Battle of Shipka Pass IV
| Battle of Shipka Pass | |||||||
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| Part of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) | |||||||
 The Defence of the Eagle's Nest, Alexey Popov, 1893 |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers
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 Ottoman Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Iosif Gurko (1st and 4th stage) Nikolai Stoletov (2nd stage) Fyodor Radetzky (3rd and 4th stage) |
Suleiman Pasha (1st to 3rd stage) Ahmed Muhtar Pasha (4th stage) |
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| Strength | |||||||
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5,000 (1st stage) |
30 000 (1st stage) |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 211 on the first day 3,600 (2nd stage) 4,000 (3rd stage) 1,122 killed and 4,362 wounded (4th stage) Total: 13,500+ killed and wounded |
Unknown 10,000 killed (2nd stage) 10,000 (3rd stage) 4,000 killed or wounded and 36,000 surrendered (4th stage) Total: 24,000+ killed and wounded; 36,000 captured |
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5,000 (1st stage)
7,500 (2nd stage)
8,000 (3rd stage)
66,000 (4th stage)
30 000 (1st stage)
38,000 (2nd stage)
25,000 (3rd stage)
40,000 (4th stage)
The Battle of Shipka Pass consisted of four battles that were fought between the Russian Empire, aided by Bulgarian volunteers known as Opalchentsi, and the Ottoman Empire for control over the vital Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The crucial moment came in August 1877, when a group of 5,000 Bulgarian and 2,500 Russian troops repulsed an attack against the peak by a nearly 40,000 strong Ottoman army.
In July, 1877 four Russian corps crossed the Danube River and entered Bulgaria. To precede the main Russian army Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko led a detachment to capture the vital Balkan Mountain passes. Gourko approached Shipka Pass, which was held by an Ottoman garrison of 4,000–5,000 soldiers under Suleiman Pasha.
On July 17, Gourko attacked from the north with four divisions. The two flank divisions captured mountain positions but the two divisions in the center were repulsed. On the 18th Gourko attacked from the south. Again the main attack on the pass was repulsed but the Russians carried some of the trenches. Gourko planned a combined attack from the north and the south on the 19th. The next day however the Ottoman forces evacuated the pass and Russia took possession of it.
In just over two weeks Gourko had captured three important mountain passes but the main army was held up the day after Shipka Pass fell in the Siege of Plevna. The Ottoman Army made two major attempts to retake the pass in 1877, and then in 1878 Gourko delivered a final blow to the Ottoman forces in the Shipka Pass area.
The Second Battle of Shipka Pass took place in August 1877.
After taking the pass in July, 1877 the Russian forces built up a defensive position there. Russian General Stoletov placed his 7,500 defenders (5,500 Bulgarians, 2,000 Russians) on three positions at St. Nicholas (today: Peak Stoletov), Central Hill and the reserves in between these two points.
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