Serb–Ottoman War (1876–78)

Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78)
Part of Great Eastern Crisis
The Morava Battles – August 1876
Date 30 June 1876 — 3 March 1878 (1 year, 8 months and 1 day) Location Principality of Serbia Result Serbian victory
Belligerents
Principality of Serbia	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Mikhail Chernyayev František Zach Đura Horvatović Mihailo Ilić Ranko Alimpić Milojko Lešjanin	Abdülkerim Nadir Osman Nuri Süleyman Hüsnü Mehmed Ali
Strength
89,000–100,000	90,000–139,000

The Serbian–Ottoman War or Serbo-Turkish War (Serbian: српско-турски рат, srpsko-turski rat), also known as the Wars for Independence (ратови за независност, ratovi za nezavisnost), was fought between the Principality of Serbia and the Ottoman Empire between 30 June 1876 and 3 March 1878. It consisted of two phases. In conjunction with the Principality of Montenegro, Serbia proclaimed its independence and declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 30 June 1876.

The Serbian army was poorly trained and ill-equipped, unlike the troops of the Ottoman Empire. The offensive objectives the Serbian army sought to accomplish were overly ambitious for such a force, and they suffered a number of defeats that resulted from poor planning and chronically being spread too thin. This allowed Ottoman forces to repel the initial attacks of the Serbian army and drive them back. During the autumn of 1876, the Ottoman Empire continued their successful offensive which culminated in a victory on the heights above Đunis.

In the second phase, between 13 December 1877 and 5 February 1878, Serbian troops regrouped with help from Imperial Russia, who fought their own Russo-Turkish War. The Serbians formed five corps and attacked Ottoman troops to the south, taking cities of Niš, Pirot, Leskovac and Vranje one after another.

The war coincided with the Bulgarian uprising, the Montenegrin War and the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), which together are known as the Great Eastern Crisis of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1875, a revolt broke out in Herzegovina, a province of the Ottoman Empire, which soon spread to Bosnia and Bulgaria. Although the Ottoman Empire quickly suppressed the revolt in Bulgaria, the fighting in Herzegovina and Bosnia continued to drag on. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the two semi-independent principalities of Serbia and Montenegro proclaimed their independence and declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 18 June 1876.

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