SIEGE OF PLEVNA SIEGE OF PLEVNA
SIEGE OF PLEVNA in 1877. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. There were stubborn battles for the city of Plevna (Pleven) from July 8 (20) to November 28 (December 10), 1877. Three assaults by Russian and Romanian troops in July-August were unsuccessful, after which Plevna was taken into the blockade ring. On November 28 (December 10), 1877, Turkish troops led by Osman Pasha surrendered after an unsuccessful breakout attempt.
Beginning of the siege of Plevna
After the successful crossing of the Danube by Russian troops at Sistovo, the Turkish command on July 2 (14) began the transfer of Osman Pasha’s corps to Plevna from Vidin (northwest Bulgaria), which was tasked with striking the right flank of the Russian troops.
On July 4, 1877, the 9th Army Corps of Lieutenant General N.P. Kridener captured the Nikopol fortress (cm. NIKOPOL in Bulgaria) on the banks of the Danube north of Plevna.
The Russian command allocated a nine-thousand-strong detachment of Lieutenant General Schilder-Schuldner to occupy Plevna, which on the evening of July 7 reached the outskirts of the city and the next morning attacked Turkish positions. The 15,000-strong garrison of Plevna repelled scattered attacks by Russian regiments, inflicting serious losses on them (2.5 thousand people).
After the concentration of Kridener's entire corps (26 thousand soldiers, 140 guns) near the city, a second assault on Plevna was launched on July 18. By this time, Osman Pasha concentrated about 23 thousand people and 58 guns in the city. Kridener had no information about the Turkish forces, exaggerated their numbers and acted indecisively. The attacks were carried out from the east and southeast head-on against the most fortified areas, troops were brought into battle in parts. The assault ended in failure. Russian losses amounted to 7 thousand people, Turks - about 4 thousand people.
Plevna was of great strategic importance; its strong garrison threatened the crossings of the Danube and could attack the advancing Russian army in the flank and rear. Therefore, the Russian command postponed the transfer of the main forces through the Balkan Mountains (the Shipka Pass was captured on July 8) and during July-August concentrated an 83,000-strong army with 424 guns near Plevna, of which 32,000 people and 108 guns were from the allied Romanian army.
Third assault on Plevna
The Allies besieged Plevna from the south and east. On the right flank, opposite the Grivitsky redoubts, the Romanians settled down. From the east the city was besieged by Kridener's corps, from the southeast by General Krylov's 8th corps. In the southern direction there was a left-flank detachment of General M.D. Skobelev (cm. SKOBELEV Mikhail Dmitrievich). From the north, the Turkish garrison was reliably covered by the heights of Yanyk-Bair, and from the west it was supplied along the Sofia-Plevna road. By the end of summer, the Turks increased the size of the Plevna garrison to 34 thousand people with 72 guns.
The nominal commander of the allied army near Plevna was the Romanian king Carol I (cm. KAROL I), his chief of staff, Lieutenant General P. D. Zotov, actually ordered. But near Plevna there was also the headquarters of the Russian Emperor Alexander II (cm. ALEXANDER II Nikolaevich) and the commander-in-chief of the entire Danube Army, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr. (cm. NIKOLAI Nikolaevich (Senior)).
The third assault on Plevna took place on August 26-31. The Turks predicted the directions of attack of the Russian and Romanian troops and managed to hold their line of defense, inflicting heavy losses on the attackers. The decisive day was August 30, when the Romanians, with the support of the Russians, infantry regiment managed to capture one of the two Grivitsky redoubts. On the same day, Skobelev’s detachment, delivering an auxiliary attack, found a weak point in the Turkish positions, broke through their defenses in the Green Mountains area, captured the Issa and Kavanlyk redoubts and reached the southern outskirts of the city. The Turks hastily transferred reserves from the north and east against Skobelev.
On August 31, the Russian command did not take offensive actions and did not support Skobelev with reserves. As a result, under the pressure of superior forces, Skobelev’s detachment was forced to return to its original positions. In the third assault on Plevna, Russian and Romanian troops lost 16 thousand people, the Turks - about three thousand.
Siege and capture of Plevna
On September 1, it was decided to proceed to a thorough siege of Plevna, for the leadership of which the best specialist in siege work in Russia, engineer-general E. I. Totleben, was called in (cm. TOTLEBEN Eduard Ivanovich). To successfully conduct a siege, the Russians needed to cut the Sofia-Plevna road, along which the Turks received reinforcements. To solve this problem, the guards units were created strike force General I.V. Gurko (cm. GURKO Joseph Vladimirovich). He managed to capture Gorny Dubnyak on October 12, Telish on October 16, Dolny Dubnyak on October 20 - strongholds on the Sofia road, thereby completely closing the blockade ring of the Pleven garrison, whose number by that time amounted to 50 thousand people.
