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. 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.
The capture of the Grivitsa redoubt, by Henryk Dembitzky
General Mikhail Skobelev on horseback, by Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky
The artillery battle at Pleven. The battery of siege guns on the Grand Duke Mount, by Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky
The Capture of the Grivitsa redoubt at Pleven, by Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
The Russo-Turkish War was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. Fought in the Balkans and in the Caucasus, it originated in emerging 19th-century Balkan nationalism. Additional factors included the Russian goals of recovering territorial losses endured during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, re-establishing itself in the Black Sea and supporting the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire.
Clockwise, from top left: the Action off Măcin, the Battle of Shipka Pass, the Battle of Tashkessen, the Siege of Plevna
The Moni Arkadiou monastery
Ottoman Empire in 1862
Herzegovinian insurgents in 1875