated the regiment on their return home to the name Old Guard Battalion, which they still hold.

Taking of the Grivitsa redoubt by the Russians - a few hours later the redoubt was recaptured by the Ottomans and finally fell to the Romanians on the 30th of August 1877 in what became known as the "Third Battle of Grivitsa"

Caucasian theatreStationed in the Caucasus in Georgia and Armenia was the Russian Caucasus Corps, composed of approximately 75,000 men under the overall command ofGrand Duke Michael Nikolaevich, Governor General of Caucasus. The Russian force stood against an Ottoman army of 80,000 men led by General Ahmed Muhtar Pasha.[45] While the Russian army was better prepared for the fighting in the region, it lagged behind technologically in certain areas such as heavy artillery and was outgunned, for example, by the superior Krupps artillery that Germany had supplied to the Ottomans. Many of the Russian commanders under Michael Nikolaevich were of Armenian descent, including generals Beybut Shelkovnikov, Mikhail Loris-Melikov, Ivan Lazarev and Arshak Ter-Ghukasov. It was the forces under Lieutenant-general Ter-Ghukasov, stationed near Yerevan, who began the first assault into Ottoman territory by capturing the town of Bayazid on April 27, 1877. Capitalizing on Ter-Ghukasov's victory in Bayazid, Russian forces advanced further, taking the region of Ardahan on May 17; Russian units also besieged the city of Kars in the final week of May, although Ottoman

reinforcements lifted the siege and drove them back. War conditions in western Armenia also reciprocated against the Armenian population: in some areas, the Turks encouraged the Kurds to attack the Armenians and in Bayazit and Alashkert. In February 1878, the Russians took Erzurum without resistance. Although the Russians relinquished control over Erzerum to the Ottomans at the end the war, they took Ardahan, Kars, Olti, Sarighamish and other regions into their possession and reconstituted them as parts of the Kars Oblast.

General Mikhail T. Loris-Melikov, whose forces seized the fortress ofKars from the Ottomans in November 1877.

Aftermath

Intervention by the Great PowersUnder pressure from the British, Russia accepted the truce offered by Ottoman Empire on January 31, 1878, but continued to move towards Constantinople.The British sent a fleet of battleships to intimidate Russia from entering the city, and Russian forces stopped at San Stefano. Eventually Russia entered into a settlement under the Treaty of San Stefano on March 3, by which the Ottoman Empire would recognize the independence of Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and the autonomy of Bulgaria.Alarmed by the extension of Russian power into the Balkans, the Great Powers later forced modifications of the treaty in the Congress of Berlin. The main change here was that Bulgaria would be split, according to earlier agreements among the Great Powers that precluded the creation of a large new Slavic state: the northern and eastern parts to become principalities as before (Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia), though with different governors; and the Macedonian region, originally part of Bulgaria under San Stefano, would

return to direct Ottoman administration.. At the Congress of Berlin Bismark said that he was fighting for peace in Europe, however he was not aware that his decision to split Bulgaria would start a war in the Balkans 34 years later and would eventually lead to World War One.Effects on RomaniaThe Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish war, following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On April 16 [O.S. April 4] 1877, Romania and theRussian Empire signed a treaty at Bucharest under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, with the condition that Russia respected the integrity of Romania. The mobilization began, and about 120,000 soldiers were massed in the south of the country to defend against an eventual attack of the Ottoman forces from south of the Danube. On April 24 [O.S. April 12] 1877, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and its troops entered Romania through the newly built Eiffel Bridge.

Overview

On May 21 [O.S. May 9] 1877, in the Romanian parliament, Mihail Kogălniceanu declared the independence of Romania as the will of the Romanian people. A day later, the act was signed by Prince Carol I. The next day, the Romanian government canceled paying tribute to Turkey (914,000 lei), and the sum was given instead to the War Minister.Initially, before 1877, Russia did not wish to cooperate with Romania, since they did not wish Romania to participate in the peace treaties after the war, but the Russians encountered a very strong Turkish army of 50,000 soldiers led by Osman Pasha at the Siege of Plevna(Pleven) where the Russian troops led by Russian generals suferred very heavy losses and were routed in several battles.War