The lack of food forced the Turkish commander Osman Pasha to attempt an independent liberation of Plevna. On November 28, having withdrawn troops from defensive positions, he attacked Russian troops northwest of Plevna. Units of the 2nd and 3rd Grenadier Divisions and the 5th Infantry Division of the Russian Army repelled the Turkish attack. Having lost 6 thousand soldiers and unable to escape from encirclement, Osman Pasha surrendered with 43 thousand soldiers. The fall of Plevna freed up a hundred thousand Russian-Romanian army for a subsequent offensive across the Balkans.
In the fighting near Plevna, forms and methods of besieging fortresses were further developed. The Russian army developed new methods of infantry combat tactics, a combination of movement and fire from rifle chains, and the use of infantry self-entrenchment in the offensive began. At Plevna, the importance of field fortifications, the interaction of infantry with artillery, the role of heavy artillery in preparing an attack on fortified positions was revealed, and the possibility of controlling artillery fire when firing from closed positions was determined.
In memory of the battles for Plevna, a mausoleum was built in the city in memory of fallen Russian and Romanian soldiers (1905), a park-museum of M. D. Skobelev (1907), and an artistic panorama complex “Liberation of Plevna in 1877.” In Moscow, at the Ilyinsky Gate, there is a monument to the grenadiers who fell near Plevna.
encyclopedic Dictionary . 2009 .
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The five-month siege of Plevna was accompanied by three bloody assaults, which, however, did not lead the Russian army to the intended result. Then it was decided to take a different route: the famous military engineer Eduard Totleben advised the commanders not to resort to further assault attempts, but to begin blockading the city.
However, shortly before the start of the blockade, reinforcements arrived to the Turkish troops stationed in Plevna. In addition, the city's food supplies were significantly replenished. Also, a decree of the Sultan was delivered to the city, which stated that in connection with the productive defense, commander Osman Pasha - who later, by the way, received the nickname “Lion of Plevna” - was awarded an honorary title. At the same time, the Turks were strictly forbidden to leave the city. The siege of Plevna was strategically beneficial to the Sultan: while it lasted, the Russians did not pay enough attention to what was happening elsewhere, so that at this time the Turks could be busy strengthening Istanbul and Adrianople.
Osman Pasha was supposed to receive additional reinforcements beyond what was sent earlier, but this could not be done before the blockade began. The Grenadier Regiment under the command of Ivan Ganetsky joined the Russian army.
Blockading the city turned out to be a difficult undertaking, accompanied by many casualties. For example, during the battle for the village of Gorny Dubnyak - its capture was necessary to isolate the Turks - the Russians lost 3,600 people out of 20 thousand allocated for this operation.
Sally from Plevna. Unknown artist
After the capture of Gorny Dubnyak and another village, Telisha, Plevna finally found itself in a blockade ring. Even the provisions prepared in advance did not help the people of Osman Pasha: the soldiers began to starve, diseases prevailed in the city, which there was nothing to treat - the supply of medicines was also depleted. At the same time, Russian troops, more than twice as numerous as the forces of the encircled enemy, systematically launched attacks on Plevna. The situation seemed hopeless, and the Russians invited the Turkish commander to surrender. However, Osman Pasha was adamant and said that he would rather shed the blood of both his own and enemy soldiers than lay down his arms in disgrace.
At the military council, the Turks decided to try to break the blockade and go towards Sofia. Before leaving, the army installed effigies in the fortifications in order to disorient the enemy, and on December 10 they left the city. The battle that ensued between the Turks and Russians did not lead to victory for the former. Osman Pasha was wounded and eventually captured, the morale of the soldiers was broken, and the Turkish army capitulated. Thus ended the siege of Plevna.
Monument to the Heroes of Plevna on a 19th century postcard
It was planned to honor the memory of the fallen Russian soldiers by installing a monument near Plevna, but in the end it appeared in Moscow ten years after the events described. The monument-chapel can still be seen in Ilyinsky Park.
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Fall of Plevna
Dmitriev-Orenburgsky N.D.
