August 1877 – January 1878 · Balkan Mountains Theater
August 1877 – January 1878
The Shipka Pass through the Balkan range was the gateway to Constantinople, and its defence became legendary. In August a small Russian and Bulgarian force held the heights against ferocious assaults by Suleiman Pasha's army, at one point hurling rocks and corpses when ammunition ran out. Through the winter the garrison endured blizzards that killed and froze thousands — the 'Shipka Sitting' — until the Ottoman army below was finally trapped and destroyed at Sheinovo.
Commanders