Due to great losses, Nikolai Konstantinovich, Grand Duke of Russia, asked Carol I for the Romanian Army to intervene and join forces with the Russian Army. Prince Carol I accepted the Duke's proposal to become the Marshal of the Russian troops in addition to the Command of his own Romanian army, thus being able to lead the combined armed forces to the conquest of Plevna and the

formal surrender, after heavy fighting, of the Turkish General Osman Pasha. The Romanian Army won the battles of Grivitsa and Rahova, and on 28 November 1877 the Plevna citadel capitulated, and Osman Pasha surrendered the city, the garrison and his sword to the Romanian colonel Mihail Cerchez. After the occupation of Plevna, the Romanian Army returned to the Danube and won the battles of Vidin and Smârdan.On 19 January 1878, the Ottoman Empire requested an armistice, which was accepted by Russia and Romania. Romania won the war but at a cost of more than 10,000 casualties. Its independence from the Porte was finally recognised by the Central Powers on 13 July 1878.Aftermath

The peace treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed at San Stefano, on 3 March 1878. Russia did not keep its promises of the 4 April 1877 treaty (signed by the Russian consul Stuart Dimitri (and approved by the Czar Alexander II; Aleksandr II, Nikolaevich ) and the Romanian Prime Minister of the day Mihail Kogălniceanu) to respect Romania's territorial integrity. However, the treaty was not recognised by the Central Powers and the 1878 peace conference in Berlin decided that Russia would give Romania its independence, the territories of Dobrogea, the Danube Delta and access to the Black Sea including the ancient port of Tomis (Constantza), as well as the tiny Snake Island(Insula Şerpilor), but Russia would nevertheless occupy as a so-called "compensation" the old Romanian Southern counties of Bessarabia (Cahul, Bolgradand Ismail), which by the Treaty of Paris of 1856 (after the Crimean War) were included in Moldavia. Prince Carol was most unhappy by this imposition of Russian occupation of Romanian territories that seriously breached the Russo-Romanian treaty of 4 April 1877; he was finally persuaded by Bismarck (in now-published original letters exchanged at that time) to accept this compromise with Russia in view of the great economical potential of Romania's direct access to the Black Sea and its ancient ports.

Romanian War of Independence (1877–1878)

Date 1877–1878Location Balkans

Result Romanian / Russian victoryTreaty of San Stefano, Treaty of Berlin

Territorialchanges

Northern Dobruja passed from Ottoman Empire to RomaniaSouthern Bessarabia passed from Romania to Russian Empire

Belligerents

 Romanian Principality Russia Bulgarian volunteers

 Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

 Carol I  Grand Duke Nikolai  Ahmed Muhtar Pasha

 Ghazi Osman Pasha

Strength

 58,700 troops190 guns

 737,355 troops500 guns

Casualties and losses

 4,302 dead and missing3,316 wounded19,904 sick

 27,512 killed in battle, missing in action, and died of wounds49,828 wounded46,000+ non-combat deaths, mostly from disease(during the entire Russo-

151,750+ killed, wounded, or captured(during the entire Russo-Turkish War)[

Turkish War)

Effects on Bulgaria's Muslim and Christian populationThe estimates of Muslim civilian casualties during the war range from possibly tens of thousands to 260,000 to 262,000 Muslims, almost entirely Turkish, according to the American historian Justin A. McCarthy, who is widely considered to have pro-Turkish views. The perpetrators of those massacres are also disputed, with McCarthy claiming that they were carried out by Russian soldiers, Cossacks as well as Bulgarian volunteers and villagers, while they were few civilian casualties in battle, while James J. Reid claims that Circassians, were significantly responsible for the refugee flow, that there were civilian casualties from battle and even that the Ottoman army was responsible for casualties among the Muslim population. According to John Joseph the Russian troops made frequent massacres of Turkish peasants to prevent them distrupting their supply and troop movements. During the disputed Harmanli Massacre, it was claimed a huge group of Muslim refugees were attacked by the Russian army, as a result that thousands of Muslim refugees died and their goods plundered. The correspondent of the Daily News describes as an eyewitness the burning of 4 or 5 Turkish villages by the Russian troops in response of the Turks firing at the Russians from the villages, instead of behind rocks or trees. The number of Muslim refugees is estimated by R.J.Crampton as 130,000, while McCarthy estimates that the total was 515,000, almost all Turkish. Richard C. Frucht estimates that only half (700,000) of the prewar Muslim population remained after the war, 216,000 had died and the rest emigrated. Douglas Arthur Howard estimates that half the 1,5 million Muslims, most part Turks in prewar Bulgaria had disappeared by 1879. 200,000 had died, the rest became permanently refugees in Ottoman territories. However, it should be noted that according to one estimate, the total population of Bulgaria in its postwar borders was about 2800 thousands in 1871, while according to official censuses, the total population was 2823 thousands in 1880/1881. During the conflict a number of Muslim buildings and cultural centres were destroyed. A large library of old Turkish books was destroyed when a mosque in Turnovo was burned in 1877. Most mosques in Sofia perished, seven of them destroyed in one night in December 1878 when a thunderstorm masked the noise of the explosions arranged by Russian military engineers."

