The siege of Silistra (July 21 – November 8, 1828) was a siege during the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829.

Siege

General Roth, who besieged

Silistra Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

on July 21, had 10,000 men and 36 cannons under his command. In response to the heavy artillery fire of the Russian side throughout August, the Turkish garrison managed to inflict losses on the besiegers with

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

operations. On September 11, in order to ensure that the military troops and ammunition reinforcements coming from Shumen could enter the castle, the attack was made with the support of heavy artillery fire from the castle, and 5,000 additional Turkish soldiers and ammunition entered the Silistra castle. The effective exit from the castle on September 27 cost the Russian army more than 2,000 casualties, compared to the Turkish garrison's loss of 500 soldiers. After heavy losses, the besieging Russian army was reinforced with the 2nd Infantry Corps and 62 siege guns coming from

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In this way, the total number of Russian siege troops in front of

reached 25,000 soldiers (30,000 towards the end of the siege). In addition, the Russian army aimed to bring the 3rd Corps, one of the armies besieging Shumen, to

and intensify their attacks and capture the castle as soon as possible, but due to the autumn conditions making the roads increasingly impassable. He could not implement these plans. Although the Russian army launched a two-day general attack on the castle on November 2, they suffered heavy losses. The surrender offer sent to the castle by the Russian army, who thought that the attack had shaken the Turkish garrison, was also rejected. As a result of the 111-day siege, the Tür garrison suffered approximately 3,000 casualties and the Russian army lost more than 7,000. Thereupon, in the face of the danger of winter approaching, the Russian army lifted the siege on November 8, 1828, and began to retreat north of

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

towards

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

."Turkish Armed Forces History – Ottoman-Russian War (1828–1829)", ATASE Publications, Ankara (1978), p.120-122

References

Akhalzic Conflicts in 1828 Conflicts in 1829 19th century in Bulgaria 1828 in the Russian Empire Sieges involving the Russian Empire {{Russia-battle-stub