Capture of the Grivitsky redoubt near Plevna
The capture of Plevna by Russian troops was a key event in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which predetermined the successful completion of the campaign on the Balkan Peninsula. Fighting near Plevna lasted five months and is considered one of the most tragic pages of Russian military history.
After crossing the Danube at Zimnitsa, the Russian Danube Army ( Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (Senior)) advanced her Western detachment (9th Corps, Lieutenant General) to Turkish fortress Nikopol to capture it and secure the right flank of the main forces. After capturing the fortress on July 4 (16), Russian troops did not take active action for two days to capture Plevna, located 40 km from it, the garrison of which consisted of 3 Turkish infantry battalions and 4 guns. But on July 1 (13) the Turkish corps began moving out of Vidin to strengthen the garrison. It consisted of 19 battalions, 5 squadrons and 9 batteries - 17 thousand bayonets, 500 sabers and 58 guns. Having passed a forced march of 200 km in 6 days, at dawn on July 7 (19), Osman Pasha reached Plevna and took up defensive positions on the outskirts of the city. On July 6 (18), the Russian command sent a detachment of up to 9 thousand people with 46 guns (lieutenant general) to the fortress. On the evening of the next day, parts of the detachment reached the distant approaches to Plevna and were stopped by Turkish artillery fire. On the morning of July 8 (20), Russian troops launched an offensive, which initially developed successfully, but was soon stopped by enemy reserves. Schilder-Schuldner stopped the fruitless attacks, and the Russian troops, having suffered heavy losses (up to 2.8 thousand people), returned to their original position. On July 18 (30), the second assault on Plevna took place, which also failed and cost the Russian troops about 7 thousand people. This failure forced the command to suspend offensive operations in the Constantinople direction.
Turks in short time They restored the destroyed defensive structures, erected new ones and turned the closest approaches to Plevna into a heavily fortified area with the number of troops defending it over 32 thousand people with 70 guns. This group posed a threat to the Russian crossing of the Danube, located 660 km from Plevna. Therefore, the Russian command decided to make a third attempt to capture Plevna. The Western detachment was increased more than 3 times (84 thousand people, 424 guns, including Romanian troops - 32 thousand people, 108 guns). Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and the Minister of War were with the detachment, which made unified command and control of the troops difficult. The planning and preparation of the allied forces for the offensive were carried out in a formulaic manner, the attacks were planned to be carried out in the same directions, and the interaction between the troops attacking in each of them was not organized. Before the start of the offensive on August 22 (September 3), Lovcha was captured, and on the right flank and in the center of the battle formation of the Western detachment, a 4-day artillery preparation was carried out, in which 130 guns took part, but the fire was ineffective - it was not possible to destroy the Turkish redoubts and trenches and disrupt the enemy's defense system.
Dmitriev-Orenburgsky N.D.
Artillery battle near Plevna. Battery of siege weapons on the Grand Duke's Mountain
In the middle of the day on August 30 (September 11), a general offensive began. Romanian troops and the Russian infantry brigade of the 5th Infantry Division struck from the northeast, the Russian 4th Corps - from the southeast, and a detachment (up to 2 infantry brigades) - from the south. The regiments went on the attack at different times, entered the battle in parts, acted frontally and were easily repelled by the enemy. On the right flank, Russian-Romanian troops, at the cost of heavy losses, captured Grivitsky redoubt No. 1, but did not advance further. The Russian 4th Corps was not successful and suffered heavy losses.
Henryk Dembitsky.
Battle on the Romanian part of the redoubt at the village. Grivitsa
Only Skobelev’s detachment in the 2nd half of the day managed to capture the redoubts of Kouvanlyk and Isa-Aga and open the way to Plevna. But the Russian high command refused to regroup forces to the south and did not support Skobelev’s detachment with reserves, which the next day, having repelled 4 strong counterattacks of the Turks, was forced to retreat under pressure from superior enemy forces to its original position. The third attack on Plevna, despite the high military valor, dedication and perseverance of Russian and Romanian soldiers and officers, ended in failure.
Diorama "Battle of Plevna" from the Military Museum in Bucharest, Romania
The failure of all attempts to capture Plevna was due to a number of reasons: poor intelligence of the Turkish troops and their defense system; underestimation of enemy forces and means; a patterned attack in the same directions on the most fortified areas of Turkish positions; the lack of maneuver of troops to attack Plevna from the west, where the Turks had almost no fortifications, as well as to transfer the main efforts to a more promising direction; lack of interaction between groupings of troops advancing in different directions and clear control of all allied forces.