Тhe Christian population, especially in the initial stages of the war, that found itself in the path of the Ottoman armies also suffered greatly. This was particularly true after the July battle around Stara Zagora when Gurko's forces had to retreat back to the Shipka pass. In the aftermath of the battle Suleiman Pasha burned down the town of Stara Zagora which by that time was one of the largest towns in the Bulgarian lands. He also established in the whole valley of the Maritsa river a system of hanging at the street corners of every Bulgarian who had in any way assisted the Russians, but even villages who had not assisted the Russians were destroyed and their inhabitants massacred.As a result as many as 100,000 civilian Bulgarians fled north to the Russian occupied territories. Later on in the campaign the Ottoman forces planned to burn the town of Sofia after Gurko had managed to overcome their resistance in the passes of Western part of the Balkan Mountains. Bulgarian historians claim that 30000 civilian Bulgarians were killed during the war, of which two thirds in the Stara Zagora area Only the refusal of the Italian Consul Vito Positano, the French Vice Consul Léandre François René le Gay and the Austro–Hungarian Vice Consul to leave Sofia prevented that from happening. After the Ottoman retreat, Positano even organized armed detachments to protect the population from marauders (regular Ottoman Army deserters, bashi-bazouks and Circassians).

Effects on Bulgaria's Jewish populationMany Jewish communities in their entirety were forced to flee with the retreating Turks as their protectors. The Bulletins de l'Alliance Israelite Universelle reported that thousands of Bulgarian Jews found refuge at the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (Istanbul).

Lasting impact

International Red Cross and Red Crescent MovementThis war caused a division in the emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement which continues to this day. Both Russia and the Ottoman Empire had signed the First Geneva Convention (1864), which made the Red Cross, a color reversal of the flag of neutral Switzerland, the sole emblem of protection for military medical personnel and facilities. However, during this war the cross instead reminded the Ottomans of the Crusades; so they elected to replace the cross with the Red Crescent instead. This ultimately became the symbol of the Movement's national societies in

most Muslimcountries, and was ratified as an emblem of protection by later Geneva Conventions in 1929 and again in 1949 (the current version).Iran, which neighbors both countries, considered them to be rivals, and probably considered the Red Crescent in particular to be an Ottoman symbol; except for the Red Crescent being centered and without a star, it is a color reversal of the Ottoman flag (and the modern Turkish flag). This appears to have led to their national society in the Movement being initially known as the Red Lion and Sun Society, using a red version of The Lion and Sun, a traditional Iranian symbol. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iran switched to the Red Crescent, but the Geneva Conventions continue to recognize the Red Lion and Sun as an emblem of protection.The impact of this division later led to the Magen David Adom controversy, which was resolved partly through the addition of yet another emblem of protection, the Red Crystal, by Protocol III.

File:M Tancoigny, c1878 - scanned constantinopole (1996) - Refugees in Aya Sofya Russion-Turkish war.png Muslim refugees in Hagia Sophia

Distribution Clothing Turkish Refugees 1877.jpg Distribution Clothing to Turkish refugees in Shumen

Ignatiev signing treaty Signing the treaty of San Stefano

plennii osman pasha Surrender of Osman Pasha in Plevna

Berliner congress Congress of Berlin

Shipka-monument

Defence Of Bayazet The battle of Bayazet

The Russo-Turkish War in Caucasia, 1877 The war in the Caucasus

Ottoman capitulation at Nikopol

History of the Russo-Turkish wars

The Russo-Turkish wars were a series of wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire during the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest conflicts in European history.

