Atlas of Battles

siege, major, nineteenth century

Siege of Plevna

Siege of Plevna was a siege conducted on 20 July 1877 at Pleven, in what is now Bulgaria; it lasted 5 months. It was part of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War, which ran from 1877 to 1878.

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Siege of Plevna
Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought20 July 1877lasted 5 months
WherePleven, Bulgaria43.408N, 24.620E
OutcomeRussian coalition victoryOttoman victory – 1st Rus. assault; Ottoman victory – 2nd Rus. assault; Russian coalition victory – Turkish sortie; Russian coalition victory – Battle of Lovcha; Ottoman victory – Great Assault; Russian coalition victory – Battle of Gorni Dubnik; Russian coalition victory – Breakout attempt; Russian offensive into Balkans delayed, preventing the fall of Constantinople
BelligerentsRussian Empire Russian Empire; Kingdom of Romania; Bulgarian VolunteersagainstOttoman Empire
Part ofTenth Russo-Turkish War1877 to 1878

Where it sits in the Tenth Russo-Turkish War

Sukhumi landing, 1877Action off Măcin, 1877Battle of Kızıl Tepe, 1877Battle of Svistov, 1877Battle of Elena, 1877Kavarna massacre, 1877Battle of Sevlievo, 1877Battle of Nikopol, 1877Battle of Shipka Pass, 1877Battle of Juranla, 1877Siege of Plevna, 1877Battle at Stara Zagora, 1877Battle of Pelshat and Zgalevo, 1877Battle of Ablanovo, 1877Battle of Lovcha, 1877Battle at Cairkoi, 1877Battle of Lower Metropolia, 1877Battle of Gorni Dubnik, 1877Battle of Erzurum, 1877Battle of Kars, 1877Battle of Oryahovo, 1877Battle of Aladzha, 1877Battle of Sofia, 1877Battle of Philippopolis, 187818771878Siege of Plevna, 1877
26 placed engagements of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date20 July 1877
to 10 December 1877
PlacePleven, Bulgaria
43.408N, 24.620E
KindSiege, nineteenth century
Strength130,000; 6,500 – 1st Rus. assault; 30,000 – 2nd Rus. assault; 95,000 – Great Assault67,000; 5,000 – 1st Rus. assault; 20,000 – 2nd Rus. assault; 30,000 – Great Assault
Casualties and losses50,000 killed, wounded and missing; 3,000 – 1st Rus. assault; 7,305 killed, wounded or missing – 2nd Rus. assault; 20,600 killed, wounded or captured – Great Assault; 2,000 – Breakout attempt25,000 killed or wounded; 43,340 surrendered (including non-combatants); Total: 68,340; 2,000 – 1st Rus. assault; 2,000 killed or wounded – 2nd Rus. assault; 5,000 – Great Assault; 5,000 – Breakout attempt
Commanders
  • Tsar Alexander II
  • Nikolay Kridener
  • De facto and de jure
  • Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)
  • Mikhail Skobelev
  • Eduard Totleben
Siege of PlevnaSiege of PlevnaBattle of the UtusBattle of LovchaSiege of LovechBattle of Gorni DubnikBattle of NikopolBattle of the UtusBattle of LovchaSiege of LovechBattle of Gorni DubnikBattle of NikopolBucharestSofiaCraiovaRuseStara ZagoraKyustendilSlivenPernik100 km43.408N, 24.620E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Plevna
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Plevna today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-09-12. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 109 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 50 to 308 m, 258 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 46% tree cover, 30% built-up, 13% cropland.

tree cover: 46%built-up: 30%cropland: 13%grassland: 11%tree cover 46%built-up 30%cropland 13%grassland 11%
west to east, 10.0 km101 to 224 mnorth to south, 10.0 km93 to 263 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1877

Siege of Plevna is one of 3,694 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 126 in present-day Bulgaria.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q780367, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Plevna, revision 1383147127, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.