Battle of Kazanlak

The Battle of Kazanlak was an important engagement in the Russian Advance Detachment's campaign in southern Bulgaria during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.

After taking Hainboaz Pass, the Advance Detachment was ordered to liberate Kazanlak and disperse its Ottoman garrison. On 5/17 July, Russian forces advanced in three columns. The central column encountered the enemy that morning, and the other columns gradually joined the fighting. After intense combat, the Russians secured the town at about 13:00, and the defenders fled in panic.

Russian troops and local Bulgarians held a thanksgiving service, while the wounded were taken to the Convent of the Presentation of the Virgin. Russian cavalry also captured Shipka village and considerable booty. By evening, the detachment's main forces had concentrated at the southern entrance to Shipka Pass.

Süleyman Pasha's Ottoman Central Army subsequently advanced into southern Bulgaria, leading to fierce battles at Nova Zagora, Dzhuranli and Stara Zagora. After a brief presence in Kazanlak, Russian troops withdrew from the Tundzha valley and entrenched at Hainboaz and Shipka in the central Balkan Mountains.

The first liberation was temporary: the Ottoman Central Army entered the evacuated town on 6/18 August 1877. Units of the Southern Detachment's left column under Lieutenant General Nikolai Svyatopolk-Mirsky finally liberated Kazanlak during the Battle of Sheynovo, on 27 December 1877/8 January 1878.