List of conflicts

Name Results

1 Russo-Turkish War (1568–1570) Russian victory

2 Russo-Turkish War (1571–1574)i. Fire of Moscow (1571, Crimean & Ottoman victory)

ii. Battle of Molodi (1572, Russian victory)

3 Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681) Ottoman victory

4 Russo-Turkish War (1686–1700) Russian victory

5 Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711) Ottoman victory

6 Russo-Austrian-Turkish War (1735–1739) Draw at Russian front, Austrian defeat

7 Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) Russian victory

8 Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) Russian victory

9 Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) Russian victory

10 Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) Russian victory

11 Crimean War (1853–1856) British, French, and Ottoman victory

12 Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian and Montenegrin victory

13 World War I: Caucasus Campaign (1914–1918) Collapse of both empires

Stagnation (1699–1827)

After having captured the region of Podolia in the course of the Polish-Ottoman War (1672–1676), the Ottoman government strove to spread its rule over all of the Right-bank Ukraine with the support of its vassal, Petro Doroshenko (1665–1672). The latter's pro-Ottoman policy caused discontent among many Ukrainian Cossacks, who would elect Ivan Samoilovich as a sole Hetman of all Ukraine in 1674. In 1679–1680, the Russians repelled the attacks of the Crimean Tatars and signed the Bakhchisaray Peace Treaty on January 3, 1681, which would establish the Russo-Turkish border by the Dnieper river. Russia had joined the European Holy League (Austria, Poland, Venice) in 1686. During the war, the Russian army organized the Crimean campaigns of 1687–1689 and the Azov campaigns of 1695–1696. The Russian involvement marked the beginning of the Russo-Turkish Wars. In light of Russia's preparations for the war with Sweden and other countries' signing the Treaty of Karlowitz with Turkey in 1699, the Russian government signed the Treaty of Constantinople with the Ottoman Empire in 1700.

17 Century

Name Land/Sea Date Victor Treaty

Rus 1677–1681 Draw Bakhchisaray

Çehrin 1678 Russia

Crimean campaigns 1686–1699 Russia

Azov campaigns 1696 Russia

After the Russians had defeated the Ukrainian Cossaks and Swedes in the Battle of Poltava, Charles XII of Sweden managed to persuade the Ottoman Sultan to declare war on Russia on November 20, 1710.Russia had managed to secure a favorable international situation by signing a few treaties with Persia in 1732–1735 (which was at war with Ottoman Empire in 1730–1736) and supporting the accession to the Polish throne of Augustus III in 1735 instead of the French protégé Stanislaw I Leszczynski, nominated by pro-Ottoman France. Austria was Russia's ally since 1726.

The casus belli was the raids of the Crimean Tatars on Ukraine in the end of 1735 and the Crimean khan's military campaign in the Caucasus. In 1736, the Russian commanders envisioned the seizure of Azov and the Crimea.On June 19, the Russian Don army (28,000 men) under the command of General Peter Lacy with the support from the Don Flotilla under the command of Vice Admiral Peter Bredahl seized the fortress of Azov. In July 1737, the Munnich army took by storm the Ottoman fortress of Ochakov. The Lacy army (already 40,000 men strong) marched into the Crimea the same month, inflicting a number of defeats on the army of the Crimean khan and capturing Karasubazar. However, Lacy and his soldiers had to leave the Crimea due to lack of supplies.In July 1737, Austria entered the war against Turkey, but was defeated a number of times. In August, Russia, Austria and Turkey began negotiations in Nemirov, which would turn out to be fruitless. There were no significant military operations in 1738. The Russian army had to leave Ochakov and Kinburn due to the plague outbreak.In 1739, the Munich army crossed the Dnieper, defeated the Ottoman Empire at Stavuchany and occupied the fortress of Khotin (August 19) and Iaşi. However, Austria was defeated by the Ottoman Empire once again and signed a separate peace treaty on August 21. This, coupled with the imminent threat of the Swedish invasion, forced Russia to sign the Belgrade Peace Treaty with Turkey on September 18, which ended the war.Further information: Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739)