The unsuccessful outcome of the offensive forced the Russian high command to change the way they fought the enemy. On September 1 (13), Alexander II arrived near Plevna and convened a military council, at which he raised the question of whether the army should remain near Plevna or whether it should retreat beyond the Osma River. The chief of staff of the Western detachment, Lieutenant General, and the chief of artillery of the army, Lieutenant General Prince, spoke in favor of retreat. The continuation of the fight for the fortress was advocated by the assistant chief of staff of the Danube Army, Major General, and the Minister of War, Infantry General D.A. Milyutin. Their point of view was supported by Alexander II. The council participants decided not to retreat from Plevna, strengthen their positions and wait for reinforcements from Russia, after which it was planned to begin a blockade or a proper siege of the fortress and force it to capitulate. An engineer-general was appointed as assistant commander of the detachment of the Romanian Prince Charles to lead the siege work. Arriving at the theater of military operations, Totleben came to the conclusion that the Plevna garrison was provided with food for only two months, and therefore could not withstand a prolonged blockade. The newly arrived Guards Corps (1st, 2nd, 3rd Guards Infantry and 2nd Guards Cavalry Divisions, Guards Rifle Brigade) joined the Western Detachment.
In order to implement the plan developed by the Russian command, it was considered necessary to cut off communications between Osman Pasha’s army and the base in Orhaniye. The Turks firmly held three fortified points on the Sofia Highway, along which the Plevna garrison was supplied - Gorny and Dolny Dubnyaki and Telish. The Russian command decided to use Guard troops entrusted to the lieutenant general to capture them. On October 12 (24) and October 16 (28), after bloody battles, the guards occupied Gorny Dubnyak and Telish. On October 20 (November 1), Russian troops entered Dolny Dubnyak, abandoned by the Turks without a fight. On the same day, the advanced units of the 3rd Grenadier Division that arrived in Bulgaria approached the settlement north-west of Plevna - Mountain Metropolis, interrupting communications with Vidin. As a result, the fortress garrison was completely isolated.
On October 31 (November 12), the Turkish commander was asked to surrender, but he refused. By the end of November, the besieged garrison of Plevna found itself in a critical situation. Of the 50 thousand people who found themselves in Plevna after the annexation of the Dolny Dubnyak garrison, less than 44 thousand remained. Taking into account the deplorable state of the garrison troops, Osman Pasha convened a military council on November 19 (December 1). Its participants made a unanimous decision to fight their way out of Plevna. The Turkish commander expected to cross to the left bank of the Vid River, strike at Russian troops in a northwest direction towards Magaletta, and then move, depending on the situation, to Vidin or Sofia.
By the end of November, the Plevna taxation detachment consisted of 130 thousand combatant lower ranks, 502 field and 58 siege guns. The troops were divided into six sections: 1st - Romanian General A. Cernat (consisted of Romanian troops), 2nd - Lieutenant General N.P. Kridener, 3rd - Lieutenant General P.D. Zotov, 4th - Lieutenant General M.D. Skobelev, 5th - Lieutenant General and 6th - Lieutenant General. A tour of the Plevna fortifications convinced Totleben that an attempt by the Turks to break through would most likely follow in the 6th sector.
On the night of November 27-28 (December 9-10), taking advantage of the darkness and bad weather, the Turkish army left its positions near Plevna and secretly approached the crossings of the Vid. By 5 o'clock in the morning, three brigades of Tahir Pasha's division moved to the left bank of the river. The troops were followed by convoys. Osman Pasha was also forced to take with him about 200 families from among the Turkish residents of Plevna and most of the wounded. Despite all Taken measures precautions, crossing Turkish army turned out to be a complete surprise for the Russian command. At 7:30 the enemy quickly attacked the center of the position
6th section, occupied by 7 companies of the 9th Siberian Grenadier Regiment of the 3rd Grenadier Division. 16 Turkish battalions drove the Russian grenadiers out of the trenches, capturing 8 guns. By 8:30 the first line of Russian fortifications between the Dolny Metropol and the Dug Grave was broken through. The retreating Siberians tried to fortify themselves in the buildings scattered between the first and second lines of defense, but to no avail. At this moment, the 10th Little Russian Grenadier Regiment approached from the direction of the Mountain Metropolis and counterattacked the enemy. However, the heroic counterattack of the Little Russians failed - the regiment retreated with heavy losses. At about 9 o'clock the Turks managed to break through the second line of Russian fortifications.
