Romanian War of Independence

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The Romanian War of Independence was fought in 1877 against the Ottoman Empire. On April 16, 1877, Romania and the Russian Empire signed at Bucharest a treaty under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, with the condition that Russia respect 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, 1877, Russia declared war to the Ottoman Empire and its troops entered Romania.

Overview

On May 21, 1877, in the Romanian parliament, Mihail Kogălniceanu declared the independence of Romania as the will of the Romanian people. A day later, the act was signed by King Carol I. The next day, the Romanian government canceled paying tribute to Turkey (914,000 lei), and the sum was given instead to the War Minister.

Initially, 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 50,000 soldiers led by Osman Pasha at the Siege of Pleven (Plevna).

War

Due to great losses, Nikolai Konstantinovich, Grand Duke of Russia asked Carol I for the Romanian Army to intervene and fuse with the Russian Army.

Carol I accepted the Duke's proposal, and became the commander of the Romanian and marshal of the Russian troops, of which the combined forces had conquered Plevna after heavy fighting. The Romanian Army won the battles of Griviţa and Rahova, and on 28 November 1877 the Plevna citadel capitulated, and Osman Pasha surrendered the city, the garrison and his sword to the Romanian Colonel Mihail Cerchez. After the occupation of Plevna, the Romanian Army returned to the Danube and won the battles of Vidin and Smârdan. On 19 January 1878, the Ottoman Empire requested an armistice, which was accepted by Russia and Romania. Romania won the war, having suffered about 10,000 casualties. Its independence was finally recognised by the Central Powers on 13 July 1878.

Aftermath

The peace treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed in San Stefano, on 3rd March 1878. Russia did not keep its promises of the 4 April 1877 treaty (signed by Russian consul Stuart Dimitri and Romanian prime minister Mihail Kogălniceanu) to respect Romania's territorial integrity. However, the treaty was not recognised by the Central Powers and the 1878 peace conference in Berlin decided that Russia would give Romania its independence, the territories of Dobrogea, the Danube Delta, and Snake Island (Insula Şerpilor), but Russia would occupy the southern counties of Bessarabia (Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail), which by the Treaty of Paris of 1856 (after the Crimean War) were included in Moldavia.

Gallery

See also

• History of Romania
• National awakening of Romania
• Kingdom of Romania

External links

• The Plevna Delay by Richard T. Trenk, Sr. (Originally published in Man At Arms magazine, Number Four, August, 1997)
• The Romanian Army of the Russo-Turkish War 1877-78
• Grivitsa Romanian Mausoleum in Bulgaria

Footnotes

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Last updated on Monday March 03, 2008 at 12:06:51 PST (GMT -0800)
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