Romanian War of Independence
| Romanian War of Independence (1877–1878) | |||||||||
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| Part of Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 | |||||||||
 Romanian troops returning to Bucharest after the war, 8 October 1878. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Romanian Principality Russia Bulgaria
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 Ottoman Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Carol I Grand Duke Nikolai Alexander of Battenberg
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Ahmed Muhtar Pasha Ghazi Osman Pasha
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| Strength | |||||||||
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66,000 troops 190 cannons 280,000 troops (European front)500 cannons 50,000 troops200 cannons |
186,000 troops 210 cannons |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Romania — 4,302 killed and missing, 3,316 wounded, 19,904 sick Russia – 15,567 killed, 56,652 wounded, 6,824 died from wounds, 81,363 died from disease, 1,713 died from other causes, 3,500 missing Bulgaria — 3,000 killed and wounded (during the entire Russo-Turkish War) |
30,000 killed in battle, 90,000 died from wounds and diseases (during the entire Russo-Turkish War) 2 river monitors sunk |
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The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On April 16 [O.S. April 4] 1877, Romania and the Russian Empire signed a treaty at Bucharest under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, with the condition that Russia respected the integrity of Romania. The mobilization began, and about 120,000 soldiers were massed in the south of the country to defend against an eventual attack of the Ottoman forces from south of the Danube. On April 24 [O.S. April 12] 1877, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and its troops entered Romania through the newly built Eiffel Bridge.
On May 21 [O.S. May 9] 1877, in the Romanian parliament, Mihail Kogălniceanu read the act of independence of Romania as the will of the Romanian people. A day later, on May 22 [O.S. May 10] 1877, the act was signed by Prince Carol I, officially declaring the full state independence. The Romanian government immediately canceled paying tribute to Turkey (914,000 lei), and the sum was given instead to the War Ministry.
Initially, before 1877, Russia did not wish to cooperate with Romania, since they did not wish Romania to participate in the peace treaties after the war, but the Russians encountered a very strong Turkish army of 40,000 soldiers led by Osman Pasha at the Siege of Plevna (Pleven) where the Russian troops led by Russian generals suffered very heavy losses and were routed in several battles.
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Wikipedia