Plan of the battle of Plevna on November 28 (December 10), 1877
The critical moment of the last Plevna battle had arrived. The entire area north of the Dug Grave was littered with the bodies of killed and wounded grenadiers of the Siberian and Little Russian regiments. Corps commander Ganetsky arrived on the battlefield to personally lead the troops. At the beginning of 11 o'clock, the long-awaited 2nd brigade of the 3rd Grenadier Division (11th Phanagorian and 12th Astrakhan regiments) appeared from the direction of the Mountain Metropolis. As a result of the ensuing counterattack, the Russian grenadiers recaptured the second line of fortifications occupied by the enemy. The 3rd brigade was supported by the approaching 7th Grenadier Samogitsky and 8th Grenadier Moscow regiments of the 2nd division.
Chapel-monument in honor of the grenadier,
killed in the battle of Plevna on November 28 (December 10), 1877
Pressed from the front and flanks, Turkish troops began to retreat to the first line of fortifications. Osman Pasha intended to wait for the arrival of the second division from the right bank of the Vid, but it was delayed due to the crossing of numerous convoys. By 12 noon the enemy was driven out of the first line of fortifications. As a result of the counterattack, Russian troops not only recaptured 8 guns captured by the Turks, but also captured 10 enemy ones.
Dmitriev-Orenburgsky N.D.
The last battle near Plevna on November 28, 1877 (1889)
Lieutenant General Ganetsky, seriously fearing new attack Turk, did not plan to pursue them. He ordered to occupy the forward fortifications, bring artillery here and wait for the enemy to attack. However, the intention of the commander of the Grenadier Corps - to stop the advancing troops - did not come true. The 1st Brigade of the 2nd Grenadier Division, which occupied the fortified position of the Dolne-Dubnyaksky detachment, seeing the retreat of the Turks, moved forward and began to envelop them from the left flank. Following her, the rest of the troops of the 6th section went on the offensive. Under the pressure of the Russians, the Turks at first slowly and in relative order retreated to Vid, but soon the retreating ones encountered their convoys. Panic began among the civilians following the convoys. At that moment Osman Pasha was wounded. Lieutenant Colonel Pertev Bey, commander of one of the two regiments covering the convoys, tried to stop the Russians, but to no avail. His regiment was overthrown, and the retreat of the Turkish army turned into a disorderly flight. Soldiers and officers, residents of Plevna, artillery pieces, carts, pack animals. The grenadiers approached the enemy at 800 steps, firing aimed rifle fire at him.
In the remaining areas of investment, the blocking troops also went on the offensive and, having captured the fortifications of the northern, eastern and southern fronts, occupied Plevna and reached the heights to the west of it. The 1st and 3rd brigades of the Turkish division of Adil Pasha, which covered the retreat of the main forces of Osman Pasha's army, laid down their arms. Surrounded on all sides by superior forces, Osman Pasha decided to surrender.
Osman Pasha presents a saber to Lieutenant General I.S. Ganetsky
Dmitriev-Orenburgsky N.D.
Captured Osman Pasha, who commanded Turkish troops in Plevna, presented to His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor Alexander II
on the day of the capture of Plevna by Russian troops on November 29, 1877
10 generals, 2,128 officers, 41,200 soldiers surrendered; 77 guns were delivered. The fall of Plevna made it possible for the Russian command to free up more than 100 thousand people for an offensive across the Balkans.
Capture of Plevna from November 28 to 29, 1877
Lubok publishing house I.D. Sytin
In the fighting near Plevna, methods of encircling and blockading an enemy group were developed. The Russian army used new infantry techniques, whose rifle chains combined fire and movement, and used self-entrenchment when approaching the enemy. Revealed important field fortifications, interaction between infantry and artillery, high efficiency of heavy artillery during fire preparation for an attack on fortified positions, the possibility of controlling artillery fire when firing from closed positions was determined. The Bulgarian militia fought bravely as part of the Russian troops near Plevna.
In memory of the battles near Plevna, a mausoleum of fallen Russian and Romanian soldiers, the Skobelevsky Park Museum, historical Museum“Liberation of Plevna in 1877”, near Grivitsa - the mausoleum of Romanian soldiers and about 100 monuments in the vicinity of the fortress.
