Russo-Turkish War

The Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 had origins in the Russian goal of unifying the Slavic peoples and reconquering Constantinople for Christianity. The formal pretext for the war came with the attrocities committed against the civilian (Slavic) population during the Bulgarian April uprising[?] of 1876.

After war broke out, the Russian army - with the support of a Romanian corps and volunteer brigades from the local Bulgarian population - resoundingly defeated the Turkish troops. Among the highlights of the campaign were the seige and subsequent surrender of the Turkish troops at Pleven[?] and the battles at the Stara Planina[?] mountain passes waged, especially at Shipka[?], to prevent reinforcements from reaching Pleven.

In February 1878 the Russian army had almost reached Istanbul (Constantinople) but had suffered such enormous losses (by some estimates about 200,000 men) that Russia had to settle for the Treaty of San Stefano[?] (1878) and later see her diplomatic gains dismantled in the Treaty of Berlin, 1878.