Following this border incident at Balta, Sultan Mustafa III declared war on Russia on September 25, 1768. The Turks formed the alliance with the Polish oppositionary forces of Bar Confederation, while Russia was supported by the United Kingdom, who offered naval advisers to the Russian navy.The Polish opposition was defeated by Aleksandr Vasilievich Suvorov who was then transferred to the Ottoman theatre of operations where in 1773 and 1774 he won several minor and major battles following the previous grand successes of the Russian Field-Marshal Peter Rumiantsev at Larga and Kagula.The naval operations of the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Mediterranean yielded victories under the command of Aleksey Grigoryevich Orlov. In 1771, Egypt and Syria rebelled against the Ottoman rule while the Russian fleet totally destroyed the Ottoman Navy.On July 21, 1774, the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji according to which the Crimean Khanate formally gained its independence, but

in reality became dependent on Russia. Russia received the contribution of 4.5 million rubles and two key seaports allowing the direct access to the Black Sea.In 1786 Catherine II of Russia made a triumphal progress through the Crimea in company with her ally, Emperor Joseph II. These events and the friction caused by mutual complaints of infringements of the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji, which had closed the previous war, stirred up public opinion in Istanbul, and the British ambassador lent his support to the war party.In 1788 war was declared, but Turkey's preparations were inadequate and the moment was ill-chosen, now that Russia and Austria were in alliance, a fact of which Turkey became aware only when the horse tails were planted for the campaign. The Turks drove back the Austrians from Mehadia and overran the Banat (1789); but in Moldavia Field-Marshal Rumyantsev was successful and captured Iaşiand Khotin.Ottoman generals were incompetent and the army mutinous; expeditions for the relief of Bender and Akerman failed, Belgrade was taken by the Austrians, the impenetrable fortress of Izmail was captured by the brilliant Suvorov, and the fall of Anapa completed the series of Turkey's disasters.Sultan Selim III was anxious to restore his country's prestige by a victory before making peace, but the condition of his troops rendered this hope unavailing; while Prussia, though on 31 January 1790 she had signed an offensive treaty with Turkey, gave her no help during the war. Accordingly a treaty was signed with Russia at Iaşi (9 January 1792) by which the Crimea and Ochakov were left to Russia, the Dniester was made the frontier in Europe, and the Asiatic frontier remained unchanged.

18 Century

Name Land/Sea Date Victor

Prut Campaign 1711 Turkey

Battle of Bakhchisaray 1739 Russia

Confederation of Bar 1768–1774 Russia

Hotin 1769 Turkey

Turla 1769 Russia

Larga (Kartal) 1770 Russia

Mora Ayaklanması 1770 Turkey

Koyunadaları Sea 1770 Draw

Çeşme Sea 6-7/7/1770 Russia

Limni Sea 1770 Turkey

Kırım 1771 Russia

Slistre 1773 Russia

Kozluca 1774 Russia

Rus 1787–1792 Russia

Buzaov 1789 Russia

İsmail Siege of Ochakov 1789 Russia

Maçin 1791 Russia

Decline (1828–1908)

Fringe territories were lost to Russia in the north. but more importantly the Empire began to fall behind technologically compared to the west. The outside world was still mostly unaware of the extent of the Empire's decline until the 1820s, when it became clear that the Ottoman armies had no way to put down the Russian-backed revolt in southern Greece. The great powers of Europe decided to intervene to give Greece its independence. Thus Greece became the first independent country created out of a section of the Ottoman Empire. Russian aspirations for a section of the empire and bases on Russia's southern flank provoked British fears over naval domination of the Mediterranean and control of the land route to India. When in 1853 Russia destroyed the entire Ottoman fleet at Sinop, Britain and France concluded that armed intervention on the side of the Ottomans was the only way to halt a massive Russian expansion, on the grounds that the Ottoman armies could do nothing to stop a Russian march on Constantinople. Even though Ottomans and Russians were on the opposing sides, the roots of

the ensuing Crimean war lay in the rivalry between the British and the Russians. The war ended unfavorably for the Russians, with the Paris peace of 1856.The war brought a decline in Ottoman morale and a feeling of helplessness, illustrating that modern technology and superior weaponry were the most important part of a modern army, and a part that the Ottoman Empire was sorely lacking. While fighting alongside the British, French, and even the Piedmontese, the Ottomans could see how far they had fallen behind. It is not surprising then that at the mid point of the 19th century the Ottoman Empire was at the mercy of the Russians until outside forces intervened.

Things began to change after the Crimean war.