Skobelev Park in Plevna
In Moscow, at the Ilyinsky Gate, there is a monument-chapel to the Russian grenadiers who fell near Plevna. The chapel was built on the initiative of the Russian Archaeological Society and military personnel of the Grenadier Corps stationed in Moscow, who raised about 50 thousand rubles for its construction. The authors of the monument were the famous architect and sculptor V.I. Sherwood and engineer-colonel A.I. Lyashkin.
Monument to the heroes of Plevna in Moscow
Material prepared by the Research Institute
(military history) Military Academy of the General Staff
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
December 10, 1877 during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Russian troops, after a difficult siege, captured Plevna, forcing the surrender of the 40,000-strong Turkish army. This was an important victory for Russia, but it came at a considerable price.
“Defeated. Memorial Service"
Heavy battles near Plevna, which cost the Russian army tens of thousands of killed and wounded, are reflected in painting. The famous battle painter V.V. Vereshchagin, who was a participant in the siege of Plevna (one of his brothers was killed during the Third assault on the fortress, and the other was wounded), dedicated the canvas “The Vanquished. Requiem service." Much later, after the death of V.V. Vereshchagin himself in 1904, another participant in the events near Plevna, scientist V.M. Bekhterev, responded to this picture with the following poem:
The entire field is covered with thick grass.
Not roses, but corpses cover it
The priest stands with his head naked.
While swinging the censer he reads....
And the choir behind him sings together, drawn out
One after another prayers.
He rewards eternal memory and sorrow
To all those who fell for their homeland in battle.
Under a hail of bullets
One of the factors that determined the high losses of the Russian army during the three unsuccessful assaults on Plevna and a number of other battles for the capture of Turkish strongholds around this fortress was the high density of fire from the Turkish infantry. Often Turkish soldiers had two samples firearms at the same time - the American Peabody-Martini rifle for long-range shooting and Winchester repeating carbines for close combat, which made it possible to create a high density of fire at a short distance. Of the famous battle paintings where the Turks are depicted simultaneously with rifles and carbines is the painting by A. N. Popov “Defense of the Eagle’s Nest by the Oryol and Bryants on August 12, 1877” (events at the Shipka Pass) - the appearance of the Turkish soldiers near Plevna was similar .
In the 16th division
A number of striking episodes of the Russian-Turkish war are associated with the name of Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev. Noteworthy is the preparation of Skobelev's 16th division for the crossing of the Balkans after the capture of Plevna. Firstly, Skobelev rearmed his division with Peabody-Martini rifles, which were taken in huge quantities from the Plevna arsenals. Most Russian infantry units in the Balkans were armed with the Krynka rifle, and only the Guard and the Grenadier Corps had more modern Berdan rifles. Unfortunately, other Russian military leaders did not follow Skobelev’s example. Secondly, Skobelev, using the shops (warehouses) of Plevna, provided his soldiers with warm clothing, and when moving to the Balkans also with firewood - therefore, moving along one of the most difficult sections of the Balkans - the Imetli Pass, the 16th Division did not lose a single person to frostbite .
Troop supply
The Russo-Turkish War and the siege of Plevna were marked by enormous difficulties in military supply, which, under very dark circumstances, was entrusted to the Greger-Gerwitz-Cogan Partnership. The siege of Plevna was carried out in extremely difficult conditions of the beginning of the autumn thaw. Diseases increased and there was a threat of famine. Up to 200 people were out of action every day. During the war, the size of the Russian army near Plevna constantly increased, and its needs increased. Therefore, in September 1877, two civilian transports were formed, consisting of 23 departments of 350 horse-drawn carts each, and in November 1877, two more transports, consisting of 28 departments of the same composition. By the end of the siege of Plevna in November, 26 thousand 850 civilian carts and a large number of other transport. The fighting in the autumn of 1877 was also marked by the first appearance of field kitchens in the Russian army much earlier than other European countries.
E. I. Totleben
After the Third unsuccessful assault on Plevna on August 30-31, 1877, the famous engineer, hero of the defense of Sevastopol E. I. Totleben was called to lead the siege work. He managed to establish a tight blockade of the fortress, destroy Turkish water mills in Plevna by releasing streams of water from open dams, depriving the enemy of the opportunity to bake bread. The outstanding fortifier did a lot to improve the life of the troops besieging Plevna, preparing the Russian camp for the inclement autumn and the approaching cold weather. Refusing frontal attacks on Plevna, Totleben organized constant military demonstrations in front of the fortress, forcing the Turks to maintain significant forces in the first line of defense and suffer heavy losses from concentrated Russian artillery fire.
