The Pleven Epopee

Notably popular and permanently stored in the memory of the Nation are the military operations in the suburbs of Pleven in 1877, known as the Pleven Epopee. This was the place where a great number of military forces were involved in large and very important hostilities. The allied Russian-Roumanian army reached the number of 130 thousand people and that of the Turkish army - 67 thousand people. The military operations in the suburbs of Pleven were held into two stages. The first (July 19 - September 12, 1877) was determined by the efforts of the Russian army to seize the town striking a front blow on and directly attacking the Turkish positions. The second stage (September 13 - December 10, 1877) in which the Russian army was under the leadership or the military engineer- general Totleben, marked the beginning of the siege of Pleven and the total blockade of Osman Pasha army within the town of Pleven. These operations resulted in the absolute defeat and the unconditional surrender of the Turkish army. The battle victory in Pleven and the capture of Osman Pasha army appeared to be of crucial importance for the further successful outcome of the war.
In token of gratitude towards the victims of the war and those more than 30 thousand killed and injured soldiers of the Russian army and 45 hundred soldiers of the Roumanian army who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Pleven, the grateful people built over 140 monuments, museums and mausoleums in the centre and the vicinity of Pleven. The most attractive one is the "Pleven Epopee 1877" Panorama.