Another change was that Serbia was permanently granted its independent status. This pleased both Austria, who feared a Serbian revolt on its borders, and Russia who long supported the Slavic nation's independence. Other changes arose as Europeans for the first time saw the trading opportunity of Turkey. The amount of money entering the nation through trade was soon dramatically increased. As well the government received a great deal of extra money from a uniform tax system with little corruption. The Sultan also managed to get a tighter grip on the provincial beys and increased the tribute they had to pay. Regrettably Abd-ul-Aziz, the Sultan at the time, used much of this money on furnishing and creating great palaces to rival the great ones in England and France, which he had visited. The Empire was undergoing a revolution, throughout Anatolia a new Ottoman nationalism was appearing, and for the first time the Empire had a middle class. It seemed as though it might be possible for the Empire to turn its decline around.The monetary and governmental collapse combined with a new threat from Russia began the final stages of the Empire's collapse. Russia had been forced by the Crimean War to give up its ambitions of owning the Ottoman capital of Constantinople and controlling the Bosphorus. Instead it decided to focus on gaining power in the Balkans. The population of much of the Balkans were Slavs, as were the Russians. They also mainly followed the Eastern Orthodox Church, as did the Russians. When new movements in Russia, such as that of the Slavophiles, started to enter the area, it became agitated and prone to revolution. When the government in Constantinople tried to initiate measures to prevent an economic collapse throughout the empire, it touched off a revolt in Herzegovina in 1875. The revolt in Herzegovina, quickly spread to Bosnia and then Bulgaria. Soon Serbian armies also entered the war against the Turks.

These revolts were the first test of the new Ottoman armies. Even though they were not up to western European standards the army fought effectively and brutally. Soon the Balkan rebellions were beginning to falter. In Europe, however, a new problem was developing. The papers of Russia were filled with reports of Ottoman soldiers killing thousands of Slavs. Soon, more than Russian propaganda was moving southwards and in 1877, a new Russo-Turkish war had begun. Despite fighting better than they ever had before, the advanced Ottoman armies still were not equal to the Russian forces. This time there was no help from abroad, in truth many European nations supported the Russian war, as long as it did not get too close to Constantinople. Ten and a half months later when the war had ended the age of Ottoman domination over the Balkans was over. The Ottomans had fought well, the new navy of Ironclads had won the battle for the Black Sea, and Russian advances in the Caucasus had been kept minimal. In the Balkans, however, the Russian army, supported by rebels, had pushed the Ottoman army out of Bulgaria, Walachia,Romania, and much of East Rumelia and by the end of the war the artillery firing in Thrace could be heard in Constantinople.

In response to the Russian proximity to the straits the British, against the wishes of the Sultan, intervened in the war. A large task force representing British naval supremacy entered the straits of Marmara and anchored in view of both the royal palace and the Russian army. The British may have saved the Ottoman empire once again, but it ended the rosy relations between the two powers that had endured since the Crimean War. Looking at the prospect of a British entry into the war the Russians decided to settle the dispute. The treaty of San Stephano gave Romania and Montenegro their independence, Serbia and Russia each received extra territory, Austria was given control over Bosnia, and Bulgaria was given almost complete autonomy. The hope of the Sultan was that the other great powers would oppose such a one-sided resolution and a conference would be held to revise it. His desire became reality and in 1878 the Congress of Berlin was held where Germany promised to be an "honest broker" in the treaty's revision. In the new treaty Bulgarian territory was decreased and the war indemnities were cancelled. The conference also again hurt Anglo-Ottoman relations by giving the British the island of Cyprus. While annoyed at British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, the Sultan had nothing but praise for Otto von Bismarck who forced many of the major concessions upon

Russia. These close Germano-Ottoman relations would persist until both empires' very end.The Russian extension in this century developed with the main theme of supporting independence of Ottomans' former provinces and then bringing all of the Slav peoples of the Balkans under Bulgaria or using Ermenians in the east sets the stage. At the end of the century from Russian perspective; Romania, Serbia andMontenegro and autonomy of Bulgaria was achieved. That alarmed the Great Powers. After the Congress of Berlin the Russian expansion was controlled through stopping the expansion of Bulgaria. The Russian public felt that at the end of Congress of Berlin thousands of Russian soldiers had died for nothing.