Totleben himself noted: “The enemy is only defensive, and I conduct continuous demonstrations against him so that he assumes on our part the intention to storm. When the Turks fill the redoubts and trenches with men, and their reserves approach, I order volleys of a hundred or more guns to be fired. In this way I am trying to avoid losses on our part, thereby inflicting daily losses on the Turks.”
War and diplomacy
After the capture of Plevna before Russia in Once again the threat of war with England loomed, which was extremely sensitive to any Russian successes in the Balkans and the Caucasus. Back in July 1877 English fleet was introduced into the Dardanelles. And after the fall of Plevna, English Prime Minister Disraeli even decided to declare war on Russia, but did not receive support from the cabinet. On December 1, 1877, a memorandum was sent to Russia threatening to declare war if Russian troops occupied Istanbul. In addition, active efforts were launched to organize collective international mediation (intervention) to conclude peace. However, at that time, Russia rejected such a development of events, indicating agreement only to direct Russian-Turkish negotiations.
Results
The siege and capture of Plevna by Russian troops became one of the key events of the war of 1877-78. After the fall of this fortress, the path through the Balkans was opened for Russian troops, and Ottoman Empire lost a first-class 50,000-strong army. Further rapid actions of the Russian troops made it possible to carry out a rapid transition through the Balkan Mountains and achieve the signing of the San Stefano Peace Treaty, which was beneficial for Russia. And yet, the siege of Plevna became part of the Russian military history as one of the bloodiest and most difficult. During the siege, the losses of Russian troops amounted to more than 40 thousand people killed and wounded.
After three unsuccessful assaults Plevna, its siege began. Near Plevna, the sovereign summoned the engineer-generalTotlebena E.I., September 15 (27) he arrived in the army. “There will be no fourth assault on Plevna,” said Eduard Ivanovich. Totleben was a recognized authority on the conduct of serf warfare, he was supposed to develop a plan for the siege of Plevna.
Russian soldiers were ordered to dig in vigorously. To completely encircle Plevna it was necessary to capture fortified points Mountain Dubnyak, Dolny Dubnyak and Telish; block the Sofia-Plevna road in order to tightly lock Osman Pasha in the city.
Totleben E.I. ordered General Gurko I.V. take possession of the Sofia Highway and occupy all the space on the left bank of the Vid River. On the same day, General Zotov was ordered to occupy the Lovchinskoe highway, fortify himself south of Brestovets on Ryzhaya Mountain, and other units to organize a demonstration in the direction of Plevna. And all other troops of the Western detachment were ordered to demonstrate on that day. Totleben and his headquarters worked tirelessly, sending instructions to the troops and developed dispositions for each unit separately.
Attack by General Gurko's troops Mountain Dubnyak was carried out successfully, but it cost four and a half thousand Russian soldiers and officers incapacitated. Of course, the price is too high... Totleben and many military leaders again started talking about the need for more thoughtful actions of the army, about the need for thorough artillery preparation for the attack, about reconnaissance, finally, as an obligatory prerequisite for the attack. We had to take two more settlements located on the Sofia Highway.
Gurko developed a disposition for mastering Telish mainly with artillery fire. In response to this report, Totleben gave the following instructions to Gurko’s detachment: “I fully share your Excellency’s considerations, set out in the report of October 13 No. 28, regarding the need to capture Telish and, at the same time, predominantly with an artillery attack, avoiding an assault if possible...” In addition, Totleben also ordered actions other units entrusted to him in order to strengthen the connection between all parts. Totleben attached particular importance to the actions of the 16th division of M.D. Skobelev. as the most reliable in all respects.
The sad experience of taking Mountain Dubnyak was too expensive to repeat: twenty-five thousand selected troops, with the most heroic courage, with the skillful leadership of the talented General Gurko, were barely able to capture two weak Turkish redoubts, which were defended by small detachments of the Turks. Why resort to this method of taking fortresses when there is an excellent way - to starve them to death and force them to surrender.
Chief of Staff of Gurko's detachment, General Naglovsky, on the eve of the attack Telisha reported in a report to the command that when Telisha was captured, it was planned to fire 100 shells per gun, for a total of 7200 shells. Having approached the position, the infantry and batteries must dig in. Alexander II, the commander-in-chief, a large retinue surveyed Plevna and the Turkish position from the lunette of the Kaluga regiment.
An artillery attack on Telish began, the batteries fired volley after volley, but the Turks almost did not respond to them, hiding from the fire in dugouts. But the concentrated volleys of several batteries, directed first at one or another Turkish redoubt, made a strong moral impression on the enemy, and the losses were sensitive, on the order of 50-60 people per day.