The BalkansThere were two main movement for the west side. The first one was performed while Ottomans were dealing with the Greek uprising, see Greek War of Independence. The Greeks' independence war led to the Russian forces advancing into Bulgaria before the Turks sued for peace.The resulting Treaty of Adrianople (Edirne) on September 14, 1829 gave Russia most of the eastern shore of the Black Sea and the mouth of the Danube.The second movement happened under the ... uprisings. See Bosnia and Herzegovina: 19th-20th centuries, Romanian War of Independence.Serbia achieved autonomy and Russia was allowed to occupy Moldavia and Walachia (guaranteeing their prosperity, and full "liberty of trade" for them) until Turkey had paid a large indemnity. The uprisings raised a chance for the Russian (Prince Gorchakov) and Austria-Hungary (Count Andrássy), who made the secret Reichstadt Agreement on July 8, on partitioning the Balkan peninsula depending on the outcome. One of the historical events during this time is the Siege of PlevnaIn February 1878 the Russian army had almost reached the Ottoman capital, but scared the city might fall, the British sent a fleet of battle-ships to intimidate Russia from entering the city. Under pressure from the fleet to negotiate and having suffered enormous losses (by some estimates about 200,000 men) Russia agreed a settlement under the Treaty of San Stefano (Ayastefanos Anlaşmasıin Turkish) on March 3, by which the Ottoman Empire recognized the independence of its former provinces Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and autonomy of Bulgaria.

The CaucasusDuring the Greek uprising, the Russian empire reached the Caucasus and northeastern Anatolia. Under the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople, the Ottoman Empire recognized Russian sovereignty overGeorgia and parts of present-day Armenia.

19 CenturyName Land/Sea Attacker General DefenderGeneral Date Victor

Rus Russia Ottoman 1806–1812AttackerNavarin Sea Ottoman 1827 AttackerRus Russia Ottoman 1828 AttackerOlteniça Russia Ottoman 05/11/1853DefenderÇatana Russia Ottoman 05/01/1854DefenderGedikle(Kars) Russia Ottoman 1853 Attacker

Crimean War

Sinop Sea Russia Ottoman 30/11/1853AttackerSilistre Russia Ottoman 1854 DefenderBattle of Balaclava Müttefikler Russia 1854 Draw

Battle of Inkerman Müttefikler Russia 1854 Attacker

Siege of Sevastopol (1854)

Müttefikler Russia 1854 Defender

Siege of Kars Russia Ottoman 1855 AttackerŞıpka Russia Ottoman 1877 Draw

Siege of Plevna

I. Russia Ottoman 1877 DefenderII. Russia Ottoman 1877 DefenderIII. Russia Ottoman 1877 AttackerBattle of Kars Russia Ottoman 1877 AttackerErzurum Russia Ottoman 1877 Attacker

Dissolution (1908–1922)

During the early months of World War I, Kars was a key military objective for the Ottoman army. Ismail Enver who pushed the Ottoman Empire into World War I, needed a victory against the Russians to defend his position. He collected an army on the eastern border. The army was badly defeated under Enver's command at the Battle of Sarikamis January 2, 1915 against Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich.This defeat was more due to the winter weather and bad planning, given the fact that Russians were actually preparing to evacuate Kars. With the loss of the eastern army, Ottoman defenses crumbled with further small battles, given the

Armenian revolt during that time, Russian forces succeeded in advancing as far west as Erzincan.

20 CenturyName Land/SeaGuest(1) General Home (2) General Date Side Treaty

Battle of Sarikamis Russia

Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich

Ottoman Ismail Enver

January 2, 1915 1

Battle of Erzurum (1916)

RussiaNikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich

Ottoman February 16, 1916 1

Battle of Trabzon (1916)

RussiaNikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich

Ottoman April 1916 1

Battle of Erzincan Russia

Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich

Ottoman July 1916 1

The collapse of the Russian army after the 1917 revolution left only thinly spread Armenian units to resist the inevitable Ottoman counter-attack. Before the end of World War I in 1918, the Ottoman army reformed with what was left from the middle-east branch and tried to build a line between whatever seemed to be left on their east border. The newly declared Democratic Republic of Armeniacaptured Kars in April 1918 and reached Baku on the Caspian sea. Defeat on other fronts caused the Ottoman Empire to surrender and withdraw to the pre-war borders. However, the Turks wanted to get their historic lands back.

Evaluation

George Grant suggests that the succession of wars was a result of the Romanov Czars' belief that "a forcible containment of the Islamic threat to their strategic security was absolutely crucial."[1] He goes on to note that "none of these struggles ever resulted in much change in the balance of power in the middle East.