At 12 o'clock, in accordance with the disposition developed by Totleben and Gurko, Skobelev made a demonstration along Green Mountain towards the Krishin Heights. But soon he retreated, and silence fell on all lines, only from the direction of Telish the cannonade was dully heard, which had been going on for two hours.
At four o'clock on October 16, Totleben received a report that Telish had been taken, the garrison had completely capitulated along with Ishmael Khaki Pasha and 100 officers. Our losses turned out to be the most insignificant. All that remained was to take Dolny Dubnyak to complete the complete investment of Plevna. And even now Osman Pasha is so surrounded that any attempt to break through from Plevna or to Plevna is doomed to failure: everywhere he will be met by fortified positions with Russian troops. A breakthrough will cost him dearly if he dares to make one.
Two guards divisions of General Gurko I.V. drove the Turks out of the redoubt Dolny Dubnyak, forcing them to retreat to Plevna. After which Plevna was completely blocked.
Thus began a systematic siege of Plevna. Osman Pasha found himself surrounded. His army was left to its fate by the military council in Constantinople.
By the end of November 1877, the besieged units found themselves in a critical situation: food supplies were exhausted, epidemics were raging, and soldiers were deserting. The Bulgarians increasingly crossed the front line and obtained important information. On December 9, 1877, one Bulgarian came to the headquarters of the Russian army and reported: “The last supplies have been distributed. The Turkish population leaves the city on carts, heading towards the Vit River.”
Near Pleven there was a “horseshoe” of enemy defensive structures. This “horseshoe” had six defense areas (sectors). The total length of the enemy position reached 40 kilometers. It began north of the villages of Opanets, Bukovlyk and the Tuchenitsa River, then turned south along the Tuchenitsa Hollow, Uchin-Dol, the Zelenite-Gori and Kyshin areas and ended in the west on the bank of the Vit River.
The position in the sixth section of the siege, along the left bank of the Vit River, was occupied by the grenadier corps; 1st Brigade of the 5th Infantry Division with two batteries; 4th Romanian Division with all its artillery; 9th Kazan Dragoons; 9th Bug Uhlan; 9th Kiev Hussars and 4th Don Regiments, as well as the 7th Horse Artillery Battery; 2nd Don Battery and a regiment of Romanian cavalrymen.
Early in the morning of December 10, 1877, in the sixth section of the besiegers, the Turks, led by Osman Pasha. The Russian outposts retreated. A signal signal soared high into the sky, and drums sounded the alarm all along the Russian rear positions. Half an hour later the Turks appeared in front of the Russian trenches. With exclamations of “Allah,” they rushed to the attack. They were met by the grenadiers of the Siberian regiment. A brutal hand-to-hand fight ensued. Russian soldiers did not retreat. Having captured the trenches of the first line, the Turks rushed to the battery of the 3rd Grenadier Artillery Brigade.
Osman Pasha's guard reached the second line of Russian trenches. But here she came across reinforcements that had come to help the Siberians, the Little Russian Grenadier Regiment, which immediately rushed into a swift bayonet attack.
Turkish units sought to break through to the north, to the Danube. The 9th Cavalry Division prepared for battle in case the enemy managed to break through. On the left flank the Turkish riflemen were met Arkhangelsk and Vologda regiments. The Turks again concentrated in the center of the Russian defense. It was there that the Russian reserves were sent.
Russian and Romanian artillery carried out powerful artillery preparation. Then the infantry launched a decisive attack. At this moment Osman Pasha was wounded. There was a rumor that he had been killed. The enemy's ranks wavered. To the sound of the drum, the grenadiers launched a general offensive. In hand-to-hand combat, Private Yegor Zhdanov knocked the Turkish standard bearer to the ground, taking away his regimental banner.
The Turks rolled back to the Vit River. There was a traffic jam on the bridge, carts and people were falling into the water... After some time, the enemy raised a white flag. Acting Chief of Staff of the Turkish Army in Plevna Tefik Pasha began negotiations, declaring that Osman Pasha was wounded and could not come.
The Turks agreed to unconditional surrender. Surrendered 10 Turkish generals, 2 thousand. officers and 30 thousand soldiers. The winners captured rich trophies: artillery, ammunition, convoys. This is how the last battle near Plevna, which was destined to become a city of Russian military glory, ended ingloriously for the Ottoman army.